1 Jun
2012
1 Jun
'12
7:09 a.m.
mc68010 wrote:
What is this thing ? Really cool looking.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/290721494251
This looks to be the operator's console from an IBM 610 Auto-point computer.
There is a lot more to this machine than this device. By itself, the device isn't
really useful, but it is indeed a beautiful display piece.
IBM called the 610 a computer in marketing materials, but internally, it was known as a
"Personal Calculator".
I consider the machine programmable calculator rather than a computer, because it
isn't a stored program machine. Programs were read step at a time from paper tape,
and a magnetic drum was used for numeric data storage (not program steps).
See http://www.columbia.edu/cu/computinghistory/610.html for more information.
Too bad the rest of it isn't available - it is definitely a very cool machine.
Rick Bensene
The Old Calculator Museum
http://oldcalculatormuseum.com