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Author here: I've finally finished a detailed history of IBM's 4 Pi computers, powering everything from the B-1 bomber to the Space Shuttle. Let me know if you
by kens 6mo ago
Author here: I've finally finished a detailed history of IBM's 4 Pi computers, powering everything from the B-1 bomber to the Space Shuttle. Let me know if you have questions...
- nick__m 6mo agojust one: why it named System/4 Pi ? (the Pi part especially)
- kens 6mo agoThe name is essentiallly a geometry joke. The IBM System/360 line of mainframes (1964) revolutionized the computer industry with the concept of one family of computers for all applications: business and scientific. (Before the 360, nobody considered compatibility, so different computer models were entirely incompatible, which was a mess.) The name symbolized that System/360 covered the full 360º of applications. The 4 Pi name extended this idea to applications in the 3-dimensional world: 4π is the number of steradians making up a full sphere. As IBM put it, "System/4 Pi also fills a sphere—the full spectrum of military computer needs—for airborne, space, or shipboard use."
- jasomill 6mo agoMy local carwash's top-end wash is called the "Ultimate 360°", despite the fact that it obviously cleans the entire surface area of the car, and I'm simultaneously annoyed by the name and reminded of the System/4 Pi.
- moffkalast 6mo agoAnd a follow up, was the Raspberry Pi named as a joke reference to these?
- chihuahua 6mo agoCould a single person lift the complete set of manuals for one computer model? And what percentage of the pages of the manual said "this page intentionally left blank"?
- contingencies 6mo agoAre there any similar parallel series in China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Russia or the UK that you have had a chance to study?
- kens 6mo agoI'd like to study aerospace systems from other countries. Unfortunately, it's even harder to get information on foreign systems than US systems.
- decryption 6mo agoYou mentioned in the post that you "received a stack of 4 Pi marketing brochures and articles". Do you plan to scan these and place them on your website or the Internet Archive? I'd love to read them!