This reminds me of a book I saw in the store.
I picked it up but did not buy. It was a
detailed account of IBM punch card use in
Nazi concentration camps. Of all things,
to keep track of people. It included
photographs of used cards.
Another major part of it mentioned Germany's
licensing if IBM's punch card technology and
complicity during the war period. Later it
mentions IBMs recovery of punch card machines
after the war.
Tracy Johnson
MSI Schaevitz Sensors
-----Original Message-----
From: Arthur Frank [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Friday, June 15, 2001 2:32 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: UNIVAC 50th Anniversary
I had learned that a large part of IBM's success was backwards
compatibility. As Nick mentions, IBM dominated the punched-card data
processing arena, and their computer systems were designed to read the
truckloads of punch cards that were already in use. Whereas Univac (IIRC)
shipped with magnetic tape, which would have required a costly conversion
for those with a considerable IBM punch-card investment.
Art Frank
Manager of Information Systems
OHS Foundation
[log in to unmask]
(503) 220-8320
>>> Nick Demos <[log in to unmask]> 06/15/01 09:32AM >>>
> >BLUE BELL, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- Fifty years ago -- on June 14, 1951 --
the
> >U.S. Census Bureau officially put into service what it calls the world's
> >first commercial computer, known as UNIVAC I.
>
>
> UNIVAC's failure was they never took advantage of the leadership they had
in
> the commercial mainframe market and let IBM pass them in public perception
> and reality as "the" computer company within a decade. While Big Blue
> innovated, UNIVAC was still using funny 90-column cards with round holes
as
> its main storage medium when I first worked on their machines in 1970.
>
I respectfully disagree. The main reason that IBM became dominant is that
it
was ALREADY dominant in date processing with its electro-mechanical punched
card equipment. IBM historically understood the commercial data processing
requirements better than anyone else and had a lot of marketing muscle.
Of course introducing the first popular integrated circuit computers (non
vacuum
tube also helped.
Regards,
Nick D,
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