The beginnings at MIT

Author

Lee, J.A.N. ; McCarthy, John ; Licklider, Joseph

Author_Institution

Dept. of Comput. Sci., Virginia Tech., Blacksburg, VA, USA

Volume

14

Issue

1

fYear

1992

fDate

6/14/1905 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

18

Lastpage

54

Abstract

A chronology of computer activity at MIT is presented. Reminiscences by John McCarthy on the history of time sharing are given. Excerpts from Man-Computer Interfaces by J.C.R. Licklider are included. Consideration is also given to a study group report, written by Herbert Teager, which recommended the acquisition of an IBM 7030 (Stretch), although Teager recognized that he was unable to obtain all the necessary data regarding its capabilities, and the support software was an unknown factor. It is concluded that, retrospectively Teager´s arguments were sound; his choice of the IBM Stretch was unfortunate. The conclusions and recommendations of the Teager report did not reflect the views of the majority of the committee. Thus, a second report was submitted that recommended the acquisition of not just a large computing system, but also a system capable of supporting time-sharing.<>

Keywords

IBM computers; history; research initiatives; time-sharing systems; IBM 7030; IBM Stretch; MIT; computer activity; history; support software; time sharing; Buffer storage; Cities and towns; Computer interfaces; Laboratories; Protection; Telecommunication computing; Telecommunication standards; Telephony; Teleprinting; Time sharing computer systems;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Annals of the History of Computing, IEEE

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1058-6180

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/85.145317

Filename

145317