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IBM 701 Dead

IBM 701
KindMachine
Introduced1952
Discontinued1955
StatusDead
ManufacturerIBM
ClassMainframe
PlatformVacuum tubes, Williams memory
Sourcebitsavers.org ↗

IBM's first commercial scientific computer — the 'Defense Calculator' that announced IBM was serious about computing, not just tabulating.

Created by IBM

Thomas Watson Jr. pushed IBM into electronics with the 701 (1952) — 19 installed at $15,000/month rent, aimed at the defense market (Los Alamos, Lockheed, the Pentagon got the first ones).

The 701 proved Williams-tube memory could be a product and established the 700/7000 series that dominated scientific computing for a decade — and on which SHARE, the first user group, formed.

→ Read the full article on the ALB Wiki

Sources

  1. bitsavers.org/pdf/ibm/701/
  2. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_701