Customer Reviews

The History of Science & Technology: On Guard! The Story of SAGE DVD (1956)

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To be clear, I don't own this DVD, so I cannot comment on the quality of the transfer, extras, etc. However, I do have a copy of "On Guard!: The Story of SAGE" and have enjoyed it several times.

It's no exaggeration to say that this movie will change your perception of modern computer technology, and bring into sharp focus just how dazzlingly advanced even that old 486 rusting away in your garage is.

"On Guard!" gives a wonderful overview of the SAGE (AN/FSQ-7) computer system - the largest computer ever built and the apex of pre-transistor technology. This mind-bogglingly complex system, which was a key component of North American air defense, was nothing short of epic in scale, requiring teams of workers to maintain and operate it and a control room very much reminiscent of the command center in War Games. Tasked with monitoring US airspace and coordinating threat responses, these amazing computers, for all their size and importance, possessed less raw processing power than a $5 solar-powered calculator. Yes, really.

The last SAGE installation was decommissioned in the early 1980's, but you've probably seen pieces of it in movies and on television- large cabinets filled with switches and flashing lights, and round CRTs with light pens (a technology invented for SAGE) have found their way to movies and programs from "The Six Million Dollar Man" to "Lost".

For anyone interested in the Cold War or the history of computers, "On Guard!" is a marvelous bit of Cold War propaganda that gives one a keener understanding of just how much the invention of the lowly transistor changed the world.