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Digital Computer Newsletter. Volume 17, Number 2

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D IG ITA L CO0M PU TE R 7W pbritsee ftheeil~ W6 roi*,rsd a u.dism or the Interchanige,ma" latarsated R 0?658am, 9f Ieforeatio ionee- Corning r*4wat 4dewlegatel in L117Jil~.' risadIessI6tal coapotsr projects SOFFICE Of NAVA& RESIARCI - - MrAdL :CIuucu. DVSImON - ~Vol. 11.- No. 24 Gordon D. Goldstein, Editor April 1965 Margo A. Sass, Associate Editor CONTENTS I: Page No. EV.ITURIAL POLIC.Y _NQOICU: lo 1. E ditorialI 2, Contribution,, 1 3. CiecuiationI CQNIFUTERS AND DATA PK09CESS RS jNORýý AMi'.PICA 1I Radio Corporation of America, RCA Spectra 70 Series, New York 20, N. Y. 21 Univac, General Purpose Fluid Element Digital Computer, New York 19. N. Y.9 COMPU I ING CENTERS 1. Carnegie lnstitutv~ of Technolog~y, Center for the Study of Information Processing, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania I 0.Dartmnouth College, Computation Cunte,, Dartmouth Tiie -Sharing System, Hanover, New Hampshire 1 3. U.S. Army Electronics Command, Overseas Aotodin Installations, Fort Monmnouth, New Jersey 17 4. Yale University, Computing Center, Two Computer Link, New Haven, Connecticut 17 CMPUTERSjt,5.D gFNT.ERS, OVERSEAS 1. Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation. Computing Re searclh Section. Current and Future Equipment, Canberra, Australia 20 -1 English Electric Co., Ltd., English Electric-Leo, Computers, London, England 20 3. International Comnputrrs and Tabulators, Ltd.. I.C.T. 1900 Series Computer Systems, Lon- don WI, England 21 4. Marconi Company, Ltd., Marconi Myriad General Purpose Computer, London, England Z4 MISCF.LLANEOUS 1. The Bunker-Ranio Corporation. Typesetting Computer, Canoga Park, California 91304 26 2. Burroughs Corporation. M.inual on Management of Data Processing Center, Detroit, Michigan 44323 26 3, Carnegie Institute of Technology, Management Operations Study, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 28 4. Case Institute of Technology, Remnote Computer Medical Research, Cleveland 6, Ohio 28 5. Florida State University, Study of Computer Potential in Helping Pupils Learn, Tallahassee. Florida 31 6. General Motors Research Laboratories, DAC-l Project, Detroit. Michigan, 48202 32 7. Herner and Company, Document Retrieval Systems Testing, Wahhington, D.C. 37 8. The University of Illinois, Coordinated Science Laboratory, Plato 11 and 111, Urbana, Illinois 37 9. Inte rnational business Machines Corporation. Experimental Compute r-Assisted Instruction System, Yorktown Heights, New York 10598 39 10. Jantzen, Inc., Management Data Processing, Portland, Oregon 4Z 11. Litton Industries, Ship Autoýnation. Beverly Hills, California 45 12. Los Angeles Police Departmen, Co mputerized Crime Information, Los Angeles. California 49 13. Louisville & Nashvll Ri oad, L and N IBM 1050 Teleprocessing System. Louisville. Ken- tucky 40201 I,50 14. The City of New Yok Dopr Ient of Traffic, Computerized Records of Traffic Lights, Long Island City, New York 11101 51 15. Metropolitan Police Department. Police Computer System, St. Louis, Missouri 51 16, System Development Corporation, Compute r Based Justice Identification and Intelligence Sys - tern. Santa Monica. California 5Z 17. Systems Development Corporation, SD)C-Denmark Time-Sharing Demonstration, Santa Monica. California 53 18, United Air Lines, Optical Scanning of Airline Tickets, Chicago, Illinois 60666 54 '~ r' The Approved by -Th Under Secretary of the Navy PA\E 25 September 1981 NAVSO P-645 *~7'1TT lITIUI Reproduced by thoe ~ LL.J~J L~L CLEARINGHOUE~s s U Jo U Federal Scientific & Tochnical z' B Inflormation Springfield Va. 22151 .- . .Editorial Policy Notice EDITORIAL the editor for future issues. Material for spe- cific issues must be received by the editor at The Digital Computer Newsletter, although least three months in advance. It is often im- a Department of the Navy publication, is not possible for the editor, because of limited time restricted to the publication of Navy-originated and personnel, to acknowledge individually all - material, The Office of Naval Research wel- material received. comes contributions to the Newsletter from any source. The Newsletter is subjected to certain limitations in size which prevent pub- CIRCULATION lishing all the material received. However, items which are not printed are kept on file The Newsletter is distributed, without and are made available to interested personnel charge, to interested military and governmlnt within the Government. agencies, to contractors for the Federal Gov- ernment, and to contributors of material for. DCN is published quarterly (January, April, publication. July, and October). Material for specific issues must be received by the editor at least three For many years, in addition to the ONR months in advance. tnitial distribution, the Newsletter was re- printed by the Association for Computing Ma- lt is to be noted that the publication of in- chinery as a supplement to their Journal and, formation pertaining to cummercial products more recently, as a supplement to their does not, in any way, imply Navy approval of Communications. The Association decided those products, nor does it mean that Navy that their Communicatloios could bptter vouches for the accuracy of the statements serve its members by concentrating on ACM made by the various contributors. The infor- editorial material. Accordingly, effective mation contained herein is to be considered with the combined January-April 1961 issue, only as being representative of the state-of- the Newsletter became available only by the-art and not as the sole product or technique direct distribution from the Office of Naval available. Research. Requests to receive the Newsletter regu- CONTRIBUTIONS larly should be submitted to the editor. Con- tractors of the Federal Government should ref- The Office of Naval Research welcomes erence applicable contracts in their requests. contributions to the Newsletter from any source. Your contributions will provide assistance in All communications pertaining to the News- improving the contents of the publication, thereby letter should be addressed to: making it an even better medium for the ex- change of information between government lab- GORDON D. GOLDSTEIN, Editor oratories, academic institutions, and industry. Digital Computer Newsletter It is hoped that the readers will participate to Informations Systems Branch an even greater extent than in the past in trans- Office of Naval Research mitting technical material and suggestions to Washington, D.C. 20360 z1 1. F! I II Computers and Data Processors, North Americau RGA Spectra, 70 Series Radio C.orlwation of! .4mlerik.ai New, )'o,, 20, New•Vork IccRODUCTION to live harmoniously With many of their con- temporaries, Their fluency in other computer The first ofp new generation of electronic languages greatly leswens costly re-programming computers, designed to meet the total informa- and makes possible greater management con- teon processing requirements of science and trol for the computer dollar than ever before. industry well into the 1970's, was announced here today thy Radio Corporation of Americat Advanced production of the Spectra 70 Be- ries has already begunin the RCA Palmo Beach This now computer series, called Spectra Gardens compoter plant, and customer deliver- 70, combines technological advances that not ie wille begin in the fourth quarter of 1965. The only match, but go beyond those of any other new series takes Its place alongside RCAls well known computer system. First in the third established 3•01, 3301, and 501 compvters, and generation of data processing systems, Spectra will be able to accommodate programs written 70 presents major Innovations In logic circuitry for these as wo.11 as other non-RCA systems, and language capability. RCA's decision to pioneer as the first Comprised initially of 4 compatible general company to manufacture computers in quantity purpose computers and more than 40 inter- wThth fully integrated circuits was the result of changeable peripheral devices, the new RCA logic circuitry r asearch begun some years ago series features these principal innovations: in RCA Laboratories. Success of this research , and development of new manufacturing tech- stIn the two larger computers, the first niques for the circuitry provided RCA with the use of fully integrated circuits--world's fa2test means of creating this third generation of co- and moxt reliable commercially available cir- puters, cuits of their kind; •= The new Spectra 70 Series in initial form a An advanced "multi-lingual" capability, consists of four computers identified as the enabling Spectra 70 computers to "speak" all of 70/15, 70/26, 70/45, and 70/55. The four pro- the most common programming, data, and corm- vide all of the elements needed for total infor- munications languages, including those of the mqtlon systems, including an extensive array most recently announced computer systems; and of data storage, communications, and input- output equipment. •Improved cost/t -rformance ratios, over the full range of systems and applications. The two larger computers In the series, the 70/45 and 70/55, employ high-speed fate- Spectra 70 provides a complete spectrum grated circuits with typical switching times of of computing, peripheral, and communications 7 nanoseconds (billionths of a second) or legs. equipment, and it meets the full range of ays- Each of the circuits is formed of a silicon chip tern and application requirements of science so small that it would barely cover the letter and Industry. Rental prices range from $800 a "o" of a typewriter, yet. large enough to con~ii : month for the
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    Technical Details of the Elliott 152 and 153

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  • Sperry Rand's Third-Generation Computers 1964–1980

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  • P the Pioneers and Their Computers

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  • A Historical Perspective of the Development of British Computer Manufacturers with Particular Reference to Staffordshire

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    Resurrection

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  • Sperry Rand Third-Generation Computers

    Sperry Rand Third-Generation Computers

    UNISYS: HISTORY: • 1873 E. Remington & Sons introduces first commercially viable typewriter. • 1886 American Arithmometer Co. founded to manufacture and sell first commercially viable adding and listing machine, invented by William Seward Burroughs. • 1905 American Arithmometer renamed Burroughs Adding Machine Co. • 1909 Remington Typewriter Co. introduces first "noiseless" typewriter. • 1910 Sperry Gyroscope Co. founded to manufacture and sell navigational equipment. • 1911 Burroughs introduces first adding-subtracting machine. • 1923 Burroughs introduces direct multiplication billing machine. • 1925 Burroughs introduces first portable adding machine, weighing 20 pounds. Remington Typewriter introduces America's first electric typewriter. • 1927 Remington Typewriter and Rand Kardex merge to form Remington Rand. • 1928 Burroughs ships its one millionth adding machine. • 1930 Working closely with Lt. James Doolittle, Sperry Gyroscope engineers developed the artificial horizon and the aircraft directional gyro – which quickly found their way aboard airmail planes and the aircraft of the fledgling commercial airlines. TWA was the first commercial buyer of these two products. • 1933 Sperry Corp. formed. • 1946 ENIAC, the world's first large-scale, general-purpose digital computer, developed at the University of Pennsylvania by J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly. • 1949 Remington Rand produces 409, the worlds first business computer. The 409 was later sold as the Univac 60 and 120 and was the first computer used by the Internal Revenue Service and the first computer installed in Japan. • 1950 Remington Rand acquires Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corp. 1951 Remington Rand delivers UNIVAC computer to the U.S. Census Bureau. • 1952 UNIVAC makes history by predicting the election of Dwight D. Eisenhower as U.S. president before polls close.
  • The Women of ENIAC

    The Women of ENIAC

    The Women of ENIAC W. BARKLEY FRITZ A group of young women college graduates involved with the EFJIAC are identified. As a result of their education, intelligence, as well as their being at the right place and at the right time, these young women were able to per- form important computer work. Many learned to use effectively “the machine that changed the world to assist in solving some of the important scientific problems of the time. Ten of them report on their background and experi- ences. It is now appropriate that these women be given recognition for what they did as ‘pioneers” of the Age of Computing. introduction any young women college graduates were involved in ties of some 50 years ago, you will note some minor inconsiskn- NI[ various ways with ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integra- cies, which arc to be expected. In order to preserve the candor and tor And Computer) during the 1942-195.5 period covering enthusiasm of these women for what they did and also to provide ENIAC’s pre-development, development, and 10-year period of today’s reader and those of future generations with their First-hand its operational usage. ENIAC, as is well-known, was the first accounts, I have attempted to resolve only the more serious incon- general purpose electronic digital computer to be designed, built, sistencies. Each of the individuals quoted, however, has been and successfully used. After its initial use for the Manhattan Proj- given an opportunity to see the remarks of their colleagues and to ect in the fall of 194.5 and its public demonstration in February modify their own as desired.
  • 2 9215FQ14 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Category Pages Facilities & Buildings 3-10 General Reference 11-20 Human Resources

    2 9215FQ14 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Category Pages Facilities & Buildings 3-10 General Reference 11-20 Human Resources

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  • Company Histories

    Company Histories

    British companies delivering digital computers in the period 1950 – 1965. Elliott Brothers (London) Ltd. and Elliott-Automation. The Elliott Instrument Company was founded in 1804. By the 1870s, telegraph equipment and electrical equipment were added to the company’s products. Naval instrumentation became an area of increasing importance from about 1900, the company working with the Admiralty to develop Fire Control (ie gunnery control) electro-mechanical analogue computers. Elliott Brothers (London) Ltd. provided fire-control equipment to the Royal Navy from 1908 until shortly after the end of the Second World War. By 1946 the company’s main factory at Lewisham in south London had become a technological backwater. Although still skilled in manufacturing electro-mechanical equipment and precision electrical instrumentation, it had been bypassed by the huge war- time flow of government contracts for radar and allied electronic equipment. Compared with firms such as Ferranti Ltd., there was practically no electronic activity at Elliott’s Lewisham factory. The company actually traded at a loss between 1946 and 1951. Somewhat surprisingly, fresh discussions between the Admiralty and Elliott Brothers (London) Ltd. started in 1946, with the objective of persuading the company to host a new research team whose prime objective was to work on an advanced digital electronic Fire Control system and target-tracking radar. The Admiralty leased to the company a redundant factory at Borehamwood in Hertfordshire. This became known as Elliott’s Borehamwood Research Laboratory. It was at Borehamwood that a team of specially- recruited young scientists and engineers designed and built several secret digital computers for various classified projects.
  • IBM 709 MANUFACTU RER IBM 709 Data Processing System International Business Machines Corporation

    IBM 709 MANUFACTU RER IBM 709 Data Processing System International Business Machines Corporation

    IBM 709 MANUFACTU RER IBM 709 Data Processing System International Business Machines Corporation Photo by International Business Machines Corporation at Point Mugu, California and one at Point Arguello, APPLICATIONS California. Land Air is the lessee, and our major Manufacturer committment is for missile test flight data reduction. This is a general purpose computer doing both scien­ In addition, we provide computing facilities for the tific computing and commercial work. The system is entire installation at Mugu (general scientific and scientifically oriented with fast internal speeds. engineering research and data processing). USA Ballistic Missile Agency Redstone Arsenal U.S.N. Pacific Missile Range Ft. Mugu Located at Computation Laboratory, Redstone Arsenal, Operated by Land Air, Inc. ALabama, the system is used for scientific and commer­ Located at the Naval Missile Faculty, Point Arguello, cial applications. California, the system is used on the main problem U. S. Army Electronic Proving Ground of range safety impact predicition in real time using Located in Greely Hall, Fort Huachuca, Arizona, sys­ FPS-l6 Radar and Cubic COTAR data. System is also tem is used in support of the tactical field army used for post flight trajectory reduction of FPS-l6 and the technical program of the departments of the radar data and for trajectory integration and analysis, U. S. Army Electronic Proving Ground. etc. U.S.N. Pacific Missile Range Ft. Mugu USN OTS China Lake, California Operated by Land Air, Inc. Located at the Data Computation Branch, Assessment Located at the Pacific Missile Range, Point Mugu, the DiVision, Test Department, the computer is used for system is used for the processing of missile test data reduction and scientific computation as related data (radar, optical, and telemetry), for real time to Naval Ordnance, Test, Development & Research applications, and for the solution of general mathe­ (l5% of computer time devoted to management data pro­ m.atical problems.