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Joined: Nov 2001
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n the 1950s and 60s giant mainframe computers gradually became a common sight in large companies - but it was not until the mid-70s that the idea of home computing started to take off. [ news.bbc.co.uk] This could be an interesting as well as educational series. I well remember in 1964 working for IMI [ an offshoot of ICI ] where 'the computer' was something of which we were in awe , and we goggled at this huge building devoted to it , air conditioned , staffed by folk in white coats , and where no-one but its own staff had entry
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I remember those days. The computer room was freezing cold because the machine gave off so much heat and had to be kept cool. You would see people working in coats even during the summer. Also, I remember a directive that no one could wear underwear made from synthetic fibers. The static discharges were affecting the machinery. Programming in those days meant actually re-wiring boards. Things have changed, greatly, and for the better.
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Joined: May 2007
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... Programming in those days meant actually re-wiring boards... Was UNIVAC programmed by rewiring or, as one source states ( link [ en.wikipedia.org] ) Programmers of early 1950s computers, notably UNIVAC I and IBM 701, used machine language programs, that is, the first generation language (1GL). ? 1GL was quickly followed by 2GL, Assembler, and 3GL, FORTRAN. UNIVAC is the household word for first (electronic) computer, but in fact: The UNIVAC I (UNIVersal Automatic Computer I) was the first commercial computer produced in the United States. Its predecessor, which was programmed by rewiring was ENIAC ( link [ en.wikipedia.org] ): ENIAC, short for Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer,[1][2] was the first general-purpose electronic computer. It was a Turing-complete, digital computer capable of being reprogrammed to solve a full range of computing problems.[3] ENIAC was designed and built to calculate artillery firing tables for the U.S. Army's Ballistic Research Laboratory.
The ENIAC held immediate importance. When it was announced in 1946 it was heralded in the press as a "Giant Brain". It boasted speeds one thousand times faster than electro-mechanical machines, a leap in computing power that no single machine has since matched. This mathematical power, coupled with general-purpose programmability, excited scientists and industrialists. The inventors promoted the spread of these new ideas by teaching a series of lectures on computer architecture.
The ENIAC's design and construction were financed by the United States Army during World War II.
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I don't remember us having Univac in the government agency where I worked. Wasn't Univac a Sperry product? It's hard to remember that far back. Our agency put out computer specs and took bids from various companies for building our mainframes. I do remember some of the early ones having wire boards. That supposedly was the reason many programmers were bald. They pulled their hair out.  By the time we were using IBM mainframes in the early 80s? assembler, cobol, and Fortran were the most commonly used programs. Does anyone else remember RPG?
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Joined: Nov 2007
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I well remember in 1964 working for IMI [ an offshoot of ICI ] where 'the computer' was something of which we were in awe , and we goggled at this huge building devoted to it , air conditioned , staffed by folk in white coats , and where no-one but its own staff had entry And now we google for that goggling . . .  I remember those days. The computer room was freezing cold because the machine gave off so much heat and had to be kept cool. You would see people working in coats even during the summer. Something I kicked out on a moments notice, in response to a "do my homework for me" request, http://groups.google.com/group/alt....t&q=hawk+mini+skirt#31bb272bf11c8d73 (hey, I'm still pleased with myself for that one ) Its predecessor, which was programmed by rewiring was ENIAC The ENIAC, though, was in many ways a rip-off of the ABC from Iowas State (it patented ABC innovations, which were later invalidated.). The ABC was the first electronic digital computer (although, in fairness, ENIAC did have a couple of actual innovations). [ Linked Image] http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FAtanasoff%25E2%2580%2593Berry_Computer&ei=kWFNSrT7FMyllAe33tTDBQ&usg=AFQjCNG72fbW7SbiSZIIPnpzIftCAycMMA
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