IBM 709
From Computer History Wiki
IBM 709 | |
Manufacturer: | International Business Machines |
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Year Announced: | January, 1957 |
Form Factor: | mainframe |
Word Size: | 36 bits |
Logic Type: | vacuum tubes |
Operating System: | SOS, IBSYS, IBJOB |
Predecessor(s): | IBM 704 |
Successor(s): | IBM 7090 |
The IBM 709 was IBM's last major vacuum tube scientific mainframe (built at a time when computers for scientific and business computing used separate instruction sets). It was announced in January, 1957
Major advances over its predecessor, the IBM 704, included indirect addressing, and channels (called 'Data Synchronizers' at the time). A Data Synchronizer had two channels, to each of which could be attached a card reader, card punch and printer; up to eight magnetic tape drives could be attached to a single channel.
Its lifetime was shortened by the switch to transistors as the technology for computers.