Computers & Business Machines - Overview
Imagine the loss, 100 years from now, if museums hadn't begun preserving the artifacts of the computer age. The last few decades offer proof positive of why museums must collect continuously—to document technological and social transformations already underway.
The Museum's collections contain mainframes, minicomputers, microcomputers, and handheld devices. A Cray2 supercomputer is part of the collections, along with one of the towers of IBM's Deep Blue, the computer that defeated reigning champion Garry Kasparov in a chess match in 1997. Other artifacts range from personal computers to ENIAC, the Altair, and the Osborne 1. Computer components and peripherals, games, software, manuals, and other documents are part of the collections. Some of the instruments of business include adding machines, calculators, typewriters, dictating machines, fax machines, cash registers, and photocopiers
"Computers & Business Machines - Overview" showing 80 items.
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Alexander Graham Bell Experimental Telephone
- Description
- Alexander Graham Bell demonstrated several experimental telephones at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition in 1876. This unit features a single electro-magnet and could be used both as transmitter and receiver. Bell approached the problem of transmitting speech differently from other telephone inventors like Elisha Gray and Thomas Edison. They were mostly experienced telegraphers trying to make a better telegraph. Bell's study of hearing and speech more strongly influenced his work.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- maker
- Bell, Alexander G.
- ID Number
- EM*252599
- accession number
- 49064
- catalog number
- 252599
- patent number
- 174465
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Western Union Telegraph Ticker Receiver
- Description
- This Western Union Telegraph Company stock ticker was produced during the early 20th century. The ticker received stock information via a telegraph line and printed out a company’s abbreviated name and stock price on the spool of paper tape. After the Civil War, the volume of stocks traded rose sharply with American corporations’ need for investment capital. The 1867 invention of the stock ticker, transmitting up-to-the-minute share prices over telegraph lines, helped modernize the stock exchange.
- ID Number
- EM*332283
- accession number
- 294351
- catalog number
- 332283
- collector/donor number
- 100-772
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Timex Sinclair 1000 Personal Computer
- Description
- The Timex/Sinclair 1000 was the U.S. version of the Sinclair ZX-81, which was made by Sinclair Research, Ltd. One of the earliest versions of the home computer, the TS-1000 hit stores in 1981. At $99 it was certainly one of the most affordable early machines, and Timex sold over 600,000. Its introduction caused other companies to lower their prices and include more features in their computers in order to compete.
- The size of a book and weighing 20 ounces, the Timex/Sinclair used a television set as a monitor. Data was stored on cassette tape. The processor was a Z80A microchip running at 3.5 MHz, and the ROM was 8 KB (the earliest version had only 1 KB). The computer keyboard was flat and the keys used black characters on a white background. The Timex could be used around the home for such tasks as budget management, checkbook balancing, and entertainment, but the limitations of the machine made tasks rudimentary. Users could also write programs in BASIC. Accessories included a small "adding machine" type printer and a 16 KB RAM drive. Purchasers of it could also buy pre-programmed cassettes, among them BASIC versions of games such as space invaders.
- This particular computer was given to the Smithsonian by Daniel Ross, Vice-President of Computer Products of the Timex Computer Corporation. It was one of a series of TS-1000s donated to science museums across the United States.
- Despite brisk sales, Timex dropped out of the computer market in the spring of 1984.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1981-1984
- maker
- Timex Computer Corporation
- ID Number
- 1983.0289.01
- catalog number
- 1983.0289.01
- accession number
- 1983.0289
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Apple "Classic" Macintosh Personal Computer
- Description
- The Apple Macintosh introduced a graphic user interface (GUI) to the Apple line of computers. The idea had originated at Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center in the 1970s, but Xerox was slow to commercialize it. Apple proved far more successful when it introduced the Macintosh in January 1984, with a splashy television advertisement during the Superbowl. The original price was around $2,500.
- Instead of typing out names of programs on command lines, users with a GUI could click "icons," or pictures that represented the programs they wanted to run. They could also execute functions like saving, moving, or deleting files by clicking and dragging the icons around the screen with a pointing device called a mouse. Apple's version of the mouse had a single button, which became an Apple standard. The first Macintosh had only 128K RAM, and users quickly found this insufficient. The Macintosh 512 KB, nicknamed "Fat Mac," was introduced in September 1984. It gave users four times as much memory, and allowed them to keep several major programs open simultaneously. The vertical processor case and 9" monochrome screen were distinguishing features of all the early Macintosh line.
- The Macintosh 512 KB contained a Motorola 68000 microprocessor which ran at 8 MHz. It contained 512 KB of RAM and 64 KB of ROM and initially had a 400 KB Floppy disk drive. Applications included MacWrite, a word processor, and MacPaint, a drawing program that turned the mouse into a paintbrush. Shortly after the 512 KB appeared, Apple also introduced a LaserWriter printer, which enabled desktop publishing for individuals and small businesses. Over time, Apple computers would appeal most strongly to artists and designers, while the IBM/DOS line of computers sold better in business markets.
- After selling hundreds of thousands of units, Apple discontinued the "Mac Classic" line of computers in April 1986.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1984
- maker
- Apple Computer
- ID Number
- 1985.0118.01
- catalog number
- 1985.0118.01
- accession number
- 1985.0118
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Thomas Arithmometer
- Description
- This is the oldest surviving example of the type of stepped drum calculating machine constructed under patents obtained by the Frenchman Charles Xavier Thomas of the French town of Colmar in 1820. Machines that could do arithmetic automatically were built as mechanical marvels in the 1600s on the design of mathematicians such as Blaise Pascal and Gottfried Leibniz. However, it was only with the introduction and improvement of the machine of Thomas that calculating machines became part of the world of practical calculation. The instrument was made for Thomas by the Parisian mechanician and clockmaker Devrine. Thomas arithmometers, as the machines were called, became the first commercially successful calculating machines.
- The brass machine fits snugly in a wooden case covered with red leather and lined with green velvet. It has three levers that are moved back to enter digits on brass stepped drums. A fourth lever, to the left of these, is labeled Multiplication, and used to determine the number of times the stepped drums rotate. Hence in this early machine, Thomas attempted direct multiplication by a single digit. This feature would not be successfully used in calculating machines until the late 19th century.
- In back of the digit levers is a movable carriage with a row of six pairs of windows. Beneath each pair is a button. The levers are labeled: Unités, Dixaines, and Centaines. The pairs of windows are labeled: Unité, Dixaine, Centaine, Mille, Dix Mille, and Cent Mille.
- Beneath each window is a numeral wheel. Two sets of digits are marked on each wheel, one in black and the other in red. Shifting a lever on the right of the carriage to “add e multiplication” opens six windows to show in black digits the result of addition and multiplication problems. In the other positions, six windows open to show in red digits the result of division and subtraction problems. Beneath the windows are thumbscrews for zeroing the result digits one at a time. There is no revolution register.
- Pulling a red ribbon operates the machine. Pulling a shorter ribbon attached to the front assists in removing it from the case. Later Thomas machines would be crank-operated. The lid of the case has a brass handle, lock, and key. Part of the right side of the case turns down to allow for the motion of the carriage.
- A mark on the left of the levers reads: Arithmomètre (/) du Chr. Thomas de Colmar (/) Par Brevet d’invention (/) Devrine fecit. A mark on a button at the front of the machine reads: Régulateur. A mark on the top of the lid reads: ARITHMOMÊTRE (/) De MR. LE CHER THOMAS DE COLMAR.
- The machine is not identical to that shown in the drawings of Thomas’s 1820 patent. It resembles the drawings made in 1821 for a report by Hoyau published in 1822.
- References:
- Stephen Johnson, “Making the Arithmometer Count,” Bulletin of the Scientific Instrument Society, No. 52, 1997, 12–21.
- “Rapport fait par M. Francoueur. . .,” Bulletin de la Société d'Encouragement pour l’Industrie Nationale, 21, 1822, pp. 33–36.
- Charles-Xavier Thomas, “1420,” 18 Novembre 1820. This is the number of Thomas’s 1820 French patent.
- Hoyau, “Description d’une machine à calculer nommée Arithmomètre. . . ,” Bulletin de la Société d'Encouragement pour l’Industrie Nationale, 21, 1822, pp. 355–365.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1820
- patentee
- Thomas, Charles Xavier
- maker
- Thomas, Charles Xavier
- ID Number
- 1987.0731.02
- catalog number
- 326649
- accession number
- 1987.0731
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Apple II Personal Computer
- Description
- In 1976, computer pioneers Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs began selling their Apple I computer in kit form to computer stores. A month later, Wozniak was working on a design for an improved version, the Apple II. They demonstrated a prototype in December, and then introduced it to the public in April 1977. The Apple II started the boom in personal computer sales in the late 1970s, and pushed Apple into the lead among personal computer makers.
- The Apple II used a MOS 6502 chip for its central processing unit. It came with 4 KB RAM, but could be extended up to 48 KB RAM. It included a BASIC interpreter and could support graphics and a color monitor. External storage was originally on cassette tape, but later Apple introduced an external floppy disk drive. Among the Apple II's most important features were its 8 expansion slots on the motherboard. These allowed hobbyists to add additional cards made by Apple and many other vendors who quickly sprung up. The boards included floppy disk controllers, SCSI cards, video cards, and CP/M or PASCAL emulator cards.
- In 1979 Software Arts introduced the first computer spreadsheet, Visicalc for the Apple II. This "killer application" was extremely popular and fostered extensive sales of the Apple II.
- The Apple II went through several improvements and upgrades. By 1984, when the Macintosh appeared, over 2 million Apple II computers had been sold.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1977
- 1977-1987
- maker
- Apple Computer
- ID Number
- 1990.0167.01.1
- catalog number
- 1990.0167.01.1
- accession number
- 1990.0167
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Exidy Sorcerer Personal Computer
- Description
- Exidy, a leading manufacturer of home and arcade video games, introduced its Sorcerer home computer in 1978. The Sorcer used a Z-80 processor that ran at 2.106 MHz and came with 8 KB of RAM, which could be expanded to 32 KB. It ran the CP/M operating system. It sold for $898 with 8 KB of RAM, $1150 with 16 KB of RAM, and $1395 with 32 KB of RAM. It also contained 4 K of ROM. Programs were loaded with plug-in ROM cartridges, and the machine came with a standard BASIC cartridge. This was essentially the common Microsoft BASIC already widely used in the CP/M world. But Exidy added a number of one-stroke commands that allowed users to type in common instructions such as PRINT with a single keystroke. Another popular cartridge contained an early version of the word processor Spellbinder. Users could connect the machine to a standard TV, but the company also offered its own Exidy "Video/Disk" monitor for $2,995.
- Judged against its competitors, the Commodore PET and Radio Shack TRS-80, the Sorcerer was comparatively advanced when it appeared. Due to a lack of marketing in the United States, however, it did not sell well there. It did better in Europe and Australia. Exidy took the machine off the market in 1980.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- 1978-1980
- maker
- Exidy, Inc.
- ID Number
- 1993.0546.01
- catalog number
- 1993.0546.01
- accession number
- 1993.0546
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Sex and the City Computer
- Description
- Manhattan newspaper columnist Carrie Bradshaw, played by Sarah Jessica Parker used this laptop to record her observations on modern relationships in the risqué comedy series Sex and the City (HBO, 1998-2004).
- Frank, witty, and often outrageous, the Emmy Award-winning cable show won millions of loyal fans with its depiction of four women friends and their romantic urban escapades. It also established cable TV as a competitive producer of original programming. Sex and the City set fashion trends, from Manolo Blahnik shoes to cosmopolitan cocktails, and provoked cultural debates about sex, relationships, and gender roles.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- maker
- Apple Computer, Inc.
- ID Number
- 2004.0163.01
- accession number
- 2004.0163
- catalog number
- 2004.0163.03
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Remington Rand Univac Minimum Latency Calculator Slide Rule
- Description
- This circular device was an aid to programming the UNIVAC solid state computer. It consists of a paper disc, with equal divisions running from 1 to 200 near the edge, and a clear plastic rotating disc. These are pivoted together at the center. The upper disc is marked in red with two perpendicular diameters. The lower disc is marked: MINIMUM LATENCY CALCULATOR FOR THE UNIVAC SOLID-STATE COMPUTER. The UNIVAC had a magnetic storage drum on which locations were specified numerically. The latency calculator allowed programmers to write code for the machine to make the most efficient possible use of the drum memory.
- The back of the instrument gives a list of instruction codes and corresponding execution times for words. It is marked: Remington Rand Univac. It is also marked: U1767 Rev. 1 PRINTED (/) IN (/) U.S.A. The rule was received in a paper bag.
- Reference: Sperry Rand Corporation, Simple Transition to Electronic Processing, UNIVAC Solid-State 80, (1960), 18–26.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- after 1950
- maker
- Remington Rand Univac
- ID Number
- 2005.0271.01
- accession number
- 2005.0271
- catalog number
- 2005.0271.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
The Milometer slide rule computer
- Description (Brief)
- A WWI machine gun fire control computer, labelled the Milometer. This slide rule-like computer was used by forward observers to pinpoint the indirect fire of machine guns and small arms. Copyrighted by G. P. Wilhelm in 1917, it was manufactured and distributed by Edward C. McKay of Cleveland, Ohio. The sliding part and the top are cream celluloid; the bottom is clear yellow celluloid.
- Directions for the slide rule's use can be found in the book Machine Gun Fire Control by Captain Glenn P. Wilhelm, published in 1917 by Edward C. McKay.
- date made
- 1917
- ID Number
- 2006.0098.1569
- catalog number
- 2006.0098.1569
- accession number
- 2006.0098
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center