Computers & Business Machines

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. Computers range from the pioneering ENIAC to microcomputers like the Altair and the Apple I. 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. 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


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Documentation, TRW-130 AN/UYK-1 Digital Computer Coding Card
- Description
- This code card assisted with the programing of TRW-130 computers made by Thompson Ramo Wooldridge, Inc. It includes the octal and decimal equivalents for common logand codes. The word “logand” was a computer acronym for “logical command” the intermediate level programming language planned in the design of the TRW-130 computer.
- The donor, who programmed TRW-130 computers, shares the following:
- “Logan programming allowed assembly languages to be developed for specific applications. … . Most programmers never saw the logans because they used one of these specialized assembly languages.
- I did most of my programming in logans, however. The logan code was extremely difficult. One had to understand how the machine operated at the flip-flop and gate level. Each instruction was at the clock level and one had to understand what the hardware was doing at each clock cycle. If you made a mistake, the error was difficult to find. The machine basically went nuts. It started doing things that it was never supposed to do. Every bit configuration in the machine was executable. One could easily create a function which you had no idea what would happen. It was not unusual to make a mistake that caused the machine to branch into data, and since every bit configuration was executable, the machine would start executing data thinking it was instructions.”
- Reference:
- Nonccession file 2015.3097.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- maker
- Thompson Ramo Wooldridge Inc.
- ID Number
- 2015.3097.10
- nonaccession number
- 2015.3097
- catalog number
- 2015.3097.10
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Documentation, Amdahl 470 V/7, V/8 Field Engineering Reference Manual
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1982-02
- user
- Page, Brian R.
- ID Number
- 2014.3099.01
- catalog number
- 2014.3099.01
- nonaccession number
- 2014.3099
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Documentation for the Amdahl 580, Vol. I
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1980s
- user
- Page, Brian R.
- ID Number
- 2014.3099.02
- catalog number
- 2014.3099.02
- nonaccession number
- 2014.3099
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Documentation for the Amdahl 580, Vol. II
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1980s
- user
- Page, Brian R.
- ID Number
- 2014.3099.03
- catalog number
- 2014.3099.03
- nonaccession number
- 2014.3099
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Documentation for the Amdahl 5890
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1985
- user
- Page, Brian R.
- ID Number
- 2014.3099.04
- catalog number
- 2014.3099.04
- nonaccession number
- 2014.3099
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
AUTODIN: A Brief Pictorial History of the Automatic Digital Network
- Description
- AUTODIN (Automatic Digital Network), the Department of Defense's (DoD) first computerized message switching system, was implemented in stages in the 1960s. The system facilitated their communications needs for over thirty years. AUTODIN provided a worldwide, high-speed, automatic, electronic, data communications system for the U.S. Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Navy, and other government agencies. It handled sensitive and classified messages. In all, fourteen (14) AUTODIN Switching Centers (ASC) were installed around the world. In the mid-late 1990s DoD began converting AUTODIN to the Defense Message Service [DMS] and the Defense Information Systems Network.
- This white binder contains a table of contents and approximately 100 pictures documenting the AUTODIN system. The 8 x 10 pictures are divided into sections, indexed, and include pictures of the AUTODIN in different locations around the world. The binder contains a photograph of the deactivation of one of the computers and a sample message.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 2015-03
- ID Number
- 2015.3091.01
- catalog number
- 2015.3091.01
- nonaccession number
- 2015.3091
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Documentation, Communication Instructions Operating Signals
- Description
- A black binder containing Communication Instructions Operating Signals. From the book, "The purpose of this publication is to list operating signals and provide instructions for their use." A table of contents is included.
- AUTODIN was the Department of Defense's first computerized message switching system and was implemented in stages in the 1960s. It contained a set of numerous AUTODIN Switching Centers around the world. AUTODIN faciliated the Department of Defense communications needs over the years.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1964-07
- ID Number
- 2015.3091.04
- catalog number
- 2015.3091.04
- nonaccession number
- 2015.3091
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Documentation, GRiD Case 1530 System MS-DOS Reference
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1986
- August 1986
- maker
- GRiD Systems
- ID Number
- 2015.3168.01
- nonaccession number
- 2015.3168
- catalog number
- 2015.3168.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Documentation, FORTRAN Reference Guide
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1981
- maker
- Microsoft Corporation
- ID Number
- 2015.3167.12
- catalog number
- 2015.3167.12
- nonaccession number
- 2015.3167
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Documentation, PlusPC User's Guide
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1985
- ID Number
- 2015.3167.13
- catalog number
- 2015.3167.13
- nonaccession number
- 2015.3167
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Documentation, MS-DOS 2.1 Reference for the PlusPC
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1985
- ID Number
- 2015.3167.14
- catalog number
- 2015.3167.14
- nonaccession number
- 2015.3167
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Documentation, VBASICA for the PlusPC
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1985
- ID Number
- 2015.3167.15
- catalog number
- 2015.3167.15
- nonaccession number
- 2015.3167
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Documentation, Hard Disk Tool Kit
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1983
- ID Number
- 2015.3167.16
- catalog number
- 2015.3167.16
- nonaccession number
- 2015.3167
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Documentation, MS-DOS 2.1 User's Guide
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1983
- ID Number
- 2015.3167.17
- catalog number
- 2015.3167.17
- nonaccession number
- 2015.3167
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Documentation, Basic 86 User's Guide
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1982
- ID Number
- 2015.3167.18
- catalog number
- 2015.3167.18
- nonaccession number
- 2015.3167
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Documentation, WorkSlate Microcomputer Manuals
- Description
- The names of these five manuals are: Owner's Manual, Reference Guide (with three inserts: Electronic Information Services, operating instruction addendum, sheet of microcassette labels), Exercise Workbook, Comm Port Owner's Manual, and Microprinter Owner's Manual.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1983
- maker
- Convergent Technologies, Inc.
- ID Number
- 2016.3134.01
- catalog number
- 2016.3134.01
- nonaccession number
- 2016.3134
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Manuals for Columbia Microcomputer and Related Software
- Description
- Two boxed sets of user manuals for the Columbia Data Products microcomputer.
- Box 1 contains:
- Perfect Writer/Perfect Speller; Perfect Filer; The Home Accountant Plus; Fast Graphs; Perfect Calc; MPC Tutor; MPC Asynchronous Communications Program.
- Box 2 contains:
- Microsoft BASIC; MS-DOS; Microsoft GW BASIC / BASIC A; CP/M-86 Operating System User’s Guide, Programmer’s Guide, System Guide; CP/M-86 Release Notes; CP/M-86 Command Summary; MACRO/86.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- maker
- Columbia Data Products, Inc.
- ID Number
- 2016.3148.02
- catalog number
- 2016.3148.02
- nonaccession number
- 2016.3148
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Okidata Personal Printer User's Manual
- Description
- This OKIDATA Personal Printer User’s Manual is in a blue 3-ring binder that measures approximately 9” x 7”.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- maker
- Okidata
- ID Number
- 2016.3148.03
- catalog number
- 2016.3148.03
- nonaccession number
- 2016.3148
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Dr. Logo User Manual and Other Documentation
- Description
- This documentation for Dr. Logo (software by Digital Research, Inc.) includes a reference manual, command summary guide, tutorial, release notes, and system disks.
- Dr. Logo is proprietary computer programming software originally designed to teach children how to use computers. The software is conversational and is pre-programmed to understand two hundred one-word commands. The user adds other commands as needed. Dr. Logo may be used to draw pictures, create graphic designs, play word games, record names or numbers, and chart figures.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1983
- ID Number
- 2016.3148.05
- catalog number
- 2016.3148.05
- nonaccession number
- 2016.3148
- serial number
- 6000-0000-002525
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
-
Documentation, Silicon Graphics O2 Workstation Owner's Guide
- Description
- Two copies of Silicon Graphics O2 Workstation Owner's Guide. One is spiral bound, 87 pages with a copyright date of 1996. The second copy, 97 pages, has a glued spine binding, copyright date 1997, and has the donor's initials (GMC) written on the cover.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1996
- 1997
- maker
- Silicon Graphics, Inc.
- ID Number
- 2016.3032.03
- nonaccession number
- 2016.3032
- catalog number
- 2016.3032.03
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History