IBM 1620 - Use in Film and Television

Use in Film and Television

A radio program was developed by DJ Rege Cordic for KDKA Pittsburgh, based on a baseball game simulator developed by John Burgeson of IBM and his brother, Paul, then an ensign in the U.S. Navy. This program was used in numerous demonstration events in the years 1960 to 1963 as an example of the power of computers to perform simulation exercises. The fictional computer Colossus of Colossus: The Forbin Project used about a dozen scrapped 1620 front panels purchased on the surplus market, in various orientations. A similar arrangement was used in a late episode of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. to portray a THRUSH supercomputer.

Read more about this topic:  IBM 1620

Famous quotes containing the words film and/or television:

    The obvious parallels between Star Wars and The Wizard of Oz have frequently been noted: in both there is the orphan hero who is raised on a farm by an aunt and uncle and yearns to escape to adventure. Obi-wan Kenobi resembles the Wizard; the loyal, plucky little robot R2D2 is Toto; C3PO is the Tin Man; and Chewbacca is the Cowardly Lion. Darth Vader replaces the Wicked Witch: this is a patriarchy rather than a matriarchy.
    Andrew Gordon, U.S. educator, critic. “The Inescapable Family in American Science Fiction and Fantasy Films,” Journal of Popular Film and Television (Summer 1992)

    Laughter on American television has taken the place of the chorus in Greek tragedy.... In other countries, the business of laughing is left to the viewers. Here, their laughter is put on the screen, integrated into the show. It is the screen that is laughing and having a good time. You are simply left alone with your consternation.
    Jean Baudrillard (b. 1929)