The record for obsolete computing probably goes to Sparkler Filters, which still uses an IBM 402 tabulator from 1948 for their accounting. This machine reads in

The record for obsolete computing probably goes to Sparkler Filters, which still uses an IBM 402 tabulator from 1948 for their accounting. This machine reads information from punch cards, adds it up, and prints reports. That wouldn't be too bad, except this tabulator is before the vacuum tube generation. It is electromechanical, using mechanical counter wheels for addition. It is programmed by plugging dozens of wires into a control panel; each wire indicates something like this card column goes to this adder and that printer column. To change the program, you pull out the panel and replace it with a different panel. The "software library" consists of shelves of panels wired up for each task. This system actually surprisingly sophisticated considering the lack of technology. For instance, there's a mechanical mechanism to suppress leading zeros in numbers. It can print text as well as numbers and supports three levels of subtotals as well as conditionals. It It's also fairly fast, processing 150 cards per minute. Links: http://www.pcworld.com/article/249951/if_it_aint_broke_dont_fix_it_ancient_computers_in_use_today.html http://www.pcworld.com/article/249951/if_it_aint_broke_dont_... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_402 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_402 http://bitsavers.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/pdf/ibm/punchedCard/AccountingMachine/224-1614-13_402-403-419.pdf http://bitsavers.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/pdf/ibm/punched...