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SUMMARY:Inventing the User:  EDSAC in context - Professor David Barron\, E
 meritus Professor of the University of Southampton\,  Dr Doron Swade MBE\,
  formerly Senior Curator of  Computing\, Science Museum\, and Professor Si
 r Maurice Wilkes
DTSTART:20090506T140000Z
DTEND:20090506T160000Z
UID:TALK17249@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Mateja Jamnik
DESCRIPTION:This seminar commemorates EDSAC (Electronic Delay Storage Auto
 matic Calculator)\, the first usable stored-program computer\, built at th
 e University Mathematical Laboratory\, Cambridge. EDSAC ran its first prog
 ram on 6 May 1949 and the seminar is held\, to the day\, on the 60th anniv
 ersary of this event. The EDSAC team pioneered fundamental techniques in p
 rogramming and hardware design\, provided the first successful university 
 computing service\, and defined a new class of user. EDSAC used vacuum-tub
 e logic and acoustic delay line memory. Its development was a remarkable a
 chievement of management\, design and technique\, and the team's expertise
  seeded an influential movement in post-war electronic computing. Professo
 r Sir Maurice Wilkes\, who was the driving force behind EDSAC and its prin
 cipal designer\, will offer personal reflections on his work. David Barron
  will describe the experiences of a typical early user and cover the suppo
 rt facilities and the technical features of the machine. Doron Swade will 
 place the machine in historical context.  
LOCATION:Lecture Theatre 1\, Computer Laboratory
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