Vignette exemplifying the birth of commercial computing in the Milestones of a Revolution exhibit at The Computer Museum, Boston. Photo: Wikimedia Commons/FayFoto
UNIVAC I: World’s first commercial computer unveiled 70 years ago [photos]
The world’s first commercial computer sold for a ‘mere’ $1.5 million.
Vignette exemplifying the birth of commercial computing in the Milestones of a Revolution exhibit at The Computer Museum, Boston. Photo: Wikimedia Commons/FayFoto
Today (31 March) marks 70 years since the world’s first commercial computer was unveiled.
The Universal Automatic Computer I (UNIVAC I) was the absolute state of the art when it was unleashed on the world in 1951, even if some of its capabilities seem one step away from pen and paper compared to modern computers.
However, the massive UNIVAC’s introduction on 31 March 1951 ushered in the future of commercial computing.
Universal Automatic Computer I (UNIVAC I) – Fun facts
Even though the UNIVAC’s power was relatively modest, it didn’t stop people from worrying about the dangers of machines that could one day take over their jobs.
In 1950 Time ran a story in which they tried to allay fears their readers might have about the coming computer revolution. So, to honour the UNIVAC, here’s some trivia about the little computer that could
The price of a UNIVAC
The UNIVAC creators J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly ended up on the brink of financial ruin. The UNIVAC I was initially meant to cost in the region of $400 000, with the final cost ending up north of $1 million.
As the first commercial computer, the UNIVAC sold for a “mere” $1.5 million.
The UNIVAC’s first assignment was to help the United States Census Bureau to help monitor the “baby boom”, which resulted in a significant spike in birth rates during the 1950s.
Moreover, the first private client for the UNIVAC was General Electric which used computers to manage their payroll and inventory systems.
US presidential election predictions and data processing
Perhaps the biggest claim to fame for the UNIVAC was it being the first computer to predict the winner of a US presidential election. The UNIVAC predict Dwight D. Eisenhower’s victory with a 1% margin of error.
The UNIVAC was the first computer specifically designed for processing large amounts of data.
The UNIVAC processor had 5200 vacuum tubes installed in the processor. For context, the processor and memory unit measured 4.3m by 2.4m by 2.6m high. The entire computer used about 35 square meters of floor space.
UNIVAC stats for nerds
The UNIVAC weighed a mammoth 13 tons and consumed 125kW operating at a clock speed of some 2.25MHz.
The computer was capable of 455 multiplication per second stored up to 1000 strings in its mercury memory.
The UNIVAC’s memory elements could each hold two instructions an 11 digit number and sign or 12 alphabetic characters.
