Computer History: IBM System/360 Mainframe 1964 Original Announcement, Transistors, Data Processing

the following video is produced by the computer history archives project you August 1944 the opening of the computer age IBM at Harvard University unveiled the mark one with 1600 digits of internal storage remarkable technological achievement of its time opening the way to an ever quickening series of developments as man sought new ways to extend the power of his mind two decades of progress electronic tubes replaced the electric relay as the computer's basic circuitry new components new computers new systems Ronis transistors greater computing power the result of intensive search and an IBM the search has continued for new and better ways to meet the information challenges of today and tomorrow it has been a search for a system with more power input output versatility communications capability a system using advanced technology high reliability and massive memory a system that lets you grow without reprogramming one system to meet every application me today IBM brings you that system this is system/360 and so is this and this and this a single system featuring unprecedented performance range new micro electronic circuitry over 8 million characters of course storage encompassing the needs of science industry business and government system/360 starts in the world of the super small this is ibm's new solid logic technology in production micro electronic circuits more contact making possible faster logical decisions than ever before the product of years of progress from electric relays we advanced to vacuum tubes then computer circuits were transistorized but as the speed of components increased the distance electricity had to travel between them became a critical factor so IBM cut the distance a new technology with virtually no significant distance between components micro electronics solid logic technology begins in this fiery crucible pure silicon growing silently the silicon is sliced into thousands of wafers each the size of a half dollar in the strange glow of a safe light photosensitive material is swirled over the silicon wafers a beam of ultraviolet light transfers a pattern of transistors or diodes to the polished wafer surface step-by-step the process unfolds Photography edging cleaning a marriage of the graphic arts with electronics in glowing gas diffusion furnaces the silicon of the wipers takes on its electrical characteristics copper pellets five thousandths of an inch in diameter become the contact points for each transistor or dial now each pellet is in position now each is checked the wafer is ready for cutting the wafer is diced into 1100 chips each twenty eight thousandths of an inch square the world of microelectronics in which fifty thousand transistors overflow a thimble these happen squares are called substrates circuit patterns are being printed on them the metallic inks are baked onto the substrates thousands of tiny pins 12 will be placed in each substrate later they will connect the completed circuits to a card circuit resistors are trimmed to precise electrical levels minut Jets of sand do the job and the bath of molten solder ensures each electrical connection meanwhile each tiny transistor and diode has been tested now the two basic elements of solid logic technology chips and substrates meet to form a circuit as many as six of the active elements are placed precisely on a single circuit the module receives one protective coat and another solid logic technology a new direction in data processing faster smaller more reliable it takes its place in system/360 beside other new developments new advances memory the basic power of the computer distinguishing it from other calculating devices making possible the versatility of the stored program until today there have been severe limitations on the amount of core storage available to a computer user today IBM shatters the memory barrier system/360 makes available core storage in the size you need from a thousand to more than 8 million characters 8 million each character directly addressable tiny magnetic cores are positioned in a vibrating platform and strung with wires that carry electronic impulses bits of information act more closely together more quickly available this is a system/360 memory array 64,000 characters of storage if you need less start with the basic 8000 need more ad arrays to provide 128 thousand characters of storage or 256 thousand or five hundred twelve thousand compact fast in system 360 there is a hierarchy of memories small control memories billions of a second main memories at a million of a second and a unique development large capacity memory two million characters in an array eight million in a single configuration directly addressed at microsecond speeds unprecedented core storage that dramatically improves throughput that lets you do the big jobs in less time more effectively that gives you more useful answers for your dollar memory power system 360 another new concept in system 360 our for growth single system growth processors that offer many speeds memory sizes features select what you need to do your job best you can start small and without reprogramming you can grow and grow and grow two multiprocessor systems every processor with an identical instruction set growth without reprogramming one modular operating system programming support for all configurations control programs regulating job flow handling message traffic assigning programs to available storage nonstop computing control programs programming languages service programs for lower job costs to speed the flow of work all kinds of work for commercial applications decimal operation variable record lengths input/output capability for centralized filing customer data services for scientific problem solving full binary operation fixed and floating point arithmetic massive memory and file capacity high energy physics the life sciences real-time simulation system 360 can handle them all decimal and binary commercial and scientific they're all the same to system 360 but no system is better than its ability to get information in and out input/output capability system 360 hazard peripheral devices linked to powerful data channels upto 1,200,000 characters a second real channel power new tape drives with the performance you need ranging in speed from twenty two thousand five hundred characters a second to ninety thousand and up to three hundred forty thousand characters a second printers that deliver up to fourteen hundred lines a minute high-speed optical and magnetic character readers and a thousand character a second paper tape reader card processing to cover the full range of your applications system/360 has the direct access files for your every need drum storage where speed is the basic requirement removable disk storage more than seven million characters on a single disk pack enough for the complete inventory records of a large wholesale grocery bigger disk storage for greater online capacity enough for all customer billing records of a large public utility revolutionary mass information storage with interchangeable data sells direct access to billions of characters online enough for the policy records of a large insurance company enough for your records your records available when and where needed available in the computer room or 3,000 miles away system/360 makes them available link hundreds of remote terminals to one multiplex tab and then a central installation becomes the hub of a nationwide network and does your regular processing at the same time for your communication job system/360 has the terminals data acquisition and process control terminals for satellite tracking medical data analysis quality control electric power dispatch data reduction oilfield automation display terminals for prompt visual reference to complete records for faster credit reporting policy status inquiries stock quotations terminals for high-speed graphic display of operator messages and for plotting engineering results general-purpose terminals for two-way communication to put any remote location in direct contact with your system 364 railroad car accounting for updating inventory for handling insurance claims to speed reservation service for busy travelers online data collection terminals to speed data from the shop floor directly to system 360 for reporting work in process inventory changes revising production schedules terminals to put the power of system 360 at the fingertips of every teller to speed check cashing mortgage payments customer service system 360 the beginning of a new age in processing power in systems versatility in programming efficiency the entire concept of computers has changed memory in the million storage in the billions solid logic technology system 360 full circle capability encompassing all your data handling needs the beginning of a new age of data processing you

Channel: Computer History Archives Project

Views: 161,250

Rating: 4.9162302 out of 5

Keywords: Mainframe Computer, IBM System/360 (Computer), IBM Solid Logic Technology, Computer (Industry), IBM (Award Winner), Documentary, computer history archives; vintage computers, mainframe, data center, card punch, disk storage, computer tape reel, mark greenia

Id: V4kyTg9Cw8g

Length: 17min 50sec (1070 seconds)

Published: Wed Sep 16 2015