From EDSAC to Raspberry Pi: 75 years of “computers that work” (2013)

It was where EDSAC, the first programmable computer ever brought into general service, was built, and where microprogramming was pioneered by Maurice Wilkes, the Lab’s second Director, using EDSAC 2. As the progress of computing technology accelerated, computers became less expensive, more compact, easier to user and, ultimately, ubiquitous, Wilkes’ response was to take the Lab in new directions, still guided by the ethos of innovating to solve problems, but ensuring practical usability as an outcome. By the time it reached its second iteration, the System had linked up 50 different computers and was so successful that members of the Lab preferred to use it for their research projects, rather than rely on the mainframe.

Source: www.cam.ac.uk