History of computing in Urcea

The history of computing in Urcea deals with the development of computing devices in Urcea, and largely begins in the twentieth century. Unlike most other major pioneering nations, computing in Urcea was a relatively underdeveloped and unexplored field prior to the Second Great War, with the nation primarily relying on imported devices. The potential usefulness and applicability of computing devices was considered limited outside of academic and some engineering capacities, and consequently new devices were largely considered technological novelties. During the Second Great War and subsequent Occidental Cold War, engineers made major strides bring Urcean computing to the among the forefront of the world, with highlights including the first commercially available microprocessor being released in Urcea in 1970 and the competition to launch the first fully functional version of the internet.

Second Great War

With the outbreak of war and interest in interdicting Caphirian weapons trade with Dericania, the ability to encode and decode sensitive information became of vital importance, though throughout the late 1920s the country struggled to catch up with its neighbors in terms of computer development. The country invested considerably in acquiring foreign devices and experts, such that by 1940 Urcea was on par with the other great powers of the time and had managed to crack Caphirian codes several times throughout the latter portion of the war. Computing hardware and software developed considerably during the War, and by the end of the conflict the Collegium Scientificum was considered a world leader in academic computer development.

Early Cold War

After the war, several experts - both foreign and domestic - went into business, applying lessons learned to commercial enterprises. The major pioneer - and largest firm - was ITM, or International Tabulation Machines, which developed many business-use large computer mainframes. ITM, and its later smaller competitors, developed mainframes that became commonplace in commercial use by the late 1950s and 1960s. These computers were very large and required terminals to use while relying on complex vacuum circuits. They employed rudimentary and often proprietary encoding languages. An early adopter of these large computers was the Catholic Church for parish and diocesan registries, which had grown to considerable sizes due to Urcea's large population. By 1965, considerable efforts were made to create commercially available microprocessors, and by 1970 the first - the Integrated Systems Processor 1000 - hit the market. The development of microprocessors spawned a considerable interest in smaller computers and created a widespread phenomenon of hobbyist computer construction and development.

PC Wars

The Selectro 1000PC was released in 1972 with little fanfare; Selectro was a minor competitor of ITM and its 1000PC computer was primarily intended as a niche product targeted towards computer hobbyists. Historians consider it to be the first commercially available personal computer in Urcea and among one of the world's first. Early success of the product lead to increased production and advertisement, and the development of the first spreadsheet program lead to dramatically increased demand for the product by 1974. The rivalry among manufacturers - first ITM and Selectro and later other brands including foreign brands - lead to the 1970s becoming known as the "PC Wars", with heavy competition to pioneer new technologies and consumer-oriented products dominating the industry. The first widely available personal computers with graphical user interfaces hit the market in 1977, with the pioneering "ITM Blue" debuting on 24 July 1977, the feast of Saint Julius I.

Internet wars

With personal computers appearing in an increasing number of homes, schools, and businesses by the early 1980s, focus of engineers - both private and public - shifted to the possibilities of interconnection. Experiments allowed the connection of physically remote academic computers at different branches of the Collegium Scientificum in the 1960s, but the potential economic benefits of a digital network was amplified by the need to compete with Caphiria, who had begun developing similar technology in the 1970s. Accordingly, Government programs began to partner with hardware developers and phone companies in order to ensure Urcea did not fall behind. The concept of the "Internet Gap" became a widespread fear in the summer of 1981, in part fueled by erroneous media reports, as many feared that a vast digital network in Caphiria would allow them to fire their nuclear missiles more quickly than Urcea. While government and industry experts dismissed this fear, it nonetheless sparked public interest in competing to develop the early internet.