I've been having fun looking at TV programs that I watched when the
family had a 17" monochrome RCA set. At any rate, here's one such about
a guy who gets shocked by a computer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-pfWhehSB4
Note that, about 3:20 in, the guy doing the troubleshooting on the
system pulls a faulty tube and gives it to his companion for
replacement. "12AY7" is what he says, but hands the other guy an octal
tube--the 12AY7 is a 9-pin sub-miniature. (TV had goofs even then).
Other than the IBM Model B electric typewriters, there doesn't seem to
be much to see. From 1955.
Here's another one from 1956:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33OFJEWUgQE
This involves a mechanical translating machine that's been adapted to
diagnose and prescribe treatment for diseases. There, you can see the
same IBM typewriters, as well a couple of keypunches (IBM 024/6?) and
bunches of tape drives that I don't recognize. "Memory coils", anyone?
The strange thing is that years later, I met up with a fellow who had
worked with Gerald Salton on the nascent SMART system that, I believe,
eventually morphed into MEDLARS.
Stuff from a time when men wore hats and women wore dresses.
--Chuck
