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Early Computing in Britain Ferranti Ltd. and Government Funding, 1948 - 1958

:	Simon Lavington
:	Early Computing in Britain Ferranti Ltd. and Government Funding, 1948 - 1958
:	Springer-Verlag
:	9783030151034
:	1
:	CHF 38.00
:

:	Allgemeines, Lexika
:	English

:	397
:	Wasserzeichen/DRM
:	PC/MAC/eReader/Tablet
:	PDF

This unique book presents the story of the pioneering manufacturing company Ferranti Ltd. - producer of the first commercially-available computers - and of the nine end-user organisations who purchased these machines with government help in the period 1951 to 1957. The text presents personal reminiscences from many of the diverse engineers, programmers and marketing staff who contributed to this important episode in the emergence of modern computers, further illustrated by numerous historical photographs. Considerable technical details are also supplied in the appendices.

Topics and features: provides the historical background to the Ferranti Mark I, including the contributions of von Neumann and Turing, and the prototype known as The Baby; describes the transfer of technologies from academia to industry and the establishment of Ferranti's computer production resources; reviews Ferranti's efforts to adapt their computers for sale to business and commercial markets, and to introduce competitive new products; covers the use of early Ferranti computers for defence applications in different government establishments in the UK, including GCHQ Cheltenham; discusses the installation and applications of Ferranti computers at universities in the UK, Canada, and Italy; presents the story of the purchase of a Ferranti Mark I* machine by the Amsterdam Laboratories of the Shell company; details the use of Ferranti Mark I* computers in the UK's aerospace industry and compares this with the American scene; relates the saga of Ferranti's journey from its initial success as the first and largest British computer manufacturer to its decline and eventual bankruptcy.

This highly readable text/reference will greatly appeal to professionals interested in the practical development of early computers, as well as to specialists in computer history seeking technical material not readily available elsewhere. The educated general reader will also find much to enjoy in the photographs and personal anecdotes that provide an accessible insight into the early days of computing.

Simon Lavington is Emeritus Professor of Computer Science at the University of Essex, UK. His other publications include the Springer title Moving Targets: Elliott-Automation and the Dawn of the Computer Age in Britain, 1947 - 67.

	Preface and Introduction	6
	A Reader s Guide	8
	Acknowledgements	10
	Contents	11
	1 The Small Seeds of Innovation	16
	1.1 Post-war Britain	16
	1.2 Old-Style Computing	17
	1.3 Ferranti Ltd. in the UK s Industrial Context	19
	1.4 Ferranti: A Powerhouse of the Northwest	22
	1.5 A Baby Is Born	24
	1.6 The Amazingly Brief MOS Contract	29
	1.7 The Wider Context	33
	References	33
	2 Academic/Industrial Collaboration: From Chorlton-on-Medlock to Moston, and Back	35
	2.1 The University Waits: People and Places	35
	2.2 The Moston Team Gets to Work	40
	2.3 The New Computing Machine Laboratory	45
	2.4 The Giant Arrives	46
	2.5 The Laboratory Prepares for Serious Users	50
	2.6 External Users Arrive	52
	2.7 Applications in Science, Engineering and Commerce	55
	2.8 Music, Games and Romance	57
	2.9 Getting Serious	61
	References	62
	3 Canada Calling: Toronto Gets a Mark I	63
	3.1 The Ministry of Supply Needs Some Computers	63
	3.2 The Canadian Computing Scene	65
	3.3 UTEC: Toronto s Home-Grown Computer	68
	3.4 Toronto Orders a Ferranti Computer	70
	3.5 FERUT s Sea Voyage from Manchester to Toronto	73
	3.6 Continuing Links with Manchester	76
	3.7 The Saint Lawrence Seaway Calculations	78
	3.8 FERUT in Action	80
	3.9 The End of FERUT	83
	References	84
	4 A Star Is Born: Ideas and Upgrades	86
	4.1 The Tin Hut	86
	4.2 John Bennett Calls for Change	91
	4.3 Reactions from Chorlton-on-Medlock and Cheltenham	92
	4.4 Christopher Strachey s Rocket	94
	4.5 Moston s Star Twinkles	97
	4.6 London s Star: A Different Galaxy	100
	References	106
	5 Into the Market	107
	5.1 The Players and the Stage	108
	5.2 Indecisions and the Three MOS Installations	110
	5.3 The Wider Market: NRDC s Encouragement	111
	5.4 The Dutch and the Italians Come Calling	115
	5.5 The Competition	117
	5.6 Ferranti s Aerospace Sales Efforts	120
	5.7 Commercial Data-Processing	124
	5.8 The Drift Away from Moston	129
	References	133
	6 The AVRO Mark I* Installation at Chadderton	134
	6.1 A. V. Roe at Chadderton, Manchester	134
	6.2 Avro s Computing Environment, Digital and Analogue	135
	6.3 Personal Anecdotes of Computing at Chadderton	138
	6.4 The Silent Slave	143
	6.5 System Software and Applications Programs	145
	6.6 The End of the Ferranti Mark I* at Avro	146
	6.7 What came next at Chadderton and Woodford?	151
	References	153
	7 The Mark I* at Armstrong Siddeley, Ansty, Coventry	154
	7.1 Reluctance at Armstrong Siddeley Motors	154
	7.2 Enthusiasm Grows	155
	7.3 Installation and Maintenance	157
	7.4 The Programmers at Armstrong Siddeley	161
	7.5 Integrating Computing Within the Company s Activities	163
	7.6 Applications	164
	7.7 Acquiring a Second Mark I*	166
	7.8 What Came Next?	168
	References	170
	8 The Ferranti Mark I* Installation in Amsterdam	171
	8.1 KSLA, the Shell Company s Laboratories in Amsterdam	171
	8.2 Shell s Search for a Digital Computer	172
	8.3 The MIRACLE Arrives	175
	8.4 MIRACLE Gets to Work and Expands	180
	8.5 Lidy s Story	185
	8.6 The End of MIRACLE and What Followed	189
	References	192
	9 The Ferranti Mark I* Installation in Rome	193
	9.1 The Italian Scenario	193
	9.2 INAC and FINAC in Rome	194
	9.3 FINAC at Work	200
	9.4 The Wider Picture	206
	9.5 How Did It All End?	207
	References	209
	10 GCHQ Cheltenham s Mark I*	210
	10.1 US and UK SIGINT at the Start of the Cold War	210
	10.2 The Possibilities of General-Purpose Computers	212
	10.3 Comparing ATLAS and ABNER with the Ferranti Mark I*	216
	10.3.1 The ERA ATLAS Project	216
	10.3.2 The ASA ABNER Project	217
	10.3.3 Technical Comparisons of the Three Computers	219
	10.4 GCHQ s Links with UK Industry, Especially Ferranti Ltd	221
	10.5 Delivery of CLEOPATRA, GCHQ s Ferranti Mark I*	224
	10.6 The Possible Applications of CLEOPATRA	227
	10.7 Comparative Rates of Computation: Oedipus	230
	10.8 What Followed CLEOPATRA at Cheltenham?	231
	References	232
	11 The Mark I* at the Armaments Research Development Establishment, Fort Halstead	234
	11.1 Armaments Research, Pre-war and Post-war	234
	11.2 Arranging the Purchase of a Computer for Fort Halstead	235
	11.3 Installation of AMOS	Early Computing Activity
	11.4 The Maturing Applications of AMOS	239
	11.5 COSMOS, A Compatible Successor to AMOS	241
	11.6 Into the 1980s	245
	References	246
	12 The Mark I* at the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment, Aldermaston	247
	12.1 Preparing for the UK s Nuclear Deterrent	247
	12.2 Aldermaston Acquires a Mark I*	248
	12.3 The End of the Mark I* at Aldermaston	252
	12.4 What Came Next? the Supercomputer Race	252
	12.5 Software Activity at AWRE	254
	References	257
	13 What Came Next?	258
	13.1 The New Life at Dover Street	258
	13.2 The Computer Becomes User-Friend