Times Have Changed

The following little stories from the past may seem familiar to some readers and less familiar to others. Many things have changed, and others not so much.

Today computer input typically comes in over the network, from DVDs or thumb drives, or off hard drives built into the computer.

1952. My first computer experience involved a computer that read each instruction and all its data from manually punched cards. It was rated at 100 cards per minute, but it slowed down during heavy calculations. The hopper held 500 cards, and the computer expected an operator to be in attendance at all times. However, when we worked late to run priority work, we got hungry. So we devised an extension for the hopper out of cardboard and duct tape so it could hold 2,000 cards. This gave us time for a quick trip to a nearby hamburger joint for takeout.

Today computers are either small enough to use in an office setting or large systems in rooms with all sorts of built-in safety measures.

1954. The computer room at General Motors Research was designed to be part of a foundry. So when the IBM 701 computer was installed, we got a giant CO2 fire bottle to protect it. The bottle was 5 feet tall and 1.5 feet in diameter and was mounted on a cart. The wheels of the cart were about 3 feet in diameter. I was chosen to demonstrate its use for fire protection. The whole staff gathered for the demo, about 25 in all. After a short talk, I grabbed the nozzle and pulled the trigger. I hadn’t done my homework, and instead of the spring-loaded release trigger common to smaller units, this fire bottle had a latching trigger. I got it started okay, but it wouldn’t shut off. I’d built a large cone-shaped pile of dry ice before I figured out how to release the trigger. All my colleagues were overwhelmed with hysterical laughter.

Today, with wireless connections, most people don’t get a chance to deal with any real wiring any more.

1954. At GM Research the computer offices we inherited from the foundry still had a klaxon that blared for hourly union workers. When programming, noise tends to break your focus and concentration. My immediate boss, two of my peers, and I decided to disconnect the wires from the offensive device. We weren’t allowed to move furniture or use ladders, as the union would be offended, so I clambered up on a wall partition with a pair of side cutters to clip a wire.

At the precise time my colleagues were holding my feet to keep me from falling, T.C. Van der Grift, the big boss (and an old associate of Charles Kettering) came in unannounced and said, “What cha doin’ boys?” From 8 feet above, I stammered that we were getting rid of an offensive noise that interrupted our work. He said, “Carry on,” and left.

I bet many demos still have a “spontaneous” component today. Maybe some things haven’t changed so much.

1955. During an open house at the GM Tech Center where I worked, we had to prepare a demonstration of our giant new (unreliable) IBM 701 computer. We programmed it using its simplest instructions because these were the least likely to fail during the open house. The computer had two console lights that could be programmed to flash and keep the operator informed of what part of the program was being executed. We made a clown’s face out of poster board that, when lowered by a string, covered the console and the computer blinked its eyes at the audience. The little kids loved it. We used $1 million of electronics to blink a clown’s eyes.

Today debugging can often be done across the network with the diagnostician never leaving his or her home base.

1955. When I was at GM, we had the only big computer in the corporation. I was working on a hot job for a division in Milwaukee. Once Milwaukee very badly needed me and a case of...