MainframeZone

09/11/2025

Available at https://mainframe-store-3.creator-spring.com/listing/new-mainframe-est-1964-gol?product=2&variation=2397

09/09/2025

MAINFRAME HISTORY
The IBM 360/91, introduced in 1966, was one of the most powerful and advanced scientific computers of its time. It was the first computer system to feature out-of-order execution–the ability to automatically find concurrency in sequential code. The first 360/91 was shipped to NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

In addition, it came with an unmistakable bright red Emergency Power Off (EPO) button (🔴). The EPO switch was designed to instantly kill all electrical power to the system and surrounding environment. Why so dramatic? Mainframes, like the Model 91, consumed massive amounts of power and were water-cooled. Shutting them down was not like flipping off a light switch: it could take several hours to bring them back online and stabilize the environment

But despite the importance of its critical advances, the Model 91 was a marketing failure, and it was withdrawn in 1967.

09/03/2025

MAINFRAME HISTORY
The idea of recording data on magnetic tape was influenced by Bing Crosby's use of magnetic tape to record his radio shows in the late 1940s.

IBM's first magnetic storage unit, the IBM 726 (see below), was introduced on May 21, 1952 as a data successor to the punched card.

But, the use of magnetic tape for high-speed data storage would never have been possible without the invention of the vacuum column by James Weidenhammer and a team of six other engineers working at an IBM facility in Poughkeepsie, New York. The inventors received a patent for the vacuum column, and it became the industry standard for many years.

And now, 73 years later, magnetic tape storage is still in wide use worldwide.

08/29/2025

MAINFRAME HISTORY

• IBM shipped the first PL/l compiler in 1966, as part of the System/360 project.
• PL/l stands for Programming Language 1.
• PL/I was designed at Hursley Park in the U.K. as an outgrowth of the NPL (New Programming Language).
• PL/I was intended to replace commercially-oriented COBOL, scientifically-oriented
FORTRAN, and academic- and scientifically-oriented ALGOL.
• PL/S, which IBM evolved from PL/I, was, until the advent of C, IBM's language of choice for its operating systems and application subsystems.
• PL/I was the precursor to the C programming language, which essentially replaced it as an all-purpose, serious programming language.

08/13/2025

Available at https://lnkd.in/dUYX23kq

08/10/2025

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08/09/2025

MAINFRAME HISTORY
On August 2, 1972, IBM announced the 370/158 and 379/168 — the first mainstream IBM mainframes with virtual memory as a standard feature.

While an earlier experimental system, the 360/67 (1965), had introduced virtual memory via Dynamic Address Translation (DAT), it was mainly used in universities and research labs.

With the 370/158 and 370/168, virtual memory moved into the commercial mainstream — allowing programs to be larger than physical memory, enabling more efficient multitasking, and laying the foundation for the sophisticated memory management we still see in today’s IBM zSystems.

08/02/2025

MAINFRAME HISTORY
On August 2, 1972, IBM announced the 370/168, its most powerful mainframe to date that featured virtual memory, multiprocessing, and up to 8 MB of semiconductor memory.

The 370/158 was introduced at the same time, but the 168 had higher specs, cost, and complexity, while the 158 reached more customers by volume. The first 370/168 user was Boeing.

THE 370/168 was withdrawn in September 1980.

07/31/2025

MAINFRAME HISTORY
IBM introduced the 3/4 ton z890 on May 18, 2004. It could host up to 32 GBytes of memory. It was a 64-bit system that had two nicknames: Raptor and Baby Shark.

The first customer was Blue Cross/Blue Shield of South Carolina.

The z890 was withdrawn on December 31, 2007 and reached its end of support on October 31, 2016.

07/30/2025

MAINFRAME HISTORY
The IBM System/360 and System/370 mainframes included the King James Version (KJ V) of the Bible in their software sample decks for demonstrating printing capabilities.

It was often used in sample JCL jobs and data formatting exercises to: showcase line printing, formatting, pagination, and indexing — and to demonstrate the capabilities of text manipulation, columnar layouts, and report generation.

It was public domain, so IBM could legally include it without licensing restrictions.

07/28/2025

MAINFRAME HISTORY
The IBM 4341 mainframe was first announced on June 30, 1979. It was the most popular member of the 4300 series family.

The 4341 was a powerful air-cooled mainframe that did not require raised floors or chilled water.

The first customer installation was Hughes Aircraft Company in Endicott, NY: the same city where the 4341 was developed.

07/21/2025

MAINFRAME HISTORY
Does anyone remember dealing with devices like this card picker or pick tool that were kept nearby to address card jams, feed problems, or misalignments when operating IBM punched card equipment such as card readers, punches, and sorters?