From: Morton Goldberg <m_goldberg@...>
Date: 2007-07-21T13:03:49+09:00
Subject: Re: Taking the bull by its horns [was background]

On Jul 20, 2007, at 8:45 PM, John W. Kennedy wrote:

> The 1620 and 1130 were both noted for their omissions. The original  
> 1620 required an addition table and a multiplication table to be  
> loaded by the operating system, or the arithmetic opcodes wouldn't  
> work. This is why the 1620's code name, "Cadet", was elucidated by  
> wags as "Can't Add, Doesn't Even Try". The later, advanced models  
> didn't need the addition table, but still needed the other.

I remember the 1620. I wrote programs for it for about three years  
beginning in 1962. The one I used must have been one of the  
"advanced" models -- I remember putting multiplication table cards at  
the front of my program decks, but not addition table cards. The  
other thing I remember about about the 1620, besides its variable  
word length, was its propensity for throwing its console typewriter's  
zero key across the room. The console typewriter was a pre-golf-ball  
model with lever keys. The zero key, by far the most used key, was  
continually fatiguing off and going airborne.

Oh, yes, I just remembered. The 1620 brought two firsts to my  
programming experience: a drum plotter and a disk storage unit. I  
really enjoyed writing programs that did output to the plotter.

Regards, Morton