|
Re: Punched Card machine ad 1969 [message #347239 is a reply to message #347229] |
Tue, 27 June 2017 19:40 |
Charlie Gibbs
Messages: 5313 Registered: January 2012
Karma: 0
|
Senior Member |
|
|
On 2017-06-27, hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com <hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com> wrote:
> In 1969, MAI equipment had a full page ad in Computerworld for
> punched-card equipment. It touted the benefits, noting the
> systems were more economical.
They could well be more economical. A PPOE had a 077 collator
marked "MAI" in place of "IBM"; apparently MAI bought up a bunch
of old unit record machines and refurbished and rebadged them.
--
/~\ cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid (Charlie Gibbs)
\ / I'm really at ac.dekanfrus if you read it the right way.
X Top-posted messages will probably be ignored. See RFC1855.
/ \ HTML will DEFINITELY be ignored. Join the ASCII ribbon campaign!
|
|
|
Re: Punched Card machine ad 1969 [message #347244 is a reply to message #347239] |
Tue, 27 June 2017 21:11 |
hancock4
Messages: 6746 Registered: December 2011
Karma: 0
|
Senior Member |
|
|
On Tuesday, June 27, 2017 at 7:41:56 PM UTC-4, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
> On 2017-06-27, hancock4@ <hancock4@> wrote:
>
>> In 1969, MAI equipment had a full page ad in Computerworld for
>> punched-card equipment. It touted the benefits, noting the
>> systems were more economical.
>
> They could well be more economical. A PPOE had a 077 collator
> marked "MAI" in place of "IBM"; apparently MAI bought up a bunch
> of old unit record machines and refurbished and rebadged them.
A PPOE had a whole room full of tab machines--an entire application
run on them. They were retired circa 1983, along with the people who
ran them*, when they found a shorthand development tool for an online
system (sort of an RPG for CICS).
* The operators didn't mind as they were already past retirement age.
However, they would've appreciated a bit more notice than getting an
early morning phone call telling them they were terminated and not to
show up. That was nasty of management.
For a relatively small system, back in 1980, it may have been cheaper
to respond to low-volume inquiries and updates using a clerk to pull up
cards from a tub file rather than writing CICS programs, adding disk
space, CPU horsepower, and providing terminals and controllers. In 1980
all that cost serious money. By 1990, the costs of all that had dropped
dramatically. IIRC, CICS was improved, too, and was easier to write for
and more reliable.
Also, a big city ran its voter registration system wholly on punched card
tab machines (not the voting itself) until about 1981. The voting machines
were Shoup lever machines. (Which I miss. I guess I'm lazy, on the old
machines, after you voted you pulled a lever and the curtain opened. Now
nothing happens when you're done.)
|
|
|
Re: Punched Card machine ad 1969 [message #347282 is a reply to message #347244] |
Wed, 28 June 2017 13:32 |
Charlie Gibbs
Messages: 5313 Registered: January 2012
Karma: 0
|
Senior Member |
|
|
On 2017-06-28, hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com <hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com> wrote:
> Also, a big city ran its voter registration system wholly on punched card
> tab machines (not the voting itself) until about 1981. The voting machines
> were Shoup lever machines. (Which I miss. I guess I'm lazy, on the old
> machines, after you voted you pulled a lever and the curtain opened. Now
> nothing happens when you're done.)
Sort of like the politicians themselves...
When contemplating General Eisenhower winning the Presidential
election, Truman said, "He'll sit here, and he'll say, 'Do this!
Do that!' _And nothing will happen._ Poor Ike - it won't be a
bit like the Army. He'll find it very frustrating."
Speaking of Harry S Truman quotes, how's this one for irony:
A leader in the Democratic Party is a boss,
in the Republican Party he is a leader.
How times change...
--
/~\ cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid (Charlie Gibbs)
\ / I'm really at ac.dekanfrus if you read it the right way.
X Top-posted messages will probably be ignored. See RFC1855.
/ \ HTML will DEFINITELY be ignored. Join the ASCII ribbon campaign!
|
|
|
Re: Punched Card machine ad 1969 [message #347291 is a reply to message #347282] |
Wed, 28 June 2017 15:33 |
Peter Flass
Messages: 8375 Registered: December 2011
Karma: 0
|
Senior Member |
|
|
Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> wrote:
> On 2017-06-28, hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com <hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com> wrote:
>
>> Also, a big city ran its voter registration system wholly on punched card
>> tab machines (not the voting itself) until about 1981. The voting machines
>> were Shoup lever machines. (Which I miss. I guess I'm lazy, on the old
>> machines, after you voted you pulled a lever and the curtain opened. Now
>> nothing happens when you're done.)
Plus, the old machines weren't hackable. Any questions you impounded the
machines and read back the totals as often as you wanted. No random russian
could telnet in and change the votes.
>
> Sort of like the politicians themselves...
>
> When contemplating General Eisenhower winning the Presidential
> election, Truman said, "He'll sit here, and he'll say, 'Do this!
> Do that!' _And nothing will happen._ Poor Ike - it won't be a
> bit like the Army. He'll find it very frustrating."
>
> Speaking of Harry S Truman quotes, how's this one for irony:
>
> A leader in the Democratic Party is a boss,
> in the Republican Party he is a leader.
>
> How times change...
>
--
Pete
|
|
|
Re: Punched Card machine ad 1969 [message #347332 is a reply to message #347291] |
Thu, 29 June 2017 08:51 |
scott
Messages: 4237 Registered: February 2012
Karma: 0
|
Senior Member |
|
|
Peter Flass <peter_flass@yahoo.com> writes:
> Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> wrote:
>> On 2017-06-28, hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com <hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Also, a big city ran its voter registration system wholly on punched card
>>> tab machines (not the voting itself) until about 1981. The voting machines
>>> were Shoup lever machines. (Which I miss. I guess I'm lazy, on the old
>>> machines, after you voted you pulled a lever and the curtain opened. Now
>>> nothing happens when you're done.)
>
> Plus, the old machines weren't hackable.
Certainly remote hacks were not possible. Anyone with unsupervised
access however could easily vote as many times as desired. I do miss
the lever machines, myself.
|
|
|
Re: Punched Card machine ad 1969 [message #347354 is a reply to message #347282] |
Thu, 29 June 2017 22:52 |
hancock4
Messages: 6746 Registered: December 2011
Karma: 0
|
Senior Member |
|
|
On Wednesday, June 28, 2017 at 1:33:03 PM UTC-4, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
> Sort of like the politicians themselves...
>
> When contemplating General Eisenhower winning the Presidential
> election, Truman said, "He'll sit here, and he'll say, 'Do this!
> Do that!' _And nothing will happen._ Poor Ike - it won't be a
> bit like the Army. He'll find it very frustrating."
One could say that today...
|
|
|