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  • Re: 75 years ago today

    From John Levine@3:633/10 to All on Saturday, June 13, 2026 17:43:32
    According to Stefan Ram <ram@zedat.fu-berlin.de>:
    75 years ago [1951-06-14] today [2026-06-14],

    the US Census Bureau dedicated its first UNIVAC computer.

    Unlike its predecessors, the UNIVAC I was groundbreaking
    because it handled both numerical and alphabetical data
    natively, and it replaced traditional punch cards with
    high-speed magnetic tape storage.

    The main reason it was groundbreaking was that it was the one of the
    first computers you could order and buy. It's widely considered the
    second, since the British Ferranti Mark I was shipped a few months earlier.

    All previous computers had been one-off research projects.



    --
    Regards,
    John Levine, johnl@taugh.com, Primary Perpetrator of "The Internet for Dummies",
    Please consider the environment before reading this e-mail. https://jl.ly

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.16
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Bill Findlay@3:633/10 to All on Saturday, June 13, 2026 23:11:09
    On 13 Jun 2026, Stefan Ram wrote
    (in article<today-20260613132806@ram.dialup.fu-berlin.de>):

    75 years ago [1951-06-14] today [2026-06-14],

    the US Census Bureau dedicated its first UNIVAC computer.

    Coverage in the general press was minimal.

    The UNIVAC I (Universal Automatic Computer) was the world's
    first commercially produced electronic digital computer,
    delivered to the US Census Bureau in 1951.

    The Ferranti Mark 1 begs to differ.

    --
    Bill Findlay


    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.16
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From David Wade@3:633/10 to All on Sunday, June 14, 2026 08:38:42
    On 13/06/2026 23:11, Bill Findlay wrote:
    On 13 Jun 2026, Stefan Ram wrote
    (in article<today-20260613132806@ram.dialup.fu-berlin.de>):

    75 years ago [1951-06-14] today [2026-06-14],

    the US Census Bureau dedicated its first UNIVAC computer.

    Coverage in the general press was minimal.

    The UNIVAC I (Universal Automatic Computer) was the world's
    first commercially produced electronic digital computer,
    delivered to the US Census Bureau in 1951.

    The Ferranti Mark 1 begs to differ.

    Aren't firsts so hard! The Ferranti MK1 was delivered to Manchester
    University in Feb 1951....

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.16
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)