În anul 2015, Vasile Baltac, Horia Gligor publică articolul Some Key Aspects in the History of Computers in Romania.
Abstract
Computers in Eastern Europe were built in the 1950-1960s not very long after the first computers launched in USA and Western Europe. The paper presents a chronology of Eastern European first generation of computers compared with the chronology of Western first generation computers.
The first Romanian computers are described: CIFA-1 (1957) in Bucharest, MECIPT-1 (1961) in Timisoara, DACICC-1 (1962) in Cluj-Napoca. The role of Academician Grigore C. Moisil, a great mentor of all teams, is presented. Cases of international cooperation among Western and Eastern countries and among Eastern countries are presented, e. g. Prof. Sir Maurice Wilkes, FRS, from Cambridge University, the father of microprogramming, Romanian scientist Grigore C. Moisil who brought to Romania several famous Russian professors, Timisoara team and a the Hungarian Academy Institute. Victor Toma supported the creation of Vitosha, the first Bulgarian computer (1963). His role was recognized by his election as Honorary Member of the Bulgarian Academy in 2008. The first generation of computers were followed by a series of second generation transistorized computers CET -500 (Victor Toma 1963), MECIPT-2 (Lowenfeld, Kaufman, Baltac – 1963), DACICC-200 (Muntean, Farkas, Bocu 1964). In the 1965-1966 the Romanian government recognized the need of a computer industry. All research teams were assembled in a powerful R&D Institute for Computers. A license from CII-France was acquired to produce IRIS-50, a computer renamed in Romania as FELIX C-256. The license was given by decision of General De Gaulle in infringement of embargo of USA for such a technology. Factories were built and a computer industry was born in the 1970s. The institute first enlarged the FELIX family with two additional members and further developed a minicomputer family named INDEPENDENT I-100 to celebrate 1977, the year of the first centenary of Romanian Independence. A joint venture with Control Date Corporation – USA, then a powerful IT corporation was set up in Bucharest, manufacturing modern peripherals. A software industry emerged as well. Other countries in Eastern Europe decided to build a unified series of computers Ryad (EC EVM) and further Mini EVM (SM EVM). The reasons of Romania not participation at Ryad, but actively joining SM EVM are recalled. The paper reviews the link between political decisions and computer industry development and traces roots of the present IT development in the past. A case of professional restoration (MECIPT-1) is presented.
Referințe
- Vasile Baltac, Horia Gligor: Some Key Aspects in the History of Computers in Romania (arhivat de la academia.edu)
