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The Colossus
From BLOG@CACM

The Colossus

Unseen images of the code-breaking computer that helped win World War 2.

What Does Digitization Mean, and When Did It Begin?
From BLOG@CACM

What Does Digitization Mean, and When Did It Begin?

Digitization is on everyone's lips. What does digitization mean and when did it begin?

400 Years of Mechanical Calculating Machines
From BLOG@CACM

400 Years of Mechanical Calculating Machines

Germany is celebrating the 400th birthday of Schickard's "calculating clock."

Did Grace Hopper Create the First Compiler?
From BLOG@CACM

Did Grace Hopper Create the First Compiler?

Heinz Rutishauser (ETH Zurich, Switzerland) is regarded as the developer of automatic programming.

Early Computers in Continental Europe
From BLOG@CACM

Early Computers in Continental Europe

About the Bark (binär automatisk relä-kalkylator, binary automatic relay computer) and Besk (binär elektronisk sekvens kalkylator, binary electronic sequential...

In Pursuit of an International Computation Center in Europe
From BLOG@CACM

In Pursuit of an International Computation Center in Europe

The story of the UNESCO International Computation Center.

Where is the Cradle of the Computer?
From BLOG@CACM

Where is the Cradle of the Computer?

The digital computer of today arose in the first half of the 1940s independently in three different countries: Germany, the U.K. and the U.S.

Turing's Influence on Computer Construction is Overestimated
From BLOG@CACM

Turing's Influence on Computer Construction is Overestimated

How great was Turing's influence on early British automatic computers? Opinions differ considerably.

The Mesm: Ukraine Beats Russia
From BLOG@CACM

The Mesm: Ukraine Beats Russia

The Mesm is considered the first stored program digital computer in Continental Europe.

How Does One Divide with Napier's Rods?
From BLOG@CACM

How Does One Divide with Napier's Rods?

Napier's multiplication and division rods, deriving from the basic multiplication table, simplify calculations considerably.

How Does One Multiply with Napier's Rods?
From BLOG@CACM

How Does One Multiply with Napier's Rods?

Napier's multiplication and division rods, deriving from the basic multiplication table, simplify calculations considerably.

The Evolution of Computing Power in Switzerland
From BLOG@CACM

The Evolution of Computing Power in Switzerland

Milestones in the history of computing from the Swiss National Supercomputing Center, Lugano.  

The World's Most Magnificent Historical Calculating Machines
From BLOG@CACM

The World's Most Magnificent Historical Calculating Machines

The design of today's electronic computers is usually not very appealing, in contrast to magnificent mechanical calculating machines from earlier times.

The World's Most Magnificent Historical Automatons
From BLOG@CACM

The World's Most Magnificent Historical Automatons

Automatons are ubiquitous. Some of the most magnificent works in the genre have survived in museums.

How Do You Calculate on the Abacus?
From BLOG@CACM

How Do You Calculate on the Abacus?

Considering the use of one of the most long-lived calculating devices.

Discovery: User Manual of the Oldest Surviving Computer in the World
From BLOG@CACM

Discovery: User Manual of the Oldest Surviving Computer in the World

A rare find: the user manual of the oldest surviving computer in the world, the Zuse Z4 relay machine (1945).

The World's Largest Commercial Cylindrical Slide Rule has a Scale Length of 24m
From BLOG@CACM

The World's Largest Commercial Cylindrical Slide Rule has a Scale Length of 24m

The world's largest mass-produced cylindrical slide rules come from Loga-Calculator AG in Zurich/Uster, Switzerland.

Would There Be Computers Without Easter?
From BLOG@CACM

Would There Be Computers Without Easter?

Finding roots of computing in the computation of Easter.

Why Is There No Well-Known Swiss IT Industry?
From BLOG@CACM

Why Is There No Well-Known Swiss IT Industry?

Herbert Bruderer asks why no information technology industry emerged in Switzerland in the 1950s, despite the appearance of computers from several sources.

Calculating With Roman Numerals is Not So Difficult
From BLOG@CACM

Calculating With Roman Numerals is Not So Difficult

How to deal with Roman numerals and without a sign for zero in an additive number system, if no hand abacus is available?
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