IBM mechnical devices

-------------Original Messages: Date: Thu, 29 Nov 2007 15:30:51 -0800 (PST) From: Fred Cisin <cisin at xenosoft.com> Subject: Re: Teaching kids about computers... For a while, I had a binder on one of my office bookshelves labelled "COBAL", due only to having a temporary worker who couldn't spell COBOL. What is the model number for the EAM card interpreter? At the college, I had a plugboard from one of them specifically set up for putting the relevant fields of COBOL source files in handy locations on the card (the interpreter did 60 columns of text, so it did not line up with the columns on cards). That particular plugboard was clearly labelled "COBOL Interpreter". So, yes, there was a COBOL interpreter :-) -- Grumpy Ol' Fred cisin at xenosoft.com -----------Reply: LOL! There were several different models - see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_IBM_products We did have one, but I don't recall which one (probably a 557 or 548); machines that printed card contents on the card were indeed called "interpreters." They were used mainly for utility bills, etc. which were often printed on punched cards to be returned with your payment for processing. We didn't do that sort of work very often, and when the cards had to be easily human-readable (such as your COBOL cards) they'd be punched on a printing keypunch (026) in the first place. BTW we also had a somewhat rare 047, which was a printing keypunch that could also read (and convert) paper tape. m