Mailüfterl

Mailüfterl is the nickname of the first fully transistorized computer working on the European continent. The official designation was full of decimal binary transistor computing machine. The first computer of its kind worldwide were the Tradic and the TX -0.

The Mailüfterl was built at the Vienna University of Heinz Zemanek 1955. The builder plays in a quote on the intended in the United States in Operation tube computer to: "If it can not achieve the rapid computational speed of American models, whirlwind 'or' typhoon ' hot, so it is but for a Viennese, Mailüfterl ' rich. "

The computer consists of 3000 transistors, 5000 diodes, 1,000 -mount plate, 100,000 solder joints, 15,000 resistors, capacitors 5000 and 20,000 meters of jumper wire. With a weight of around 500 kilograms and a width of 4 meters, a height of 2.5 meters and a depth of 50 centimeters, the system was relatively small compared to the contemporary tube computers. The Mailüfterl had a considerable time clock frequency of 132 kHz.

Zemanek said later about his project, be it a semi- illegal endeavor was a small college assistant, he realized without official authorization and therefore also without any financial support from the university with a group of students. He traveled in 1954 to Philips to Holland to auditioning for a donation. The quantity of 1,000 transistors and their application were difficult to convey just seven years after the invention of the transistor.

Zemanek but nevertheless received a commitment for 1000 rather slow hearing aid transistors and finally got Philips a total of 4,000 high-quality transistors ( only four were broken, they were believed to have been damaged during soldering).

After the construction of the hardware, the group from 1958 to 1961 was devoted to the programming. On May 27, 1958, the Mailüfterl calculated in 66 minutes, the prime 5073548 261 Due to long calculation times, the technicians had the main accumulator coupled to a telephone, thus they could from home determine whether the device is still expected.

1961 IBM offered to the computer pioneer, establishing a laboratory in Vienna, after which Zemanek moved the entire group to the Group. IBM bought the State from the Mailüfterl, to put it to the laboratory, the Zemanek board until 1976, are available. IBM looked at the computer from 1966 and handed it over in 1973 the Technical Museum Vienna.

On October 1, 2013 Google published a blog a video to honor this project.