
Restored IBM 1401 compiles and runs FORTRAN II - Nition
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFQ3sajIdaM
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csense
I submitted this a couple months ago [1], let's hope it gets more traction
this time. The enormous half-mechanical behemoths of the past had a majestic
charm in their size and cost, the complexity, the sheer number of things going
on that you can actually see and hear.

Even though today's computers are vastly more powerful, they just aren't the
same as this museum piece.

It's also highly interesting to read the video description, which links to
email exchanges between the museum restorers and the _original developers_ of
the ancient compiler in question, who are now in their 90s!

[1]
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16311043](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16311043)

~~~
Nition
The sounds, all the moving parts, all the blinkenlights, are so good just to
experience in working order.

And thanks for pointing out the emails, as I hadn't noticed those when I
originally watched the video.

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chmaynard
The IBM 1401 seems like an odd choice for restoration because it wasn't really
a general-purpose computer. If I were doing something like this, I probably
would have chosen the IBM 1130.

