Ferranti Mark I
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The Ferranti Mark I was the first commercially available general-purpose computer, with the first machine delivered in February 1951, just beating the UNIVAC I. The machine was built by Ferranti of the United Kingdom. It was based on the Manchester Mark I, which was designed at the University of Manchester by Freddie Williams and Tom Kilburn. The Manchester Mark I effectively served as a prototype for the Ferranti Mark I; the main improvements over it were in the size of the primary storage and secondary storage, a faster multiplier, and additional instructions.
After the first two machines were delivered (to the University of Manchester and the University of Toronto), a revised version of the design began being delivered. This was known as the Ferranti Mark I* or the Ferranti Star. The revisions mainly cleaned up the instruction set for better usability. At least seven of these machines were delivered from 1951 to 1957.
External Links
- Ferranti Mark I at Computer50 (http://www.computer50.org/mark1/FM1.html)
- Who Made the First Computer? (http://www.dai.ed.ac.uk/homes/cam/fcomp.shtml)