,FACIT ,,EDB WAS A ,SWEDISH VACUUM-TUBE MAINFRAME A LICENSED1 IMPROVED COPY OF THE STATE-DESIGNED ,,BESK COMPUTER MANUFACTURED BY THE OFFICE-MACHINERY GIANT TVIDABERGS ,INDUSTRIER "<,FACIT"> BEGINNING IN #AIEG4 ,NINE WERE BUILT1 AND THE MACHINE BECAME ,SWEDEN'S FIRST TRULY COMMERCIAL COMPUTER3 SOLD AS PRODUCTS AND RENTED BY THE HOUR AT ,FACIT SERVICE BUREAUS IN ,STOCKHOLM1 ,GOTHENBURG1 AND ;,DSSELDORF4 ,ITS STORY IS ALSO A CORPORATE CAUTIONARY TALE THE STATE LABORATORY'S ENGINEERS DEFECTED TO PRIVATE INDUSTRY1 BUILT A SUCCESSFUL MACHINE1 AND THEN WATCHED ,,IBM TAKE THE MARKET OUT FROM UNDER THEM WITHIN FIVE YEARS4 ,BACKGROUND3 AN OFFICE EMPIRE AND A STATE LAB ,FACIT " WAS ONE OF ,SWEDEN'S GREAT INDUSTRIAL NAMES A WORLD-SCALE MANUFACTURER OF MECHANICAL CALCULATORS1 TYPEWRITERS1 AND OFFICE MACHINES4 ,FROM #AIEC IT WATCHED THE WORK OF ,MATEMATIKMASKINNMNDEN "<,,MMN THE ,SWEDISH ,BOARD FOR ,COMPUTING ,MACHINERY">1 THE STATE BODY THAT HAD BUILT ,,BESK "<,BIN;R ,ELEKTRONISK ,SEKVENS,KALKYLATOR1 #AIEC">1 THEN ONE OF THE WORLD'S FASTEST COMPUTERS AN ,,IAS-ARCHITECTURE MACHINE OF VACUUM TUBES DEVELOPED UNDER CHIEF DESIGNER ,ERIK ,STEMME4 ,THE TROUBLE WAS STRUCTURAL3 ,,MMN WAS A GOVERNMENT BOARD1 AND THE STATE WAS UNWILLING TO FUND A ,,BESK SUCCESSOR4 ,IN ,MAY #AIEE1 ,GUNNAR ,SUNDBLAD ,,CEO OF THE ,IGGESUND FORESTRY COMPANY WARNED ,FACIT'S CHIEF EXECUTIVE ,ROLF ,DENCKER THAT ,,MMN RISKED DISSOLUTION1 AND PROPOSED THAT ,FACIT1 ,SAAB1 ,BOLIDEN1 AND ,,ASEA FORM A JOINT FOUNDATION TO KEEP ITS ENGINEERS EMPLOYED4 ,FACIT'S BOARD DECLINED THE CONSORTIUM4 ,ON #AB ,DECEMBER #AIEE IT CHOSE A SHARPER OPTION3 HIRE THE PEOPLE ITSELF4 ,THE 8,,BESK BOYS0 ,FROM LATE #AIEE THROUGH #AIEF ,FACIT RECRUITED EIGHTEEN MEMBERS OF THE ,,MMN TEAM INTERNALLY NICKNAMED 8THE ,,BESK BOYS0 MOST IMPORTANTLY ,,BESK'S CHIEF DESIGNER ,ERIK ,STEMME1 WHOM ,SAAB WAS SIMULTANEOUSLY TRYING TO HIRE "<,SAAB'S LOSS BECAME ,DATASAAB'S GAIN IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION1 AS IT BUILT ITS OWN LINE INSTEAD">4 ,THE TRANSFER OF STATE PERSONNEL TO PRIVATE INDUSTRY WAS BLESSED AT CABINET LEVEL3 FINANCE MINISTER ,GUNNAR ,STRNG APPROVED IT1 HOLDING THAT COMPUTER MANUFACTURING WAS NOT THE GOVERNMENT'S BUSINESS4 ,THE ENGINEERS JOINED ,FACIT'S ELECTRONICS DEPARTMENT UNDER ,BERTIL ,NYSTRMER AND RATHER THAN RELOCATE TO THE TVIDABERG HEADQUARTERS1 THEY STAYED IN ,STOCKHOLM1 IN PREMISES ON ,JUNGFRUGATAN1 SO THE TEAM WOULD NOT HAVE TO MOVE4 ,STEMME AND ,NYSTRMER TOOK A STUDY TRIP TO THE ,UNITED ,STATES IN SPRING #AIEF4 ,THE MACHINE ,FACIT BOUGHT THE ,,BESK DRAWINGS IN #AIEF1 AND THE FIRST COPY WAS INAUGURATED IN ,OCTOBER #AIEG AS ,FACIT ,,EDB ,,EDB FOR ELEKTRONISK DATABEHANDLING1 8ELECTRONIC DATA PROCESSING40 ,IT WAS THE FIRST FULLY ,SWEDISH SERIES-PRODUCTION COMPUTER4 ,THE COPY IMPROVED ON THE ORIGINAL3 DOUBLE ,,BESK'S CORE MEMORY1 AND FROM #AIEH ,FACIT'S OWN ,,ECM #FD CAROUSEL MEMORY AN ADVANCED MAGNETIC-TAPE STORE IN WHICH CARTRIDGES WERE MECHANICALLY SWAPPED INTO THE READ POSITION1 CUTTING DATA-ACCESS TIME DRAMATICALLY OVER CONVENTIONAL TAPE4 . ,THE FIRST MACHINE WAS INSTALLED AS A SERVICE COMPUTER AT TVIDABERG'S SERVICE CENTRAL ON ,KARLAVGEN1 ,STOCKHOLM3 CUSTOMERS BROUGHT PROGRAMS AND PAID BY THE HOUR ONE OF ,EUROPE'S EARLIEST COMPUTING SERVICE BUREAUS4 ,DEMAND WAS HEAVY1 METEOROLOGICAL CALCULATION PROMINENT AMONG IT4 ,ARCHITECTURE AND PERFORMANCE ,LIKE ,,BESK1 ,FACIT ,,EDB WAS AN ,,IAS MACHINE BUILT ON THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE ,INSTITUTE FOR ,ADVANCED ,STUDY COMPUTER "3 PROGRAMS LOADED INTO WORKING MEMORY1 WHERE INPUT AND OUTPUT DATA ALSO LIVED4 ,,IAS MACHINES WERE NOT SOFTWARE-COMPATIBLE WITH ONE ANOTHER1 BUT SHARED THE ARCHITECTURAL BLUEPRINT4 ,THE MACHINE COMBINED VACUUM TUBES AND GERMANIUM DIODES1 AND BECAUSE TUBES BURNED OUT ROUTINELY1 PROGRAMS WERE WRITTEN WITH BREAKPOINTS CHECKPOINTS FROM WHICH A CALCULATION COULD RESUME AFTER A TUBE WAS REPLACED4 ,PARAMETER ,FACIT ,,EDB ,ELEMENT BASE ,VACUUM TUBES "6 GERMANIUM DIODES ,ARCHITECTURE ,,IAS-TYPE1 FULLY ,,BESK-COMPATIBLE " ,WORD LENGTH #DJ BITS "<@9#AA DECIMAL DIGITS">2 PURE BINARY1 BASE-#AF ORIENTED ,WORKING MEMORY ,FERRITE CORE #CB ;,K FULL WORDS3 #B ;,K DIRECTLY ADDRESSABLE 8INNER0 "6 #CJ ;,K 8OUTER0 STORAGE2 EIGHT INDEPENDENT #D ;,K UNITS " ,MEMORY CYCLE #E ;S READ_/WRITE " ,ARITHMETIC #DJ-BIT FIXED POINT2 BUILT-IN #CB"6#H-BIT FLOATING POINT "<@9#AJ ;S ADD"> ,SPEED ,H#AJJ1JJJ OPERATIONS_/SECOND ,EXTERNAL MEMORY ,,ECM #FD CAROUSEL MAGNETIC-TAPE UNIT " ,INPUT_/OUTPUT3 PAPER-TAPE READER "<#EJJ#A1JJJ CHARACTERS_/S1 #E#H CHANNEL TAPE"> ,,ECM #FD CAROUSEL TAPE IN_/OUT TYPEWRITER "<@9#AJ CHARS_/S"> TAPE PUNCH "<@9#AEJ CHARS_/S"> LINE PRINTER "<#AA LINES_/S #AFJ CHARS"> THE OPERATOR'S CONTROL DESK1 WITH REGISTERS VISUALIZED ON LAMPS AND NIXIE DISPLAYS4 . ,SOFTWARE3 ,,FA-#E TO ,ALGOL ,THE FIRST ,E,D,BS RAN PROGRAMS IN MACHINE CODE1 ,,FA-#E "<,FIKTIVA ,ADRESSER1 8FICTITIOUS ADDRESSES0">1 OR 8,ALFAKOD0 ESSENTIALLY A SYMBOLIC ASSEMBLER WITH ,AUTOCODE IN USE AS WELL1 PLUS THE LIBRARY OF STANDARD ,,BESK SOFTWARE THE MACHINE COULD RUN OUTRIGHT4 ,WHEN ,,ALGOL #FJ WAS BEING STANDARDIZED1 BOTH ,,MMN AND ,FACIT PARTICIPATED IN THE WORK4 ,INGEMAR ,DAHLSTRAND LED THE GROUP BUILDING AN ,,ALGOL #FJ COMPILER FOR THE ,FACIT ,,EDB "<#AIFJ#AIFD2 THE OTHER PRINCIPAL PROGRAMMER WAS ,STURE ,LARYD">4 ,THE FIRST VERSION WAS READY IN ,OCTOBER #AIFA1 AND ,AUTOCODE PROGRAMS WERE PHASED OUT IN FAVOR OF ,ALGOL4 ,DAHLSTRAND LATER CONSULTED WITH ,AXEL ,BRING AND ,GUNNAR ,HELLSTR;M ON ,ALGOL-,GENIUS1 THE DIALECT FOR ,DATASAAB'S ,D#BA_/,D#BB_/,D#BC SERIES THE ,,EDB'S COMPILER WORK PROPAGATING INTO THE NEXT ,SWEDISH GENERATION4 ,THE NINE MACHINES ,NINE ,FACIT ,E,D,BS WERE MANUFACTURED A REMARKABLE PRODUCTION RUN FOR A VACUUM-TUBE MACHINE AND THEIR DESTINATIONS MAP THE WHOLE SHAPE OF EARLY ,SWEDISH COMPUTING DEMAND3 AIRCRAFT DESIGN1 DEFENSE1 INDUSTRY1 SCIENCE1 INSURANCE1 AND CONSULTING ENGINEERING4 ,USER ,SITE ,INAUGURATED TVIDABERG SERVICE CENTRAL ,KARLAVGEN1 ,STOCKHOLM #A ,OCTOBER #AIEG ,,ASEA ;,VSTER;S #AB ,DECEMBER #AIEH ,MATEMATIKMASKINNMNDEN ,DROTTNINGGATAN1 ,STOCKHOLM #B ,OCTOBER #AIEI TVIDABERG SERVICE CENTRAL ,KARLAVGEN1 ,STOCKHOLM " #AIFJ TVIDABERG SERVICE CENTRAL ,GOTHENBURG ,NOVEMBER #AIFJ ,FACIT ,,AB ,SOLNA ,SEPTEMBER #AIFA ,NORWEGIAN ,METEOROLOGICAL ,INSTITUTE ,OSLO #A ,MARCH #AIFB ;,FRSVARETS RADIOANSTALT "<,NATIONAL ,DEFENCE ,RADIO ,ESTABLISHMENT"> ,STOCKHOLM ,JULY #AIFB ;,FRSKRINGSBOLAGET ,FRAMTIDEN " ,STOCKHOLM ,NOVEMBER #AIFB ,DETAILS WORTH HOLDING3 ,,MMN THE LAB THE TEAM HAD LEFT BOUGHT AN ,,EDB ITSELF4 ,THE ,,FRA MACHINE "<,,EDB-#C1 #AIFC PER ONE ACCOUNT"> GAVE THE SIGNALS-INTELLIGENCE AGENCY ROUND-THE-CLOCK ACCESS AND CARRIED PUNCHED-CARD READER AND PUNCH AS ,I_/,O4 ,AND THE MACHINE DID REAL ENGINEERING3 STABILITY CALCULATIONS FOR THE ,TINGSTAD ,TUNNEL BENEATH THE ;,GTA LV WERE AMONG ITS DOCUMENTED WORKLOADS4 ,,IBM1 AND THE END ,FACIT HAD RECRUITED ,EDY ,VELANDER TO ITS BOARD IN #AIEF SPECIFICALLY FOR THE MAINFRAME STRATEGY4 ,HIS SPRING-#AIEG ,AMERICAN STUDY TRIP REPORTED THAT ,FACIT WAS1 AT THAT MOMENT1 ON TIME BUT THAT HARD COMPETITION WAS COMING1 ABOVE ALL FROM ,,IBM1 AND THAT ,FACIT'S SURVIVABLE NICHE WAS PERIPHERALS4 ,THE FORECAST WAS PRECISE3 IN #AIEI ,,IBM MOVED FAST INTO ,FACIT'S ,SWEDISH HOME MARKET4 ,IN #AIFJ THE EFFORT WAS SPUN INTO A SUBSIDIARY1 ,FACIT ,ELECTRONICS ,,AB1 WITH ,NYSTRMER AS ,,CEO AND A NEW FACTORY IN ,SOLNA THE MISSION3 MAKE THE MAINFRAME VENTURE PROFITABLE4 ,INSTEAD1 THE NEXT TWO YEARS WERE MARKED BY OPEN CONFLICT BETWEEN BUSINESS MANAGEMENT AND THE ENGINEERS ABOVE ALL ,NYSTRMER VERSUS ,STEMME OVER REPORTING AND DEVELOPMENT DELAYS4 ,AFTER A REVIEW BY THE CONSULTANCY ,BOHLIN @& ,STRMBERG1 THE SUBSIDIARY WAS WOUND UP AT THE TURN OF #AIFB_/#FC3 ,FACIT ,ELECTRONICS FOLDED BACK INTO ,FACIT AS AN ELECTRONICS DIVISION1 REORIENTED TO PERIPHERALS AND MILITARY PRODUCTS THE TAPE PUNCHES AND READERS IT HAD BUILT MOVED TO TVIDABERG1 AND THE ,,EDB SERVICE CENTERS WERE RECAST AS ,INDUSTRIDATA1 A COMPANY WHOSE WHOLE BUSINESS WAS SELLING COMPUTING POWER TO INDUSTRY4 ,LEGACY ,THE ,FACIT ,,EDB OCCUPIES A PECULIAR PLACE IN COMPUTING HISTORY3 THE MOMENT COMPUTER-BUILDING LEFT THE ,SWEDISH STATE FOR PRIVATE INDUSTRY AND PROOF THAT THE TRANSFER WORKED TECHNICALLY EVEN WHERE IT FAILED COMMERCIALLY4 ,NINE MACHINES1 A SERVICE-BUREAU MODEL BEFORE THE INDUSTRY HAD A NAME FOR IT1 ONE OF THE FIRST ,,ALGOL COMPILERS1 AND A DIASPORA OF ENGINEERS WHO CARRIED THE EXPERTISE ONWARD INTO ,DATASAAB AND ,INDUSTRIDATA4 ,MACHINES AND COMPONENTS SURVIVE AT ,TEKNISKA MUSEET IN ,STOCKHOLM1 ;,GTEBORGS ,STADSMUSEUM1 AND ,WARSAW'S ,MUSEUM OF ,TECHNOLOGY4 ,TIMELINE ,YEAR ,EVENT #AIEC ,FACIT BEGINS FOLLOWING ,,MMN'S COMPUTER WORK2 ,,BESK RUNNING ,MAY #AIEE ,SUNDBLAD WARNS ,DENCKER3 ,,MMN MAY DISSOLVE2 CONSORTIUM PROPOSED #AB ,DEC #AIEE ,FACIT BOARD DECIDES TO RECRUIT ,,MMN'S ENGINEERS INSTEAD #AIEE#EF ,THE 8,,BESK BOYS0 #AH STAFF INCL4 ,ERIK ,STEMME JOIN ,FACIT2 ,STRNG APPROVES ,SPRING #AIEF ,STEMME "6 ,NYSTRMER ,,US STUDY TRIP2 ,,BESK DRAWINGS PURCHASED ,SPRING #AIEG ,VELANDER'S ,,US TRIP THE ,,IBM WARNING ,OCT #AIEG ,FIRST ,FACIT ,,EDB INAUGURATED1 ,KARLAVGEN SERVICE BUREAU #AIEH ,,ECM #FD CAROUSEL MEMORY INTRODUCED #AIEI ,,IBM MOVES INTO THE ,SWEDISH MARKET #AIFJ ,FACIT ,ELECTRONICS ,,AB FORMED1 ,SOLNA FACTORY #AIFJ#FD ,DAHLSTRAND'S GROUP BUILDS THE ,,ALGOL #FJ COMPILER " #AIFA#FB ,MACHINES TO ,SOLNA1 ,OSLO1 ,,FRA1 ,FRAMTIDEN #AIFB_/#FC ,FACIT ,ELECTRONICS WOUND UP PERIPHERALS "6 ,INDUSTRIDATA ,REFERENCES - ,TORD-;,JRAN ,HALLBERG1 ,,IT-GRYNING3 SVENSK DATAHISTORIA FR;N #AHDJ- TILL #AIFJ-TALET "<,STUDENTLITTERATUR1 #BJJG"> PRINCIPAL ,SWEDISH COMPUTER HISTORY - ,TOM ,PETERSSON1 ,I TEKNIKREVOLUTIONENS CENTRUM3 ;FRETAGSLEDNING OCH UTVECKLING I ,FACIT1 #AIEG#AIGB "<,UPPSALA ,UNIVERSITY1 #BJJC"> THE CORPORATE NARRATIVE3 RECRUITMENT1 ,VELANDER1 ,FACIT ,ELECTRONICS' COLLAPSE - ,PER ,LUNDIN "1 ,ATT ARBETA MED #AIEJ-TALETS MATEMATIKMASKINER ,TEKNISKA MUSEET WITNESS SEMINAR TRANSCRIPTS "<#BJJE1 #BJJF"> - ,GERMUND ,DAHLQUIST @& ,CARL-,ERIK ,FRBERG1 8,DATAMASKINUTVECKLINGEN I ,SVERIGE0 "<,SVENSK ,NATURVETENSKAP1 #AIGA"> - ,INGEMAR ,DAHLSTRAND1 8,THE ,EARLY ,NORDIC ,SOFTWARE ,EFFORT0 "<,,IFIP ,HI,N,C#A1 #BJJC"> THE ,ALGOL COMPILER - SV4WIKIPEDIA 8,FACIT ,,EDB0 "6 EN4WIKIPEDIA 8,,FACIT ,,EDB0 MACHINE LIST1 SPECS1 INSTALLATION TABLE - ,TEKNISKA MUSEET AND ;,GTEBORGS ,STADSMUSEUM COLLECTION RECORDS ,SEE ALSO - ,,BESK THE PARENT MACHINE AT ,,MMN ,,BARK ,SWEDEN'S FIRST COMPUTER " - ,,SMIL ,DATASAAB ,,TRASK THE REST OF THE ,SWEDISH LINE - ,,MESM ,KIEV COMPUTER THE CONTEMPORARY ,SOVIET COUNTERPARTS - ,,ALGOL ,CAROUSEL MEMORY