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Electronic Abacus

Posted by michael on from the news-for-nerds dept.

yoey writes: "Blast from the past in an article at the Economist: There are those who do not believe in the desirability of introducing anything as esoteric as electronics into business routine at all. Others believe that there is a limited field for electronic methods, provided that they fit into, and do not disrupt, established business systems. But there is a third group ... who consider that a major revolution in office methods may be possible. This revolution would involve scrapping the greater part of the established punch card calculating routine and substituting a single 'electronic office' where the giant computor [sic] would perform internally all the calculations needed for a whole series of book-keeping operations, printing the final answer in and on whatever form was required."

10 of 129 comments (clear)

  1. [sic] ???!!! by truesaer · · Score: 0, Offtopic
    Please tell me that YOU didn't put that in Michael! Are slashdot editors reforming their ways? Is there proofreading and grammar checking in our future? Will a SECOND editor be consulted on the editorial comments added to a story before it is posted?


    It truly is a new era! :)

    1. Re:[sic] ???!!! by yoey · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      I used to copy-edit for a professor whose English was not mother-tongue.

  2. Revolutions lead to... by ElectricToothbrush · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    "a revolution in methods just as remarkable, and a great deal more violent, than that which followed the Prudential's experiment." And we all know violent revolutions lead to dictatorship right?

  3. Re:First "[sic]"? by yoey · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Thanks.

    No offense to the British of course; I was raised in the States.

  4. Deepthought by rimcrazy · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Well it's been a million years so what is the answer?

    To what question?

    What do you mean what question? The answer to life, the world, the universe and everything?

    Your not going to like it!

    What do you mean I'm not going to like it? Tell me the answer.

    42

    42!!!!!!!!

    --
    "TV, a medium as it is neither rare nor well done." Ernie Kovacs
  5. Re:First "[sic]"? by Yosho · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Oh, it was put there by the submitter? Whew. For a moment I was starting to panic...

    --
    Karma: Terrifying (mostly affected by atrocities you've committed)
  6. we already know the answer... by adidave · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    forty-two

    --
    ----- adidave
  7. As we come full circle... by Bikku · · Score: 0, Offtopic
    Step off at any point:

    - Giant central computor (cool spelling, wot?)

    - DP department of technocrats

    - Mega systems development

    - Unresponsive DP, unsatisfied business users

    - Guerilla IT, illicit PCs

    - RYO IT infrastructure

    - Lack of professional systems admin

    - Chaos and incompatibility

    - Power grab by IT folks

    - PC becomes fat client

    - Fat client becomes thin

    - Thin client becomes NC or ZAW

    - Becomes dumb terminal on giant computer

    GOTO TOP

  8. ObJoke by ucblockhead · · Score: 1, Offtopic
    Although there are no moving parts to go wrong, the law of averages seems to dictate that some of the myriad components will occasionally fail, and scientists who work regularly on computors rely on the machine being available for at best only 80 per cent of its theoretical working time.

    If only my WinMe box had that kind of uptime!

    --
    The cake is a pie
  9. Re:Offtopic??? by Bobo+the+Space+Chimp · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    > Why would you moderate something that is clearly funny as Offtopic?

    I hit 'em and hit 'em hard with my +5 Singing Vorpal Sword of Metamoderation.

    You can, too!

    --
    I am for the complete Trantorization of Earth.