Category Archives: IBM
The Undaunted Ambition of American Entrepreneurs and Inventors and the Incredible Hype They Generate
A number of this week’s [February 12, 2018] milestones in the history of technology link the rise of IBM, the introduction of the ENIAC, and the renewed fascination with so-called artificial intelligence. On February 14, 1924, the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR) … Continue reading
Posted in Computer history, IBM
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From Social Security to Social Anxiety
Two of this week’s milestones in the history of technology highlight the evolution in the use of computing machines from supporting social security to boosting social cohesion and social anxiety. On January 31, 1940, Ida M. Fuller became the first … Continue reading
Posted in Facebook, IBM
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How Steve Jobs and Thomas Watson Sr. Sold AI to the Public
A number of this week’s milestones in the history of technology showcase two prominent computer industry showmen, Steve Jobs and Thomas Watson Sr., their respective companies, Apple and IBM, and how they sold smart machines to the general public. On … Continue reading
Posted in Apple, Computer history, IBM
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Inventing and Fumbling the Future
Thirty-five years ago this week, Apple introduced a computer that changed the way people communicated with their electronic devices, using graphical icons and visual indicators rather than punched cards or text-based commands. On January 19, 1983, Apple introduced Lisa, a … Continue reading
Posted in Apple, Futures, IBM, Xerox, Yesterday's Futures
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The Web Goes Public, First Email From Space, Grace Murray Hopper and COBOL
August 1, 1967 The US Navy recalls Grace Murray Hopper to active duty. From 1967 to 1977, Hopper served as the director of the Navy Programming Languages Group in the Navy’s Office of Information Systems Planning and was promoted to … Continue reading
Posted in Computer history, email, IBM, Programming, World Wide Web
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IBM Introduces Personal Cloud Computing, Today in 1976
Today in 1976, IBM introduced Virtual Storage Personal Computing, “a new program product to allow people with little or no data processing experience to use a computer terminal to solve problems.” The terminals were connected to remote IBM mainframes via telephone … Continue reading
Bill Gates Explains control-alt-delete
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Posted in Computer history, IBM, Microsoft
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The IBM Idea Launched, Defying Management Gurus for 102 Years
Today in 1911, the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company was incorporated. It changed its name to IBM in 1924. Many commentators on IBM’s centenary two years ago attributed its longevity to the power of idea or ideas. In “Ideas make IBM 100 years … Continue reading
The IBM 701 and Software-as-a-Service
Today in 1952, the IBM 701 was formally announced. Its official name was the Defense Calculator, “specifically selected to appeal to the patriotism of the older Watson and to avoid the use of the unacceptable word, computer,” according to Emerson Pugh in Building … Continue reading
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Creating the Public Image of Computers: IBM’s SSEC
Today in 1948, IBM’s Selective Sequence Electronic Calculator (SSEC) was announced and demonstrated to the public.“The most important aspect of the SSEC,” according to Brian Randell in the Origins of Digital Computers, “was that it could perform arithmetic on, and … Continue reading
Posted in Computer history, IBM, Libraries, Social Impact
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