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Fritz Schneid
#1 / 18
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 Main Frames
Quote: >In its day, the 1401 was definitely a mainframe, although the term wasn't
>used that way then. It wasn't until what we now call mainframes became
>truly large that a need arose for a term to designate computers that were
>smaller.
At the time that the 1401 was introduced we already had true mainframes: The 705 and 7080 for commercial work, and the 709 and 7090 for scientific work. There was also the 7070, a decimal scientific machine that never really got a fair shake. The 1401 was the replacement for punched card systems. The first ones
consisted of a 1401 with 1.2K to 4K of 11.5 microsecond/byte memory, a
1402 card read/punch and a 1403 printer. 729 tape drives were soon
added.
In shops using mainframes, the 1401 was used as a card-to-tape and
tape-to-print machine, replacing the 720, 730, and other dedicated
peripherals.
The 1401 was an accounting machine, not a mainframe.
Fritz Schneider
Peacham {*filter*}netics
Sunnyvale, California
http://www.*-*-*.com/ ~fritz/
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| Sat, 09 Jan 1999 03:00:00 GMT |
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Gary L. Smi
#2 / 18
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Main Frames
: When the IBM 1401 was available, was that considered a mainframe or mini
: computer? I believe it was sold by IBM's General Products Division as
: opposed to the Data Processing Division--as compared to the IBM 7090.
In its day, the 1401 was definitely a mainframe, although the term wasn't
used that way then. It wasn't until what we now call mainframes became
truly large that a need arose for a term to designate computers that were
smaller.
--
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| Sat, 09 Jan 1999 03:00:00 GMT |
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Lis
#3 / 18
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Main Frames When the IBM 1401 was available, was that considered a mainframe or mini
computer? I believe it was sold by IBM's General Products Division as
opposed to the Data Processing Division--as compared to the IBM 7090.
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| Sat, 09 Jan 1999 03:00:00 GMT |
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Lis
#4 / 18
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Main Frames When the IBM 1401 was available, was that considered a mainframe or mini
computer? I believe it was sold by IBM's General Products Division as
opposed to the Data Processing Division--as compared to the IBM 7090.
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| Sat, 09 Jan 1999 03:00:00 GMT |
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Lis
#5 / 18
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Main Frames When the IBM 1401 was available, was that considered a mainframe or mini
computer? I believe it was sold by IBM's General Products Division as
opposed to the Data Processing Division--as compared to the IBM 7090.
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| Sat, 09 Jan 1999 03:00:00 GMT |
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Lis
#6 / 18
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Main Frames When the IBM 1401 was available, was that considered a mainframe or mini
computer? I believe it was sold by IBM's General Products Division as
opposed to the Data Processing Division--as compared to the IBM 7090.
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| Sat, 09 Jan 1999 03:00:00 GMT |
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Lis
#7 / 18
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Main Frames When the IBM 1401 was available, was that considered a mainframe or mini
computer? I believe it was sold by IBM's General Products Division as
opposed to the Data Processing Division--as compared to the IBM 7090.
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| Sat, 09 Jan 1999 03:00:00 GMT |
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Lis
#8 / 18
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Main Frames When the IBM 1401 was available, was that considered a mainframe or mini
computer? I believe it was sold by IBM's General Products Division as
opposed to the Data Processing Division--as compared to the IBM 7090.
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| Sat, 09 Jan 1999 03:00:00 GMT |
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Lis
#9 / 18
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Main Frames When the IBM 1401 was available, was that considered a mainframe or mini
computer? I believe it was sold by IBM's General Products Division as
opposed to the Data Processing Division--as compared to the IBM 7090.
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| Sat, 09 Jan 1999 03:00:00 GMT |
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Lis
#10 / 18
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Main Frames When the IBM 1401 was available, was that considered a mainframe or mini
computer? I believe it was sold by IBM's General Products Division as
opposed to the Data Processing Division--as compared to the IBM 7090.
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| Sat, 09 Jan 1999 03:00:00 GMT |
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Lis
#11 / 18
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Main Frames When the IBM 1401 was available, was that considered a mainframe or mini
computer? I believe it was sold by IBM's General Products Division as
opposed to the Data Processing Division--as compared to the IBM 7090.
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| Sat, 09 Jan 1999 03:00:00 GMT |
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Lis
#12 / 18
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Main Frames When the IBM 1401 was available, was that considered a mainframe or mini
computer? I believe it was sold by IBM's General Products Division as
opposed to the Data Processing Division--as compared to the IBM 7090.
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| Sat, 09 Jan 1999 03:00:00 GMT |
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kenne..
#13 / 18
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Main Frames
Quote: >The 1401 was the replacement for punched card systems. The first ones >consisted of a 1401 with 1.2K to 4K of 11.5 microsecond/byte memory, a >1402 card read/punch and a 1403 printer. 729 tape drives were soon >added. >In shops using mainframes, the 1401 was used as a card-to-tape and
>tape-to-print machine, replacing the 720, 730, and other dedicated
>peripherals.
>The 1401 was an accounting machine, not a mainframe.
Although it was used as a replacement for accounting machines, the same can be said of the 702 (ancestor of the 705 and 7080). It may have been a convenient joke in shops with larger systems to refer to the 1401 as an "accounting machine", but no 1401 user ever did such a thing. Neither is that story compatible with the existence of the 1460 (differing from the 1401 only in having a faster CPU) or with the later introduction of the 1410 and 7010, extended versions of the 1401 with up to 100,000K characters of memory. The 1401 was a small mainframe, but it was certainly a mainframe, with tapes
and disks as good as any other IBM mainframes of the period, unit-record
equipment that put the others to shame, COBOL and fortran compilers, and even
the beginnings of an operating system.
The term "minicomputer" was first introduced to describe machines like the
early DEC's, typically with little in the way of peripherals, engineering to
fit in standard 19-inch equipment racks, and oriented toward small-scale
scientific or real-time-control processing.
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| Sun, 10 Jan 1999 03:00:00 GMT |
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ccra..
#14 / 18
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Main Frames
Quote: >When the IBM 1401 was available, was that considered a mainframe or mini
>computer? I believe it was sold by IBM's General Products Division as
>opposed to the Data Processing Division--as compared to the IBM 7090.
I did not go to work for IBM until 1967, which was after the introduction of the 360 family, so neither the 1401 nor the 7090 was still being sold. However, it is my recollection that the Data Processing Division was, at that time, the only sales division. -- Chuck
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| Tue, 12 Jan 1999 03:00:00 GMT |
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kenne..
#15 / 18
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Main Frames Quote:
>I did not go to work for IBM until 1967, which was after the introduction
>of the 360 family, so neither the 1401 nor the 7090 was still being sold.
>However, it is my recollection that the Data Processing Division was, at
>that time, the only sales division.
Actually, the 1401 was still being sold as late as 1969, perhaps later, as the "Model H" -- fairly minimal machines; I'm sure they were reconditioned returns. You are right about there being only one sales division at that time. I
believe the first NEW machine from the General Sales Division was the
System/32.
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| Fri, 15 Jan 1999 03:00:00 GMT |
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