Computer Technology 45 Years Ago

Every once in a while, I get to thinking about how things were way back in 1964 when I first started working in computer technology. Remember, back then, you had to work to use computers because the PC was still about 20 years from becoming a reality and the Internet wouldn't emerge for at least another 30 years.

My career began as a Data Processing Operator at a time when the 80 column punch card was still king and IBM was the dominant computer company. I spent more days than I care to remember sorting these 80 column cards on the IBM 083 sorter. It seemed like those cards would be around forever, but today we hardly ever see them and a lot of kids who are computer whizzes today have never, ever seen one!

IBM 083 Sorter

I still remember though, that all these machines were regarded as pretty exciting stuff. Security was non-existent and friends and staff from other offices would just wander in to the equipment rooms to see all the cards spinning through the sorters and to watch the printers spool out pages at the unheard of speed of 150 lines a minute! We were still about a year away from getting our first actual “programmable” computer – the IBM 1401 and my first go at learning a computer programming language - Autocoder.

To process payrolls, tax notices, assessment notices, financial reports etc., we utilized a machine called the the IBM 407. It seems ancient now, even archaic, especially when compared to what we have in our own homes today, but this machine was a real workhorse and, though introduced as early as 1949, it remained in the IBM product line until being withdrawn in late 1976.

The operation of the 407 was managed by the use of a removable control panel. The control panel used multi-colored wires to specify the details of the operations to be performed: what card columns to read, what to do with them and how to format the report. Each input card was read at two successive reading stations. Thus, for example, fields in a card could be compared with the following card and, should a change be detected, totals printed or some other action taken.

Although the 407 is really just a big tabulating machine, creative use could be made of the control panel to allow a wide variety of calculations and some logic testing.

So, another nostalgic trip down memory lane is complete, at least for me, and it still seems absolutely remarkable to me what we can do at home now on our laptops compared to just 45 years ago. The computer equipment pictured on this post seems practically pre-historic!

But, I wonder what this picture of a brand new Dell Laptop will inspire 45 years from now?

Will it be considered as archaic as the IBM 407? What do you think?