IBM's Early Computers: A Technical History (History of Computing)

by Charles J. Bashe (Author), Lyle R. Johnson (Author), John H. Palmer (Author),

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ISBN-13: 978-0262523936

ISBN-10: 0262523930

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In describing the technical experiences of one company from the beginning of the computer era, this book unfolds the challenges that IBM's research and development laboratories faced, the technological paths they chose, and how these choices affected the company and the computer industry. It chronicles the transformation of IBM into a computer company in a remarkably few years, discussing projects that ended in frustration as well as the more successful ones, and providing a sense of the atmosphere, the people, and the decision-making processes involved during the company's rapid technological transformation. IBM's Early Computers is a unique contribution to the modern history of computers. It focuses on engineering alternatives rather than business and general management considerations and reveals the significance of imaginative solutions to problems in design and technology, from initial experiments with electronics in digital machines to the threshold of the System 360 era. This fair and balanced account of IBM's role in shaping today's electronic revolution identifies the individuals (both inside and outside the company) whose pioneering work influenced developments at IBM. The book's fourteen chapters briefly survey the card machine era and then cover electronic calculation, the magnetic drum calculator, the Defense Calculator and other first-generation products, ferrite core memories, magnetic tape, and disk storage development, programming, transistors, "Project Stretch" (which involved disappointments but led to one of IBM's greatest successes) high-speed printers, research, and new-product-line considerations.Charles J. Bashe, Lyle R. Johnson, John H. Palmer, and Emerson W Pugh are senior members of the staff at IBM's Thomas J. Watson Research Center, each with many years of technical and managerial experience in the developments they describe. IBM's Early Computers is included in the History of Computing Series, edited by I. Bernard Cohen and William Aspray.

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Charles J. Bashe is a senior member of the staff at IBM's Thomas J. Watson Research Center.

Lyle R. Johnson is a senior member of the staff at IBM's Thomas J. Watson Research Center.

John H. Palmer is a senior member of the staff at IBM's Thomas J. Watson Research Center.

An internationally recognized leader in magnetics and computer memory technologies, Emerson W. Pugh is a member of the research staff at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights and author of the widely used text, Principles of Electricity and Magnetism.

William Aspray is Bill and Lewis Suit Professor of Information Technologies in the School of Information at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the coeditor of Women and Information Technology: Research on Underrepresentation (2006) and The Internet and American Business (2008), both published by the MIT Press.

Product details

Publisher : The MIT Press (March 17, 1986)
Language : English
Paperback : 738 pages
ISBN-10 : 0262523930
ISBN-13 : 978-0262523936
Item Weight : 2.36 pounds
Dimensions : 6 x 1 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #4,512,809 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,278 in Machine Theory (Books)
- #15,638 in Reference (Books)
- #35,394 in Computer Science (Books)

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dave

Excellent content

Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2014

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I've had this book a few days now and am thoroughly enjoying it. So far, I've read through the chapters on electromechanical devices, and the early drum and tape calculators. Fascinating, the more so because I didn't previously know that I cared - I bought this because I'm interested in 'proper' (my programmer bias is showing) stored-program computers, particularly the 7094 and Stretch. So far, there's plenty of technical detail.

I have one tiny gripe: the paperback is not very high quality considering its price. The layout looks like a cheap pulp novel only with about 0.5" of margin. There's a consistent blur to 2 or 3 lines two-thirds of the way down the page. At first I thought it might have been one of those print-on-demand editions, but the front matter seems to indicate otherwise. Still, though I wish it were better produced, I don't regret the purchase.

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IBM's Early Computers: A Technical History (History of Computing)

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