If you have ever read a post with “das blinkin’ lights – this is where it came from; that console was a visual rendition (to the left of the guy at the systems console) of exactly what was going on in that massive computer that consumed a huge part of the basement of the Center – and now, your smartphone will run rings around it with capabilities it never had – and at a price around well less than 1% than just the electrical bill. Yikes – 40 years ago was it that I sat in front of its twin as a student operator (except we had a fancy-schmancy green CRT terminal that was the Director’s pride and joy instead of that typewriter / hard copy in the picture). Yup, I learned more about computer systems in toto there (and in the adjacent “terminal room” as a Teaching Assistant) that I did in my straight intro CompSci classes.
I’ll tell you – the only thing worse in dealing with those vacuum tape drives was the industrial sized paper card reader (the owners of those 3 foot long card holders NEVER kept their cards in good working order) but when the suction in the tape decks snapped the mag tape, it was an ornery job in cleaning it all up. But the paper card punch was great – bags and bags of little “chads” that had a bit of an oily sheen to the – PERFECT to bring to the balcony at the next Rocky Horror Picture Show showing.
40 years…I think I’ve held up better than that old gal…(H/T: Dark Roasted Blend)
