Ferrari Mailing List: Re: Apple, Android, and watches...Oh my!

[Doug & Terri (dnt]

Stephen asks “Did you ever come a across (I think ) a Data Cell, it was strips of mag tape, a mechanical hand would select the a strip and would spool it on a drum that would read/write it, then put it back.”

 

First time I saw something like this was in 1971 or 2 - - on a field trip to the Home Office – (woo – woo) with an insurance company located in Des Moines – The Bankers Life (now Principal Financial).  Sort of sticks with me that it an IBM 360 with an attached processor.  I don’t know what that means – but it had a whirly gig machine that would snatch cards from somewhere and slip them into something.  There – that’s the technical aspect of what I recall.  One of the operators said the only time there was a problem was when the card was just a little bit off - = crumple.  Another technical term.  Was also introduced to Halon, a raised floor, and a chilly working environment.

 

Was also introduced to the term ABEND.  And –rick, yer right (shudder) that WAS a long time ago.

 

When the programs hit the field, I wanted to use orange lettered screens and five legged chairs.  From that moment on I was branded a Field Heretic and given a wide birth as a trouble maker.

 

Alas

 

DOUG