Beginnings: 1940-1950DefenseEngineering/ScienceBusinessCommercialization: 1950-1960Buyouts: 1960-1970End of an Era: 1970-1980UnidataMinisConclusionsMotivation for Developing Computing TechnologyBarriers due to English-based Programming LanguagesEffect of Patent LawsAttitude Towards Sharing Technology with Other CountriesEffect of the Cold WarTime OutlinePolitical Climate 1945 – 1960Political Climate 1960 – 1989Economical model 1947 – 1989Intellectual PropertyEconomical AssistanceCold War ImpactPoland1948-19591960-19671968 – 19801981 – 1989EducationRomania1960 – 19701976-19851986-1989Bulgaria1945-19601961-19751976 – 19851986 -1989EducationYugoslavia1945-19601961- 19801981 – 1989EducationHungary1945-19671968-1989EducationCzechoslovakia:1945–19601961-19801981 – 1989EducationAlbania1945-1989ConclusionMechanical calculating devicesAbacus (mid 17th century)The summing machine (not later than 1770)Slonimsky theorem and simple computing device made on its basis (before 1843)Kummer’s counter (1846)Oddner Adding machine (1873)FELIX (1931)KCM-1 (1935)SAM-1 (1935)Electronic computersFirst generation machines (electron valve computers) - 1950sMESM (1950)M-1 (1951)BESM-1 (1952)STRELA (1953)DIANA-1, DIANA-2 (1952 - 1955)URAL-1 (1955)M-3 (1956)KIEV (1957)BESM-2 (1958)M-20 (1958)RAZDAN (1958)SETUN (1959)URAL-2, URAL-3, URAL-4 (1959-1961)MINSK-1, MINSK-11, MINSK-12 (1960-1962)Programming in the USSR. The association of M-20 Users and Three ALGOL CompilersSecond generation machines (transistor based computers) - early 1960sRAZDAN-2 (1961)DNEPR (1961)MINSK-2 (1963), MINSK-22 (1964) (MINSK series)BESM-4 (1962)M-220 (1965)URAL-11, URAL-14 (1965), URAL-16 (1967)BESM-6 (1966)MIR-1, MIR-2 (1968-1969)Third generation machines (small and medium integrated circuits) - late 1960s/1970sNAIRI-3 (1970)ES-1 (1972), ES-2 (1977)Fourth generation machines (big integrated circuits) - 1980sELBRUS-1 (1978), ELBRUS-2, ELBRUS-3 (1990s)ConclusionsMotivation for Developing Computing TechnologyBarriers due to English-based Programming LanguagesEffect of Patent LawsAttitude Towards Sharing Technology with Other CountriesEffect of the Cold WarHistorical OverviewEffects of Cultural Revolution on Computing TechnologySelf-reliance and development of technologyProgramming issuesForeign trade hurdlesConclusionsMotivation for Developing Computing TechnologyBarriers due to English-based Programming LanguagesEffect of Patent LawsAttitude Towards Sharing Technology with Other CountriesEffect of the Cold WarDevelopment of Computing Technology, 1950-1980sBarriers due to English-based Programming LanguagesEffect of Patent LawsAttitude Towards Sharing Technology with Other CountriesEffect of the Cold WarDevelopment of Computing Technology, 1950-1980sBarriers due to English-based Programming LanguagesEffect of Patent LawsAttitude Towards Sharing Technology with Other CountriesEffect of the Cold WarReferencesWestern EuropeEastern EuropePolandRomaniaBulgariaYugoslaviaHungaryCzechoslovakiaRussia and former USSRChinaMexico and Central and South AmericaHistory of Computing AbroadExamination of the development of computing outside the United StatesBy: Mark McCasey, Ovidiu Elenes, Gani Nazirov, Jerry Fu, John OrdunezThis paper examines the development of computing outside the United States, from the period ofthe 1950s to the 1980s. While the course material has largely focused on the history of computing in the United States, this paper seeks to examine how computing developed in other parts of the world, and examine the factors that led to development unfolding how it did. The five regions or countries of the world that we are examining are Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Russia and the former USSR, China, and Mexico and Central and South America. For each are, we have developed a timeline of significant computing events in the region, and if relevant, presented this against a backdrop of political and social events in that country. The fivequestions that we strive to answer for each area are the following:1. What factors contributed to the region's ability or desire (or lack thereof) to develop computing technology? 2. Did the fact that higher level programming languages were English-based impede their adoption in non-English speaking societies?3. What was the patent law in the region like, and what issues arose as a result of the prevailing laws?4. What was the general political attitude towards sharing technology with other countries?5. How did the Cold War affect developments in the region? Computing in Western Europe Beginnings: 1940-1950Early computing in Western Europe was driven by three primary influences: defense, engineering/science, and business. DefenseAs digital electronic computing was coming of age in the midst of World War II, it was inevitable that military applications would be a key driver of its development. In the United Kingdom, the strategic war importance of computing was keenly understood. In February, 1944 the first totally electronic computing device, the Colossus Mark I, became operational at Bletchley Park. The Colossus was designed to assist in the cryptanalysis of high-level German communications. Ten Colossus machines would be constructed and put to use before the War’s end in 1949.Other fields of defense activity involving digital techniques were the tracking and telemetry problems associated with guided weapons. The principal stored-program computerdevelopment here was the British MOSAIC (Ministry of Supply Automatic Integrator and Computer) project, which was implemented between 1947 and 1954. Parts of the MOSAIC project are still secret, but it was known to have been used for processing radar tracking data in experiments on aircraft. Also produced during this time period for similar purposes was the British Telecommunications Research Establishment TREAC system, one of the first parallel computers ever built.Further research in the areas of digital cryptanalysis and radar telemetry certainly continued after this time, though details are scarce. The mere existence of the Colossus was kept classified until 1976. Due to this relative secrecy, defense-related developments in computing were unable to significantly impact the design of general-purpose stored-program computers in the coming years. One notable counter-example to this came from the first British company to become seriously involved with digital computer technology: Elliot Brothers. During the War, Elliot Brothers had been
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