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IBM introduces the Stretch computing system, the most powerful computer of its day, which pioneered such advanced systems concepts as lookahead,
pipelining, the transistor and the byte. The company also introduces the
solid-state 7000 series computers, replacing the 700 series of vacuum-tube
machines. Throughout the early 1960's, there were a number of commercially
successful second generation computers used in business, universities, and
government from companies such as Burroughs, Control Data, Honeywell, IBM,
Sperry-Rand, and others.
These second generation computers were also of solid state design, and
contained transistors in place of vacuum tubes. They also contained all the
components we associate with the modern day computer: printers, tape storage,
disk storage, memory, operating systems, and stored programs. One important
example was the IBM 1401, which was universally accepted throughout industry,
and is considered by many to be the Model T of the computer industry. By 1965,
most large business routinely processed financial information using second
generation computers. |
