A P U B L I C AT I O N O F T H E C O M P U T E R M U S E U M H I S T O R Y C E N T E RW W W. C O M P U T E R H I S T O R Y. O R G

N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 0

CORE 1.4

CORE 1.4

I am pleased to report that we havereached a new level of professionalorganization at the Museum. We nowneed your help to “blast through” thenext plateau on our way to ourpermanent home. After you see what weare accomplishing, please help usexceed our expectations in our annualfinancial campaign, which is thelifeblood needed to bring lectures,preservation activities, detailedplanning, and energy to everyoneengaged in our mission.

It’s also the right time to inviteeveryone to help expand our Museumcommunity, which is so important forour long-term growth. But please don’tforget to ENJOY our evolving Museumculture—you made it all happen, so Ihope you are taking advantage of ourlectures, events, and Fellows Awards…just as you might enjoy fine wine withfriends.

As many of you know, I’ve personallyimmersed myself in our people andevents, concluding (again) that we havethe most amazing group ofsupporters— from the best dreamers tothe best “doers” I have ever seen. If weshare the excitement and turn it intoaction, we cannot fail!

The past quarter has been extremelyactive. Remember those priorities Iestablished in the June issue of CORE?Let’s see what’s been happening—youcan read more details in otherarticles—but here are some snippetsand highlights:

People – Please welcome KirstenTashev and Julie Stein as newemployees. Kirsten is our new buildingand exhibits project manager. Shecomes to us with a solid background inboth areas, and has worked for both

commercial firms and museums. Julie isan executive assistant, so you’ll beseeing her in many roles, includingworking projects at many functions.

Our volunteers have beenextraordinary—on volunteer days, onregular days, and for major events. Our“volunteer steering committee” hasbegun to organize, brainstorm, andimprove communications. They aresurveying other museum volunteerprograms, planting the seeds for ourown docent program, and developingsignage for our Visible Storage ExhibitArea.

Innovation – We’re starting to discussand collect a large number of ideasabout our future building as well as ourweb presence—including creative waysto exhibit our collection. You are goingto be hearing lots more on this in thenext six months and we welcome yourthoughts.

Communities – We have spent manyproductive hours with different groups—gathering feedback and ideas, andplanning collaborations. For instance,we presented at the Vintage ComputerFestival; spent quality time at theCharles Babbage Institute’s conferenceon “Unbundling History: the Emergenceof the Software Product;” and met withseveral CEO’s, curators, professors, and executive directors of places suchas the Oakland Museum of California,Heinz Nixdorf Museum, and theUniversity of Sussex, to name just a few.

Operations – I hope you have seenmany of the new items in our VisibleStorage Exhibit Area, and you will seeeven more changes in the future. Inaddition to the new sample display ofour robotics collection, we hope to put

more networking and software artifactsout for you very soon. Our collectioncontinues to grow—see page 17 forexamples. I’ve received many positivecompliments about our recent lecturesand hope to see you at our future ones.We are also getting our message out inexciting and creative ways such ashosting executive receptions (forexample, the TTI Vanguard group inSeptember), doing interviews, andaccommodating film crews.

I also want to emphasize how importantand helpful NASA has been to us. Plansfor the NASA Research Park at MoffettField, the site of our future building, aremoving ahead rapidly. We are attendingmonthly partner meetings among allparticipating organizations, anddeveloping a cooperative view of ourfuture home. You will be seeing a greatdeal of publicity as we move through theEnvironmental Impact Statementsubmissions. As you can see, thedream you have begun to dream with usis on the way to becoming a reality!

I hope you can feel the positivemovement. Yet, we are also limited inresources by what we can do, and Iwant to begin a new phase of growthnext year. So please help us in everyway possible in our annual campaign—not just in dollars donated but also inthe number of people we are able toreach. Both metrics are very importantas we build an institution that you’ll beproud of over the next 3, 5, 10, 25, and50 years.

Thanks again for all your help. We’vegot an exciting year ahead!

THE NEXT LEVELNovember 2000A publication of The Computer Museum History Center

MISSIONT O P R E S E R V E A N D P R E S E N T F O R P O S T E R I T Y T H EA R T I F A C T S A N D S T O R I E S O F T H E I N F O R M AT I O N A G E

VISIONT O E X P L O R E T H E C O M P U T I N G R E V O L U T I O N A N D I T SI M PA C T O N T H E H U M A N E X P E R I E N C E

EXECUTIVE STAFF

John C TooleE X E C U T I V E D I R E C T O R & C E O

Karen MathewsE X E C U T I V E V I C E P R E S I D E N T

Eleanor Weber DickmanV I C E P R E S I D E N T O F D E V E L O P M E N T& P U B L I C R E L AT I O N S

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Leonard J Shustek, ChairmanV E N C R A F T, L L C

David L AndersonS E N D M A I L

C Gordon Bell M I C R O S O F T C O R P O R AT I O N

Peggy Burke1 1 8 5 D E S I G N

Andrea Cunningham C I T I G AT E C U N N I N G H A M

Donna Dubinsky H A N D S P R I N G

Samuel Fuller A N A L O G D E V I C E S

Eric HahnI N V E N T U R E S G R O U P

Gardner C HendrieS I G M A PA R T N E R S

Peter Hirshberg

Charles H (Chuck) HouseI N T E L C O N V E R G E DC O M M U N I C AT I O N S G R O U P,D I A L O G I C D I V I S I O N

Dave House

Christine HughesH I G H WAY 1

Steve KirschP R O P E L S O F T WA R E C O R P O R AT I O N

John Mashey S I L I C O N G R A P H I C S

Ike R NassiC I S C O S Y S T E M S

Suhas PatilT U F A N

Bernard L Peuto C O N C O R D C O N S U LT I N G

John William Poduska SrA D VA N C E D V I S U A L S Y S T E M S

F Grant SaviersP R I VAT E I N V E S T O R

John Shoch A L L O Y V E N T U R E S

Pierluigi ZappacostaD I G I TA L P E R S O N A

Copyright © 2000, The Computer Museum History Center. All rightsreserved. The Museum is an independent 501 (c) (3) organization,TID# 77-0507525. PO Box 367, Moffett Field, CA 94035.

The Computer Museum History CenterBuilding T12-AMoffett Field, CA 94035+1 650 604 2579+1 650 604 2594 (fax)

WWW.COMPUTERHISTORY.ORG

Cover: The Minsky Tentacle Arm. In 1968, Marvin Minsky developedthe Tentacle Arm which moved like an octopus. It had twelve jointsdesigned to reach around obstacles. A PDP-6 computer controlledthe arm, powered by hydraulic fluids. Mounted on a wall, it could liftthe weight of a person. See story on robots in the Museum’scollection, page 10.

I N S I D E F R O N T C O V E RTHE NEXT LEVELJohn C Toole

2THE RADIATION PRINTERGeorge Michael

7GENE AMDAHL: COMPUTER PIONEERAlexis Daniels

1 0FROM THE COLLECTION: ROBOTSChris Garcia

1 2FOCUS ON PEOPLE: LEN SHUSTEK & DONNA DUBINSKYEleanor Dickman

1 4REPORT ON MUSEUM ACTIVITIESKaren Mathews

1 6OUR SUPPORTER NETWORKRECENT DONATIONS TO THE COLLECTION

1 7UPCOMING EVENTSSTAFF LISTING AND CONTACT INFORMATION

O N T H E B A C K C O V E RMYSTERY ITEMS FROM THE COLLECTION

IN THISISSUE

PA G E 1

2

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10

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JOHN C TOOLE

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & CEO

PA G E 2 PA G E 3

There are very few computer users whostill can recall the frustration of havingto wait for a printout. For instance,around 1953-1954, at the LawrenceLivermore National Laboratory (LLNL),the first printers used in conjunctionwith the UNIVAC I—our first computer—were nothing more than typewriters withprint rates of perhaps 6 characters persecond (cps). Since the typical outputfrom a design calculation involvedbetween 50,000-100,000 characters,printing would take an inordinately longtime. The quest for speedy printing atLLNL led us through a succession ofinteresting machines, one of which werelied on for about 10 years, starting in1964. This was the so-called “RadiationPrinter,” an eccentric and demandinginvention that met our needs for speeddespite its own oddities.

ON-THE-JOB HEARING LOSS

One of the first attempts to getsomething faster than the 6cps“typewriter” arrived from RemingtonRand about 1957. This was a 600-line-per-minute impact printer, where a lineincluded any number of characters from0 to 120; each page held about 50lines. As fast as this was, it was stilltoo slow to serve the needs of dozensof people who spent too much of theirvaluable time waiting for results Also,when these so-called impact printersran, the noise level was dangerously

high. A few intense users lost some oftheir hearing from standing in front ofthis printer, anxiously trying to readtheir output as it was being printed. Inaddition to being very noisy, impactprinters were not sufficiently reliable, sowe sought other solutions.

THE GIRL WITH A CURL

We tried a marriage of cathode raytubes and xerography: the SC5000 builtby Stromberg Carlson in 1959. Thisdevice formed characters by projectingan electron beam through a charactermask, creating a spatial distribution ofelectrons that formed the selectedcharacter when plotted on the screen ofa CRT. The SC5000 further selectedwhere to position the character alongthe print line. The light thus generatedwas projected onto a selenium-coateddrum that is fundamental in thexerographic printing procedure. In thisprocess, after the image was formed onthe selenium drum, it was dusted withxerographic powder (“toner”), whichadhered only where the light hadsuitably charged the surface. Bybringing paper into contact with thedrum, the image was transferred. Thepaper then moved through an ovenwhere the powder was fused to thepaper, fixing the powder in place. Input to the printing system was viamagnetic tape.

THE RADIATION PRINTER GEORGE MICHAEL

The SC5000s were modified so thatthey printed at an impressive rate ofabout one page per second. Thisrequired expanding the fusing oven andadding a Rube Goldberg device to z-foldthe printed output. Quite often, thepaper would catch fire as it movedthrough the fusing oven. The printerkept running, but now acted more likean automatic stoking device, feedingfresh paper into the fire! The SC5000was very much like the angelic little girlwith a curl right in the middle of herforehead: “when she was good, shewas very, very good, but when she wasbad, she was horrid.”

THE RADIATION PRINTER

Even when printouts were produced atthe one-page-per-second rate, the totaltime was just too long to meet theaggregate needs of all users. Thesearch for faster printing continued, soeveryone was primed to welcome a newprinting technology, ultimately embodiedin the so-called “Radiation Printer.”

Two technologies came together in theRadiation Printer. First, the actual printprocess was based on an electrographicprinting technology, and second, theprocess was wedded to a standardprinting press that far predated theadvent of computers, but was ruggedand reliable. Before the arrival ofcomputers, most printing presses were

designed to produce many copies of thesame page. For LLNL applications oncomputers, the problem is to producejust one copy for each of thousands ofoutput files. The electrographictechnique, which is both fast and clean,uses light to carry information to anelectrically charged material where atoner is used to make the image visible.The image is then transferred to paperwhere it is fixed by chemistry or heat.Xerography is a good example of thistechnology. Even though furtherdiscussion of the process is beyond thescope of this article, some basicdifferences as used in the RadiationPrinter are important to note.

Instead of light, electronic charge wasused to carry the information. Thecharge was made to produce an electricarc from a selected stylus to a blackelectrographic web through a whitenedpaint-like material that coated the web.The arc burned a tiny hole in the coatingthereby revealing the blackness of theweb. This made toning and fixing stepsunnecessary. One saw a black dot, and enough black dots produced asimulacrum of the image sent by thecomputer.

This type of printing process wasnormally used for the production ofmailing labels for magazines like Timeand Newsweek. Although no actual

printer existed, everyone felt confidentthat a printer could be scaled up from amailing label size to a larger pageformat, and it seemed it could be madeto go quite fast and it promised to beeconomical. We solicited bids for a high-speed printer, and what became knownas the Radiation Printer was chosen.

Some salesman got the RadiationPrinter to brag about itself. Here arequotes from the literature (I havefocused on the portions that appear tobe accurate):

“The Radiation Incorporated…Printeroperates in a line-at-a-time mode,providing 30,000 alpha-numeric linesper minute, each line containing 120characters. The input data rate of60,000 characters per second iscompatible to [sic] the data transferrates between many existing digitalcomputers and magnetic tape outputunits. Automatic transfer between themagnetic tape units allows for nearlyuninterrupted data flow into theprinter….Key to the printer’s high speedis its Electrosensitive, MultistylusRecording Technique which eliminatesthe mechanical inertia of high impactmechanisms and permits a dry,immediately available output withoutsubsequent processing. High-speedrecording is attained by swiftly movingthe recording paper under a closely-

The paper required for the Radiation printer was a sandwich of ablack conductive layer coated with a white top layer. The overallappearance was bluish-gray. Printing was accomplished by anelectric arc burning a hole in the white coating to reveal the blacklayer underneath. Too bad we can’t produce the odor here!

spaced row of fixed styli. Styli areselected according to the character tobe printed and energized with highvelocity current pulses. Passing thesepulses of current through theelectrosensitive recording paperexposes high contrast marks on thepaper. A paper transporting systemhandles the paper so that the printerneed not be interrupted to add paper.”

The printer had 600 styli arranged in100 styli modules. The print area wasabout eleven inches in width, the pagewas 11 inches tall, and the imageswere not considered to be very highresolution. A traditional printing presswas used to move the web past thestyli. The procedure was dubbed“Revelation Printing,” because thecoating was burned away by the chargecoming from the styli, thus revealing theblack paper underneath. Duringoperation, the styli tended to getcontaminated with burnt paint debrisand the printer would stop functioning.The solution had nothing to do withmodern technology: cleanliness wasachieved by blowing pulverized walnutshells against the styli. It was claimedthat other nuts would not work.

A few additional remarks seem to be inorder. First, the Radiation Printer hadnothing to do with radiation, but simplywas named for the company that built

the printer: Radiation, Inc., ofMelbourne, Florida. The companymodified a real (Hamilton) printing pressand added the needed electronics andcontrols to produce a printer that ran atseven pages per second (for Indydrivers, this turns out to be about 4.3mph). Printers in the newspaperbusiness run even faster although theydon’t seem as versatile. In addition toprinting at that speed, it punchedbinding holes at the top and bottom ofeach page, perforated each page sojobs could be separated, fan-folded theoutput, and separated the jobs onefrom another. The various performancenumbers for the printer are summarizedin the tables on page six.

There were enough styli to allow up to120 character positions per print line,and each character was formed within a7 x 9 dot matrix. Suitable spacingbetween characters and between linesof characters was thereby provided, sothat in practice a page could contain upto 10 columns of numbers each up to12 decimal digits, each columncontaining 55 to 60 numbers. Thecapacity of a page was thus about5,000 characters. It was also possible(but not easy) to address any point in aline, so that with some specialprogramming tricks, graphs could beproduced. Printing was thusaccomplished exactly as a video-

scanned raster is produced.Something in the print process gave theoutput a disagreeable odor. Some of theusers actually complained ofheadaches. An investigation of the odorfailed to expose any serious healthhazards, so the simplest response tothis was to authorize the issue of fansthat could keep the odor away fromthose sensitive noses.

THE IMPLICATIONS OF SPEED

So what does seven pages per secondmean to the users? Each page wasapproximately 11 inches square. Thisimplies the speed of the paper throughthe printer is about 77 inches persecond. The print data was suppliedfrom any magnetic tape able to providea nominal 60,000 characters persecond—we used IBM 729 tapehandlers written at 800 characters perinch. Such tapes had a nominal rate oftransfer of up to 62,500 characters persecond, more than adequate forprinting, so the extra time availableallowed for the filling and emptying ofbuffers, and for the movement of thepaper past areas at the top and bottomwhere no printing was done. On balancethen, of the seven pages per second,about 1.3 pages-worth of that time wasnot used for printing, but for the extramovement of paper required to get fromone page to the next, as well as timefor hole punching and page scoring.

PA G E 4 PA G E 5

One of the cabinets shown here is the SC5000, circa 196O, that was prone to catchingthe paper on fire. The print rate was one page per second, with input via magnetic tape.One can also see a homemade device for Z-folding the paper.

(above) Operator Mona Millings stands at the table wherethe separated output was delivered from the printer, andat the other end, the large rolls of paper used by themachine. Paper from the rolls could be spliced head totail so there was no ordinary need for rethreading throughthe press. A roll lasted about 45 minutes and a specialdolly was needed to move the rolls, since at over 200pounds, they were far too heavy to be moved by hand.

(left) The machine perforated, folded, and hole-punchedthe printouts.

Recently, over several hours ofvideotaped interviews conducted byWilliam Aspray, Executive Director ofComputing Research Association, GeneAmdahl reflected on his professionalexperiences and documented the courseof his amazing technical life. Thefollowing material condenses some ofthe story that was gathered.

Gene Myron Amdahl was born inFlandreau, South Dakota in 1922. Eventhough his father had only three yearsof schooling, the elder Amdahl knew theimportance of education. When Genedeclared his intention to go to SouthDakota State to study engineering, hisfather encouraged him to get a liberalarts education instead, emphasizingthat learning how to make a living wasnot as important as learning how to getthe most out of life. Nevertheless,Amdahl went on to South Dakota Stateand accomplished both goals. Althoughhe began as an average student, hisperformance changed dramatically whenhe took a physics course during thesummer of his freshman year. He

became consumed by a passion thatnot only altered the course of his life,but which later had a profound impacton the entire computer industry.

Although his undergraduate work wasinterrupted during World War II by a two-year stint in the U.S. Navy, Amdahlreturned to South Dakota State andreceived his bachelor’s degree inengineering physics in 1948. He thenbegan his graduate work at theUniversity of Wisconsin with a thesis on“The Contributions to the MagneticMoments of Heavy Nuclei Due to SpinAnti-Symmetry and Velocity-DependentForces.”

Meanwhile, he began designingcomputers on his own time. When theElectrical Engineering department heardabout this “other” work, Amdahl wasencouraged to build a computer thatcould be used to train graduatestudents in the emerging field of digitalcomputing. The resulting computer,known as the Wisconsin IntegrallySynchronized Computer (WISC), was

designed in the summer of 1950, andsubmitted as Amdahl’s doctoral thesisin June 1951. His ideas were soinnovative that the Physics Departmentfelt unqualified to evaluate it and sent itto others for review and acceptance. Histhesis passed the test, and Amdahlreceived his doctorate in theoreticalphysics in 1952.

After graduate school, Amdahl wanted tostart a company building computers buthe lacked sufficient financing. Heinterviewed with International BusinessMachines (IBM) and was hired, in part,because IBM was impressed with thequality of the writing in his doctoralthesis. Rather than the dry, technicalstyle of most theses, Amdahl’s writinghad a missionary’s zeal that engagedhis readers. He accepted a position withIBM in 1952 and was the most highly-paid person in the history of IBM to behired directly out of school.

In the fifties, the environment at IBMwas one of innovation and excitementwhen new technologies emerging from

GENEAMDAHL:COMPUTERPIONEER

ALEXIS DANIELS

Gene Amdahl’s WISC is currently on display at the The Computer Museum History Center’s Visible Storage Exhibit Area.

PA G E 6 PA G E 7

Thus the rated speed of seven pagesper second meant that the user wasgetting about six completed pages persecond within the seven-page time. Asyou might expect, the users becamemore sophisticated at doing other thingswhile waiting for their printouts. In total,then, the throughput speed of thisprinter was generally adequate to meetthe needs of the growing usercommunity, and it did so for a bit overten years.

The Radiation Printer was integratedinto the normal operations of thecomputation department, and veryquickly was producing around40,000,000 pages per year. This wasonly about one-fifth to one-third of itscapacity, which was a good thing. Themachine could be taken down foremergency maintenance, and still veryquickly clean out the entire print backlogwhen it was brought back on line. Lateron during its tenure, some microficherecorders were added. Their annualoutput quickly grew to about130,000,000 pages distributed overabout 1,000,000 pieces of fiche. Theeffect on the Radiation Printer was lessthan expected however: the annualoutput dropped to around 30,000,000pages per year and stayed there. Formost users, the fiche was used for long-

term storage of the problem results,and output from the Radiation Printerwas used mostly for day-to-daychecking. When a project was finished,the paper was generally discarded.

CONCLUSION

The output from the Radiation Printerwas not pretty. It was hard to read; thegray-on-black paper was heavier thanordinary paper; it had, for some, anundesirable odor; and it took up toomuch storage space. The users oftenreferred to the output as “scunge,” but it met their needs, producing at therate of seven pages per second. Noneof the printers that were brought in toreplace it ever came close to thisspeed. However, as effective as theprinter was, no one shed a tear when it was removed sometime during thelate 1970s.

AFTERWORD

It’s always humbling and sometimesinstructive to ask if anything waslearned. There are several lessonsavailable, though who learned them isnot clear, nor is the question of whetherthe lessons have had any long-termpositive effects. Somewhat in the spiritof a post mortem, here are some thingsthat were learnable:

Simple works best soonest;Speed wins—most of the time;True zealots will put up with practicallyanything to get the job done;On the matter of print tradeoffs, mostusers prefer quality more than theyprefer quantity.

In the course of dealing with users of allsorts, we evolved an additional rule tohelp get through the day: Generally, ifsomebody doesn’t know what to do,don’t ask him.

A NOTE ABOUT DATES: more precise datesmay exist, but most official records appear to be ina state of flux. The dates used here are my bestapproximations.

George Michael began working as a physicist in1953 at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory(LLNL). Michael’s interest in computing and thephysics of what you could do with a computerbegan with the arrival, one week later, of their first computer—a UNIVAC 1—and has continuedever since. He has been retired for seven years and is currently interviewing the people who builtthe original computing systems at LLNL (then called the University of California RadiationLaboratory—UCRL).

TABLE 1. APPROXIMATE PAGES OF COMPUTER PRINTOUTS PER MONTH IN 1978

TELETYPES 200,00035 MM FILM 600,000ON LINE PRINTERS 830,000RADIATION PRINTER 3,400,0006 MICROFICHE RECORDERS 9,800,000

TABLE 2. EARLY COMPUTER PRINTING TO 1974 (APPROXIMATE SPEEDS)

TYPEWRITERS 1/20 LINES/SEC 1953LINE PRINTERS (IBM 406) 2.5 LINES/SEC 1954HIGH SPEED PRINTER (REMINGTON RAND) 10 LINES/SEC 1958SC5000 60 LINES/SEC 1959RADIATION PRINTER 420 LINES/SEC 1964

TABLE 3. A SUMMARY OF RADIATION PRINTER PERFORMANCE NUMBERS

PRINT TECHNOLOGY ELECTROGRAPHIC, REVELATIONDATA SOURCE MAGNETIC TAPE, UP TO 800 BPI; 75 IPSCHARACTER RATE UP TO 62.5 KCPSPRINT RATE 7 PAGES/SEC; 4.3 MPHPRINT SIZE 5000CH/PG

Table contents are partially extracted from severalunpublished internal reports. The values are forcomparison only.

PA G E 8 PA G E 9

The IBM 7030, also known as the STRETCH project,was begun in 1956. It used the then-new transistortechnology and introduced many novel architecturalconcepts such as pipelining, multiprogramming,memory protection, a generalized interrupt system,memory interleaving, speculative execution, lookahead(overlap of memory and arithmetic ops), the conceptof a memory bus, the coupling of two computers to asingle memory, large core memory (1MB), the eight-bitcharacter (the “byte”), variable word length, and astandard I/O interface

the war effort were beginning to beapplied in industry. Amdahl initiallyworked on machine designs forcharacter recognition and simulationstudies to determine if a machine couldbe made to behave like a human brain.He was the chief architect for the IBM704 computer, IBM’s first commercialmachine with floating-point hardwareand the first widely-used machine to useindexing and a high-level programminglanguage (FORTRAN). While themarketing department at IBM predicteda market of only six machines, Amdahlhimself predicted a market for 32machines, and the price of the 704 wasbased on that projection. Since 140machines were sold, the 704 proved tobe highly profitable to IBM and securedAmdahl’s place within IBM as a bold,innovative thinker and manager.

In 1955, Amdahl, John Backus andothers at IBM began work on the 7030project, also known as “STRETCH.” Thegoal of the STRETCH project was tobuild a supercomputer for the Los

Alamos National Laboratory with 100times the performance of anything elseavailable at that time and to “stretch”IBM internally in terms of design,manufacturing, and device technologies.Frustrated with management’sdirections, Amdahl left IBM in 1956. Heworked for other computer companieson a variety of projects that includeddesigning airborne computers for fighterplanes to maximize the plane’scapabilities in a dogfight, as well ascreating a data entry system for FAAflight planning. Back at IBM, the first ofnine STRETCH computers was deliveredin 1959 and, although each was sold ata loss, the intellectual debt IBM’s laterSystem 7000 and System/360 family ofcomputers owed to STRETCH was to beenormous.

Despite his earlier disenchantment withIBM, Amdahl agreed to return to thecompany in 1960. He was namedManager of Architecture for the IBMSystem/360 family of mainframecomputers. The System/360,

announced in April of 1964, was aseries of instruction-set compatiblemachines covering a 400:1performance range. It became thegreatest success story in the history ofcomputing and IBM’s most profitableproduct line ever—in fact, the basicSystem/360 architecture is stillembedded in many current IBMproducts today.

By 1969, Amdahl had been named anIBM Fellow, that company’s highesthonor, and was made director of IBM’sAdvanced Computing SystemsLaboratory in Menlo Park, California.After a time, Amdahl again becamedisenchanted with IBM’s bureaucracyand the internal barriers he felt werehampering the company’s growth andACS product development. Even thoughmany company executives believed hisideas had merit, they refused to changedirection, and so, once again, Amdahlleft IBM.

The Amdahl 470 V/6 was the first product ofAmdahl Corporation. It was introduced to themarketplace in 1975, to compete with IBM’smainframe computers. These computer cloneswere known as “plug-to-plug compatibles.”

Amdahl was the chief design engineer of the IBM704, the first commercial machine with floating-point hardware. Unlike the 701A, the 704 was notcompatible with the 701.

When Amdahl resigned from IBM for thesecond time, he decided to pursue thedream he had held since completinggraduate school: to start a company that would build computers. In order tocircumvent future legal problems, hefully disclosed his plans to seniormanagement at IBM who cautioned himthat there was no money to be made inlarge computers.

In 1970, Amdahl Corporation wasformed in Sunnyvale, California, with themission to build more innovativemainframe computers (called PCMs—Plug Compatible Mainframes) and tocompete head-to-head with IBM. Mostindustry analysts thought Amdahl wasfoolish to take on IBM and heexperienced problems raising the capitalhe needed. Despite the difficulties,Amdahl was able to simplify design,improve technology, and builddiscounted computers that could besubstituted for the more costly IBMmodels. The company’s first computer,the Amdahl 470 V/6, shipped in 1975

and sold briskly, being a direct, drop-inreplacement for IBM’s System 360/165but one-quarter the size and four timesas fast (the price was the same at $3.5million).

Although IBM had not originallyconsidered Amdahl Corporation as apotential competitor, the company soonlearned that it had underestimated itsformer employee’s determination. At itspeak, Amdahl Corporation captured 22%of the large systems market and had apre-tax profit of 30%. AmdahlCorporation became the biggest threatto IBM’s domination of the mainframemarket and forced IBM to re-align itsmarketing strategies to take PCMmanufacturers into account.

Ever in search of new challenges,Amdahl left Amdahl Corporation in 1980and went on to establish three othercompanies: Trilogy Systems (now part ofElxsi Corporation), Andor Systems, andCommercial Data Servers (CDS). In1991, The Times of London named him

one of the “1,000 Makers of the 20thCentury,” and Computerworld called himone of the 25 people that “changed theworld.”

Gene Amdahl not only followed hisfather’s advice to learn to make a livingand to get the most out of life, but healso left a lasting mark on the computerindustry with his well-known law on thetheory of computer architecture itself.1

His innovative and pioneering spiritshowed the world that it was possible to compete with IBM on its own terms.Yet perhaps most notable andmemorable are his sustained records of accomplishment and energy over a lifetime.

1 Amdahl’s Law states: “If x of a program isinherently sequential, the maximum attainablespeedup is 1/x.” Experience has shown this law to be fundamental to computer designs whichincorporate multi-threaded kernels and parallelism.

CRA’s Willliam Aspray, Gene Amdahl, and The ComputerMuseum History Center’s John Toole at the taping ofthe Amdahl interview in September, 2000.

Gene Amdahl was the chief architect of the IBM 360 familyof computers, the first instruction-set compatible machines.

toy that could be programmed to move,talk and carry objects. The first US adsfor OMNIBOT pictured it as a butlerserving drinks and making jokes withpartygoers.

Due to space limitations, not all of ourrobots are currently on display. Some ofthe machines that are not yet beingshown include Takeo Kanade’s DirectDrive Arm (1981), the Mars RoverSoftware (testbed) Prototype (1977),and Hans Moravec’s Stanford Cart(1965).

Chris Garcia is Historical Collections Coordinator at The Computer Museum History Center

PA G E 1 1PA G E 1 0

FROM THECOLLECTION

The final pieces of The ComputerMuseum collection arrived in Californiain 1999. Along with most of the earliestPCs (a result of our “Earliest PCContest” in the 1980s), parts of theUNIVAC 1, rare punch card equipmentfrom the 1920s, and 200 otherartifacts rejoined the main collection.Some of the more interesting of theseartifacts are machines from the “RobotTheatre,” a Boston exhibit highlightingsome of the world’s earliest and mostinfluential robots.

Recently, many of these robots were puton display in the Museum’s VisibleStorage Exhibit Area. The massive MarsRover Hardware Prototype (JetPropulsion Labs, 1977) dominates the15-robot display. Designed to exploreand map the rugged Martian terrain, theRover used caterpillar tracks on flexiblelegs, which allowed the Rover to remainlevel as it moved over the unevensurface. The first Mars Rover projectwas abandoned in 1978 when mannedspace flight became NASA’s priority.

Shakey (Stanford Research Institute,1970) also features prominently in thedisplay. The first mobile robot to useartificial intelligence to control itsactions, Shakey employed sensingdevices such as a laser rangefinder,bump sensors, and a TV camera, andtransmitted data to DEC PDP-10 andPDP-15 computers. The computersradioed back commands, allowingShakey to plan its directions. Theprocess was slow—it could take up to30 minutes for Shakey to move onemeter.

The collection also includes severalimportant robot arms. The ORM (VictorScheinman and Larry Leifer, 1965) wasthe first attempt at a computer-controlled arm. The ORM, whose namemeans “snake” in Norwegian, featuresseven metal disks sandwiching 28inflatable air sacks. The method used tocreate movement—inflating differentcombinations of sacks—proved to bethe arm’s undoing, as it was not easy torepeat movements accurately.

The Stanford Arm (Victor Scheinman,1969) was the first successfulelectrically powered, computer-controlledrobot arm. Built to help developindustrial assembly techniques forcommercial robots, the Stanford Armdesign eventually led to the Vicarm, arobot arm used in research.

The display also features commercialrobots used for household andentertainment purposes. The mobileHubot (Hubotics Corporation, 1981) wasdesigned for home use and wasadvertised as “the first home robotthat’s a personal companion, educator,entertainer and sentry…and he cantalk!” The ads for Hubot also pointedout that he could function as a personalcomputer, with 128k memory, diskdrive, and keyboard. The Hero Jr.(Heath/Zenith, 1980) was alsodesigned for home use, and came as akit. The Hero Jr. could roam hallways,play games, and even act as an alarmclock. The OMNIBOT 2000 (Tomy KyogoCompany, 1985) was a complex robot

Oblex, a snake-like rover, is currently on display in the new robot exhibit

The Robot Theatre as it appeared on display at the Computer Museum, Boston

SRI’s Shakey, with labels on the variousinstruments used to allow Shakey to manuever

The Denning Mobile Robot, used to guard hallwaysin areas such as prisons and warehouses, wasequipped with sonar and microwave beacons toguide it along

ROBOTS ENTERVISIBLE STORAGE CHRIS GARCIA

members, advisors, financialsupporters, computer devotees,students, industry professionals,retirees, and others. With the newadditions to senior management inplace, we are equipped to move to thenext level and achieve the goal of apermanent and sustainable institution.

Donna, as an entrepreneur in the worldof wireless handheld computing, whatappeals to you about the old, and verylarge computers, and the way in whichsize and power have changed ratiosover the years?

We view handheld computing as thenext generation of computing. Just asminis were radically different frommainframes, and PCs were radicallydifferent from minis, handhelds will bethat much different from PCs. Yet, atthe same time, there are certainelements of logical progressionregarding systems architecture that are compelling. I love seeing our tinyproducts in the context of the historical giants.

Donna, when you tell your colleaguesabout The Computer Museum HistoryCenter, you convey an enthusiasm forand excellent understanding of thespecial niche the Museum holds in thehigh-tech culture of Silicon Valley andin the world of museums in general.Please expand upon this concept forour readers.

I believe that in order to build the futureone needs to understand the past. Weeach stand on the shoulders of thosebefore us, and there is so much workwe do that would not have beenpossible without those pioneers of priordays, whether they were successful ornot. I think the Museum will play animportant role in understanding the pastand in honoring the people who createdit. I also think that it is important thatthis museum be located in SiliconValley, which has been such anepicenter for the industry, particularly inthe most recent 20 years.

Donna, given your extraordinarily busylife, why did you decide to take on theextra mantle of “Trustee” for TheComputer Museum History Center?

I’m very excited about being able tocontribute. I just want to see it happen,and I want it to be great, so I’m willingto invest some of my own time andeffort to help make that happen. I thinkit is important to donate to causes thatyou relate to at a personal level. I’drather focus on a few things that I careabout than give to everything—althoughI certainly get called by everybody! Idon’t really expect anything explicit backfrom people to whom I donate otherthan living up to whatever commitmentthey have made in their own projects.

Len, you’ve often told the story of howThe Computer Museum helped you findand marry Donna. Tell our readers, too!

I always enjoy telling this story. In1997, The Computer Museum in Bostondid a special issue of the newsletterhighlighting our establishment of theHistory Center as a west-coastsubsidiary, and it included a page-longprofile of me. To my surprise, a long-time supporter read it and becameinterested in me! She mentioned it to afriend who, not seeing any reference toa wife or family, tracked me down,qualified me as available, and set up ablind date. Thence followed Phase One,wherein I was pursued, and Phase Two,wherein I was smitten, and we are nowin Phase Three, wherein DonnaDubinsky and I are very happily married.I don’t necessarily recommend theMuseum network as a dating service foreveryone, but it worked for me!

And Donna, what’s your perspective onthis story?

I think Lenny described it well. I readthe article in the Boston ComputerMuseum newsletter. Since I have alwaysloved history, and I have been involvedin the computer business for 20 years,it seemed like a true intersection of myinterests. The interview with Lennyintrigued me because of his sense ofhumor and his passion for the project,so I decided to check him out! Myfavorite line was that his best advicewas to “always initialize your variables.”

Donna, what are your dreams andgoals for the Museum and how will you work in your role as Trustee toachieve them?

I look forward to helping build a centerfor excellence in understanding thehistory of computers. I think there willbe many challenges, such as catalogingthe history of software, or the web, orunderstanding and explaining the Silicon Valley ecosystem. It seems tome that the easiest task is to displaythe hardware. The harder task will be to build a coherent historical record that includes the bigger picture. I amalso anxious to see the Museumcapture history today, whether usingvideotape or other media, such that wepreserve for future generations thespark and dynamism that is happeninghere and now.

Len, what do you think are thegreatest contributions The ComputerMuseum History Center can make tothe culture of Silicon Valley in the next10 years?

The Museum is international in scopeand not bounded by geography, but weare physically based in Silicon Valleybecause it is the current center of theworld for the computer industry. Weintend to become one of the landmarkinstitutions here. We will be one of the“things to see” for the high-school andabove crowd. We will be one of theregular tourist attractions to whichvisitors at Silicon Valley companies and conventions go—they will go to TheTech to learn about the latest in scienceand technology, and to our Museum tosee how computers happened and whodid it. Our location is an extraordinarysite next to the dirigible hangar atMoffett Field, and our building will bearchitecturally significant and not justanother concrete tilt-up. More than that,our goal is to become the center foractivities and events that are infusedwith computer history, to be the placeto take pride in our accomplishments.From live lectures by pioneers to privatecompany events in “The Hall ofSupercomputers,” from seminars onhistory to company press parties amongthe exhibits, the Museum will be adestination.

Eleanor Dickman is Vice President of Development & Public Relations at The Computer Museum History Center

PA G E 1 3

FOCUS ONPEOPLE

LENAND DONNA:PARTNERS IN PHILANTHROPYAND LIFEELEANOR DICKMAN

PA G E 1 2

Note: We invite you to meet recentlymarried Len Shustek (co-founder ofNetwork General, occasional professorat Stanford University, and currentChairman of the Board of Trustees ofThe Computer Museum History Center)and Donna Dubinsky (former presidentof Palm Computing, co-founder and CEOof Handspring, and new member of theBoard of Trustees of the Museum).Here, in their own words, are theirreasons for supporting the Museum. We hope you will enjoy, as we so oftendo, their enthusiasm, insight, andcommitment to a good cause.

Len, you’ve been involved in TheComputer Museum History Center for a long time. Please comment on thecontinuing fascination you have for this institution and articulate why.

The computing revolution is not just aphenomenon of interest to the computerindustry; it is reshaping our civilization.Most people would agree that thecomputer is one of the half-dozen mostsignificant inventions ever, and itsultimate effect on our lives isimpossible to predict.

The astounding thing is that most of itshistory has unfolded within the last 50years. Many of the pioneers are stillliving. Yet viewed from 500 years fromnow, this will seem like a point event:“suddenly, computers appeared.”

We owe it to ourselves, and ourdescendents, to tell the story of how it happened. And it’s only incidentally a story of machines; it’s more richly a story of successes and failures, ofcompany founders and investors, ofevangelists and charlatans, ofvisionaries and beneficiaries of thatvision. It is, in other words, a story of people.

Len, you’ve often expressed concernsthat the “legacy of the information ageis [in danger of] being lost.” Why doyou feel that The Computer MuseumHistory Center is the “right” place tosee that legacy is preserved?

There are very few organizations in theworld whose primary focus is preservingthe history of the information revolution.The Museum has that as its solemission and it is, as investmentbankers like to say, a “pure play.” It hasno internal competing interests. It hasamassed what is probably the bestcollection of computer history artifactsin the world, which was seeded by thecollection from The Computer Museumin Boston and has been aggressivelyexpanded since.

More importantly, The ComputerMuseum History Center has an involved community of people who arepassionate about the mission. Thatincludes our hard-working staff as well as volunteers of all kinds: board

September and October were especiallybusy months here at The ComputerMuseum History Center with both staffand volunteers participating in a numberof events. We presented two lecturesthat were part of our on-going lectureseries, hosted an event for TTIVanguard, and participated in theVintage Computer Festival. TheMuseum’s volunteer corps provided atremendous amount of help and supportfor all of these events. Very specialthanks go out to Dave Babcock, LeeCourtney, Sue Cox, Pat Elson, JakeFeinler, John C. Green, Tracy King, RonMak, Eugene Miya, Charlie Pfefferkorn,Bill Scofield, Ed Thelen, and BetsyToole.

The lecture series plays a special roleat the Museum by giving usopportunities to deliver on ourcommitment to preserve and presentthe stories of the information age.These are the stories that inspire usand amplify the importance of thehuman experience that is such a criticalpart of technological achievement.

On September 6, a diverse audience ofmore than 100 people from children toold-timers attended a lecture by high-tech nomad, Steve Roberts. A pioneer

in integrating mobile computing andcommunications, Roberts has pedaledover 17,000 miles around the US on acomputerized and networked recumbentbicycle that allowed him to remainconnected and productive whilewandering freely. During hispresentation, Roberts demonstrated hisbicycle, the BEHEMOTH. Later, during areception at the Museum’s VisibleStorage Exhibit Area, attendees wereable to examine the bike up close, aswell as check out Steve’s latest work inprogress, a solar/sail-powered satellite-networked computerized folding trimarancalled the Microship. Again, the entirestaff, and many volunteers assistedwith this event.

On September 7, the Museum hosted areception and tour for 130 people whowere attending “The Future of Systems”conference presented by TTI Vanguard.Executive Director & CEO John Toolewelcomed the group on behalf of theMuseum, and was followed by NASAspeakers Bill Berry, Lynn Rothschild,and Peter Norvig, who discussedNASA’s latest research projects.

About 75 people attended a lecture onSeptember 28 by Professor RichardGrimsdale of the University of Sussex.

A computer pioneer who got hardwareworking in 1947, Professor Grimsdaletalked about his work on industrialapplications of process controlcomputers including the Ferranti Mark1. He designed what is considered oneof the earliest transistor computers—the Manchester University TransistorComputer. Professor Grimsdale showedthe audience the Williams Tube from theFerranti Mark 1 and a drum from theAtlas, a computer that had a 100-nanosecond read-only memory.

The Computer Museum History Centerwas a large presence at this year’sVintage Computer Festival (September30 and October 1). An estimated 400people visited our booth where we wereshowed them the Apollo GuidanceComputer, the Apple 1, a workingKenbak-1, a Scelbi, and IvanSutherland’s VR glasses prototype,among other artifacts. John Toole andDag Spicer presented a seminar, andDag was an exhibit judge. AdditionalMuseum staff (Betsy Toole and ChrisGarcia) also participated in this eventand were supported by volunteers JohnFrancis, Lee Courtney, Alex Bochannek,Ed Thelen, Mike Walton, Mike Albaugh,and Eli Goldberg.

The rest of the year looks as if it isgoing to continue at a hectic pace withthree lectures and the Fellow AwardsBanquet already scheduled. Be sure tocheck the calendar of events on page17 to see what’s ahead. We are alsomounting a vigorous year-end fundraising campaign and continuing todevelop plans for the construction ofour permanent home. Many thanks tothe donors, volunteers, and staff whocontinue to provide the support we needto make The Computer Museum HistoryCenter the preeminent resource of itskind in the world.

The Computer Museum History Centerpreserves the personalities, stories,and visions of the information agethrough its extensive archive ofvideotapes—now 2,000 titles andgrowing. The Museum is proud to offera wide selection of its video holdings for classroom and personal use.Available soon through our website:

Thomas Sterling on BEOWULF

Cliff Stoll, Whit Diffie, Peter Neumann,and John Markoff on COMPUTER CRIME

Stuart Feldman on the OBJECTS OF

E-COMMERCE (OOPSLA 1999)

Several more new titles will beannounced soon as the Museumcontinues to record its lecture seriesand collect other interesting andimportant presentations. Our archives include:

MUSEUM "COMPUTER HISTORY" LECTURES byleading computing innovators. Often thesevideos are the only permanent record of important talks and favorite ideas of people who have influenced the technologyrevolution.

MUSEUM "HISTORY IN THE MAKING"

LECTURES, meant to capture the presentvision, technology, and process of peoplewho may one day be important parts ofcomputing history.

RECORDINGS IN THE GRAY-BELL ARCHIVE,including presentations by computing legendsand innovators derived from more than adecade of work by University VideoCommunications (UVC).

Steve Roberts takes a final spin on hiscomputerized and networked recumbent bicycle,the BEHEMOTH (Big Electronic Human-EngineeredMachine… Only Too Heavy.) The BEHEMOTH is nowon an open-ended loan to the Museum and can beseen in the Visible Storage Exhibit Area.

A guest at the Steve Roberts lecture examines theuser interface that connected Steve to his bike.One of Steve’s goals was to continue his writingwhile mobile. This helmet allowed him to do that. Ithas a heads-up display unit with a 720 x 280screen, a cursor controlled by ultrasonic sensorsactivated by head movement, and a keyboard inthe handlebars. To combat the problem ofoverheating in the Styrofoam-lined helmet, Steverecirculated ice water through the helmet liner froma seven liter tank.

Steve Roberts explains his latest project, theMicroship. He is building a pair of canoe-basedamphibian pedal/solar/sail Linux-poweredtrimarans. This Fall, Roberts, his partner, Natasha,and their cat, Java, will set sail on a multi-yearexpedition thoughout the US.

Volunteer docent Ed Thelen conducts a tour of theVisible Storage Exhibit Area for TTI Vanguardconference attendees during a reception hosted bythe Museum

Executive Director & CEO John Toole welcomesguests to Professor Richard Grimsdale’s lecture onThe Manchester University Transistor Computer

(from left) Eleanor Dickman, VP of Development ≺ Dag Spicer, Curator and Manager of HistoricalCollections; Professor Richard Grimsdale; BetsyToole; Executive Director John Toole; and ChrisGarcia, Historical Collections Coordinator, enjoyingthe Grimsdale lecture reception

Chairman of the Board Len Shustek shows lectureattendees how the Cray 2 kept its components coolby immersing its entire CPU in inert fluorocarbon,the substance used for artificial blood

PA G E 1 4 PA G E 1 5

REPORT ON MUSEUMACTIVITIESKAREN MATHEWS

VIDEO COLLECTION EXPANDS WITH NEW RECORDINGS

WWW.COMPUTERHISTORY.ORG/STORE

UPCOMING EVENTS

PA G E 1 6 PA G E 1 7

THANKS TO OUR ANNUAL FUND DONORS

YES, I want to help save computing history. Please process my donation

at the level indicated. I look forward to learning more about the programs

and activities of The Computer Museum History Center, especially its plans

for growth in the coming years.

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CORE BENEFACTOR

____ other $ ________________

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MAJOR CORE SUPPORTER

____ 8K ($8,192)

CORE SUPPORTER

____ 4K ($4,096)

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Please return this form (or facsimile)

with your remittance to:

The Computer Museum History Center

P.O. Box 367 Moffett Field, CA 94035

+1 650 604 2575 (tel)

+1 650 604 2594 (fax)

www.computerhistory.org

YOUR ANNUAL DONATION to The Computer Museum History Center will

help preserve the artifacts and stories of the Information Age for future generations.

Please help us fulfill this important mission.

WELCOME to our network of supporters. We look forward to getting to know you!

CONTACT INFORMATION

JOHN TOOLE

Executive Director & CEO+1 650 604 2581jtoole@computerhistor y.org

GWEN BELL

Founding President+1 650 604 2568gbell@computerhistor y.org

AMY BODINE

Collections Intern+1 650 604 2577bodine@computerhistor y.org

LEE COURTNEY

Volunteer Coordinator cour tney@computerhistor y.org

ELEANOR WEBER DICKMAN

Vice President of Development & Public Relations+1 650 604 2575dickman@computerhistor y.org

WENDY-ANN FRANCIS

Of fice Administrator+1 650 604 5205francis@computerhistor y.org

CHRIS GARCIA

Historical Collections Coordinator+1 650 604 2572garcia@computerhistor y.org

KAREN MATHEWS

Executive Vice President+1 650 604 2568mathews@computerhistor y.org

DAG SPICER

Curator & Manager of Historical Collections+1 650 604 2578spicer@computerhistor y.org

JULIE STEIN

Executive Assistant+1 650 604 5145stein@computerhistor y.org

KIRSTEN TASHEV

Building & Exhibits Project Manager+1 650 604 2580tashev@computerhistor y.org

BETSY TOOLE

Of fice Assistant+1 650 604 2567etoole@computerhistor y.org

KARYN WOLFE

Development Coordinator & Special Projects Manager+1 650 604 2570wolfe@computerhistor y.org

THE COMPUTER MUSEUM HISTORY CENTER

Building T12-AMof fett Field, CA 94035+1 650 604 2579+1 650 604 2594 (fax)

orTHE COMPUTER MUSEUM HISTORY CENTER

PO Box 367, Mof fett Field, CA 94035

WWW.COMPUTERHISTORY.ORG

ANNUAL FUND APPEAL

Is your name on our list of Annual Funddonors? If so, you are one of a selectgroup of people who appreciates theimpact of the computing revolution onour lives today. You also take pride inyour own role in ensuring that thishistory of innovation is preserved forposterity. We are grateful for yourgenerosity and support. And if yourname is not on this list, we welcomeyour contribution and will be delightedto add your name to our roster. Youmay use the form on this page to joinour family of donors. Thank you!

STOCK DONATIONS

We gratefully accept direct transfers ofsecurities to our account. Appreciatedsecurities forwarded to our brokershould be designated as follows:

FBO: The Computer Museum HistoryCenter; DWR Account # 112-014033-072; DTC #015; and sent to MatthewIves at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter,245 Lytton Avenue, Suite 200, PaloAlto, CA 94301-1963.

In order to be properly credited for your gift, you must notify us directlywhen you make the transfer. If you have any questions regarding a transfer of securities, please contactEleanor Dickman.

NOVEMBER 8, 6 PM

THE STRETCH-HARVEST COMPILER

Fran Allen, IBM FellowComputer History LecturePake Auditorium, Xerox PARC

NOVEMBER 9, 6 PM

2000 FELLOW AWARDS BANQUET

INDUCTEES: FRAN ALLEN,

VINTON CERF, AND TOM KILBURN

Hotel Sofitel at San Francisco BayRedwood Shores, California

NOVEMBER 18, 9 AM - 5 PM

VOLUNTEER WORK PARTY

Bldg 126, Moffett Field, California

DECEMBER 9, 9 AM - 5 PM

VOLUNTEER WORK PARTY

Bldg 126, Moffett Field, California

FEBRUARY 6, 6 PM

IT’S 2001: WHERE’S HAL?

David G StorkRicoh California Research Center &

Stanford UniversityLocation TBD

ATTENDING EVENTS AND TOURING

THE COLLECTION

The Museum is housed at NASA AmesResearch Center, Moffett Field, California.The collection is open to the general publicby appointment on Wednesdays at 1:00 pm.To attend an event or to tour the collection,please call Wendy-Ann Francis at least 24hours in advance. Donors may also requestprivate tours.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

The Museum tries to match its needs withthe skills and interests of its volunteers.Monthly volunteer work parties are listed inthe calenda. For more information, pleasevisit our volunteer web page atwww.computerhistory.org/volunteers.

We acknowledge with deep appreciation theindividuals andorganizations that have given generously to the Annual Fund.

CORE BENEFACTORS

16K+ ($16,384+)

Gwen & C Gordon BellElaine & Eric Hahn Gardner Hendrie &

Karen JohansenPeter HirshbergDave HouseSteve & Michele Kirsch

FoundationJohn ShochLen Shustek

MAJOR CORE

SUPPORTERS

8K+ ($8,192+)

Paul & Evelyn BaranDonna DubinskyChuck & Jenny HouseJohn Mashey & Angela HeyMicrosoft Matching Gift ProgramIke & Ronee NassiSuhas & Jayashree Patil

Family FundBernard L PeutoGrant & Dorrit SaviersSigma Partners

CORE SUPPORTERS

1K+ ($1,024+)

ACM - SF Bay Area ChapterPamela AlexanderFrances Allen

Gene & Marian AmdahlAnonymousShanda BahlesJohn & Sheila BanningJeff & MacKenzie BezosSteven Blank & Alison ElliottBarry W BoehmGary BoonePeggy BurkeNed ChapinRichard J ClaytonPatti & Ed ClussThe Computer Language

CompanyCMP MediaStephen CrockerYogen & Peggy DalalWilliam DavidowLloyd & Eleanor DickmanDisk/TrendL John Doerr & Ann HowlandJohn HumbleGordon E EubanksWhitfield Diffie &

Mary Lynn FischerFish & RichardsonBob FrankstonMarc FriendSamuel H FullerRobert B GarnerBill & Melinda Gates FoundationCharles & Nancy GeschkeJohn & Patricia GrillosForrest GunnisonTrip HawkinsWilliam R Hearst IIIDr & Mrs Marcian E HoffChristine Hughes &

Abe OstrovskyColin Hunter

C Bradford JeffriesHal JespersonRobert E KahnJerry KaplanAlan Kay & Bonnie MacBirdErnest E KeetHarold KellmanKiasma - Museum of

Contemporary ArtDr & Mrs Leonard KleinrockDonald & Jill KnuthMarc LeBrunRichard LowenthalDaniel & Karen LynchKaren MathewsRobert R MaxfieldFrank L McConnellCharles McManisCarver A MeadGeorge A MichaelMicrosoft StudiosMid-Peninsula BankGordon E & Betty I MooreHal NissleyCharles PfefferkornPaul PierceChris Poda & Nancy MasonDennis RitchieToni & Arthur RockDave & Jan RossettiJean SammetPeter & Valerie SamsonMorey & Barbara SchapiraMichael SimmonsCharles SimonyiMichael SkokAlvy Ray SmithMr & Mrs Robert F SproullSkip StritterDel Thorndike & Steve Teicher

Richard TennantLarry Tesler & Colleen BartonJohn & Elizabeth TooleL Curtis Widdoes JrAnn WinbladWilliam Wulf & Anita K JonesEnrica D’Ettorre &

Pierluigi ZappacostaCindy & Peter Ziebelman

GENERAL SUPPORTERS

AnonymousAdobeMary Artibee & Milt MalloryDennis AustinAutodeskAllen Baum & Donya WhiteErich & Renee BlochPaolo BormidoJohn D BrillhartChristopher Charla &

Carrie ShepherdCompaq CorporationGeorge ComstockGeorge ConradesSamuel CookeMichael CoulterPeter & Dorothy DenningMark DuncanJohn DykstraElectronic Design

Automation ConsortiumRay EganDouglas G FairbairnBill FeiereisenDavid H FloydJerry FochtmanJohn & Wendy-Ann FrancisBill and Peri FrantzDwight Freund

Alan FrisbieRev Dr Christopher GarciaBandit GangwereMichael GodfreyGary M GoelkelEli GoldbergRobert GoldbergThomas GouldBert GraeveRollin HardingAnn HardyJohn & Andrea HennessyPatricia Nelson HerringThea HodgeIEEE Computer SocietyImagine MediaMark KaminskyJordan KareThomas KurtzWalter LeuchsFred LoewyDonald & Alice LoughryCarl & Claudia LowensteinSteven MayerLandon NollDavid NovakDave OlsonRichard PekelneyScott PetersonAntonio PradoRobert PraetoriusBill & Rochelle PrattMark ReschDaniel RubinRita Seplowitz SaltzJohn SanguinettiFritz & Marie SchneiderRobert SherwoodJean ShulerDavid Singmaster

Roger SmithThe Sopkin FamilyDag SpicerArmando P StettnerSun Microsystems Foundation

Matching Gift ProgramChris SwensonEdward TaftMorgan TamplinEdward ThelenJames TomaykoUnited Way of King CountyUnited Way of Santa ClaraChristopher VogtGreg & Sysan WagemanBud WarashinaMichael W WatsonMichael WeaverCarol WelshJohn WhartonDuane WiseKaryn Wolfe & John R MabryAlan YeoBob Zeidman

This list is current as of October31, 2000. Please notify us ofany changes to your listing(wolfe@computerhistory.org).Thank you.

BEHEMOTH (Big Electronic Human-Engineered Machine... Only Too Heavy) (1983-1991), L2003.2001, Loan from Steven K. Roberts

IBM Type 85 Electrostatic Storage Tube (from IBM 701) (1952), L2062.2001, Loan from Bob Brubaker

Gavilan Mobile Computer (1981), X2001.2001, Gift of David Fylstra

Apple Newton Message Pad (1993), X2002.2001, Gift of David Fylstra

Palm Pilot Prototype (1995), X1980.2001, Gift of Robert Marinetti

TI SR-56 Programmable Calculator (1976), X2013.2001, Gift of James Tomayko

Halicrafters Super Defiant Radio (ca 1940), X2003.2001, Gift of Harvey Ulijohn

Varityper (1980), X2043.2001, Gift of Tom Kleinschmidt

Heathkit H-89 (1980), X2052.2001, Gift of Paul Edwards

Hayes 300 bps MODEM (1978), X2053.2001, Gift of Paul Edwards

Cray Y-M/P 8I (1988), X2044.2001, Gift of NASA Ames Research Center

RECENT DONATIONSTO THE COMPUTER MUSEUM HISTORY CENTER COLLECTION

Explained from CORE 1.3

40 RCA Selectron tubes on RandCorporation’s JOHNNIAC Computerconstituted the 256 word 40-bit memoryof the machine. A Selectron tubeconsists of a large cylindrical vacuumtube with a thermionic cathode downthe axis and a dielectric forming thecurved surface; bits are written andread by a complex series of “holdingbeams” and a very precise mechanicalalignment of internal circuit elements.The Selectron was designed by RCA’sJan Rachman in the early 1950s andsaw limited use in the first generation ofcustom built computing machines suchas the RAND JOHNNIAC. JOHNNIAC wentoperational for the first time in the firsthalf of 1953 with 256 40-bit words ofRCA Selectron Tube storage. The plansfor the tube itself were scaled down

from providing 4,096 bits per tube to256, largely due to the device’sinherent complexity and poormanufacturability. Nonetheless,Selectron memory was very reliable,once tubes were qualified and “burned-in.” Later that year, RAND contractedwith Telemeter Magnetics for the firstcommercially built core storage for theJOHNNIAC. The Selectron tubes

were removed in 1954 in anticipation ofthe coming core storage replacement. In March 1955, the machine was backon-line with 4,096 40-bit words ofmagnetic core storage. This became thedominant form of computer memory fornearly the next thirty years, and theSelectron’s brief lifetime as a memorytechnology came to an end.

Prior to core storage’s availability,however, ENIAC co-designer PresperEckert commented favorably on theSelectron as a viable memory system,stating: “Except for its complexconstructional details and its cost, thereis much to recommend the Selectron asa memory system: it does not requireregeneration; the access time isreasonable; there is no destruction onreadout; the locating system does notdrift since it is mechanical in characterand fixed in relation to the storageelement; and there is no resolutionproblem since the storage elements are isolated onefrom another. Somewhat like otherelectrostatic systems, the Selectron isnot subject to loss of memory in theevent of a short power failure.”

Please send your best guess tomystery@computerhistory.org before12/15/00 along with your name andshipping address. The first three correctentries will each receive a free poster: 2 5 Y E A R S O F M I C R O P R O C E S S O R

E V O L U T I O N .

The Computer Museum History Center

PO Box 367, Moffett Field, CA 94035

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NONPROFIT ORGU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDMOUNTAIN VIEW, CA

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MYSTERYITEMSFROM THE COLLECTION OF THE COMPUTER MUSEUM HISTORY CENTER

WHAT ISTHIS?THIS ITEM WILL BE EXPLAINED IN THE

NEXT ISSUE OF CORE.

RCA Selectron Tubefrom JOHNNIAC, RCA(1953), XD215.80,Gift of John Postley