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The inspiration for this exhibit
was a suggestion by Professor John Leadley that we collect the old
computer parts from around campus and present a short history of
computer use at the Western campus. During the curatorial process
for this exhibit, I discovered several computer enthusiasts on this
campus who saved numerous parts from their old computers for just
such an occasion. ~ Jerrie Lee Parpart, Exhibit Curator LASER DISC circa
late 1970s LD or LaserDisc is the industry-wide term for consumer laser video, also known as LV (LaserVision) and CDV (Compact Disc Video). LD was first demonstrated by Philips and MCA in 1972, and has been on the market since 1978, or about as long as the VCR and six years longer than CD. The LD has a bright and detailed picture, sound that sounds like a CD and is clearer than VHS formats. PUNCH
CARDS circa early 1980s Each line of a computer
program had to be entered on a separate card. The cards had to be
stacked in the correct order and given to the computer operator.
After the pro These cards were created to run TSP, a statistical program. Today, the same operation could be done in Excel by entering a formula into a spreadsheet cell, and the result would appear instantly! The orange colored punch cards were
used for ‘arena style’ registration for classes. Faculty
members would sit around the gymnasium and students would pick up
a punch card for each class they wanted to attend. The cards were
then fed through a computer that would detect time conflicts and
verify them as enrolled. Card-sorting systems were used prior to computer use to sort data. Each card in this bibliography has citation information. The numbers correspond with the holes around the edge of the card. Specific holes assigned a subject are notched on the card corresponding with the citation information. To pull all cards that pertain to a subject, a rod inserts into the assigned hole on the block of cards. The ones that fall through are the ‘hits’ for that subject. |
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In January 1975 Popular Electronics magazine introduced the first
kit microcomputer. Although not the first available microcomputer,
it was the start of the industry. Popular Electronics offered readers
a complete Altair 8800 kit for only $397 |
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Altair kit $397 ($498 assembled) • a serial interface board $119 ($138 assembled) |
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Initial cost: $586 - $772 ($747 - $1088 assembled) ~PC – History, http://www.pc-history.org/index.html |
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In 1975, an IBM mainframe computer that could perform 10,000,000 instructions per second cost around $10,000,000. In 1995 (only twenty years later), a computer video game capable of performing 500,000,000 million instructions per second was available for approximately $500! ~A history of Computers, http://www.maxmon.com/history.htm |
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Current computer prices change rapidly. In January 2004 the following could be purchased for approximately $400 available from various stores and online sources. Intel® Celeron® Processor 2.4GHz with 128K Cache ~ Gateway Computer – Promotions, http://gateway.com/work/promotions/ |
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gram
ran, usually within an hour or two, the output would be printed
on large sheets and put in a pile to be picked up. If there were
any mistakes, including a typo or getting the cards in the wrong
order, you would have to correct the error and resubmit the stack
of cards.
UNISORT
ANALYSIS CARD-SORTING SYSTEM circa late 1950s – early
1960s Before
computers were a part of standard office supplies, other tools assisted
with calculations.
ABACUS circa early
1970s The world's first computing system, the abacus was an ingenious invention designed to perform speedy calculations through the movement of beads on a series of rods. The modern Chinese abacus is still widely used in China and other countries, dates from about 1200 A.D. It is possible that it derives from the earlier counting boards used around the Mediterranean as early as 300 B. C. An Aztec version of an abacus, circa 900-1000 A.D., is made from maize (corn) threaded through strings mounted in a wooden frame. LONG LOG DUPLEX DECITRIG
SLIDE RULE by K&G circa early 1970s A slide rule contain scales for multiplying, dividing, and extracting square roots, and some contain scales for calculating trigonometric functions and logarithms. The slide rule remained an essential tool in science and engineering; widely used in business and industry until the portable electronic calculator superseded it late in the 20th century. MAGIC BRAIN CALCULATOR
circa 1950 ”Your Magic Brain Calculator is a technical instrument that solves you math problems with ease. It requires practice to achieve perfection. Practice Makes Perfect. In a few weeks you will be doing you mathematical calculation as fast as adding machines many times the cost of this instrument.”
This computer, built from a kit,
is still functioning. It is similar to the Apple IIc and DEC RAINBOW MANUAL
c. 1982 Western purchased a number of these microcomputers with funds from a Department of Education grant. At the time, Digital Equipment Corporation was the second largest computer company in the world, dominating the market for minicomputers (more powerful than a microcomputer but smaller than a mainframe). Their microcomputers, the DEC Rainbow and the DEC One, were not commercially successful.
Each Sequent Balance had twenty-four 264MB hard drives, weighing about 50 lbs. each. The drives were unstable and often failed. Modern hard drives are more than 100 times larger in capacity and weigh about one pound. WANG TERMINAL circa
1990
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| Computers
have taken a high profile role in streamlining processes in higher
education. During his twenty plus year tenure in the Oregon Higher
Education System, Jim Birken has used over 10 different types of
computer systems. Here are a few of the systems he has used and
the approximate dates used. |
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| 1980 1981 1983 (1986) 1984 1985 1988 1988 1989 |
HoneyWell mainframe |
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| 1990 1991 1991 1992 1990 to date |
Zenith 80386 Wang minicomputer Wang PC (not compatible with other PC) 1992 Sequent System (Odin and Uhro) Various 386, 486 and Pentium based PCs |
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MOTHER
BOARD, early IBM XT circa 1982 – 1983 XT compared to current
computers: MOTHERBOARD from
‘ODIN’ circa 1989 – 1994 In the early 1990’s, the Sequent Corporation, located in Beaverton, Oregon, donated computers to all of the OUS schools. Western received two Sequent Balances, which were named Uhro and Odin. Each machine used 20 microprocessors and had twenty four 264 MB hard drives, weighing about 50 pounds each. NETWORK CARD
– early IBM XT circa 1982 – 1983 MEMORY MODULES,
early IBM XT circa mid to late 1980s Each memory stick hold 1 kilobyte of data.
When it was introduced
in 1977, the Apple II computer, like other personal computers of
that era, used an ordinary cassette tape player to store programs
and data. The Disk II floppy drive, developed in 1978 by Apple cofounder
Steve Wozniak, was a major factor in the early dominance of the
personal computer market by Apple Computer. It originally sold for
$495 (with inflation, this is the equivalent of $1,400 in 2003). The Macintosh was the
successor to the popular Apple II. It was the first successful personal
computer to use a graphical user interface (GUI) with a mouse, windows
and drop down menus. (The Apple Lisa was the first to use GUI, but
was not successful.) The first Mac had 128 kilobytes of memory (1/8
of a megabyte) and one floppy drive. It was the first personal computer
to use the 3.5 inch floppy disks, which are still in use today.
The font type on a printout
from the Wang printer was altered by changing the band of type in
the printer. Early LaserJet printers had cartridges of various fonts which could be changed to vary the printout. |
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HEATH
COMPUTER and MANUALS circa mid 1980s
HARD
DRIVE from ‘UHRO’ circa 1989 – 1994
In
the early 1990s University Advancement purchased a used Wang system
from the State Fire Marshall’s Office for about $7,000 to
store donation records. This was a substantial saving as a new
system cost nearly $15,000.
APPLE
II disk drive circa late 70’s and early 80’s
MACINTOSH
COMPUTER circa mid 1984 
WANG PRINTER FONT BANDS circa 1990Courtesy
of Jim Birken, University Advancement | There are numerous timelines available on the Internet which are more comprehensive than the one below. This timeline highlights events which apply to the items in this exhibit. 1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1995
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2003
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This exhibit would not be possible without the generosity of those who were willing to dig into their closets and storage basements to loan us their old working computers and various computer parts they saved through the years.
Jim Birken, University Advancement ~ for loan of artifacts, his infectious enthusiasm for computers, and for sharing his extensive oral history of computer use at OUS and WOU Dr. Bob Broeg, Computer Science Division ~ for loan of artifacts and sharing his oral history of the computers on this campus Dale Goodell, Hamersly Library ~ for loan of artifacts Jonah Hanson, WOU student ~ for exhibit installation and documentation assistance Dr. John Leadley, Division of Business and Economics ~ for originating the concept of this exhibit, loan of artifacts, and for participating as exhibit editor Dr. Hilda Roselli, College of Education Dean ~ for loan of artifacts Bud Smith, Retired WOU Educational Media Director ~ for loan of artifacts and sharing his oral history of the computers on this campus |
1987
1996
LOCATION:
3rd floor galleries
Curators: Jerrie Lee Parpart and Jonah Hanson, WOU Student curator
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This page was modified November 25, 2008 . jlp & jh