Computer Science

Historic Books: When Computer had Names

Way back in the 1950s computer deigners proudly gave their creations names ranging from ACE to ZEBRA. Some expressed power such as ATLAS and WHIRLWIND. Some made allusions to the heavens such as ORION and ARGUS. Others were acronyms like EDSAC,and MADAM. And others were whimsical such as MANIAC and, the first computer in Sydney, the SILLIAC.

By the time New Zealand installed its first computer, the IBM 650 in 1961, product numbers had taken over. The university's first computer in 1963 was a “1620”. Nowadays, the excitement having long passed, most computers are merely given numbers or letters (PC) as names. Though there are some exceptions, such as the Apple MACINTOSH or Compaq PRESARIO, these names tend to be used for series of machines rather than particular models.

We are fortunate to have in our collection examples of manuals and brochures from these early days when computers had characters.