GIP -- my first computer

Bendix G-15 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Bendix G-15 computer was introduced in 1956 by the Bendix Corporation, Computer Division, Los Angeles, California. It was about 5 by 3 by 3 feet and weighed about 950 pounds. The base system, without peripherals, cost $49,500. A working model cost around $60,000. It could also be rented for $1,485 per month. It was meant for scientific and industrial markets. The series was gradually discontinued when Control Data Corporation took over the Bendix computer division in 1963.

The chief designer of the G-15 was Harry Huskey, who had worked with Alan Turing on the ACE in the United Kingdom and on the SWAC in the 1950s. He made most of the design while working as a professor at Berkeley, and other universities. David C. Evans was one of the Bendix engineers on the G-15 project. He would later become famous for his work in computer graphics and for starting up Evans & Sutherland with Ivan Sutherland.

The icon is a close-up of the meters on the front panel; they allowed the operator to adjust the power-supply voltages until the vacuum tubes were happy. The image it was ganked from was found here.

( image behind cut )

Google Patent Search

Google Patent Search is indeed a wonderful thing, and incredibly useful in my line of work. But trust Gizmodo and their readers to come up with ( the first patent illustration I've had to cut-tag as potentially not safe for work )

Here's the result page for patent #1690926 if you want to check it out (NSFW)

TGIF

Started out the morning -- well, after the LJ and coffee, anyway -- with a trip downtown to the CA State Board of Equalization, which for some unguessable reason is what they call the place where you register for a sales tax account. Mild screw-up because I'd filled out the wrong form. Apparently I'm not the only one who got the wrong form off their website. Took a little over an hour.

I had my new tweed hat (that I'd bought at Dickens Fair a couple of weeks ago) in my jacket pocket, and it fell out in the office. Unfortunately, I didn't notice until I'd gotten back to my car, up four flights of stairs in the Second and San Carlos garage. Cursing to myself, I quickly dashed back down and up the stairs, in case I'd dropped it there, then got out of the garage, parked at a parking meter, and retraced my steps. Luckily, somebody had found it.

I very nearly skipped my walk, figuring that going up and down four flights of stairs twice probably counted as exercise, but it was a nice day and I felt like walking. I even did the hill both ways.

Got very little done at work in the afternoon. Evening was the annual Golden Bough winter concert. Wonderful, as usual. A 16-year family tradition.