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How quickly did the computer revolution reach the most remote Westernized country? Conventional history holds that the first modern computer in New Zealand—where "modern" means electronic, and with stored programs—was an IBM 650 leased from IBM Australia by the New Zealand Treasury in November 1960, and officially inaugurated in March 1961. This article discusses an alternative hypothesis—that the pioneer was in fact an ICT 1201 ordered in 1959 and installed by the New Zealand Department of Education a few months before the arrival of the IBM 650. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Font Wars were a decades-long competition in the computer industry for dominance in font technology, viewed as a key success factor for personal computing platforms. The Font Wars spurred innovative scientific research into the small, nearly subliminal forms of the printed letters on which modern civilization was based, yet which had received little scrutiny outside the printing trades. More than a business episode, the Font Wars were above all a manifestation and translation of ideas—some modern, some ancient, some theoretical, some practical—into computer software and hardware. At the heart of the Font Wars was a fundamental question: What is the best way to turn traditional printed letter forms into digital fonts for computer screens and printers? Answers to this question were researched, implemented, and launched into the marketplace, where their intense competition transformed the 500 year tradition of printing and publishing, placing the electronic literacy on the screens of billions of digital displays, computers, tablets, and smart phones around the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports on the Lighthill Affair. The Lighthill Report, which formed the basis for the decision by the British government to end support of AI research in all but two universities. (Oral tradition paints a somewhat different and more colorful picture, with political ambitions and personal animosities that cannot be put into print.)1 In this paper, I describe the affair, put in print some of the things hinted at here, and elaborate on the issues that have remained topical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this essay is to examine how a comfortable paradigm for explaining the spread of a major technology began cracking, shaken by new findings. I do this by, first, summarizing familiar explanations for the diffusion of computing, as much recently historical research still depends on it. Then I describe problems-cracks-appearing in these assumptions, followed by a proposed modification of how to view IT's diffusion-the why and how-an an update more in line with current historiography. The conclusion of this essay identifies implications for research on other technologies, especially those that emerged during the Second Industrial Revolution still unfolding, many of which are morphing into quasi-computers themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1960, CBS aired a special issue entitled "The Thinking Machine" which featured three Western playlets scripted by a computer programmed by MIT researchers. Almost 60 years later, two researchers at Autodesk used a computer program to help design a chair. In this article, I link these two seemingly discrete examples of computational creativity in order to highlight how digital fabrication technologies have served as an important test site for defining human and computational expertise. I do so by illustrating how concepts of "creativity" and "routine" were produced alongside the concepts of computational creativity during the development of digital fabrication. This dichotomy of "creative" and "routine" is not only used to determine the kinds of tasks that are appropriate for humans and computers to perform within the design and production process, but it is also used to render invisible the embodied craft knowledge required to substantiate these systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the beginning of the 1960s, several Western European computer firms faced financial issues and pressure from U.S. competitors. A series of negotiations attempted to create a consortium of European manufacturers, and while some of these had a positive outcome, in general they did not succeed; by 1964 IBM had more than a 60% share of the European computer market and General Electric acquired two of the most prominent companies in Europe. This case study examines negotiations during the years 1962–1964, focusing on contacts between U.K. manufacturers English Electric, LEO Computers, and ICT, and Italian Olivetti, French Bull, and German Siemens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this essay is to examine how a comfortable paradigm for explaining the spread of a major technology began cracking, shaken by new findings. I do this by, first, summarizing familiar explanations for the diffusion of computing, as much recently historical research still depends on it. Then I describe problems-cracks-appearing in these assumptions, followed by a proposed modification of how to view IT's diffusion the why and how an an update more in line with current historiography. The conclusion of this essay identifies implications for research on other technologies, especially those that emerged during the Second Industrial Revolution still unfolding, many of which are morphing into quasi-computers themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides several short items that may include news, reviews or technical notes that should be of interest to practitioners and researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to shed light on notable aspects of the history of computing in Greece, starting from 1920. We cover six areas, including the early days of computing in the country, the transition to the Internet era, the formation of a computer-related educational infrastructure, the evolution of data networks, and the growth of the software and hardware industry. In each area we highlight findings that involve the important role of women in this technological evolution, how the risks taken by particular individuals pushed the boundaries of the field, the slow pace of the universities at the early stages, and the key part of multinational technology companies and state-controlled banks. Apart from numerous reports and publications, our sources also include interviews with individuals who played a major part in the development of computing in Greece. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dame Stephanie (Steve) Shirley is one of Britains most celebrated IT pioneers, entrepreneurs, and philanthropists. In 1962, she founded a contract programming company exclusively for women, seeing untapped potential in the large numbers of educated women who had left work in order to raise children at home. Shirleys company grew rapidly and had a successful IPO in 1996. Since retiring, Shirley has spent her time supporting various IT-related causes and, most recently, organizations researching and providing services to those with autism. This edited interview is based on an oral history conducted by Marie Hicks, professor of history at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, on behalf of the Computer History Museum. The original transcript may be accessed here: www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102738707. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines corporate labor and gender relations in transatlantic perspective. It argues that the gendered communication of IBM’s Thomas Watson Sr. shaped labor relations in his company’s West German subsidiary. In the United States, Watson acted as a business progressive, expanding internationally, opening professional careers to young women, and implementing welfare capitalist measures. When IBM took tighter control of its foreign operations after World War II, Watson sought to implement welfare capitalist measures in the subsidiaries abroad. His wife Jeanette by his side, he presented himself as the caring “pater familias.” German IBM employees embraced Watson’s conservative rhetoric of the IBM family but continued to join national unions and formed a works council, thwarting the major welfare capitalist goal of averting labor organization. Against such local labor practices, gendered communication undergirded a loyal workforce even in critical situations, an overlooked factor contributing to the company’s success. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This is a biography of Anne-Louse Guichard Radimsky [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article analyzes the development of the German software company Software Aktiengesellschaft (AG), which was among the few European companies that succeeded in the US market already in the 1970s. Utilizing the concept of path creation, it examines how early success impacted the development of the company. It shows that at least two paths in the development, the focus on the Adaptable Database System (Adabas) product ecosystem and the underlying technology, as well as the strong internationalization, relate to the early success and influenced the further evolution of it. The analyses reveal that they played an important role in how the company reacted on to the rise of relational databases and the vertical disintegration of the computer industry. As a consequence of the late adoption, of them they company got into troubles and needed to adjust their profile and orientation during the 1990s and early 2000s, which is analyzed in the final part of the article. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The term "computer utility" has been perennially present in the history of computing, though a precise definition of the term has been fleeting, even when it first appeared in the Mid-1960s. The recent resurgence of interest in the remote provision of computing power has brought with it the historical jumble of definitions that make up that term, and "computer utility" is once again being applied to computer architectures though with little justification or exposition given regarding this use. This article attempts to determine whether past and present applications of the term share any commonalities and in doing so questions whether there has ever existed a true "computer utility." To do so, incarnations of the "computer utility" are examined in two time periods--the 1960s and the 1970s--during which time computer time-sharing enjoyed significant prosperity and now as cloud computing has become increasingly popular and prolific. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper examines the cultural climate faced by women in the American computer industry from the 1960s to the early 1980s, a period in which the percentage of the industry workforce that was female almost tripled. Drawing on a comprehensive study of articles and advertisements in the trade journal Datamation, sources from IBM, Control Data, and the Burroughs Corporation, and the records of the user group SHARE, Inc, the study argues that the cultural climate of the industry shifted radically in the early 1970s, from hostility in the 1960s to a more open one in the late 1970s and early 1980s. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Presents the recipient of the NEC Computers and Communications Foundation Award for 2018. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amiga technology came into being decades ago. The concepts (and some of the actual system components) had staying power despite the failure of the original manufacturer. Developers and users around the world continue to push and use Amiga derived and expanded technology. This is more than retrocomputing as a desire to simply reclaim past computing technology. This is an example of continued technology development by a community of invested users, a sort of consumer-led development. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article explores how Taiwanese laptop contract manufacturers established the foundation of their businesses between the late 1980s and mid-1990s. It casts doubt on the traditional view of a linear progression from manufacturing to design capability in Asia. By examining the three earliest laptop projects in Taiwan, however, this author shows that manufacturing was not necessarily simpler than design and how important these producers' design engineering capabilities were to attracting customers and establishing a solid foundation for their future development. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In 1981, videotex and virtual circuits were the hot computer network technologies and promised to bring the world to the masses. Amid a worldwide battle over standards, France started Minitel, which quickly became the first successful mass-market digital information-distribution ecosystem. In 1991, France Telecom launched the American version of Minitel, 101 Online, in San Francisco. 101 Online was as massive a failure as Minitel had been a success. This article reveals the previously undocumented history of the 101 Online ecosystem, suggests reasons why it failed where Minitel had succeeded, and draws lessons for the current policy debate on what information-network architecture and implementation best fosters digital innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article is the second in a two-part series exploring the development of the early history of information technologies, from the 1940s to the present. This article describes the evolving information infrastructure used by historians in support of their research on the history of computing and of the role of IT practitioners, computer executives, scientists, and universities in creating that support since the 1970s. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article gives, for the first time, a complete description of the machine developed around 1850 by Jean-Baptiste Schwilgué (1776-1856) for the mechanical computation of arithmetic sequences, of particular use in setting gear-cutting machines. The first part in a two-part series, this article describes the machine's historical context and structure. The second part will present the details behind its basic operations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article presents a brief history of how computing started and evolved in Mexico. From the first computer installed in 1958 to the present day, the authors analyze the role computer science has played in Mexico, looking at its limitations, opportunities, academic programs, government, and related industries as the motor of computer science development. They describe how research has gone from an approach centered only on applications development to the creation of research institutions granting advanced degrees and a growing community of researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Although Mexico has a common border with the United States, on account of its enduring inequities in distribution of wealth and often rickety economy, Mexico's technological advances have been a step behind. Nevertheless, Mexico has had quite a few interesting high-end technology locations that helped stimulate the acquisition and spread of computing knowledge. This article briefly describes how Mexican computing has evolved-depending significantly on developments in the US and often hindered by the Mexican politics that have led to long periods of economic crisis. In the 1990s, an international treaty helped boost the Mexican computer industry, although this relatively recent event still left Mexico far behind its neighbor to the north. The treaty made it easy to import computers into Mexico and to produce them in Mexico, and the economy became more stable over the following decades. In time, computing developments in Mexico started catching up with the US, coinciding with cheaper consumer electronics products, a good economy, high productivity, and globalization. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Since its demise in 1990, the technological-industrial policy for manufacturing computers in Brazil during the 1970s and 1980s has generally been regarded as a capital sin. People see the policy as having emerged from a spurious alliance between leftist and nationalist academics, bureaucrats, and the military and believe it provided nothing other than business opportunities for shrewd entrepreneurs. This article departs from this simplistic view and provides a new perspective on Brazil's computer market reserve policy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

At the end of 1960, Argentina began to incorporate its first computers and develop computing research projects and training programs. This early period overlapped with an renovation movement, and the most notable efforts to appropriate the new technology were initiated at the universities. Led by mathematician Manuel Sadosky, the most relevant contribution came from the Calculus Institute (Instituto de Cálculo, IC) at the University of Buenos Aires. From 1961 to 1966, equipped with a Ferranti Mercury computer, the IC went through a period of rapid growth, and it was fundamental to creating the first computer science degree program in Latin America. After the country's coup d'état in 1966, approximately 90 percent of IC's personnel resigned. Afterward, no institution could match its scientific and professional expertise nor equal its authority and leadership in the field, despite the modernizing rhetoric of the new authorities. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article is part of a two-part series exploring the development of the early history of information technologies, from the 1940s to the present. It argues that historians have developed this new field along the lines evident in other historical categories, evolving from accounts of machines and individuals to more complex historiographical issues involving research methods, institutions, groups, and whole nations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

These reminiscences relate to the period that Brian Randell spent between 1964 and 1966 first at IBM Research working on Project Y and then in the IBM Systems Development Division on the resulting ACS Project--then-secret projects that aimed to build a supercomputer that would be 100 times faster than Stretch. Randell's account is based in part on his memory, but also makes extensive use of the small set of files that he had retained, mainly relating to patent applications. A scanned copy of one of these files, the paper "Dynamic Instruction Scheduling," that he coauthored with Lynn Conway, Don Rozenberg, and Don Senzig in February 1966, is available as an online Web extra https://s3.amazonaws.com/ieeecs.cdn.csdl.public/mags/an/2015/03/man2015030055s.pdf and in Newcastle University's online archive at www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/publications/trs/papers/891.pdf. Because of space constraints just the initial three pages of this paper are included in the present article, which also includes the text from a section on "Interrupts" that was added to the 1969 IBM San Jose Technical Report version of the 1966 paper. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Academically trained as a historian and then hired as an IBM salesperson in the 1970s, James Cortada spent many years working to define the scope of the emerging history of computing field. As an IBM employee, Cortada began his writing career with almost exclusive access to the IBM Archives. This article describes his experiences with the IBM Archives, the archives of other major industry leaders (such as Burroughs and NCR), and the still active pioneers in the computer industry during this period. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Prolific, yet neglected inventor Andrew Vasily Haeff (1905-1990) made numerous contributions to vacuum tube art, including the traveling wave tube, the inductive-output tube, the electron-wave tube (or "double-stream" amplifier), the resistive wall tube, and many others. Haeff's contributions to computing history include his pioneering computer monitor technology, his high-speed electrostatic computer memory tube, and his early work in the display and storage of text and graphics. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The history of computing in India is inextricably intertwined with two interacting forces: the political climate (determined by the political party in power) and the government policies mainly driven by the technocrats and bureaucrats who acted within the boundaries drawn by the political party in power. There were four break points (which occurred in 1970, 1978, 1991 and 1998) that changed the direction of the development of computers and their applications. This article explains why these breaks occurred and how they affected the history of computing in India. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Computer pioneer Gordon Bell has been one of the industry's leading figures for nearly 50 years. A fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1994), American Association for the Advancement of Science (1983), ACM (1994), IEEE (1974), and Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (2009) and a member of the National Academy of Engineering (1977) and National Academy of Science (2007), Bell was also a founding board member of the Computer History Museum. This interview is based on an oral history conducted by Gardner Hendrie for the CHM in June 2005. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article looks at India's IT industry history in the 1970s and early 1980s by focusing on the development of an indigenous microcomputer by the Hindustan Computers Limited (HCL). After gaining independence in 1947, the Indian government embarked on a program that focused on economic development, albeit with a socialist theme and central planning. Indigenization was the prime objective. Some industries were more favored than others, and electronics and computers were initially neglected and hobbled by restrictive policies. Foreign companies were pressured to reduce foreign equity. By the late-1970s, government efforts to induce IBM to transfer equity had failed. The government responded by forcing IBM to leave India and by relaxing policies and permitting local companies to import parts and components to develop computers locally. As a result, many private companies entered the computer sector. HCL was born in 1976 and released its first commercial system in 1978. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Edward Feigenbaum, the recipient of the 2013 Pioneer Award, is one of the founders of the field of artificial intelligence and has been one of its leaders for more than 50 years. He became aware of the birth of AI when he was an undergraduate at Carnegie Tech (later, Carnegie Mellon University). Continuing to graduate school there, he was mentored by Herbert Simon, and he also collaborated with Allen Newell. His career has taken him from Carnegie to the University of California, Berkeley, Stanford University, RAND, and the Pentagon. Feigenbaum has also authored and coedited several seminal AI books: Computers and Thought (1963), The Fifth Generation (1983), and the four-volume Handbook of Artificial Intelligence (1980s). In this interview, David Alan Grier and Feigenbaum talk about his career, his mentor Herbert Simon, and the development of AI. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This Events & Sightings installment covers a range of recent events focusing on the history of computing. Mai Sugimoto recaps the "Making the History of Computing Relevant" conference held at the Science Museum in South Kensington, London, in June 2013. David Walden provides an update on IEEE Computer Society History Committee activities, including the re-release of J.A.N. Lee's classic book Computer Pioneers. Dag Spicer also reviews activities and developments at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California, over the last year. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Computer dealer demos, such as Boing Ball for the Commodore Amiga, were used to impress trade show audiences and retail customers. Dealer demos, such as those used by Commodore International, Atari, and Apple, illustrate how the home computer was socially constructed as a consumer commodity through the interdependent activities of software companies and user communities rather than simply through the marketing strategies of the hardware industry. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Comparisons between the early British and US computer industries invariably have focused on the differential development of the British Tabulating Machine Company (BTM) and IBM. In this article, the author seeks to refocus examination of BTM (and comparisons of it to IBM) within the context of an American competitor somewhat similar in size, customer base, and organizational capabilities in electronics to BTM: Burroughs Corporation. The cases of BTM and Burroughs demonstrate the complexity of coordinating international R&D joint ventures, the struggle to create advanced products in an emerging technology while preserving existing revenue streams, and the cultural and technical hurdles involved in assimilating R&D resources from acquisitions in a rapidly changing technologically based industry. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Until about 1970, programming languages and their compilers were perhaps the most active system software area. Because of its technical position at that time, IBM made significant contributions to this field. This retrospective concentrates on two languages, Algol 60 and PL/I, because with them compiler development reached an historical peak within IBM's European laboratories. The Boeblingen, Hursley, and La Gaude labs were involved in compiler projects for a period of 10 to 15 years. This article considers the development of programming in general, the author's experience, and the responsibility of the different laboratories. As a consequence of IBM's "unbundling"' decision in 1969, programming language activity within IBM's European laboratories decreased considerably, and other software activities were initiated. Some of the lessons learned at that time are still useful today. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Intel 4004 µ-Computer is the earliest known microprocessor-based hardware distributed by Intel. This article relates the information concerning the 4004 µ-Computer in an effort to gain a more complete historical perspective on the liminal period in the corporate history of Intel when, soon after the introduction of its first microprocessor, the company was wrestling with the "one-chip CPU--computer or component?" dilemma and tried to position itself in the emerging microcomputing market that it helped to create. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This Events and Sightings department article covers the opening reception at the Paul Allen's Living Computer Museum in Seattle, Washington, the Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan (IEEJ) technical meeting on the "History of Electrical Engineering," and recent events at the Information Processing Society of Japan (IPSJ) 75th national convention. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Computer industry pioneer and visionary cofounder (with his wife Adelle Tomash) of the Charles Babbage Foundation (CBF) and the Charles Babbage Institute (CBI), Erwin Tomash passed away on 10 December 2012. In the late 1940s, Tomash was an engineer at Engineering Research Associates (ERA), one of two firms that launched the US computer industry. He later founded and led Dataproducts Corporation, a Fortune 500 computer peripherals and core memory firm. Erwin and Adelle Tomash's insights and generosity in founding, supporting, and advising CBF and CBI have had a profound and continuing impact on the infrastructure for research and publication of scholarship on computer and software history. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This history of Informix is told from the founder's point of view and his personal experience. He talks about the Silicon Valley of the late 1970s, the "fire in the valley" days, and the feeling that history was going to be made and that computer scientists would be playing a major role in these changes. The relational database revolution, the flourishing success of the PC packaged software industry, and the Unix server victories are the backdrop for this story. Like all stories about a young company, it is about people and what drives entrepreneurs to take oversized chances and accept the risks involved. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Rick Bennett was Oracle's one-man ad agency from 1984 to 1990 as it grew from $15 million to $1 billion in sales. Bennett chronicles the company's approach to advertising, some of its more successful and controversial ads, and his experiences working personally with Larry Ellison. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

One of the cofounders of Sybase tells about the birth of the company in 1984 and its strategy for entering what appeared to be a crowded marketplace. The article discusses how they were able to raise the funding needed. It tracks the technical development of the initial product that supported Sun and DEC computers and was rapidly accepted by the Wall Street community. The technical advantages of Sybase are described along with its marketing thrust to compete with Oracle. It covers the business relationship with Microsoft and Ashton-Tate and how the product performed in benchmarking tests. The problems with acquisitions, growth, and competition are described. It concludes with the changes in management and the company's acquisition by SAP. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article tells the story of Oracle from 1984 through 2001, primarily through the author's experiences during those years. Andrew Mendelsohn worked on the software development team that built the Oracle relational database management system (RDBMS). During this time, Oracle went from being a small niche software company to becoming one of the giants in the software industry. Although many observers believe Oracle's strong marketing and sales organizations were the primary reasons for its success during this time, Mendelsohn argues that Oracle's success was also due to its highly innovative RDBMS product that was strongly differentiated from its competitors. This article traces the development of the Oracle RDBMS through the mainframe, minicomputer, client-server, and Internet computing eras. It calls out the key competitors at each stage and the key product innovations that allowed Oracle to compete so successfully in the market. Finally, this article also provides insight into the workings of the overall Oracle business and culture. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This account of the evolution of time-shared microcomputers, often overlooked members of the microcomputer industry, looks at articles and advertisements that appeared in Byte magazine from 1977 to 1983. The author's quantitative and qualitative analysis reveals that time-shared microcomputers attempted to combine the best aspects of microcomputer and mini-computer/mainframe technologies and, for a time, were a considerable, important part of the microcomputer industry. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article presents an exploration of the corporate culture of the domestic U.S. computer industry in its first decades, highlighting the political and social contexts which drove the industry in the 1950s and 1960s. Several characteristics of the early computer industry are highlighted, including its near exclusive focus on government business, its support of liberal politics, and a dominant management ideology of paternalism which avoided unionization. Comments are given discussing how these elements formulated and exemplified a distinctly American capitalist mentality which persisted into the 1970s.

The article presents an introduction to the April 2010 issue, discussing the concepts of American influence on the European computer industry during the second half of the 20th-century and providing overviews of the contributions by David Nofre, Ksenia Tatarchenko, and Simon Donig.

The article presents an account of the first Czechoslovakian computer, designed and built by Antonín Svoboda in the 1950s. Details are given profiling Svoboda and his career in computer science leading up to the Cold War, his contributions to the Samočinný počítač (SAPO) project, and discussion the intersection of the first Czechoslovakian computer and the politics of the Cold War. An overview of the project's history throughout the 1950s is given, focusing on the influence of the Soviet Union on its development and the conflicts which emerged with Svoboda because of it.

The article presents discussion concerning the history of the computer industry in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and its influence from U.S. companies and computing models during the 1960s. Introductory comments are given noting the paradox of the GDR's technological relationship with the U.S. during the height of the Cold War. Discussion is also given highlighting the GDR's political efforts to appropriate Western technology and industrial accomplishments while still maintaining their ideological rejection of its capitalist system.

The article presents an exploration into the pan-European efforts to develop an industrial policy during the late 1960s and early 1970s to foster European competitiveness in the informatics and computing sectors. Focus is given to the various efforts of the European Community Commission during the period, noting multiple failed initiatives before the mid 1970s. Discussion is then given analyzing why a unified policy could not be formed at the time, pointing to individual member states and their reluctance to release economic influences on the market.