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Published in:
2020 | OriginalPaper | Chapter
23. Computer Development in Switzerland
Author : Herbert Bruderer
Published in: Milestones in Analog and Digital Computing
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
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Abstract
As the chapter “Computer Development in Switzerland” depicts, the history of computer science in Switzerland began with the founding of the Institute for Applied Mathematics at the ETH Zurich. Important was the leasing of the program-controlled Zuse Z4 relay computing machine. Much of the chapter is devoted to the relationship with Zuse. Formidable problems arose with the construction of the Ermeth electronic computer, especially with the magnetic drum memory. The author attempts to answer the question “why did a Swiss computer industry fail to emerge in the 1950s?” Remington Rand (Zurich) contracted the Zuse KG to mass produce the M9 calculating punch. The chapter also touches on the development of the first Swiss transistor computer, the Cora. Finally, the most important early Swiss computer pioneer, Heinz Rutishauser, is briefly introduced.