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How did parallel processing increase the speed of Colossus Mark II?
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Colossus
Funding for this code-breaking machine came from the Ultra project.
The Colossus Mark II increased its processing speed to 25,000 characters per second by utilizing parallel processing, which allowed the machine to perform multiple computational tasks simultaneously rather than sequentially.1
While the original Colossus operated at 5,000 characters per second, Tommy Flowers enhanced the design of the Mark II to achieve this significant performance boost, enabling the Bletchley Park code breakers to analyze messages much more efficiently.1