On June 23, 1970, the SRF programme Antenne reported on the installation of a new large-scale computer system in the purpose-built computing centre of ETH Zurich.
In 1970, ETH Zurich purchased a new computing system for 30 million Swiss francs. It consisted of the two mainframe computers CDC 6400 and CDC 6500, counted among the first commercially available supercomputers. Today, the 60-ton duo that the manufacturer Control Data Corporation (CDC) flew in straight from California is outperformed by a 50-gram smartwatch. Back in the day, they offered cutting-edge performance, which ETH Zurich utilised for the next eighteen years in research, teaching and administration.
The CDC 6500/6400 became even more useful when Niklaus Wirth and his co-workers developed the multi-access system VENUS, which allowed the users - often computer science researchers - to execute small calculations on the supercomputer without interfering with the larger jobs.
Just in time for the acquisition of the supercomputers, the new computer centre building (RZ) on Clausiusstrasse was also completed. On June 23, the regional television programme Antenne showed the complex structure of the new mainframe computer, explained how the CDC colossus was networked with other computers, and addressed concerns of the public:
40 years D-INFK
In 1981, the computer science curriculum was introduced at ETH Zurich. At the same time, the IIIC division was established, which was the foundation for today's Department of Computer Science. On the occasion of its 40th anniversary, we present people and stories that have influenced the department over the past four decades.