Re: Blast From Past - IBM 670 Mag Drum Computer

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_650
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These were quite popular during the mid 50s up
until the early 60s. Compared to other brands
they were CHEAP - biz and schools could afford them.
First known install was for an insurance company.
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In truth, check the instruction set, they were
closer to what we'd now call a 'programmable
calculator' rather than a general-purpose computer.
However, cleverly employed, they could still be
very useful.
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Some of the instructions were very CISC ... like
'PCH' for writing to a punch card. Clearly there
was a lot of hidden code that one instruction
evoked.
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Tubes/valves ... 125Khz, not Mhz or Ghz, clock
speed. Instruction speeds measured in milliseconds.
1000 to 4000 WORDS of disk memory. Maybe around
40 instructions per second ...
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A variety of add-on units.
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Odd base-10 decimal words. Program an emulator in
shitty Python on yer laptop and it'd be likely
thousands of times faster than the original unit :-)
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Oh, typical setup, *6000* pounds of metal.