© Mark Ollig
The IBM 1410, a room-sized computer priced at $700,000 (equivalent to $7.4M in 2024), was unveiled Sept. 12, 1960.
The IBM 1410 is classified as a second-generation computer.
Second-generation computers marked a major technological leap by replacing vacuum tubes with transistors, improving computer processing, maintenance, and reliability.
Ferrites, ceramic compounds made mainly of iron oxide combined with other metal oxides, are known for their magnetic properties.
IBM 1410 computers used tiny, donut-shaped magnetic ferrite cores for memory storage.
These cores possess a property called hysteresis, meaning they “remember” their previous magnetic state even after the external magnetic field is removed. This allowed the computer to retain stored data even when powered off.
Each ferrite core stored one bit of data, represented as a binary one or zero, based on its direction of magnetization.
A standard modular system used with the IBM 1410 was designed with plug-in circuit boards containing transistors, resistors, capacitors, diodes, and other components.
The computer used a crystal-controlled clock circuit to ensure accurate sequencing of processing operations.
The IBM 1410 computer system relied on the IBM 1415 console, featuring a read-write typewriter and printer, for its primary input and output.
Punched cards, magnetic tape drives, and the integrated IBM Selectric typewriter all served as data entry and retrieval methods.
Magnetic tapes offered considerable storage capacity for the time and could be easily removed, filed, and used on other compatible IBM systems.
The computer’s control console had an attached CE (customer engineer) module for troubleshooting, diagnostics, maintenance, and testing of the computer system.
There was also an indicator display panel with individually small, lighted lamps showing data processing status and computing system operational tasks.
IBM pioneered the development of the RAMAC (Random Access Method of Accounting and Control) data disk storage system in the 1950s.
This system, designed to store and manage substantial amounts of data, represented a significant advancement in storage technology.
The IBM 1410 computer later utilized the RAMAC system by incorporating IBM 1405 disk storage units.
These units, introduced in 1961, expanded the computer’s storage capacity to manage larger amounts of data.
Each IBM 1405 stored computer data on vertically stacked, cylindrical platters coated with magnetic material.
These platters rotated on a shaft at 1,200 rpm, and the IBM 1410 used automated read and write heads to access data.
A single disk had 40 platters divided into 10 disk packs, providing a total storage capacity of up to 10 million characters (equivalent to just 0.01 GB on a modern personal computer).
These disk storage units’ data access times were in the order of milliseconds.
However, it pales in comparison to today’s DDR4 RAM (Double Data Rate, Fourth Generation Synchronous Dynamic Random-Access Memory), with its near-instantaneous data access speeds ranging from 10 to 20 nanoseconds.
In terms of processing capabilities, the IBM 1410 could perform up to 600,000 additions, 60,000 multiplications, or 40,000 divisions per minute, and it had a processing speed of approximately 110,000 instructions per second.
To put this in perspective, a modern laptop with a 3-4 GHz processor can perform around three billion to four billion instructions per second.
While a direct comparison is difficult due to the different architectures and instruction sets, this comparison highlights the incredible advances in today’s computing power from that used over six decades ago.
The IBM 1410 supported various programming languages, including:
- FORTRAN (Formula Translation) was used for scientific and engineering computations.
- COBOL (Common Business-Oriented Language) was designed for business applications like payroll and record-keeping.
- Assembler Language provided precise, low-level hardware control.
- Autocoder, a simplified language, accelerated the conversion of source code written in one programming language to another programming language.
SPOOL (Simultaneous Peripheral Operations On-Line) is a buffering technique that temporarily stores data (such as reports or computation results) and sends it to a printer as soon as one becomes available.
By 1961, high-speed impact printers like the IBM 1403, capable of printing 600 lines of text per minute, were being used with the IBM 1410 system.
I need to mention Major Leland Fiegel, a Minnesota native from Rochester, and his top-secret mission during World War II, in which Thomas J. Watson Jr., the son of IBM’s founder, was his co-pilot.
They became close friends, but unfortunately, Fiegel died in a plane crash in 1948.
In 1956, IBM President Thomas J. Watson Jr. chose Rochester as the site for a new IBM manufacturing plant in honor of his late friend Leland Fiegel.
Construction of the new plant began July 31, 1956, at a reported cost of $8 million ($84,700,000 in 2024).
In 1988, IBM released the Application System/400 (AS/400), a new line of mid-range computers designed and manufactured at their Rochester facility.
The AS/400 sought to bridge the gap between larger mainframes and smaller personal computers.
In the 1990s, while working for USLink, a TDS Telecom subsidiary, I often interacted with various databases on their AS/400 computing system.
IBM ended production of their 1410 computer in March 1970.
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| The 1961 IBM 1410 data processing system as depicted in the reference manual. |
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| A diagram of the IBM 1415 control console. |