[DirectorTsaarx]

Originally posted by Taz-in-Space:
It's been quite a while since I read the book, but didn't it state that computers were outlawed technology?

Well, sort of. The prohibition was something along the lines of "Thou shalt not make a machine that mimics the human mind".

Originally posted by Taz-in-Space:
If so, then what controlled the assassination weapon in Dune and what controlled the whirling blades in Children of Dune?

The assassination weapon was either controlled by a simple motion-sensor or a human. The whirling blade thing was a standard combat training drone; again, IIRC, it used a variety of physical mechanisms to generate attack patterns. Since it didn't create it's own patterns, it wasn't considered a "thinking machine".

BTW, (and, yet again, IIRC ), supposedly House Vernius (the House in control of the planet Ix, where things like Spacing Guild vessels and the combat mechs were built) was constantly treading the fine line between "allowed" and "not allowed" technology. In fact, the prequels written by Frank Herbert's son discuss that idea... although they make it clear that the alleged violations of the prohibition were really just an excuse to oust House Vernius from Ix, and never completely proven.