From the X1 to the X8: A Brief History of the First Dutch Computer Industry, Electrologica

Key to the history of Electrologica was the internal struggle to unite two cultures of computing in one company. The successful manufacturing of the X1 did not suffice to gain a stable foothold in the market for administrative computers. Still, the very struggle to make a machine for scientific computing suitable for office applications did result in a remarkably innovative computer, the X1.

The founding of Electrologica appeared as a logical step for both Nillmij and the Mathematical Center. While it was only natural to conceive of a computer as a calculation device, the requirements of administrative use deeply influenced the design of the X1. Moreover, efforts were made to develop proprietary peripherals as a point of attraction for customers in the administrative field. Even so, the X1 came with a Bull card reader and an IBM typewriter. High ambitions and diverging aims for the successor to the X1 caused considerable postponement. However, once forced to deliver, Electrologica quickly decided for the X8.

By the time of manufacturing the X8, system programs were called “software.” In a cooperative effort university costumers and Electrologica installed a committee Z8, in Dutch pronounced “zacht,” meaning “soft” as in software. The user-led initiative produced compilers for ALGOL and FORTRAN, an assembly language ELAN, and the famous THE-multiprogramming system.

Electrologica’s story ended dramatically in the eventual acquisition by Philips.