11–20 of 34 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Have you ever run into that method (discrete module+components) in non-IBM configurations? What abut non-computing configs? I've never seen it before.
I powered up the module independently, powering a light bulb, so it's a non-computing configuration. (I'm not sure if that's what you're asking.)
That's a machine from IBM's 600 line, cost-effective business machines that did automated arithmetic. The IBM 601 (1931) read and punched punch cards, multiplying fields as set by a plugboard. It was entirely mechanical. The IBM 602 (1946) was similar, and could divide. The IBM 602A ("a 602 that worked" 1948) was in wide use into the early 1970s. IBM had been working on electronic arithmetic prior to WWII, and the IB…
Arguably, that is the ROM.
No questions, but I really enjoyed the article - thank you for sharing. It amazes me how few vacuum tubes these early computers use, compared to the billions and trillions of mosfet transistors used in modern devices.
No questions, but I really enjoyed the article - thank you for sharing. It amazes me how few vacuum tubes these early computers use, compared to the billions and trillions of mosfet transistors used in modern devices.
Both the 604 and the G3 were bit serial to save components.
Author here for your vacuum tube questions...
I suspect quite a few as other "modular" systems in the transistor era like the later IBM Standard Modular System and DEC Flip-Chips ended up with plethora of specialised modules, but I'd be interested if that growth had already begun in the tube era.
Author here for your vacuum tube questions...
Roughly how many varieties of module were used for a full 604 system? I suspect quite a few as other "modular" systems in the transistor era like the later IBM Standard Modular System and DEC Flip-Chips ended up with plethora of specialised modules, but I'd be interested if that growth had already begun in the tube era.
That's a machine from IBM's 600 line, cost-effective business machines that did automated arithmetic. The IBM 601 (1931) read and punched punch cards, multiplying fields as set by a plugboard. It was entirely mechanical. The IBM 602 (1946) was similar, and could divide. The IBM 602A ("a 602 that worked" 1948) was in wide use into the early 1970s. IBM had been working on electronic arithmetic prior to WWII, and the IB…
They were all programmed with plugboards. Arguably, that is the ROM.
Author here for your vacuum tube questions...
Have you ever run into that method (discrete module+components) in non-IBM configurations? What abut non-computing configs? I've never seen it before.
Not a commonly seen statement :-)