A Century of Smart: The IBM 1401 (1959)

The Computer History Museum recently honored one of the great teams in computing history when it marked the 50th anniversary of the legendary IBM 1401.

The 1401 was really the first business computer, putting unprecedented computing power within the reach of a whole new range of business customers a machine packed with significant technical and business innovation.

A current IBMer said it best when he remarked: ... I think of (the 1401 team) as IBMs version of the original Mercury astronauts. They were a team that thrived on challenge. They were driven by curiosity. They were devoted to meaningful innovation. And they aimed high they wanted to change the world. The 1401 will be remembered not just for the technological achievements which were groundbreaking. Not just for the impact on business which was deep. But for their impact on IBM itself."

A few months before the Computer History Museum event, about 60 members of the team gathered for a reunion in Endicott, NY, where the 1401 was created. This video captures a few of their thoughts and reflections on that great era in computing history.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2009/1113/1224258713702.html

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• IBM
• 1401
• IBM 1401
• computer history
• first business computer

[alonsov]

For this reason and more I'm very happy of work in IBM. Real Innovators and Inventors.

[DC3Dreams]

The first computer I ever programmed, using SPS. I'm still writing software for a living - astronomy observatory control systems. What a long way we've come.

This is a delightful documentary. I am one of those "old school" engineers who did not rust out.

[larkforsure]

Complaint with IBM China CSR on Centenial

Please Google:

Tragedy of Labor Rights Repression in IBM China

[ihateslowdownloads]

Without IBM I would not exist. Without IBM technology, I would not look back on a career of almost 20 years of computer programming, 10 of them professionally. Thank you, IBM.

[ihateslowdownloads]

My father started working for IBM in 1968, my mother did some years later. It was no surprise that they met at (or rather after) in the mid-1970s. I wrote my first computer programs on IBM DOS in 1993 at the age of 4, one year before I wrote my first C program on an IBM RS/6000 7011-250. My first graphical user interface experience in the unix world was CDE on AIX running on the (back then) state of the art RS/6000 860 portable computer. (...)

[00ffdc]

Great!

[abisaglia]

Just to add: The song is Rainsong by George Winston.

[electricbuilder]

Am I getting old! I joined IBM in June of 1962 and worked on the 1401 system and I/O gear. I retired 41 years later.

[CraigDeShong]

IBM was a company that wasn’t afraid to think “out of the box” and the 1401 was a true accomplishment. Thanks for sharing this video with us, and thanks to all you early pioneers that paved the way for the rest of us to follow. You were true visionaries.

[CraigDeShong]

I knew the 1401 well. While studying for my Engineering degree I taught myself Autocoder and got a summer job at the University Data Center; there I wrote a whole passel of student applications.

It seems as though any business of any size had a 1401 for their general accounting applications. I know of some 1401’s that were still going strong into the late 1970’s and 1401 compatibility was supported through emulation on the 360s and 370s it seems forever.