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DEC PDP-1 Computer Introduced
it selled for about $120,000, includes a cathode ray tube graphic display, paper tape input/output, needs no air conditioning and requires only one operator; all of which become standards for minicomputers -
The Ferranti Sirius is announced
Its main memory was a magnetostrictive delay line. The medium here was a thin strip of special metal rolled into a coil, with transducers at either end. Like all delay lines, bits were fed into one end, detected at the other, and continuously recirculated. Although this type of delay line was considered to be somewhat slow, its low cost made it attractive to computer designers. -
Card Random Access Memory (CRAM)
Card Random Access Memory (CRAM) is introduced. The NCR 315 and several later NCR mainframes used this mechanically complex magnetic CRAM for secondary storage. The mylar cards were suspended from rods that selected and dropped one at a time for processing. Each CRAM deck of 256 cards recorded about 5.5 MB -
ATLAS computer
The concept of virtual memory emerges from a team under the direction of Tom Kilburn at the University of Manchester on its Atlas computer. Virtual memory permitted a computer to use its storage capacity to switch rapidly among multiple programs or users and was a key requirement for timesharing. -
HP 2116A system
HP 2116A system HP introduces the HP 2116A
The 2116A is HP’s first computer. It was developed as a versatile instrument controller for HP's growing family of programmable test and measurement products. It interfaced with a wide number of standard laboratory instruments, allowing customers to computerize their instrument systems. The 2116A also marked HP's first use of integrated circuits in a commercial product.