From The Devouring Fungus, Karla Jennings, 1990, chapter 10, The Monster Turns… and Falls to its Knees, p. 211:
Another legendary debacle triggered by light hit at a highly publicized affair thrown by IBM, ironic considering that IBM is the master of the seamless image. D. E. Rosenheim, who helped develop the IBM 701, the first mass-produced modern commercial computer, recalled the famous faux pas, which occurred when the company held a dedication ceremony for the 701’s installation at its New York headquarters. Top-level executives, the engineering team, and a gang of reporters crowded the ceremony room
“Things went pretty well at the dedication,” said Rosenheim, “until the photographers started taking pictures of the hardware. As soon as the flash bulbs went off, the whole system came down. Following a few tense moments on the part of the engineering crew, we realized with some consternation that the light from the flash bulbs was erasing the information in the CRT memory. Suffice it to say that shortly thereafter the doors to the CRT storage frame were made opaque to the offending wavelengths.”
Those who do not know their history are doomed to repeat it.
Note for the kids: Yes, that's right, it says CRT memory. That's the same Cathode Ray Tube as found in non-flat-panel TVs and monitors, except we're using it as a high speed storage device.
Ironically, the wikipedia page for Selectron tubes actually has more useful information on Williams tubes than it's article does... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selectron_tube
Another legendary debacle triggered by light hit at a highly publicized affair thrown by IBM, ironic considering that IBM is the master of the seamless image. D. E. Rosenheim, who helped develop the IBM 701, the first mass-produced modern commercial computer, recalled the famous faux pas, which occurred when the company held a dedication ceremony for the 701’s installation at its New York headquarters. Top-level executives, the engineering team, and a gang of reporters crowded the ceremony room
“Things went pretty well at the dedication,” said Rosenheim, “until the photographers started taking pictures of the hardware. As soon as the flash bulbs went off, the whole system came down. Following a few tense moments on the part of the engineering crew, we realized with some consternation that the light from the flash bulbs was erasing the information in the CRT memory. Suffice it to say that shortly thereafter the doors to the CRT storage frame were made opaque to the offending wavelengths.”
Those who do not know their history are doomed to repeat it.