Invisible <voi### [at] devnull> wrote:
> Clarence1898 wrote:
>
> > This is an image of the first mainframe I worked with in 1969.
> >
> > http://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/mainframe/images/2423PH2050.jpg
>
> Trippy! :-D
>
> > It was an IBM 360 model 50. The tape drives in the background are IBM 2400
> > models.  The machine was controlled from the IBM 1052 console, a modified IBM
> > typewriter.  The IBM 2501 just in front and to the left of the operator could
> > read about 1000 cards per minute.  The IBM 2311 disk drives in the foreground
> > had removable disk packs which held a little more than 7 MB IIRC.
>
> Any idea how much all this gear cost?

Depending on the size of the original 360 series machines, purchase price ranged
from around $100000 to several million.  The companies I worked for always
leased their machines.  I wasn't involved in the financial end, but I think we
paid somewhere around $20000 to $30000 per month for the 360/50.
That was for a machine with 128KB of ram, single processor rated at about 0.2
MIPS, with 16 IBM2314 disk drives with 29MB each, and 8 7-track tape drives, an
IBM 2540 card read/punch, plus a couple of IBM 2701 telecommunications
controllers.

>
> > As you can see
> > there were quite a few flashing lights on the front panel. Besides showing the
> > status info, you could use them to read/alter the contents of memory.
> > Sometime I think they were a lot more fun then.
>
> Presumably not at the times when you wanted to get some actual *work*
> done? ;-)

The machine was busy running production work weekdays and saturday. Since I
installed the os, IBM OS/360, all my testing had to be done on Sunday.  So a lot
of desk checking and setup through the week getting ready for the weekend.

Isaac.

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