Máy Tính Univac 1 951: Univac I, Máy Tính Điện Tử Thế Hệ 2

As big as a closet, weighing 13 tons and with a price tag of between $1.25 and $1.5 million. These are some of the most curious aspects of UNIVAC I, the first commercial computer in history delivered lớn the United States Census Bureau on March 31, 1951, exactly 70 years ago. A revolution that continues today, driven by the pandemic: according to the Financial Times in fact, PCs sold increased by almost 5% in 2020 with 275 million more units sold, the highest figure in the last 10 years.

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On March 31, 1951, exactly 70 years ago, engineers J. Presper Eckert & John Mauchly, delivered to lớn the United States Census Bureauthe first commercial computer in the world that took the name of UNIVAC I (Universal Automatic Computer I)with the aim of monitoring the so-called baby boom, or the substantial population increase that occurred in America in the early fifties. Put into operation the following June 14, 46 units were sold to lớn some companies and to the U.S. Government: in addition lớn the U.S. Census Bureau,UNIVAC was acquired by General Electric, a private company that used it in its home appliance factory in Louisvillefor the management of the company’s payroll and for the control system of warehouse inventories.What’s remarkable about this invention?One might think of itsselling price, between$1.25 và $1.5 million, or its size, the kích cỡ of a large closet for atotal weight of 13 tons. However, the real revolutionconsists in the fact that for the first time in history a computer was used for data processing, & not only for equations and complex calculations, the main function until that moment. Moreover,for the first time the term “automatic” was adopted: all data, both numbers and letters, were storedand read by a metal tape unit, without the need to enter programs manually. It was a completely innovative and visionary tool that theNew York Timescalled “The 6’4″ mathematical genius” capable of recording và classifying an average citizen by gender, marital status, education, residence & other information in one-sixth of a second.

But what has changed in 70 years in commercial data management?It could be said that for the first time in history, a computer anticipated the evolution that would come lớn be known as Data Integration – a complex process of assimilating, mapping, moving & transforming data, necessary to get it processed và working. Today, digitization has led to an exponential growth in the amount of data that companies must know how khổng lồ manage effectively and quickly. From huge computers we have moved on lớn software capable of managing data intuitively, dynamically và securely. Among these are those ofPrimeur, an European multinational specializing in Data Integration, which for over 30 years has supplied its tools to lớn national và international companies.

“In 70 years, công nghệ has made enormous progress. UNIVAC I was certainly the forerunner of this movement, which today is fundamental for managing the operations of large companies in the public and private sectors – saysStefano Musso, CEO of Primeur– better data management means a greater increase in productivity, time khổng lồ market & the overall service of a company, as well as allowing more precise & rapid choices to lớn be made at the business management level”.

Despite the difficulties encountered by the two scientists in the construction of UNIVAC I, this work brought them great satisfaction & records. On November 4, 1952, for the first time in history,a computer was able khổng lồ predict Dwight D. Eisenhower’s victory in the presidential elections with a margin of error of 1%. From that moment on Americans became really aware of the technological importance of this machine, so much so that UNIVAC became the most common word for computers. UNIVAC I was not the only enterprise for scientists Presper Eckert and John Mauchly: a few years earlier, exactly in 1946 they designedENIAC,Electronic Numerical Integrator & Calculator, the first general purpose electronic computer in history. The project was entrusted to lớn the two scientists by theU.S. Army Ordinance Department, which needed a tool capable of solving the problems of calculating the ballistic curves of artillery projectiles. Unlike the UNIVAC I, this first computer occupied an area of 180 square meters and weighed about 30 tons. In addition lớn its large size, the ENIAC consumed up to lớn 150 kilowatts of power, which is why, when it was first put into operation, it caused a general blackout in the western quarter of the city of Philadelphia. Not surprisingly, the word “brainiac” comes from the first ENIAC electronic computer.

From costing $1 million & weighing 13 tons,the computer has entered every home and office around the world, revolutionizing the way we live and work. In the last year, the pandemic has significantly pushed the PC market, recording the best growth of the last decade globally: as reported by theFinancial Times,according to lớn a research of the companyGartnerinthe last quarter of 2020 the unitsof Personal Computersshipped worldwide were 79.4 million, anincrease of 10.7% compared khổng lồ the previous year, while on a yearly basis there was a growth of4.8% compared khổng lồ 2019, with275 million more units sold,the highest figure ever recorded since 2010. Research firmIDC, meanwhile, reported303 million unitsshipped with13.1% growth in 2020, whileCanalyssaid shipmentsgrew 11% over the past year lớn 297 million units.

In conclusion,here are the 10 trivia facts about UNIVAC, the first commercial computer in history:

Presper Eckert and John Mauchly ended up on the brink of bankruptcy, as Census Bureau funding was only $400,000 and the total cost of designing and building the UNIVAC I came close to $1 million.The selling price of the first commercial computerwas between $1.25 & $1.5 million.It was first used by the United States Census Bureauto monitor the so-called baby boom, the substantial population increase that occurred in America in the 1950s.General Electric was the first private company to lớn use the UNIVAC Ifor payroll management & inventory control system for the home appliance factory.It was the first computer in historyto predict victory in a presidential election. On November 4, 1952, it awarded victory khổng lồ President Dwight D. Eisenhower with a 1% margin of error.UNIVAC I was the first computer in history to lớn be used for data processing, capable of storing both numbers & letters automatically.It consisted of 5200 tube valves, all installed in the processor.

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It weighed 13 tons, consumed 125 k
W và operated at a tốc độ of 2.25 MHz.It was capable of 455 multiplications per secondand could store up lớn 1000 strings in mercury memory.Each memory element could hold two instructions, an 11-digit number, and signs or 12 alphabetic characters.

The first UNIVAC was accepted by the U.S. Census Bureau in 1951. UNIVAC was the first commercial stored-program computer to lớn be placed into production.


The Univac CP-890 computer built for the Trident ballistic missile program as a navigation computer was generally based on NASA’s Univac 1230 telemetry processing computer, but used a combination of discrete transistors and integrated circuits. This allowed the machine lớn be slimmed down enough to fit through a standard 25-inch diameter submarine hatch. It was a little over six feet tall.

UNIVAC, the UNIVersal Automatic Computer, was the first computer built for general commercial use và used magnetic tape, rather than punch cards, khổng lồ input & store data.

John Presper Eckert và John Mauchly began the development of the UNIVAC in April 1946. Eckert and Mauchly were part of a cadre of scientists & mathematicians who created computer systems for the United States during World War II. Their punch-card based Electronic và Numerical Integrator và Computer (ENIAC) helped the military improve the accuracy of their artillery fire.

After the war, Eckert và Mauchly sought to commercialize this technology, but their employer, the University of Pennsylvania, demurred. The university offered the duo tenure in exchange for their release of the patents on the ENIAC. They declined and left academia in 1946, starting a company that would become the Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation.

Eckert và Mauchly developed the UNIVAC during the next five years under contract with the United States Census Bureau. It sought a more efficient way of processing millions of pieces of data. A series of delays và cost overruns led to lớn financial problems at the fledgling company, & in October 1949 the chairman of the company, Harry L. Straus, died in a plane crash. In 1950, Eckert and Mauchly’s company was sold khổng lồ typewriter manufacturer Remington Rand, which had its own calculating machine division under the direction of former Manhattan Project Director Leslie Groves.

Operating within Remington Rand, Eckert and Mauchly’s group was able to lớn complete the project và delivered the first UNIVAC lớn the Census Bureau on March 31, 1951. This achievement came despite Remington’s disinterest in the project—like their rivals at IBM, they remained staunch supporters of traditional punch-card technology—and hostility towards Mauchly, whom they believed khổng lồ be a Communist sympathizer, & the female programmers, including Grace Hopper, who had led the project.

UNIVAC’s speed outshined all of its competitors—it was thousands of times faster than its rivals—but more importantly, it was among the first “stored program” computers, using magnetic tape, rather than punch cards, to lớn collect & manage data. Up khổng lồ one million characters could be stored và accessed on magnetic tape. An operator did not have lớn load data into the machine every time he or she wished to lớn perform a calculation; instead, the UNIVAC could access data stored on its magnetic tape.

UNIVAC machines soon became equated with the future of computing in the public mind thanks to a publicity stunt in the 1952 United States presidential election. Remington Rand mix up a UNIVAC team in its Philadelphia factory khổng lồ monitor và predict the outcome of the race, which pollsters projected lớn be very close. The computer, however, predicted an Eisenhower landslide early into the evening. Journalists at the CBS television network doubted this result & refused to announce it until much later in the night.

Ultimately, Remington Rand’s UNIVAC division proved unable to keep up with customer demand for these large và expensive systems, và failed lớn beat IBM in obtaining a critical military contract khổng lồ design the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) defense network. IBM got the contract và the resulting access to classified research by MIT’s “Project Whirlwind” team into cutting-edge technologies lượt thích random-access magnetic vi xử lý core memory. By the end of the SAGE project, IBM had the clear advantage in producing computer systems, making UNIVAC obsolete. In 1955, Remington Rand merged with Sperry. Sperry Rand continued to make subsequent generations of the UNIVAC, but it took a back seat lớn its larger competitors.