Computer History: DATA PROCESSING Introduction (1972) (IBM 360, Burroughs, CDC, MICR, punch cards)

Computer History-- Data Processing: An excellent 1972 educational film introduces “Data Processing” with scenes of adding machines, IBM System/360-65 mainframe, IBM 2401 magnetic tape machines, Control Data Corporation (CDC) image scanner; Burroughs Punch Tape Reader and MICR/OCR, Control Data Corporation’s CDC 160 computer and much more equipment. Color, run time 12 minutes.

For 2K and 4K stock footage, visit:

INDEX to many machines identified:
00:07 Burroughs adding machine
00:43 Paper filing methods
00:43 IBM Selectric Typewriter
00:45 ADDO-X paper tape calculator (by AB Addo)
00:49 Automatic Page Collating Machine
00:57 Xerox 2400 Photocopier
01:05 IBM 029 Keypunch Machine (card punch)
02:00 IBM Card Sorter
02:41 IBM Model 188 Collator of 1961;
IBM 602-A Calculating Punch Machine
03:18 IBM Accounting Machine Model 407 ?
05:21 IBM System/360 model 65 mainframe
06:40 IBM Plug Board Program (examples)
07:41 IBM 2401 Mag Tape Machine;
Computer Light Panel (blinking)
07:50 Operator adjusting IBM tape machines

09:30 Magnetic Disk

10:20 Optical Scanner;
Paper Tape Punch/Reader (Burroughs);
Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) (Burroughs Corporation)

11:54 Viatron System 21 Terminals
11:15 Views of the Data Center and Personnel;
Electrical Power Station Control Center;
CDC 160A Console and tape drives
END

Notes:Some of the punch card scenes were filmed at the Statistical Tabulating Corporation (“STC”) a large computer data processing service bureau during the 1960’s-1970’s. STC later sold its business to Automatic Data Processing (“ADP”) in 1980.

[GeneralThargor]

this 'magnetic disk' wizardry will never take off, crazy what people used to think!

[codingprograms]

I think every programmer should watch this video. It gives you a clearer understanding of what you were getting into.

[Spoooce]

Crazy to me that there was remote computing being done with technology basically from the 60s, that’s so cool

[amitraam]

07:00 When programming was done with rewiring a breadboard-like device.. Suddenly I feel very good about my first kit, which had a hexadecimal keypad.

[martincox]

The guy with the coffee cup is a systems programmer!! Sys progs rule

[jms]

Who’d have thought computers could do all this

[scottcass]

I was reading punched cards into & taking out blue bar fanfold paper off the printer 8 hours a day. Minimum wage was about $2.00 an hour. Computer operators made about $5.00. Put lots of tennis shoes on my kids. No regrets.

[heavyaccept]

Thanks a lot for uploading this historical footage! Glad to learn about the old mega-computers!

[freaker]

looking at all the paper, I'm assuming how many trees the computer has actually saved. :p

[prairiewolfedogg]

This is indeed a fascinating review of computing history in more ways than one. Yes, the advances in technology over the last half century put us beyond the realm of science fiction as it was envisioned in the early 70s. However, pbservations about societal and cultural differences over time, even as shown here in this narrow subject, are no less striking. For example, the ladies and gents staffing these data processing centers are for the most part normal weight, what today we would describe as slim. What a contrast from our present age.

Also, the business attire shown here, men in suit coats, dress shirts, ties, and women wearing actual dresses (with pearls!) scream super professional, even elegant, compared to today's sloppy casual styles in the workplace. Yes, technology has progressed far more than most people could have imagined, but who would have ever guessed that the same civilization that produced this technological miracle, over the same 50 years, would devolve into a fractious, solipsist Götterdämmerung?

[martincox]

I started on a 360/40 with 2314 disk drives 10MB each 16KB supervisor DOS. The site still used a tabulator and sorter
One the first programs I wrote in RPG was to stacker select certain cards from a large deck we had 2540 card reader/punch that two read stacks two punch stacks and reader/punch stack.

[MilMike]

I am a developer - seeing how they programmed everything back then is just crazy! They prepared breadbords for these punching machines which were then used to calculate stuff. They even didn't have monitors but printers. We have it so good nowadays. I should be more thankful for such things like a usb stick or a monitor ;)

[zoltanberkes]

1972? That time command controlled, time shared multitasking computers existed fot 8-9 years. Even UNIX was 2 years old.

[davidgrisez]

A lot of things have changed over the years. I was born in 1951 and saw a lot of the older computer equipment seen in this video. Now computers have advanced incredibly over my lifetime. The computer equipment that I have sitting on my dining room table would not too many years ago had been considered a supercomputer.

[marcwolf]

In my early computing days at school I never had the advanced maths they thought that was needed for the computer courses. All the Matrixes, Arcs Tans, Cosines etc.
But I knew away from the ivory tower universities computers were doing simple Add, Subtracts, Multiplication, and Division. Also sorting, storing, and string maniplation.
I argued long and hard that the future of computers was not in the advanced sciences, but mundane clerical work.
Yes I was laughed at, riduculed, and left to make my own computing journey. Self taught I had a career from 1978 to 2000 till I retired early.
I was 14 in 74 when I made mu predictions. I wonder how many of my friends who did the uni track were dissapointed that their advanced math knowledge was... never used.

[phil]

Yet in 2023 any photocopier in any office is a nightmare

[kevinhoward]

seems like punch cards were the norm for about 30 years.

[uriituw]

I bought a new MacBook Pro, and all my punches cards keep getting stuck!

[fredfarnackle]

Interesting, however I think this is older than 1972. I was working at the IBM factory in southern England from 1970 to 1972 where we were building complete IBM System 370 mainframes - among other things.

[jkomshi]

Great video... but didn't see much/any re Burroughs... you might consider history split between business and science processing where IBM, CDC, etc focused more on Engineering and soace launch, Versus Burroughs, NCR focus on Goverment Logistics and Banking. One focus on FORTRAN and Math, the other on COBOL and Business Data Processing along with peripheral devices in support of specialties (check sorters, magnetic ledger cards, versus science instruments that HP and TI split off into. By no means of a distraction from this great work, but out growth)