Its All About Computers. Historic glimpse at computer technology and computer culture in America. These films were made when computers were valve driven or transitor based, and way before integrated circuitry was introduced. Computer made a new world of technology possible including space flight.
Included Films:
On Guard! The Story of SAGE
On Guard! The Story of SAGE
Produced: 1956
Length: 12 Minutes
On Guard! The Story of SAGE is the amazing tale of a wacky precursor to the Star Wars nuclear defense plan. SAGE (Semi-Automatic Ground Environment) was the first computer system used for American air defense during the Cold War. SAGE was built to prevent enemy bombers from coming unnoticed into US airspace. Images of children playing or sleeping punctuate the reasons for such tight security. The computer is astonishingly huge by modern standards, taking up two floors of IBMs SAGE building, and containing 56,000 electron tubes. The computer is shown being maintained by well-dressed workers as though it were the queen in a beehive. A veritable museum of old technology, the film contains priceless images of vintage electronics. On Guard! The Story of SAGE is a fun and informative classic film that deserves to be seen.
Logic By Machine
Logic By Machine
Produced: 1965
Length: 28 Minutes
Logic By Machine offers a historical snapshot of computers in the mid-1960s. With an eerie soundtrack by Morton Subotnick, and crude animation, the story of how computers make our lives easier and better is told in sometimes excruciating detail. Actual mathematicians impart fascinating knowledge and historical perspective on the inner workings of the earliest computers. Some topics that the film touches on as possibilities for the future are symbolic reality, artificial intelligence, and other social and philosophical discoveries. Logic By Machine is a compelling exploration of the rich and important history of computers.
The Information Machine
The Information Machine
Produced: 1958
Length: 9 Minutes
The Information Machine is a vintage animated film produced by IBM to show off at the 1958 Worlds Fair in Brussels. The cartoon succinctly and entertainingly describes the history of information management from cavemen to the modern computer in the 1950s. The different applications of the big computers used by the military and business are explained, all within the context of computers contributing to the positive development of human society.
