IBM 1401: "A Real Live Dinosaur"

Buzz Bellefleur, of Connecticut, sold a 1401 that he used for thirty years to help run his business to the Computer History Museum. In this video, News Channel 12 records the loading of the 1401 on to the shipping truck that will deliver the excellent machine to California.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• ibm
• 1401
• news-reel
• newsreel
• news
• reel
• connecticut
• computer
• history
• museum
• chm

[numitron]

Can someone answer this for me. The 1401 is very rare computer with only 6 in existence. Why couldn't they wait a day or 2 when it stopped raining to ship it. Seems like a no brainer to me.

[rthelen]

@numitron --

I sent mail to the restoration project manager and he replied:

Everything was arranged on advance (including Frank and my flight) and the rigging firm wouldn't delay by a day or two. None of the 1401 got wet - just our hands/ faces. ;-)

I hope that clears up the story about a cloudy day move.

[Paleoferrosaurus]

Kudos to the folks at the Computer Museum History Center and the Bellefleur family for preserving this system! Now, if I could only figure out an economical way to commute to Mountain View...

[suntexi]

I started my programming career on one of these using an assembler language, Autocoder. You could patch the object deck with machine code - bet you can't do this with a modern PC! The first 3 cards were the bootstrap program that loaded the rest of the deck - "pulling oneself up by one's bootstraps" - hence the modern term "booting" a computer. IBM called it IPLing, on their 360 (Inital Program Load).

[TheQuindecillion]

Only 6 out of thousands? Hard to believe.

[gbowne1]

Ok.. so where are the other 5?

[Justaguy464]

he likeee to taka papay mula and beee on da tv

[Justaguy464]

heee wanna totaka poppis mula

[Dms12444]

Over 10,000 1401's were sold; it brings me great sadness to know that only 6 remain.

[ct1401]

Just a follow up on this story. My dads 1401 is in the loving hands of The Computer History Museum. Yes, it is up and running. Thanks to the diligent efforts of the 1401 restoration team.

Got to take Buzz out to Mountain View to see his old system in Nov. for the 50th Anniversity of the 1401. A very cool event . A total thrill for me and my dad. This really was a dream come true for Buzz.

Stop by the museum, check it out and meet the great folks on the restoration team.

[ouTandAbOut231]

What I aim to live to see is someone looking at my dell computer in 50 years and saying wow how did they survive with only 650 gig memory lol I twill happen you watch and see.