Yep, True. 1 computer would take up an entire floor in a Building. Like 50+ years ago. (Unfortunately Our U.S. Government STILL USES the same Antiquated computers.)
LOL! The first computer I programmed on was an IBM 1130. I wanted to have one of my very own. Of course, it would not fit in my room at home, and I certainly could not afford the electric bill. Not to mention what grief I would get from parents about the noise from the line printer… KA-CHUNK! KA-CHUNK! KA-CHUNK! …
(I knew that relying on the Selectric on the console was a bad idea because the IBM service guy was there about once a week to fix the Selectric.) 10 years later, I got one of the first Apple IIs. My first printer was … an IBM Selectric connected with an RS-232 interface!
We put a Collins computer in for Air Canada in the late 60’s. Took several weeks and a lot of techs. The hard drive was about the size of a small SUV and a 1 meg storage was hand wound cores and the size of a small suitcase. However!
Art Collins in his wisdom said the system would be built in ATR boxes. It was quicker to swap out a module back then than it is to get into your average desktop these days
I remember in a 70’s TV show the main characters bought an ugly clock and the store computer made a billing mistake. The company took everything in their home but the clock they bought.
The first computer I used was an HP-2000F owned by the school district. It was the size of a refrigerator and had 8KB of core memory, 64K of drum memory, and a 5 MB hard drive. Booting up was done with front panel switches. The school district computer room also had a Hollerith card punch machine that I used to write Fortran programs. Or I could write BASIC programs using ASR-33 teletypes in the school’s computer room. 72 baud speed (10 characters per second). Output was on rolls of paper.
Been there, done that. There was always the clown that put two go to commands in the card stack. Put the computer into an endless loop. As an aside, my first personal computer was a Sinclair ZX-81
My company had an IBM computer. Took up a large room and had to have it’s own air conditioning. And, a team of programmers. I developed a program I wanted written. Took them weeks, then they got ticked when I asked for minor tweaks!
I remember my husband’s first day as a programmer for GE. He was SO excited! They were letting him work on their biggest and newest computer….it had a whole 16k of memory LOL.
TheDOCTOR over 3 years ago
Yep, True. 1 computer would take up an entire floor in a Building. Like 50+ years ago. (Unfortunately Our U.S. Government STILL USES the same Antiquated computers.)
comicjunky Premium Member over 3 years ago
Been there used that (IBM 360)
Baslim the Beggar Premium Member over 3 years ago
LOL! The first computer I programmed on was an IBM 1130. I wanted to have one of my very own. Of course, it would not fit in my room at home, and I certainly could not afford the electric bill. Not to mention what grief I would get from parents about the noise from the line printer… KA-CHUNK! KA-CHUNK! KA-CHUNK! …
(I knew that relying on the Selectric on the console was a bad idea because the IBM service guy was there about once a week to fix the Selectric.) 10 years later, I got one of the first Apple IIs. My first printer was … an IBM Selectric connected with an RS-232 interface!
jdunham over 3 years ago
My first was an IBM 1620, also known as the CADET. Anyone remember what “CADET” stands for?
Gent over 3 years ago
Building a big customer database, eh.
gmu328 over 3 years ago
and that was back in the day where everyone wore hats …
Teto85 Premium Member over 3 years ago
Now we have more computing power on our desks.
Flatlander, purveyor of fine covfefe over 3 years ago
We put a Collins computer in for Air Canada in the late 60’s. Took several weeks and a lot of techs. The hard drive was about the size of a small SUV and a 1 meg storage was hand wound cores and the size of a small suitcase. However!
Art Collins in his wisdom said the system would be built in ATR boxes. It was quicker to swap out a module back then than it is to get into your average desktop these days
https://d2pxk6qc9d6msd.cloudfront.net/WP152.jpg
christelisbetty over 3 years ago
The golden age, when there was a mix up in billing, a customer service rep, would tell you, “The computer won’t let me do that”.
tammyspeakslife Premium Member over 3 years ago
I remember in a 70’s TV show the main characters bought an ugly clock and the store computer made a billing mistake. The company took everything in their home but the clock they bought.
Plods with ...™ over 3 years ago
I remember those! That looks like the version that was downsized.
Jaymi Cee Premium Member over 3 years ago
Ha! Now the entire IT department could arrive in an Uber.
Ricky Bennett over 3 years ago
The first computer I used was an HP-2000F owned by the school district. It was the size of a refrigerator and had 8KB of core memory, 64K of drum memory, and a 5 MB hard drive. Booting up was done with front panel switches. The school district computer room also had a Hollerith card punch machine that I used to write Fortran programs. Or I could write BASIC programs using ASR-33 teletypes in the school’s computer room. 72 baud speed (10 characters per second). Output was on rolls of paper.
Old Man River over 3 years ago
Been there, done that. There was always the clown that put two go to commands in the card stack. Put the computer into an endless loop. As an aside, my first personal computer was a Sinclair ZX-81
Old Man River over 3 years ago
BTW, does anyone else remember Fortran, Cobal, and the other dead languages? (Outside of Latin)
paulscon over 3 years ago
My company had an IBM computer. Took up a large room and had to have it’s own air conditioning. And, a team of programmers. I developed a program I wanted written. Took them weeks, then they got ticked when I asked for minor tweaks!
sbwertz over 3 years ago
I remember my husband’s first day as a programmer for GE. He was SO excited! They were letting him work on their biggest and newest computer….it had a whole 16k of memory LOL.
craigwestlake over 3 years ago
Reminds me of a IBM 1410 I trained on; we later upgraded to a 7010…
Rob Larson over 3 years ago
My first programming job was on Data General Nova mini computers running RDOS and on a Univac 9000 series mainframe.
Nala the Great over 3 years ago
My first computer was a Commodore Vic 20 (my tv was the monitor) with the programs and data on tape cassettes. My first real desktop was a Franklin!
mikeywilly over 3 years ago
New york state colleges used system 360 in 1974
PaulGoes over 3 years ago
The second truck has the punch cards and the tape reels