IBMWatson autobiographythoughts on 778

Allan Olley

Year Gross Income in millions 1919 9 1920 14 1921 9 1926 14 1930 19 1935 22 1936 25 1937 31 1938 34 1942 86 1943 131 1948 156 1951 335 1954 570

It doesn't seem to have "rapid growth" in the 1920s, but got its stride in 1936 when Social Security was pbutted and exploded in the 1950s.

Not too much in the 1920s, but later on.

That was a very early trial, around 1902, and I don't know how far it went (the Hollerith history has more details).

Yes. That's why ENIAC was developed by the army--to generate tables.

Plus the fact the technology--still electro-mechanical--wasn't up to the task. The IBM Mark I and SSEC were enormously complicated machines.

The IBM 604--being electronic and somewhat programmable--changed all that.

WW II dramatically changed a great many areas of science and technology affecting many things in every day life, such as development of Saran Wrap as a protective film and molded plywood for furnishings. The pressure of war allowed the govt to throw big money to solve problems. Some solutions were found, some were failures and forgotten.

WW II also changed the everyday fabric of life for a great many Americans. In 1939 a lot of people lived in primitive conditions in tiny farm villages; the war enabled a lot of young people to escape such villages for the city life.

They were desperate for calculation speed in those days and in the late 1940s-early 1950s symposiums were held to discuss innovations.

Many EAM installations remained in service until the mid 1980s. EAM had the advtg of easily accessible "tub files" for random access inquries and updates done manually. In some applications, it was cheaper into the 1980s to keep this manual than convert to an online computer application, esp if the work volume was relatively low (thousands of records). In the early 1980s developing a new CICS application was expensive.