Konrad Zuse and the Development of Early Computers

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the work of Konrad Zuse who invented the world's first functional program-controlled computer. It explains how Zuse built his first prototype computer in 1936-38 using small metal plates as the key components, calling it the Z1. The paper also examines Zuse's remarkable advances in computer science and explains the development of each computer - from the Z1 to the Z4. Additionally, the paper looks at Konrad Zuse's company, Zuse KG.

From the Paper:

"In the twenty first century, computers are so ubiquitous that it requires serious thought to envision the pre-computer world, or to realize the difficulties faced in developing the first computers. One of those responsible for several key early developments in computers has left us his first computer. Considering this crude device and reviewing the difficulties involved with that machine and its successor machines, we can perhaps grasp the obstacles early computer developers faced."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bauer, Friedrich. "Between Zuse and Rutishauser -- The Early Development of Digital Computing in Central Europe," in Metropolis, N., J. Howlett & Rota Gian-Carlo, eds, A History of Computing in the Twentieth Century (Orlando, Florida: Academic Press, Inc., 1980).
• Ifrah, Georges. The Universal History of Computing. (New York, New York: J. W. Wiley & Sons. Inc., 2001).
• Lee, J.A.N. "Konrad Zuse." Created September 4, 1990, accessed November 26, 2006. Available at <http://ei.cs.vt.edu/~history/Zuse.html1994>. Internet.
• Randell, B. "The COLOSSUS," in Metropolis, N., J. Howlett & Rota Gian-Carlo, eds, A History of Computing in the Twentieth Century (Orlando, Florida: Academic Press, Inc., 1980).
• Shurkin, Joel. Engines of the Mind: A History of the Computer. (New York, New York: W. W. Norton Company, 1984).

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