Title
Building Computers in 1953: The JohnniacCatalog Number
102703215Type
Moving imageDescription
From lecture abstract:The Johnniac computer, built by The Rand Corporation, was one of seventeen custom-built machines inspired by the Institute of Advanced Study (Princeton) architecture. This design specified a binary, bit-parallel machine optimized for "number crunching" and introduced the \stored program" concept--that is, the storing of both data and instructions in memory. Using 2300 vacuum tubes, the IAS machine was the result of work supervised by Dr. John von Neumann, to whom the offspring-computer named "Johnniac" paid homage (though von Neumann "disapproved." ) Other machines of the IAS-class besides the Johnniac included: the MANIAC (Los Alamos), the ILLIAC (University of Illinois), the SILIAC (Australia), and IBM's first electronic, general-purpose computer, the Model 701.
The lecture takes place in front of the Johnniac, in building 126 at the NASA Ames Research Center, home to The Computer Museum History Center, precursor to the Computer History Museum. Johnniac is part of the Computer History Museum's permanent collection.
Date
1998-09-15Credits
Armer, Paul; Bernstein, Morton I.; Gunning, William; Ware, Willis H.Participants
| Armer, Paul, Speaker |
| Bernstein, Morton I., Speaker |
| Gunning, William, Speaker |
| Ware, Willis H., Speaker |
Publisher
Computer History MuseumPlace of Publication
Mountain VIew, CA, USFormat
Mini-DVCategory
LectureCollection Title
CHM Lecture CollectionLot Number
X4820.2009Related Records
| 102738577 | Building Computers in 1953: The Johnniac |