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196908 196908

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Vol. 18, No . 9

~, ~t96-9((9Z1 J3S SlVJIOOHf3d

August, 1969

SAN JOSE
PUBLIC LIBR
. Y

I!Hut!!!:i~

7th Annual Computer Art Contest - First Prize:

~~Circus"

RC~s

many-tentacled computer does time sharing plus regular computing.
It's a generation ahead of its major competitor.

Once there were only monster
computers that did big batch
jobs like payrolls.
Then came the whirling
dervishes of time sharing that
let a lot of people work at once.
Now there's a new kind of
creature that does time sharing
and batch work together. So
lots of people can use it effiCiently.
It's the Spectra 70/46.The
Octoputer.There's nothing
else quite like it on earth
or under the sea.
The Octopu ter's arms are long
and strong. It sits in the
middle of your company and
reaches helping hands out in
all directions. Suddenly, your
company works harder. More
of your people use the computer-solving more problems,
finding more facts, writing
more programs.
And it does your big batch
jobs in its spare time.
The Octoputer does a real
armload of work for a handful of change. Check the
bills from your timesharing services.

See if it's not more efficient to
do the same work on your own
Octoputer. And get batch
processing, too. One
more thing. The Octoputer concentrates
(
on remote compu ting
because that's what
you're going to need
- that's where the
industry is going.
We got there first

Designate No. 21 on Reader Service Card

because communications is what
RCA is famous for. It'll keep us
ahead of our competition.
It can keep you ahead
of yours. Step up to the
Octopu ter and shake
hands hands hands
hands hands hands ...

Hen

COMPUTERS

Not all comp'uter
output microfilmers
are created equal.

COli PU'f;h'~j

AUG.

1~09

(~.:

•

The COM is a new breed of machine
that's fast replacing paper print-oul
systems. Little wonder. By squeezir
computer-generated data onto
microfilm, you can cut storage spac
by98%, printing time by 95%,
consumables costs by 85 %, and
information retrieval time by 30%.
But, aside from these generic
virtues, not all CaMs are equal. Or'
in particular, the Beta COM 600, is
unique. And with understandable I
we'd like to point out the inequaliti
To begin with, it's the only COM
the market that offers graphic capi
bilities at alphanumeric prices. Th.
is, unlike others in its price range,
Beta COM 600 plots data in the fori
of charts, tables and graphs. As a
management tool, it thus provides
instant recognition of sales, inventory or profit pictures.
Designate No. 22 on Reader Service C

'.J .;

moon pictures.
'ument offers a total COM
market and maintain a
'ocessors, duplicators,
der-printers, film and
)ur systems analysts will
and implement a comation storage and
tem within your specific
. onment. And our fac19ineers will provide
Irogram of expert
nce.
anaging an EDP division,
:>mpany that has recid access needs, conV1 600. Write or call for
!cs. Or come visit us.
:l. first-hand demon'nequalities of Beta
3.ph ic demonstration.

10110

rUlllent
liot St .• Newton Upper Falls.

59·6510 / TWX 710·335·6973

Vol. 18. No.9 -

Letters To The Editor
liThe Misdirection of Defense"
- Comment

I have just now had the opportunity to read the editorial in your
April issue ["The Misdirection of
Defense - and the Social Responsibilities of Computer People"] , which you
so kindly sent me.
I found it persuasive, particularly in
light of your knowledge and experience. I hope you keep up your
scrutiny of the "MIC" (Military
Industrial Complex).
Senator EDWARD M. KENNEDY

United States Senate
Washington, D.C.

To claim that social responsibility is
outside the bounds of professionalism
in any field is to view such a field so
narrowly that most perspective is lost.
This reader raises his small voice to
urge you on in your present coursepresenting an informative, challenging,
excellent magazine for those who have
the capacity to appreciate it.

APL

Edmund C. Berkeley

Associate Edhor

Sharry Langdale

Assistant Editors

Moses M. Berlin
Linda Ladd Lovett
Neil D. Macdonald

Software Editor

Stewart B. Nelson

Advertising Director
Art Directors

Bernard Lane
Ray W. Hass
Daniel T. Langdale
John Bennett
Andrew D. Booth
John W. Carr III
Ned Chapin
Alston S. Householder
Petsr Kugel
Leslie Mezei
Rod E. Packer
Ted Schoeters

Numbles

Advisory Committee

Could you please send me a copy of
your booklet on Numbles? I am also
very interested in learning more about
(Please turn to page 11)

T. E. Cheatham, Jr.
James J. Cryan
Richard W. Hamming
Alston S. Householder
Victor Paschkis

Fulfillment Manager

William J. McMillan

JOEL BERG

Director
Data Processing Center
Newton Public Schools
430 Walnut St.
Newtonville, Mass. 02160

TIME-SUAllING.
(Pt

eke",

tpJUud~~.1
EASV TO LEARN
•
•
•
•
•

Editor

Contributing Editors

Social Responsibility

It is most refreshing to read your
penetrating editorials and your
commentary on social problems subject to alleviation or multiplication by
data processing techniques.

August. 1969

3·day video tape instruction course is available
Terminal drills and exercises also available
The interactive terminal at your desk is a fine teacher
Incorrect inputs from a terminal cannot hurt the APL system
Even secretaries can learn
.

FASTER PROGRAIVIMING
• Simple form of program statements
• Fully consistent programming language, no reserved words.
• Complete character manipulation capability
• 60 powerful keyboard operators replace subroutines

LO\l\lER-COST PROCESSING
• Program looping is frequently eliminated
• Query systems replace lengthy, costly printouts
• Small-computer users gain the advantages of a large machine
• Terminal connect charge usually includes the total CPU time used

REVISIONS COST LESS
• Modular programs are self-documenting
• Each program associated with its own user-description
• Simple on-line alteration of a program statement
• Immediate on·line test of a program alteration

* "* *

Phone (212) 947-78.13 or write: Dept. A

APL-MANHATTAN
A DIVISION OF INDUSTRIAL COMPUTER SYSTEMS, INC.

256 WEST 31st STREET (at Penn Station) • New York, New York 10001

Advertising Representatives
NEW YORK 10018, Bernard Lane
37 West 39 St., 212-279-7281
CHICAGO 60611, Cole, Mason, and Deming
221 N. LaSalle St., Room 856, 312-641-1253
PASADENA, CALIF. 91105, Douglas C. Lance
562 Bellefontaine St., 213-682-1464
ELSEWHERE, The Publisher
Berkeley Enterprises, Inc.
815 Washington St., 617-332-5453
Newtonville, Mass. 02160

Editorial Offices
BERKELEY ENTERPRISES, INC.
815 WASHINGTON STREET,
NEWTONVilLE, .MASS. 02160
CIRCULATION AUDITED BY
AUDIT BUREAU OF CIRCULATIONS

Computers and Automation is published 13 times a
year (12 monthly issues plus an annual directory issue
published in June) at 815 Washington St., Newtonville"
Mass. 02160, by Berkeley Enterprises, Inc. Printed in
U.S.A. Subscription rates: United States, $18.50 for
1 year, $36.00 for 2 years, including annual directory issue - $9.50 for 1 year, ,$18.00 for two
years without annual directory; Canada, add 50t
a year for postage; Foreign, add $3.50 a year for
postage. Address all U.S. subscription mail to: Berkeley Enterprises, Inc., 815 Washington St., Newtonville,
Mass. 02160. Second Class Postage paid at Boston,
Mass.
Postmaster: Please send all forms 3579 to Berkeley
Enterprises, Inc., 815 Washington St., Newtonville,
Mass. 02160. © Copyright, 1969, by Berkeley Enterprises, Inc.
.
Change of address: If your address changes, please
send us both your new address and your old address
(as it appears on the magazine address imprint), and
allow three weeks for the change to be made.

Designate No. 19 on Reader Service Card
4

COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for August, 1969

CDrn~uters
and automation

Vol. 18, No.9 -

T he magazine of the design, applications, and implications of information processing systems.

August, 1969

Special Feature: Seventh Annual Computer Art Contest
12

14
14
15
15
16
16
17
17

18
18
19
20
21
21
22
22

23
24
25
25
26
26
29
29
30
30
31
31

Circus
The Lines
Mask
Progress?
Sketch for a Mural
Ellipses
The Litely Lit Lamp
Scorpion
Billows
Flying Dutchman
Connections #3
Aspirations
Control Theory
Seasons
Spears
Slant No.1
Portrait (Nelson Rockefeller)
Pattern of Flow
Resurrection
Portrait (Martin Luther King, Jr.)
Expanding Universe
Hot Rod
Octagonal Well
Impact
Lady
Distorted Circle
Hebrew Alphabet
:Mollusk
Eruption
Christmas 2001
Levitation
COM~UTER.AIDED

Tom Childs
Dare! D. Eschbach, Jr.
Kerry Strand
George H. Meyfarth III and Philip F. Meyfarth
A. M. France
(Mrs.) Leigh Hendricks
William A. Carpenter
Sidney Robertson
Dayid Caulkins
Michael Davis
A. M. France
James S. Lipscomb
E. M. Pass
Petar Milojevic
Steve Derby
Auro Lecci
Anton G. Salecker
Hiroshi Kawano
William S. Maloney, S.].
Hendrikus J. Nolle and Emilio D. Rodriguez
Darel D. Eschbach, Jr.
A. M. France
Donald Robbins
J. A. Elenbaas
John Cope and Ronnie Shiver
James Daly, S.].
Harold Minuskin and Bill Scott
William A. Carpenter
David J. DiLeonardo
J. A. Elenbaas
Sidney Robertson

SCULPTURE

by Roger Ives
How a computer created a spheroid sculpture the computer in art.

POETRY BY COMPUTER
by Dr. Giuseppe M. Ferrero diRoccaferrera
Can a computer create meaningful poetry -

and some comments on the role of

The froll! cover shows the
entry which won first prize
in the Seventh Annual Computer Art Contest of ComJJUters and Automation _.«Circus", photographed from
an Adage Graphics Terminal
by Tom Childs. A description of this jJicture, and
other entries in the contest,
are in the computer arl
section of this issue beginning
on jJoge 12.

and should it?

UNDERESTIMATES AND OVEREXPECTATIONS
by Dr. J. C. R. Licklider
A thorough analysis of the clear impossibility of developing a very large and complex
computer system (such as needed for an anti-ballistic missile system), which has to
handle continually more complicated problems and can never be tested adequately
short of nuclear war.

THE ROLE OF EDP EQUIPMENT IN THE ACCOUNTING SYSTEM OF THE
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA
by William J. Carlin
How advances in data processing technology have changed the functions
comptrollers' offices in the state government of Pennsylvania.

of the

Regular Features

De parl1nents
60

Across the Editor's Desk Computing -and Data Processing Newsletter

Advertising Index

Editorials
6
6

The Value of Computer People, and "Who's Who in the Computer Field,"
by Edmund C. Berkeley
Computer Art - The Annual Contest, by Edmund C. Berkeley

Ideas : Spotlight
56

The Technical Iron Curtain: The Communications Barrier Between Senior Management and
the Computer Men, by Peter Hall

e&A vVorldwide
57

Report from Great Britain, by Ted Schoeters

Multi-Access Forum
38
39
40
42
42
43
43
44

Computer Censuses - Discussion
Reactions to IBM's "Unbundling"
Computer Programmer Trainees Can't Find Jobs, by Helen Solem
United Nations to Study the Transfer of Computer Technology Between Countries
Computing Equipment in the National Economy of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
ADAPSO Position Paper on Discriminatory Pricing
The Perfect Program, by Lou Ellen Davis
Who's Who in the Computer Field - Entries

COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for August, 1969

As We Go To Press

Book Reviews

Calendar of Coming Events

Letters to the Editor

New Contracts

New Installations

Numbles
by Neil Macdonald

Problem Corner
by Walter Penney, COP

e-~c.~
EDITORIAL

Editor

The Value of Computer People,
and "Who's Who in the Computer Field"
In the computer
happening:

field,

something

new has been

The value of a computer professional is beginning to
exceed the value of a computing machine.
For over 20 years, the powerful computer and the large
quantity of computing power which it provides, has tended
to be worth far more than a computing professional. This is
now changing.
The central processing unit, thanks to transistors first,
then printed circuits, and currently large scale integration
of circuit elements, is becoming relatively small and cheap.
The peripherals are becoming less costly also. The cost of a
good computer professional now is on the order of $30,000
a year (including fringe benefits needed to keep him in a
job instead of having him move on to another job). A
five-year capitalization of the professional's value comes to
about $150,000. One can now obtain a great deal of
computing power for $150,000-more than ten million
mi Ilion computing operations, enough to solve a large
number of difficult problems.
As a result, it makes sense for the computer field to look
with fresh eyes at computer people, to focus attention on
them, to try to inventory the people, the professionals, in
the computer field.
We, the editors of Computers and Automation, recognizing this fact, accordingly announce the reporting of the

people in the computer profession in a new periodical
publication.
Our Editions of Who's Who in the Computer Field,
which began in 1952, will be published annually in three
parts:
Part 1 - Systems Analysts and Programmers
Part 2 - Managers and Directors of Computer I nstallations
Part 3 - Other Computer People
These issues will also contain a variety of other information
and supplements, such as: "Distinguished People in the
Computer Field", "Lecturers in the Computer Field", etc.
Whenever a person belongs in more than one category, we
plan to publish his capsule biography in each category
where it belongs.
We invite our readers to'subscribe to this new periodical
publication Who's Who in the Computer Field - see the
information on page 47.
If you wish to be considered for inclusion in the Who's
Who, please complete the entry form on page 44 or provide
us with the equivalent information. If you have previously
sent us an entry form, but some of the information that
you sent us has changed substantially (such as your
company connection or your address), please send us a
corrected entry form. Please do not delay-deadlines are
close at hand: the closing date for Part 1 is September 5,
1969. All aboard!

Computer Art - The Annual Contest
This year our 7th annual contest for computer art has
set a new record: 165 pieces of computer art have been
entered. With this profusion, we cannot print in one issue
all that is worth printing.
So we plan to publish in later issues of Computers and
Automation throughout the year, more examples of computer art.
The front cover of this issue shows the art to which we
have 2warded first prize. Also, in 25 pages of this issue we
present what seem to be many of the most interesting,
artistic, and significant pieces of art that we have found
among the entries.
The computer and its associated graphic plotter make it
possible to produce about half a dozen classes of interesting
and beautiful art. These classes at present appear to
include:
Lines associated in patterns varying in angle and
length;
Areas bounded by contours;
Mixtures of controlled and random elements
repeated with variations;
Copies of pictures (of persons, etc.), composed by
lines of varying qualities or letters of varying
density;
6

Successive transformations of a single design by
varying its elements (length, width, size, etc.).

Many of these designs are beautiful and striking. But very
little so far in computer art seems to have the profound
interest and emotional appeal of the best paintings or
photography.
Why not?
The degree to which art impresses a human being is, I
suppose, closely related to the familiarity of the objects
portrayed. Leonardo da Vinci's painting of Mona Lisa is
famous because of the enigmatic expression in the face of a
woman, something all of us often see and wonder about.
Another example I think of is a picture of flowers in a vase,
done in bright pastelle colors, by a French artist about
1914, on exhibit in the Museum of Modern Art in New
York. The various kinds of flowers are recognizable; the
colors placed there in imperishable colored chalk fifty years
ago are still brilliant and gorgeous; the entire bouquet,
skillfully arranged and balanced, is a lovely example of
something I have often seen and enjoyed in the real world. I
can't imagine a computer originating a picture like either
one of these two without an enormously large amount...of
programming, which in these days is still impractical.
Yet computer art is one of the new kinds of art that we
human beings will now become used to-and perhaps, in
time, often find as pleasing as many examples of human art.
COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for August, 1969

...

CaIComp presents
the 6 foot microchip.

If a 6 foot microchip sounds
crazy to you, don't tell us.
Tell Texas Instruments.
They're the people who draw
it, using our immense CalComp
718 Flatbed Plotter. And they say
it works great.
With instructions from Texas
Instruments' circuit-design computer, the CalComp 718 quickly
and automatically draws a perfect
design of each new chip 300 to
500 times the actual size.
With a resolution of one thousandth of an inch, these giant
microchip drawings provide important visual verification of design
accuracy before production.
All right, why use a CalComp
718? Consider these features.
An unmatched plot area four

and a half by six feet.
Four separate pens. For automatic colors or line widths.
Automatic intermix.of incremental step size.
Ability to plot on any receptive
surface. (Texas Instruments draws
on Mylar.)
Vacuum hold-down over
the entire plotting area.
And with CalComp's
exclusive Zip Mode®,
timesaving speeds up to
4.6 inches a second.
CalComp is the leader
in computer graphics.
With sales, service
and software in 34 cities
throughout the world.
So if you happen
to have a small
Designate No. 20 on Reader Service Card

graphics problem, call your nearest
CalComp man today.
With CalComp 718, he can
give you the big picture.

ct.8.6>••
TEACH YOUR COMPUTER TO DRAW.
California Computer Products, Inc.
305 N. Muller Avenue, Dept. A·OB
Anaheim, California 92803.

Time was when alphanumeric co.mputer o.utputs chugged away
o.n the line printer, line drawings zig-zagged o.n the pen plo.tter,
and creative designs flickered mo.mentarily o.n the sco.pe face. In
fact they still do. chug, zig-zag, and flicker.
So.mething better is caned co.mputergraphics, where the co.mputer's
tapes can be given to. o.ne peripheral that is fast eno.ugh, precise
eno.ugh, and versatile eno.ugh to. handle all kinds o.f o.utputs.
Our FR-80 Film Reco.rder is a co.mputergraphics system. Give it a
perso.nnellisting with co.rrectio.ns to. merge and reco.rd in o.ne pass.
Or a digitized engineering drawing to be reco.rded and blo.wn back
to. E-size fro.m 35 mm film. Or a strip chart to. be co.ntinuo.usly
reco.rded in abutting frames, perfectly registered. Or a directo.ry to.
be set up in bo.o.k-quality, like this ad.
FR-80 no.t o.nly do.es all of these things to. higher accuracy than any
o.ther electro.-o.ptical system (reso.lutio.n o.n 35 mm film: 80 line
pairs per mm) , it do.es them in quick successio.n with a few seco.nds
setup time, accepting tape fo.rmatted fo.r any o.utput device by any
ho.st co.mputer. Because FR-80 is a pro.grammable system, flexible,
versatile, respo.nsive to. special graphic requirements, receptive
to. new metho.ds.
To. put it ano.ther way, adaptable species flo.urish, while specialized
fo.rms die out. And FR-80 is tho.ro.ughly adapted to. the age o.f
co.mputers and auto.matio.n.
Let us send yo.u the co.mplete sto.ry o.f FR-80.
Info.rmatio.n Internatio.nal, 12435 West Olympic Bo.ulevard, Lo.s
Angeles, Califo.rnia 90064, (213) 478-2571; 89 Brighto.n Avenue,
Bo.sto.n, Massachusetts 02134, (617) 787-4700; 7880 Co.o.lridge
Drive, Camp Springs, Maryland 20031, (301) 449-4248.

INFORMATION INTERNATIONAL

Designate No. 18 on Reader Service Card

Computergraphics have come a long way

AS WE GO TO PRESS

MEANWHILE,

BACK AT THE

PFR-3 ...

... we have further improved our
Programmable Film Reader/Recorder
to make it the most sophisticated image
analyzer available. New software has
been developed for these applications:
Image Restoration - Using digital filtering, the PFR-3 reconstructs images that
have been degraded by object motion,
out of focus conditions, or atmospheric
turbulence. Ideal for such applications
as biomedical X-rays and recognition
of targets.
Iso-Density Mapping - Continuous-tone
photographs are converted to images
with a contour-like effect having discrete
bands shaded within themselves. Complex, amorphous shapes are more easily
identified and studied.
Spatial Filtering - Ill-defined shapes in a
photograph are given clean separation
(high-frequency filtering) . Unwanted
separations, such as the raster lines in a
television image, are filled in (lowfrequency filtering).
And PFR-3 is still interpreting and
extracting information from oil well logs,
oceanological charts, bacterial cultures,
cine-theodolite film, displayed wave
forms, and many other kinds of image all automatically. Write or call us if
you'd like help on your application.
Information International,
12435 West Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles,
California 90064, (213) 478-2571;
89 Brighton Avenue, Boston,
Mass. 02134, (617) 787-4700;
7880 Coolridge Drive, Camp Springs,
Maryland 20031, (301) 449-4248.

[W2]
INFORMATION INTERNATIONAL

COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for August, 1969

GRAVE DOUBTS ABOUT THE WORKABILITY
OF THE COMPUTER PORTION OF THE PROPOSED SAFEGUARD ANTI-BALLISTIC MISSILE (ABM) SYSTEM have been expressed in a statement issued by a
group of about 150 computer professionals. Daniel D. McCracken,
author of ten books on computer
programming and a national lecturer
for ACM, is Chairman of the group,
"Computer Professionals Against
ABM". Other members of the group's
executive committee include Prof.
Joseph Weizenbaum, Professor of
Electrical Engineering and Political Science at M.I.T. and inventor
of several computer languages, and
Paul Armer, director of the computation center at Stanford University and President of the American
Federation of Information Processing Societies (AFIPS).
The group's statement compared
the Safeguard system to a computer
system which at some unspecified
moment would take over the air
traffic control of the entire nation without parallel operation, or
testing under actual operating
conditions, or evolutionary development.
Errors in such systems as air
traffic control and election reporting, which were described as
much less complex than the Safeguard system, were pointed to as
evidence that the Safeguard computer probably could not be made to
work at all. Conditions for Safeguard were described as much less
favorable: (1) The computing task
is more complex; (2) The precise
nature of the task cannot be defined; (3) Realistic testing is impossible; and (4) Evolutionary development is out of the question.
The statement concluded: "It is
important to realize that the computer would have virtually all of
the decision-making power, because
the warning time in a nuclear attack would be so short ... that
presidential or senior military review would be almost impossible.
Our experience with the failures of
large computers (not to mention
those that send out department
store bills) makes us extremely reluctant to place so much life-anddeath power in the control of a
complex and untested machine.
"Worse, the ABM system could by
itself initiate a firing sequence
without any attack taking place.
This could happen through misinterpretation of radar signals from
harmless objects, or because of
machine malfunction or programming
error. Since the defensive missiles themselves would carry nuclear weapons, destruction of American

cities might result, or the action
might be interpreted by other nations as hostile.
" ... the project is a dangerous
mistake. Whatever other arguments
may be brought to bear, for or
against Safeguard, our conviction
is that on technical grounds alone
the project does not deserve the
support of the Congress."
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES
CORP. HAS FILED SUIT AGAINST COGAR
CORP., a Herkimer, N.Y., manufacturer of computer equipment. The
suit charges Cogar, its president,
and 66 former IBM employees working for Cogar with misusing trade
secrets. The complaint says that
the former IBM workers brought
IBM manuals, specifications, and
other proprietary information regarding monolithic chip devices to
Cogar, in spite of the fact that
all of the ex-IBM employees had
signed agreements not to disclose
any confidential information.
The suit also charges that Cogar solicited contractors who make
trade-secret equipment for IBM to
make the devices for Cogar. In
addition, it accuses Cogar of soliciting IBM employees working on
monolithic-chip devices to work
for Cogar at night and on weekends
and to report on various IBM projects.
In response to the suit, Cogar
stated that IBM's allegations are
without basis, and described the
suit as "an attempt to create and
enforce servitude on IR~ technical
personnel". Cogar President
George R. Cogar said the action
will in no way affect Cogar's
plans for manufacturing semiconductor memories.
The suit was filed in the New
York State Supreme Court.
LEASCO DATA PROCESSING EQUIPMENT
CORP. HAS SUSPENDED FURTHER ACQUISITIONS OF COMPUTERS FOR LEASE
IN THE UNITED STATES. The move
will not affect Leasco's European
leasing business.
Saul P. Steinberg, Leasco's
chairman, said the company's income was unlikely to be significantly affected by the reduction
in new lease writings in view of
the company's total of $234 million of lease receivables, i~clud
ing undelivered equipment on previously signed leases, and compensating cost reductions made
(Please turn to page 11)
9

Regional Computer
Software & Peripherals
Shows and
Conferences

Exhibitors of the latest developments in computer
software and peripherals
. . . plus seminars with
management orientation.

COMPSO EAST
NEW YORK CITY
NEW YORK HILTON
JAN. 19-21, 1970

The first
regional
businessman's
computer show

COMPSO MIDWEST
CHICAGO
PALMER HOUSE
FEB. 17-19, 1970

Attendance by thousands
from business, industry,
education, government and
DP Management.

COMPSO WEST
LOS ANGELES
APRIL 7-9, 1970

Suppliers of computer
software and peripherals
will have first hand contact with buying influences who have a vital
interest in learning how to
upgrade computers or put
them to work initially.

Managed by
SHOW WOR LD, INC.
37 West 39th St., N.Y., N.Y. 10036
Telephone: (212) 736-2301 Thirteen Western states and Texas contact: William R. Brand, Area Sales
Manager, 9399 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, Calif. 90212 Tel: (213)
274-7023.

HALT
be an exhibitor?
Don't delay, write for
further information.
Designate No. 16 on Reader Service Card

Sponsored by:
COMPUTERS &
AUTOMATION
MAGAZINE

LETTE:RS TO' THE EDITOR
AS WE GO TO PRESS

(Continued from page 9)
possible by the suspension of additional computer bases.
Steinberg said the company was
unwilling to accept reduced profit
margins on new leases -- largely
attributable to increased borrowing costs -- in view of competing
demands for its resources in the
computer service field. He noted
that the move will free highlyspecialized sales and technical
personnel for Leasco's nationwide
time-sharing system.
IBM CORP. HAS REDUCED ITS EDUCATIONAL ALLOWANCES ON DATA PROCESSING EQUIPMENT. All new orders
for data processing equipment received after June 30, 1969, will
carry a maximum allowance of 10%.
Allowances had previously ranged
from 10% to a maximum of 30%.
Eligibility has been limited to
4-year institutions of higher education and junior colleges -- and
clinics, hospitals and laboratories
that are "part of the corporate
structure" of eligible schools.
The company also announced that effective Nov. 1, 1969, maintenance
agreements will no longer qualify
for an educational allowance.
The cutback is believed, in par~
to be a reaction from pressure on
IBM from wi thin the industry against
what is termed "discriminatory pricing". (See "ADAPSO Posi tion Paper
on Discriminatory Pricing" on page
43.) It may also be in reaction to
the Justice Dept. antitrust suit
against IBM which charges the company with domination of the educational market because of its "exceptional discriminatory allowances
in favor of universities and other
educational institutions".
THE ASSOCIATION FOR COMPUTING MACHINERY (ACM) SEES NEW MEMBERS AS A
PARTIAL ANSWER TO ITS FINANCIAL
PROBLEMS. These problems include
a deficit of about $150,000 in the
1968-69 budget which predicted a
surplus of $95,000. A surplus of
$151,000 is predicted in the 196970 budget; its operation will be
"monitored" far more closely than
in the past.
"RIGHT ANSWERS -- A SHORT GUIDE
FOR OBTAINING THEM": This publication, mentioned in the May
editorial ("The Cult of the Expert"), has drawn over 600 requests from readers. Accordingly, we plan to publish it in
full in the September issue.

(Continued from page 4)

computer programs that solve such
problems. I would sincerely appreciate
a bibliography of such work, and I
would appreciate being put on your
mailing list of publications dealing
with this subject.
ROBERT P. BANAUGH
Prof. & Chrmn. of Computer Science
Univ. of Montana
. Missoula, Mont. 59801
Ed. Note-We shall be glad to send you
a copy of our booklet on Numbles
(price $1.20 including postage). We are
putting together a bibliography relating to Numbles and cryptarithms.

The Role of the Abacus
We were delighted to see the abacus
used as the subject for your May
cover. The abacus is enjoying a new
wave of popularity, and not only just
fn the Orient. The soroban, or high
speed abacus, was designed in Japan in
the 1930's. While it appears similar to
the ancient abacus, it uses a "shorthand" number system which permits

easy and extremely fast operation.
This has caused it to be used by
thousands of Westerners. An average
soroban operator can beat an average
ca Iculating machine operator with
ridiculous ease. In addition and
subtraction the soroban can handle
figures of any length twice as fast as a
clerk with an electric calculator.
As a computer, an abacus is not
primitive. In the course of marketing
sorobans throughout the United States
we have sold many to computer engineers. We were fascinated to discover
that several accounting machines and
computers use the same calculating
scheme in their arithmetic/logic units
as the soroban.
You are quite correct in stating that
the abacus is useful in teaching
"modern mathematics" in schools. As
ti me goes by, we expect to see the
abacus used increasingly in the
schools.
ROSS W. MURPHY
Marketing Mgr.
Boland Enterprises
Box 141
Vestal, N. Y. 13850

Payroll Systems go on-line
faster with ALLTAXT)r
the software package
available in basic COBOL
for all compilers.
ALL T AX calculates payroll W ri te today for full informa tion:
withholding taxes with one
standard formula and a table of r --"- - - - - - - - - - - - - - variables for each state and city.
Management Infonnation Service
It eliminates programming of
P.O. Box 252, Stony Point, N.Y. 10980
individual formulas and substanGentlemen:
tially reduces program maintePlease send full details on your
nance and memory requirements.
ALLTAX software package.
ALL TAX is approved by all
states. It's easy to install, comName ____________________
pletely tested and documented.
Title _ _ _ _
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taxes and new taxes is available
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a t minimal cost.
Find out why more than 100
State
Zip _ __
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are using this low-cost package.

Management Information Service
Stony Point, N.Y. 109RO • (914) 942-1880
ALLTAX is available only from Management Information Service
and Pro-Data Computer Services.
Designate No. 27 on Reader Service Card

COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for August, 1969

<&
•
•
•
•
•
,
COMPUTER ART CONTEST

CIRCUS
- Tom Childs

The first prize in our 1969 Computer Art Contest
has been awarded to the picture entitled "Circus", which
was submitted by Adage, Inc. of Boston, Mass. The
winning entry appears in color on the front cover of this
issue. It was generated on the Adage Graphics Terminal
and photographed by Tom Childs.
The line end points in the drawing were computed
as various frequencies and phases of sine and cosine
functions. In some cases, a dot was drawn at the
computed point, and in other cases, lines were drawn
between pairs of points.
The other computer art published in this issue receives honorable mention. For some of the drawings,
the explanation is obvious or can be inferred easily;
for others, explanations are given. In a number of
cases, the computer and the peripheral equipment which
produced the computer art have not been specified as
12

much as we would like because the information did not
reach us by the close of the contest, July 3. We would,
of course, like to identify the equipment that produced
the art. Supplementary information of this kind should
be sent to us for publication in a future issue.
The responses to our Seventh Annual Computer Art
Contest have been splendid. We are grateful to all those
persons who sent us entries.
For August, 1970, we plan our Eighth Annual Computer Art Contest, and we cordially invite contributions
of computer art from all our readers and others who
are interested in computer art.
A complete alphabetical listing of the names and addresses of all persons whose art is published in this
issue appears on page 32.

COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for August, 1969

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THE LINES
- Darel D. Eschbach, Jr.

A random number generator was used to determine the starting point, length and
direction of each line segment. Drawn on an IBM 1620-1627 system.

COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for August, 1969

MASK
- Kerry Strand
The figure shows the pattern formed by a rod
spinning about a closed looping curve. As the stick
progresses along the curve, the stick's axis of
rotation shifts in and out along its length. Drawn
on a CalComp 718 flatbed plotter.

PROGRESS?
- George H. Meyfarth III and Philip F. Meyfarth
Each face is a composite of super-ellipse quadrants
with exponents ranging from slightly less than 2 to
about 400. The variations in location, size, and shape
of the features are controlled by a Gaussian random
number generator. ' The trend toward squareness and
conformity in the lower right corner results from
predetermined changes in the statistical properties.
The mouth expression is correlated with eye position
to suggest apprehension in those who see that they
themselves are not far from total mechanization.
Programmed in FORTRAN and plotted on-line on an
IBM 1627 driven by an IBM 1130.

COMPUTERS and AUTOMA liON for August, 1969

SKETCH FOR A MURAL
- A. M. France
A basic shape was repeated while dimensions, angle,
points of origin, etc. were altered by small, interrelated increments. Programmed in FORTRAN on
an ICL 1905 computer; drawn on a CalComp 563
plotter.

ELLIPSES
- (Mrs.) Leigh Hendricks
A variation of sub and super ellipses, plotted on a Stromberg Datagraphics S-C 4020 plotter.

COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for August, 1969

THE LITELY LIT LAMP
- William A. Carpenter
The figure was created by distorting a four-leafed rose
with a complex transcendental function. This distorted
rose was then made symmetrical by modifying the X
coordinates with the sine of another variable, and again
with the negative sine while the Y coordinates were
modified with the variable itself. The resulting X and Y
coordinates were then used to define a Z coordinate.
Finally the X and Y coordinates were plotted.on the
surface described by the X, Y and Z coordinates. Programmed in ALGOL on a Burroughs 5500 computer;
drawn on a CalComp 570 plotter.

SCORPION
- Sidney Robertson
The face profile at the tail of Scorpian is defined with 17 points
and direction vectors. Each successive profile results by
linearly transforming the 17 points and direction vectors of
the face in such a way that the final profile has the same shape
as the original. Produced by a CDC 3600 computer and a
CalComp 564 plotter.

o
COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for August, 1969

BILLOWS
_ David Caulkins
Matrices were filled with arrays of points
which represent various curves or lines.
The points were then connected with straight
lines to produce textures and moire patterns.
Produced with a Univac 1108 computer and
a CalComp plotter.

FLYING DUTCHMAN
_ Michael Davis
Plotted on a CalComp plotter at Stanford University.

COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for August, 1969

CONNECTIONS #3
- A. M. France
A series of vertices of a polygon are generated, and
then linked. Programmed in FORTRAN on an ICL 1905
computer; drawn on a CalComp 563 plotter.

ASPIRATIONS
- James S. Lipscomb
Programmed in FORTRAN on an IBM 1620 computer and drawn on-line by a CalComp 565 plotter.

COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for August, 1969

CONTROL THE OR Y
- E. M. Pass

The pictures above and below resulted from
bugs in the program which eventually produced the
picture below. Programmed on a Univac 1108
computer and drawn on a CalComp 770/763 offline
incremental plotter with a stepsize of .005 inches.

COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for August, 1969

EARLY SPRING

SEASONS
- Petar Miloj evic
These three drawings are based on a
pattern which reminds one of floral
forms. The program is written in
FORTRAN using random generators
and with various parameters can produce unlimited floral designs. Drawn
on a CalComp 565 plotter.
"

":.

WINTER HARMONY
J

;

NATURE AT SLEEP

COMPUTERS and AUTOMATioN for August, 1969

SPEARS
- Steve Derby
The algorithm for this drawing used spirals of a geometric figure inside itself. Produced with a CDC 3600
computer and a CalComp plotter.

SLANT NO. 1
- Auro Lecci
A subroutine provides random numbers
that are used to influence decisions concerning all factors except the slope and the
distance between neighboring lines inside
blocks, which are pre-determined. Three
decision levels are to be found in the program. The first is concerned with predetermining the length of the entire drawing along the X-axis. The second is concerned with decisions related to the length
of the lines along the Y-axis and the number of times each line is to be repeated to
form a block. The third controls connections between blocks and decides on the
length of jumps, if any. All these decisions are taken at random, and each run
through the computer gives a remarkably
different pattern. Produced with an IBM
7090 computer and a CalComp plotter.
COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for August, 1969

PORTRAIT (NELSON ROCKEFELLER)
- Anton G. Salecker
Input consisted of simple control data and thousands
of pieces of digitized information. One of 16 preset
patterns was plotted in each square of a large rectangular grid layout, according to the digitized input,
to produce the final result. Programmed in ALGOL.
Produced by a Burroughs 5500 computer and a CalComp
563 plotter.

COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for August, 1969

RESURRE C TION
- William S. Maloney, S. J.
Circle and ellipse coordinates were calculated at
various polar angles, and points were connected in
several different ways. Programmed on a CDC 3300
computer; drawn on a CalComp plotter.

PATTERN OF FLOW
- Hiroshi Kawano
This work (below) consists of 8000 random number series
arranged into a 40 x 200 format of two picture elements
(white and black), which are generated from the transition probability matrix about all possible combinations
of nine picture elements in the three pictures at the
left, by means of the Monte Carlo method. Programmed in FORTRAN 4 on a HITAC 5020 computer.
A line printer was used as an output device, and the
final work was coded by human hand.

COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for August, 1969

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PORTRAITS 1969

PORTRAIT (MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.)
- Hendrikus J. Nolle and Emilio D. Rodriguez
Programmed and run on an IBM 1401 system.

COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for August, 1969

EXPANDING UNIVERSE
- Darel D. Eschbach, Jr.
Random numbers controlled the parameters of
location, size of base, and ratio of height to
base. Drawn on an IBM 1620-1627 system.

HOT ROD
- A. M. France
A basic shape was repeated while dimensions,
angle, points of origin, etc. were altered by
small, interrelated increments. Programmed
in FORTRAN on an ICL 1905 computer; drawn
on a CalComp 563 plotter.

COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for August, 1969

OCTAGONAL WELL
- Donald Robbins
A study of three-dimensional effects without use of the
three-dimensional transformation. Programmed on a
Univac 1108 computer; drawn on a Stromberg Datagraphics
S-C 4020 plotter.

IMPACT
- J. A. Elenbaas
A series of serpentine curves programmed on an IBM
1130 computer and drawn on a CalComp 565 plotter.

COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION "for August, 1969

LADY
- John Cope and Ronnie Shiver
This is the motion of a four-bar mechanism that is propelled by
its shortest side and then rotated in all four quadrants. Produced by an IBM 360/50 computer on a CalComp 663 plotter .

DISTORTED CIRCLE
- James Daly, S. J.
The' figure consists of 360 straight lines connecting
points from an inner circle to an outer circle, both
circles having been distorted. Programmed in
FORTRAN 4 and compiled and run on a CDC 3300
computer. Drawn on a CalComp 563 plotter.

COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for August, 1969

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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I1111111111111111111

nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 , 1 , 1 , 1 , 111 1 1

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,~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

00000000000000000000
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00000000000000000000

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

HEBREW ALPHABET
- Harold Minuskin and Bill Scott
The Hebrew alphabet was generated and recorded on
the CalComp Model CRT Microfilm Digital Graphics
System. The program was written in DAP. Each
character was generated using a ten by twelve matrix.

nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
Copyright 1969 by CalComp

MOLLUSK
- William A. Carpenter
The drawing is composed of 101 figures of the form:
exponential of sine of T versus the exponential of the
cosine of T. Each successive figure is smaller than
the last, and the centers of the individual figures fall
on the curve given by: exponential of the sine of T
versus the sine of T times the exponential of the cosine
of T. Programmed in ALGOL on a Burroughs 5500
computer, and drawn with a CalComp 570 plotter.

COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for August, 1969

ERUPTION
- David J. DiLeonardo
Perspective views of data arrays, produced with a
CDC Model 280 Microfilm Recorder and a CDC-6600
computer.

CHRISTMAS 2001
- J. A. Elenbaas
A series of damped sine curves, programmed
on an IBM 1130 computer and drawn on a CalComp
565 plotter.

COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for August, 1969

COMPUTER ARTISTS IN THIS ISSUE
The following is a list of persons whose art is published
in this issue as part of the Seventh Annual Computer Art
Contest of Computers and Automation.

LEVITATION
- Sidney Robertson
Each figure is an oblique projection of a spherical
harmonic with the hidden lines removed. The upper
left harmonic is the so-called "pear-shaped" zonal.
The lower left figure is a 4th degree tesseral and the
rightmost figure is a 3rd degree sectorial. Produced
with a CalComp 564 plotter and a CDC 3600 computer.

Carpenter, William A., 10-6 Cope ley Hill, Charlottesville, Va. 22903
Caulkins, David, Los Angeles, Calif.
Childs, Tom, c/o Adage, Inc., 1079 Commonwealth Ave. ,
Boston, Mass. 02215
Cope, John, Computer Center, Auburn Univ., Auburn,
Ala. 36830
Daly, James, S. J., St. Louis University, James Henry
Yalem Scientific Computer Center, 3690 W. Pine
Blvd., St. Louis, Mo. 63108
Davis, Michael, 3004 Dana ft., Berkeley, Calif. 94705
Derby, Steve, 607 W. Kilbuck, Tecumseh, Mich. 49286
DiLeonardo, David J., Westinghouse Electric Corp. ,
Bettis Atomic Power Lab., Box 79, West Mifflin,
Pa. 15122
Elenbaas, J. A., 1394 Rumbaugh Lane, Midland, Mich.
48640
Eschbach, Darel D. Jr., University of Toledo, Toledo,
Ohio 43606
France, A. M., International Computers Ltd., Bridge
House, Putney Bridge, London, SW6, England
Hendricks, Mrs. Leigh, Sandia Corp., Advanced Techniques Div., P. O. Box 5800, Albuquerque, N. M.
87115
Kawano, Hiroshi, 3-16-1-15, Aoto, Katsushika-ku,
Tokyo, Japan
Lecci, Auro, Centro Ricerche Estetiche F Uno, via
Pagnini 31, 50134 Firenze, Florence, Italy
Lipscomb, James S., 26 Woodfall Rd., Belmont, Mass.
02178
Maloney, William R., S. J., Jesuit Faculty Residence,
221 N. Grand Blvd., St. Louis, Mo. 63103
Meyfarth, George H. III, Tufts University Computation
Center, Medford, Mass. 02155
Meyfarth, Philip F., 322 Harvard St., Cambridge, Mass.
02139
Milojevic, Petar, c/o Control Supervisor, Information
Science Ind. Ltd., 1755 Woodward Dr., ottawa 5,
Ontario, Canada
Minuskin, Harold, CalComp, 305 N. Muller St., Anaheim, Calif. 92803
Nolle, Hendrikus J., 22068 Tuscany, E. Detroit, Mich.
48021
Pass, E. M., Rich Electronic Computer Center, 225
North Ave. N. W. , Atlanta, Ga. 30332
Robbins, Donald, Sandia Corp., Albuquerque, N. M.
87115
Robertson, Sidney, 8241, Adenlee Ave., Fairfax, Va.
22030
Rodriguez, Emilio D., 22068 Tuscany, E. Detroit,
Mich. 48021
Salecker, Anton G., State of New York, Dept. of Transportation, 1220 Washington Ave., State Campus, Albany, N. Y. 12226
Scott, Bill, CalComp, 305 N. Muller St., Anaheim,
Calif. 92803
Shriver, Ronnie, Computer Center, Auburn Univ., Auburn, Ala. 36830
Strand, Kerry, CalComp, 305 N. Muller St., Anaheim,
Calif. 92803

COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for August, 1969

COMPUTER-AIDED SCULPTURE
Roger Ives, Vice Pres.
Brown-Wales Co.
165 Rindge Ave. Extension
Cambridge, Mass. 02140

The spheroid sculpture in what will soon be a new
postoffice building in Boston's Government Center is there
because the computer made it a reality. It was designed by
Alfred Duca, a sculptor and artist; it was created by a
numerically-controlled flame cutting machine.
Mr. Duca was commissioned by the building's architects
to design a sculpture to adorn the entrance to the new
building. He conceived the idea of a massive steel structure
made of Cor-ten steel, a product with built-in controlled
rusting, which, within a year, would turn the spheroid a
permanent deep red color. The shape would be like a
many-sided jewel-and could be considered symbolic of
that part of Boston which half a century ago was a melting
pot for immigrant scholars and tradesmen alike.
The final design for the spheroid put its diameter at
seven feet; there were eighty layers of one-inch thick steel,
each layer punctuated by 32 points cut in a circular
saw-tooth pattern. Because of the complexity of the design,
Mr. Duca became convinced that the sculpture required the
aid of a computer to attain its proper three-d imensional
form.
Andrew Wales, President of Brown-Wales, a steel distributing company in Cambridge, Mass., developed and
wrote a computer program for the cutting of the steel. It
allowed for a maximum accumulated error per segment of
3.5 thousandths of an inch. The analyzed design then
became a roll of punched paper tape.
It took four torches of a flame cutting machine, controlled by the punched paper tape, four days to bite
through the steel plate. Then Mr. Duca and an assistant
donned protective masks and spent the next two months
welding the 2,460 points of the spheroid to each otherstretching, forming, and checking to make certain of each
point's contribution to the total design balance.

The interplay of light and shadows gives Alfred Duca's computeraided steel spheroid the desired jewel-like qualities the artist strove
to convey by this work of art.
COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for August, 1969

Final assembly of the multi-faceted metal sculpture was carried out
under the direction of the artist, Alfred Duca (right), and an
assistant in the plant of Ramsay Welding Research, Cambridge,
Mass.

From its assembling point, the spheroid was transported
to its permanent environment, where it was placed on a
three-foot pole set into an open circle of a concrete
rectangle.
Mr. Duca was asked if he would use the computer again
in his work. His comments follow:
Of course! In fact, I'm working on a new design
right now-it will be 40 feet tall and require a half
acre site. It should be made clear that a computer
cannot be forced to be part of a design-it must be
ascertained to be necessary to its success. Three years
ago, I did a sculpture for the Castle Square Housing
Project in Boston's South End-I thought I needed
computer participation, but when the design problem
was analyzed, it was found that the computer would
provide no time or accuracy benefits over planning it
manually. The computer was not necessary for that
project's success.
To me, the Brown-Wales computer and the numerically controlled cutting machine were tools, employed to solve the production technicalities of my
design. The other approach to design by computerthe sophisticated, dehumanized version in which the
computer itself originates the design parameters-does
not interest me for my work.J In the case of the
spheroid, the computer was the only way to carry it
out; I appreciate its help, buttldon't want a 'made by
I
computer' label on any of my sculptured
Will the public accept computer art? The layman
will accept any kind of process. Do you know who
were the most astonished over the computer's part in
the fabrication? The tradesmen! ... the carpenters
and electricians and the construction people who
were working on the new buildings ... those who
understood the physical problems of handling steel.
There are other applications to design by computer, tying in the areas of art, engineering, and
architecture ... everything from bridge and building
design to gear design. It is a new window on the
world, if designers will only look out. They must
retrain themselves, and they must also be kept aware
that the computer's limitations are dependent solely
on the frame that they-people-put up.
0
33

POETRY BY COMPUTER
Dr. Giuseppe M. Ferrero diRoccaferrera
Syracuse University
College of Business Administration
116 College Place
Syracuse, N. Y. 13210

((Is it always a good poetical approach to limit (consciously or unconsciously) the choice of words in composing a lyric? Might not a poet
app'reciate the possibility of having frames of words, comp-ileq by a computer in accordance with a well-defined sc!wme, from which he can
elaborate and extract inspirational clues for composing works of
poetry?"

Among the countless uses of a digital computer, there
are some which offer particular interest because of their
unusual aspects. For example, a firm interested in creating a
"trade name" for a new product used a computer to
develop a large series of such names. The size of the desired
word was established to be six characters. The twenty-six
letters of the English alphabet were placed in memory.
They were randomly extracted (with replacement) in
groups of six letters each time. Some of the resulting words
were printed in a list which would have carried more than
300 million different names!. This array allowed the search
for a satisfactory word. Several names so obtained were
compared until one was finally chosen as a label for the
new prod uct.

Composing Words
The concept of the random selection of alphabetical
letters for composing words can be re-applied and used to
construct phrases when the words to be placed in sequence
assume a well defined frame established a priori. In one of
the canonical structures of a very simple sentence, the
subject precedes the transitive verb followed by a direct
object as for example, in "The dog crosses the street". This
phrase may appear silly, but it could have been obtained by
a random composition of an article (definite or indefinite)
in the first position, followed by a noun (singular or plural),
by a verb (agreeing with the extracted noun), by an article
and by a noun again. No adjectives have been used to
modify the nouns, or adverbs to modify the verbs. ObviousIy, different syntax can be applied by arranging the types of
words in the desired sentence structures.
Longer phrases can be formed. For instance, it is
possible to compose a few lines, each of which has its own
syntax. By combining these lines in a poetical frame, poems
can be constructed by extracting "at random" nouns,
adjectives, verbs, adverbs, articles, and prepositions, from a
backlog of words standing by in the computer memory.

Relationships Between Words
This process has been applied for the purpose of creating
poems by a digital computer. In order to insure a logical
relationship among selected words, only a particular series
lUsing 26 letters randomly taken (with replacement) six by six, 26
permutations are possible, which equals 308,915,776.

of adjectives and an appropriate list of verbs were assigned
to each noun. The application of this approach insured the
construction of more meaningful poetical compositions.
This type of restriction could have been extended to the
selection of adverbs and prepositions as well, but in this
experiment the choice of related words was limited to the
adjectives and verbs to be used in connection with a
randomly selected noun. As for the nouns, the adjectives
and verbs were chosen "at random" among those having
reference to that specific noun. This process has been
programmed to be applied with. the purpose of creating
"Quatrains" (stanzas of four lines). The poetical frame was
established as follows:
1. A title composed of an adjective (selected in
accordance with the noun), and a noun (plural).
2. The first line of the poem: an adjective (chosen as
above), a noun (plural), an adverb, a verb (plural
present tense extracted from the list matching the
noun), an adjective, and a noun (plural).
3. The second line: an adjective, a noun (plural), a
verb (plural present tense), an adverb, an adjective,
and a noun (plural).
4. The third line: an article (definite), a noun (singular), a verb (singular present tense), a preposition,
an article (definite), an adjective, and a noun
(singular).
5. The fourth line: a noun (plural), a verb (plural
present tense), a conjunction, an article (definite)
and a noun (singular).
With the aim of insuring a continuity in the meaning, or
a compactness of the poem, the second adjective and noun
of the first line were repeated as first adjective and noun of
the second line.

Dr. diRoccaferrera is a professor of Operations Research at
Syracuse University. His specialized studies are in industrial
management and applied mathematics using computers. He
is the author of several books, including Operations Research
Models for Business and Industry, Introduction to Linear Programming Processes, and a book on the use of computers for
solving managerial problems which he is currently writing.
Professor diRoccaferrera is a consultant to several business
firms and governmental agencies. He has presented talks on
operations research at the International Meetings in Vienna,
Austria (1966) and in Tokyo, Japan (1967).

COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for August, 1969

Number of Words Available to Computer

The computer had available in its memory supplies of
500 nouns, 300 verbs, 200 adjectives, 100 adverbs, 10
prepositions, and three articles (of wh ich "the" had 28
times greater probability of being selected than "a" and
"an"). Nouns were identified by a numerical code used to
match the corresponding code carried by the adjectives and
verbs. Since adjectives and verbs can be related to several
names and vice versa, a programmed cross reference was
established to insure the appropriate random selection of
connected words. All the words stored in the computer
memory were chosen according to the frequency of their
occurrence in ordinary usage, from Webster's Third International Dictionary (Unabridged). Preposition usage was
verified through Nelson W. Francis' text The Structure of
Modern English.
The computer was instructed to select "at random"
(with replacement) a noun, then the corresponding adjective and verb, also at random among those which were on
the matching list, then the other parts of the speech, and to
put them in the above mentioned poetical frame to compose the quatrains.

Rhyming

In the computer program no provIsion was established
for rhyming. This refinement in the composition could have
been carried out by utilizing a comparison of the corresponding terminating nouns. For example, sets of rhyming
nouns could be stored in the memory, and the program
could provide for the selection of the endmost words in the
appropriate lines (i.e., a b a b, a b b a, or a a b b).
The results obtained through this experiment are quite
interesting. Among the 500 quatrains created there are
some which give a poetical message; others, on the other
hand, do not provide too much logical sense even accepting
a liberal interpretation of ultra-modern expression of mechanized art.

rules of composition being sensed by the painter are
respected; so collections of words must follow a certain
sequential pattern. A poetic syntactical structure is a
perfect frame to put words in. By selecting them "at
random", as only a mechanical device can do (e.g., a
computer), poems can be created having the essential
characteristic of being "free from inspirational selection".
Is this a good thing to do? Is it useful? Indeed a poet
may appreciate the possibility of having frames of words,
compiled in accordance with a well-defined scheme, from
which he can elaborate and extract inspirational clues for
composing works of poetry. When poems constructed by a
computer are available, he may change only the last words
of the computerized poem in order to provide rhymes, or
to vary nouns and verbs with the purpose of restricting the
meaning of the lyric to a specific subject.
Almost all poets use some kind of liberty in writing. For
example, the well known English poet Andrew Marvell
(1621-1678) in his country life lyrics "The Garden",
wrote " ... a green thought in a green shade ... ". The
computer, consequently, is also perm itted poetic license.
The examples of poems shown below, selected from the
500 created by the computer, are reproduced without any
change from the computer printout 2 . These can stand in
their own right as poems generated by a random process, or
they could be used as an aid for identifying evocative
combinations of words or phrases to be utilized by authors
in the writing or poetry.
0
GRATEFUL

VISIONS

SOFT

CLOUDS

TERSELY

STAGGER

CREAMY

SNOWS

CREAMY

SNOWS

WEAR

CASUALLY

BLACK

COLORS

THE

TIME

BRINGS

AROUND

THE

FRANTIC

RIVERS

RASP

mTH

THE

SEA

CLEAR

SPIRITS

WARPED

TRUNKS

FRAILLY

DWELL

DELICATE

LEAVES

SHUDDER

CUNNINGLY

INTRICATE

LINES

THE

IMAGE

VANISHES

THE

SHARP

BEE

FLY

AGAINST

THE

CLOUD

NOISELESS

ROOTS

YEAR

LEAVES

SECOND

Evaluation

What usefulness could there be in creating poems by
computers? Indeed, the mind of an inspired poet is free to
wander on the green pasture of words, and to harvest those
which represent for him the idea, the mood, the concept, or
the poetical vein that is expressed through the construction
of the verses. Splendid and renowned works of art have
been created by the pure contribution of the human mind.
I t is well known, however, that a writer expresses
himself by showing his sensitivity, his feeling, his knowledge, and his personality. There are readers capable of
recognizing an author by his style or by his way of
describing facts or thoughts. Poems are the ex'pressions of
an intimate state of mind. Consequently, the selection of
the words is usually not made at random. Nevertheless, is it
always a good poetical approach to limit (consciously or
unconsciously) the choice of words in composing a lyric?
Modern paintings show that itis not necessary physically
to "represent" objects, persons, landscapes, or other visual
subjects to create a piece of art. A random composition of
colors on a canvas may provide to the viewer a free
interpretation of an abstract concept.
To say that a pure sequence of words extracted at
random from a stock may also provide a reader with a
metaphysical thought is probably too hazardous and not
justified. As for an abstract painting, some harmonious
COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for August, 1969

LITTLE

FLOWERS

COOLY

BREATHE

PASTORAL

WOODS

MOLD

PATIENTLY

HHITE

HOODS
BLOSSOMS

THE

ROAD

WANDERS

FRON

THE

LITTLE

FIRES

TURN

AHAY

THE

ROAD

PRECIOUS

SYSTEMS

RED

IVIES

GENTLY

BLEJID

GREEN

FIELDS

GREEN

FIELDS

RECALL

JOYFULLY

SECRET

CLOUDS

THE

STAR

TEASES

THE

BLACK

FOUNTAINS

SPRINKLE

FOR

THE

SIIOH

BLATANT

BEAUTIES

MORTAL

CREATURES

AWKHARDLY

CURE

ANCIENT

BEAUTIES

ANCIENT

BEAUTIES

TELL

HOPEFULLY

SILENT

VIRTUES

THE

DAY

JUMPS

FROM

THE

STRONG

WONDERS

ENRICH

OUT

TilE

WORD

VALLEY

OCEAN

mND

21BM 360/50 level G, of the Computing Center of Syracuse University (Syracuse, New York).
35

There is only one
Keytape.*
Honeywell makes it.

Since data preparation came of
age there have been a number of
keyboard to magnetic tape
devices introduced or announced
to the industry.
Our unit was one of the first.
We called it Key tape.
And we created a full division to
make 52 different models. With

unique Honeywell features like
smooth vacuum tape drives and
electronic keyboards second to
none.
We delivered the first of these
units over a year ago. And pretty
soon Key tape began showing up
everywhere.
Now we find that people are

using the name Key tape to
describe anything that records
data onto magnetic tape.
Before things get completely out
of hand, we'd like to make one
point.
There is only one Key tape.
Honeywell makes it.
• Trademark of Honeywell, Inc.

Designate No. 17 on Reader Service Card

The Only Key tape Company:
Honeywell
Communications and Data PrOducts Division

MULTI-ACCESS FORUM

COMPUTER CENSUSES - DISCUSSION
~

I. From Walter A. Magee, Management Analyst
ADP Management Staff
Executive Office of the President
Bureau of the Budget
Washington, D. C. 20503

MFR. & SYSTEM

Your monthly census of computers of U.S. manufacture
has proved useful on a number of occasions in comparing
statistics on computers in the Federal Government to the
market as a whole. I n your February, 1969 issue, your
census appeared to drop to less than 30,000 from more
than 60,000 in previous issues. Needless to say, this radically changed some of my carefully prepared charts and
tables. Letters reprinted in your April, 1969 issue show that
others shared my reactions.
On piecing together several of your tables, however, it
becomes obvious that the diff.erence is not so great after all.
The following table shows what J mean:
Category of U.S. Manufacturer

Count

As Of

Top ten, installed in U.S.
Top ten, installed overseas
Others, installed in U.S.

29,271
15,497
1,038

9-30-68
12-30-68
12-30-68

2-69
3-69
5-69

6-15-68

7-68

TOTAL
Earlier Total, All U.S. Manufacturers, U.S. and overseas

C & A Issue

45,806

62,800

I hope I have interpreted and summarized these figures
correctly.
I sympathize with your intention to publish only figures
that are based on a verified list of installations. At the same
time I feel obliged to (gently) chide you and your source,
DP Data Corp., for apparently excluding from your lists
some of the computers of the largest user, the U.S.
Government. The "Inventory of ADP Equipment in the
U.S. Government" has been published annually beginning
with the 1960 edition. The latest published figures, released
through the Government Printing Office, February, 1969,
show 4,232 computers on hand'as of June 30,1968. (Later
unpublished reports list 4,357 computers installed as of
December 31, 1968.) A comparison between your published figures and the Federal inventory shows ten instances
where the number of Federal computers equals or exceeds
the total in your tables. The ten are:
38

(2)
C&A
9-68

(1 )

CDC 3800
GE 435
IBM 7080
IBM 7090
IBM 7094 I
IBM 7094 II
NCR 390
RCA 3301
RCA 501
UNIVAC 1107

8
6
13
4
10
6
81
24
22
8

(3)
C&A
6-68

(4)
FED.INV.
6-68

660
75
96
33

10
6
34
17
47
7
131
24
25
9

*Not listed as a separate figure.
(2) from Computers and Automation, Feb. 1969.
(3) from Computers and Automation, July, 1968.
(4) from "Inventory of ADP Equipment in the U.S. Government," Fiscal Year 1968. (For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing
Office, Washington, D.C. 20402; price $1.75.) (Count
in (2) and (4) excludes overseas installations.)
I realize these are only ten out of well over a hundred systems. Even so, this discrepancy could indicate
the omission of many others. Enclosed is a copy of
the current Federal Inventory so that you can crank into
your census whatever systems are not included. I hope this
contains enough information on each system to suit your
needs.

II. A dialogue between Jack Harvey, Vice Pres.
National Data Systems, Inc.
210 Summit Ave.
Montvale, N.J. 07645
- and the Editor of Computers and Automation
a) From Mr. Harvey
I f the computer census publ ished in your May, 1969
issue is an attempt to jar loose some hard data from the
manufacturers, I wish you good luck. However, it is so
patently ridiculous that it is useless. Since the census
published in previous years was at least consistent with
most other sources, it had real value to me, and was by far
the most useful feature in Computers and Automation.
Unless the census regains my confidence, I will not renew
my subscription.
COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for August, 1969

b) From the Editor

d) From the Editor

This computer census in the May issue covers a ground
no other computer census that we have previously published covers: it reports information on computer installations outside of the United States. Was this clear to you
from the description of it? Should we have included some
repetitive remarks so as to emphasize this difference?
We are seeking intensely to obtain good computer census
information. Even the Central Intelligence Agency office in
Cambridge, Mass., telephoned us the other day, asking us
for some information about the number of computers in
the Soviet Union! In spite of several contacts that I have
there, I have not found any good figures.

I think you make two excellent points when you object
to disconnected individual articles, and ask for a standardized monthly census for which the reader can develop his
own correction factors.
I think we shall try to do this. But the census may have
to be published every second month instead of every
month, so as to allow for more comments and more change
from one publishing to the next.
Thank you for your helpful protest and suggestions.

c) From Mr. Harvey

III. From the Editor

I must say that the special viewpoint of the May
computer census was certainly not communicated to me.
The change from the prior policy of a standard monthly
census turns the feature into disconnected individual
articles, each of which must receive individual evaluation to
be useful. With a standardized monthly census, the reader
can develop his own correction factors and have confidence
in the result.
I would suggest at least a monthly directory of previous
special censuses and (hopefully) a schedule of future issues.
But continuity and standardization seems very desirable.

In the Midyear Computer Directory issue of Computers
and Automation, we have published a World Computer
Census, covering four and a half pages, which represents a
careful summary of all the computer census information
available to us on June 15, 1969. This is in accordance with
the helpful suggestion of Mr. Harvey.
Our present plans are to publish a computer census in
every month, publishing either one of two parts alternately:
Part 1, reporting on the computers of Un ited States
companies; Part 2, reporting on the computers of foreign
companies. Each part will be updated every second month.
The next computer census will be published in the
September issue of Computers and Automation.
0

REACTIONS TO IBM/S IIUNBUNDLINGII
On June 23, I BM announced a major change in the way
it charges for and supports its data processing equipment;
specifically, that certain systems engineering activities, most
future computer programs, and most customer education
courses previously furnished without charge, will now be
offered for a charge in the United States. Coincident with
this action, the company is reducing data processing equipment lease and purchase prices by approximately 3%. This
"unbundling" or separation of prices by I BM has brought
comments (and criticism) from all corners of the computer
industry. Some of these comments follow.

Paul Williams, Jr., Pres.
Boothe Computer Corp.
1 Maritime Plaza
San Francisco, Calif. 94111

In my opinion, IBM's prlcmg change ... of an
overall 3% reduction is in fact the largest price
increase in the history of the data processing industry. I have confirmed with several significant IBM
customers that this change will raise their data processing costs by some 20% because of the additional
expenses they expect to incur for program products,
systems engineering and education. Companies which
purchased I BM equipment in the past prepaid for the
services which are now to be an added charge. This is
tantamount to selling a man a house and later
removing all the bathrooms.
Dr. Daniel J. McCarthy, Pres.
Computer Environments Corp.
3 Lebanon St.
Hanover, N.H. 03755

The new pricing structure announced by I BM for
its computer education courses is proof that I BM now
COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for August, 1969

recognizes that there are private computer schools
capable of doing the job in the basic training of
computer programmers. This has been the most
important development in the computer school field
in five years.
Harvey N. Berlent, Pres.
The Computer Exchange, Inc.
30 East 42nd St.
New York, N.Y. 10017

The announcement broadens the opportunity for
companies requiring data processing services to select
the source and services in terms of their own needs.
At the same time it places an additional responsibility
on the user to clearly define his actual computing
requirements, since support services will now be
available to all users at the same price. The customer
who hesitated to purchase previously-owned hardware because he was concerned about his ability to
get support can now relax.
G. W. Woerner, Jr., Pres.
Computer Technology Inc.
Old Orchard Rd.
Skokie, III. 60076

Although the free and competitive environment in
the [computer] industry may be somewhat improved
by the unbundling of prices which took place, IBM
was shockingly remiss in not similarly unbundling its
organizational approach to bringing these services to
the market. An even more disturbing aspect of the
possible continuance of I BM's domination [of the
computer industry] is the data processing division's
addition of a custom contract service capability. By
having the design and installation of a customer's data
processing system come under the same operations as
its other sales and service activities, I BM could dominate the marketplace to an even greater degree.
39

George S. McLaughlin, Jr., Pres.
George S. McLaughlin Assoc., Inc.
785 Springfield Ave.
Summit, N.J. 07090
IBM's unbundling will amount to cost increases of
between 18 and 30% ... for every computer user, be
they I BM customers or other vendors. I BM's profits,
dominance, and growth are now guaranteed.

C. W. Spangle, Vice Pres. and Gen'l Mgr.
Honeywell EDP Div.
60 Walnut St.
Wellesley Hills, Mass. 02181
Our studies indicate that with separate pricing,
customers will have difficulty predicting their future
full costs, and the majority will pay significantly
more in the future in order to continue to get the
data processing services they presently are receiving.
[Ed. Note-Honeywell announced on July 1 that it
will maintain its package pricing policy.]

James E. Townsend, Pres.
Levin-Townsend Service Corp.
445 Park Ave.
New York, N.Y. 10022
The computer user will be the benefactor of this
significant change in computer pricing, for now he
will be able to select the best software services for his
computer installation without being swayed by services offered without charge.

Robert L. Harmon, Vice Pres. and Gen'l Mgr.
McDonnell Douglas Corp.
P.O. Box 516
St. Louis, Mo. 63166
IBM's unbundling will unleash a healthy competitive struggle among computer software suppliers, and
a series of secondary explosions, including overall
higher operating costs to most computer users and an
increased demand for experienced programmers and
other data processing personnel.

Albert M. Loring, Pres.
Programming Sciences Corp.
90 Park Ave.
New York, N.Y. 10016
I BM's announcement has, in effect, given birth to
the software industry as an industry. The market is
going to expand enormously, but in actual ity only for
those companies that are in a position to take
advantage of this situation through the quality of
their services.

John M. Randolph, Chrmn. of the Board
Randolph Computer Corp.
537 Steamboat Rd.
Greenwich, Conn. 06830
The I BM announcement will significantly increase
total data processing costs for many users. This will
focus greater attention on the cost savings available
0
through third party leasing.

COMPUTER PROGRAMMER TRAINEES CAN'T FIND JOBS
Mrs. Helen Solem
666 E. Main, Apt. 16
Hillsboro, Oregon 97123
Recently a visiting President of a Computer Programmer
School said that the number of data processing personnel is
steadily slipping behind the need. While this may be true
for trained and experienced personnel, it is certainly not
true for computer programmer trainees.
Young people who have had no previous data processing
experience find staunch employer resistance to h iring trainees-whether or not they have taken special courses which
supposedly allow them to be called "trainees". The following quotes seem to represent the experience of persons in
the employment field in our area:
STATE EMPLOYMENT SERVICE: "It's scandalous
how these schools promise young people high
salaried jobs. There is absolutely no demand for
computer programmer trainees coming through
this office."
ROBERT HALF EMPLOYMENT AGENCY (specializing in Accounting and EDP Placement): "There
is no call whatever for computer programmer
trainees. We can't even place top-ranking graduates
from big name universities in this area!"
And the same sad tune is heard again and again for those
making the weary round of employment agencies. There is
no demand for computer programmer trainees.
40

Imagine the heart-breaking disillusionment faced by
hundreds of young people who worked hard to get good
grades and spent more than a $1,000 for tuition, only to
learn that this diploma they so eagerly and industriously
sought opened no door whatsoever.
There are some very sound reasons for employer resistance to hiring trainees.
1. Mistakes are extraordinarily costly; employers
have learned this through bitter experience.
15,000 errors a minute can come flying out of the
machine piling up fantastic amounts of special
forms to say nothing of the machine's wasted
time.
2. Technical proficiency is but half the knowledge
required. Practical business experience, i.e., familiarity with the systems of a particular business, is a
must. Without a thorough knowledge of the input
and output data, some detail is bound to be
overlooked. An experienced computer programmer at year end this year failed to make provision
for "meals" on payroll W-2's on a 6,600 employee
payroll. About 15% of the W-2's had to be
corrected. This was not discovered until they were
due to be mailed out and at that point machine
time could not be rescheduled to re-do the W-2's
so a clerical crew hand corrected them at no small
additional cost.
3. Most computer users are fairly large organizations.
They already have employees capable of becoming
COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for August, 1969

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PERSONNEL ASSOCIATES

Program YOurself a Career... s
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Our client, a diversified energy company, located in Boston, ranks among America's largest business enterprises. This company has a .record of steady growth with revenues increasing by 33% since 1963 and,
more significantly, net income in the same period increased 300%. They are establishing a small, elite
EDP group involved in corporate computer systems applications. Systems and programming requirements
are urgent and immediate for the following:

SYSTEMS PROGRAMMER
SALARY TO $20,000 FEE PAID 360/0S experience
to work with subsidiaries during programming and
installation of completely redesigned integrated information systems. Position will be of an internal
consulting nature and will involve work on many different problems in several industries.

Excellent opportunity to apply skills to the solutions
of only the most difficult problems. Also will involve
development of proprietary software while working
with' experts in other fields. Equipment will include
several 360's up to Mod. 50.

SYSTEMS ANALYST
SALARY TO $20,000 FEE PAID Experienced systems analyst with strong business orientation capable of overall design work, reviewing design work
to analyze and determine the most efficient use of
business information, file design, and implementing
standards for documentation.

Work will be on a corporate level consulting with
several subsidiaries. Experience with 3rd generation
equipment is essential and emphasis will be placed
on past achievements in projects of significance.
Equipment will include 360/25, 30, 50.

SYSTEMS ANALYST
SALARY TO $13,000 FEE PAID Develop labor and
material cost systems including automation of company annuity plan. Position involves accounting and

management information systems. Opportunity to
interface with top management. Computer communications experience highly desirable.

COBOL PROGRAMMERS

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They assume all interview and relocation expenses. For an immediate interview, pleas~ call Jeff Kurtz,
Collect, at (617) 482-4720 or direct your resume to:

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(617) 482-4720

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programmer trainees with the built-in advantage of
being familiar with the work. Therefore, hiring a
new recruit for this very exacting work is a risk
most employers can and do avoid.
4. Not everyone who aspires to be a computer
programmer is capable of succeed ing. Rigorous
selection tests must be adhered to. Aptitude tests
given by many schools area farce. Anyone who
can pay the tuition can take the course. A person
considering going to one of those schools should
have a friend take their entrance exam and deliberately fail it. If he is encouraged to enter the field
anyway, BEWARE.
According to articles appearing ever more frequently in
the professional journals, job placement for programmer

trainees is a problem allover the country. So called
"schools". have mushroomed in the wake of a real shortage
for experienced computer people. Fortunately, professionals in the computer field are aware of the problem. Both
the Association for Computing Machinery and the Data
Processing Management Association are working toward
setting up standards.
The best way for people to get the necessary experience
to become good computer programmers seems to be to
start at the bottom with a company, and work their way
up. Perhaps an internship in industry could be worked out
to provide practical experience, in addition to basic technical training. Such close cooperation between the schools
and industry would tend to keep at a minimum the
temptation to "train" persons to be "trainees", or to train
persons totally unsuited for the profession.
0

UNITED NATIONS TO STUDY THE TRANSFER OF COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY BETWEEN
COUNTRIES
Office for Science and Technology
United Nations
UN Plaza
New York, N. Y. 10017
At the 23rd session of the United Nations General
Assembly, a resolution (2458) was passed entitled "International co-operation with a view to the use of computers
and computation techniques for development". The passage
of this resolution marks a recognition of the special importance of computers, and the impact which the use of
related technical processes may have on accelerating the
progress of vital economic and social sectors, such. as
economic planning, programming of industry, transportation, public health, agriculture and urbanization. Noting the
most satisfactory promotion of international co-operation
in the fields of use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes
and the exploration of outer space within the United
Nations organization, it is hoped that a similar promotion
of co-operation can occur in the field of computer
technology.
To the above ends, the Secretary-General has been asked
to prepare a report describing the results already attained,
indicating the forms in which international action may be
taken to intensify co-operation, and delineating the role
which the United Nations can play in promoting international co-operation with emphasis on questions concerning the transfer of technology, the training of personnel,
and the obtaining of equipment.
Professor Harry Huskey, Director of the Computer
Center at the University of California, Santa Cruz, California and Professor C. C. Gotlieb, Director of the Computer
Centre at the University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, have

been designated as consu Itants to advise the Office for
S.cience and Technology of United Nations in the preparation of the Secretary-General's report. Other consultants
will be named later.
I n order to gather background material for the preparation of this report, the Secretary-General, through the UN
Office for Science and Technology, has developed a series
of questionnaires that have been sent to member states, to
international professional societies, and to various United
Nations organizations. The responses to these questionnaires will be reviewed and a draft report prepared in the
early spring of 1970. The final report will be presented to
the Economic and Social Council in July 1970 and to the
General Assembly in September 1970.
It is expected that the reSUlting report will be a significant contribution in terms of bringing together the experience of many countries and many people in the problems
of the application of computer technology for development. It is hoped that constructive recommendations can
be made as a result of the study on such questions as how
to develop a cadre of trained professionals in the field in
the developing countries, how to install equipment and
systems in such a way so as to minimize labour displacement and how to transfer technology to the developing
countries from the developed countries. It is also hoped
that illustrations will be presented of progress that can be
made within the economic and social conditions of the
developing countries. And, most important, that a mechanism will be presented which will encourage continuing
co-operation of the member nations and the UN organizations with respect to the application of computer technology for development.
0

COMPUTING EQUIPMENT IN THE NATIONAL ECONOMY OF THE UNION OF SOVIET
SOCIALIST REPUBLICS
Norman Precoda
459 Foxen Drive
Santa Barbara, Calif. 93105

The article below, which I read in Ekonomicheskaya
Gazeta, No. 18, May 1969, struck me as interesting from
several points of view. I translated it from the Russian with
the thought that others might also find it informative.

A conference of the budget-planning commission of the
Supreme Soviet, RSFSR, was devoted to the use of computing equipment in the Republic's economy. V. Lisitsyn,
deputy chairman of Gosplan, RSFSR, and A. Dryuchin,
deputy chief of the Central Statistical Bureau, RSFSR,
appeared (with reports) before the deputies.
2,435 computing centers, machine-calculating stations
an.d. bu.reaus, subordinate to Republic and Union Republic
ministries and departments, have been formed in the
COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for August, 1969

Russian Federation. They serve more than 15,000 enterprises and organizations. Volume of mechanized processing
has grown 30% during the last two years. As a consequence
of the centralization and mechanization of calculation,
11,500 calculators and accountants-with annual wages of
6.8 million rubles-have been freed.
Conference participants gave primary attention to questions connected with introduction, by enterprises, in
branch and departmental systems of: (1) planning, calculation, control and processing of information; (2) automatized systems of control based on use of economics and
mathematical methods; (3) modern computing equipment
facilities; and (4) mechanization of technical, engineering
and administrative work.
As noted in the presentations, ministries and departments of the RSFSR are far from fully utilizing computer
equipment resources for the improvement of control,
solving planning problems, and technical and material
supply.
The majority of the machine-calculating installations in
the Republic work one shift only; electronic computers
have an average daily loading of 6.8 hours. At the same
time only one-third of the computer equipment requirements of the RSFSR's ministries and departments are met.
There are not enough specialists-electronics people,
mathematicians, and engineers and economists-in mecha-

ADAPSO POSITION PAPER ON
DISCRIMINATORY PRICING
ADAPSO (Association of Data Processing Service
Organizations, Inc.)
420 Lexington Ave.
New York, N. Y. 10017
The following is a position paper issued by ADAPSO on
discrimination in prices charged by computer hardware
manufacturers to different customers.

Statement of Policy
The Association of Data Processing Service Organizations Inc., opposes any discrimination in prices charged by
hardware manufacturers to different customers. It regards
such discrimination as anti-competitive in effect, and
harmful to the ability of the electronic data processing
services industry properly to serve the public.

Discussion
Where such discriminatory pricing has the necessary
effect on competition, it constitutes a violation of law, for
which the guilty manufacturer will be held answerable in
damages to any purchaser who has been damaged. It is the
Association's intention to do all within its lawful power and
financial ability to assist in bringing such manufacturers to
justice and require them to account to the injured parties.
Some hardware manufacturers have sought to justify
discrimination in their pricing of equipment sold to governmental organizations, universities, charities and other public
or eleemosynary institutions,' on the ground that the
purchaser is required to agree that the equipment will not
be used in competition. Such discrimination may not be
unlawful; theoretically it may even be in some cases in the
public interest. In practice, however, despite these agreements, such purchasers with impunity almost always
employ equipment purchased at these discount prices
(ranging up to 60% of list) in competition to some degree.
Accordingly, even this theoretical justification fails.
COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for August, 1969

nized processing of economics information to service the
computer equipment resources.
In a resolution made at the conference, the budgetplanning commission of the Supreme Soviet, RSFSR,
recommended to the RSFSR's ministries and departments
to work out in detail and ratify (by the end of 1969) the
main directions of the introduction of computing equipment in planning, in accounting and control, and in designing, having three goals in view: (1) to widen formation of
automatized control systems firstly at enterprises and in the
economy; (2) to introduce during the years 1969-1970
mechan ization of accounting at operating machinecalculating stations and in bureaus having standard projects;
and (3) to systematically correlate and disseminate
experience in the use of advanced computer equipment.
The recommendation was made to the Ministry of
Higher and Intermediate Special Education to expand the
self-supporting activity of the computing centers of higher
educational institutions by means of execution of computing work for industrial enterprises, transport and other
organizations.
Chairmen of many Union and Union Republic ministries
took part in the deputies' detailed discussion on introduction of computer equipment in the national economy. K.
Gerasimov, deputy chairman of the RSFSR's Soviet of
Ministers, addressed the conference.
0

THE PERFECT PROGRAM
"No program's that perfect,"
They said with a shrug.
"The cl ient is happy"What's one little bug?"
But he was determined.
The others went home.
He dug out the flow chart
Deserted, alone.
Night passed into morning.
The room was cluttered
With memory dumps, punch cards,
"I'm close," he muttered.
Chain smoking, cold coffee·
Logic, deduction.
"I've got it," he cried, "Just
change one instruction!"
Then change two, then three more
As year followed year,
And strangers would comment,
"Is that guy still here?"
He died at the console
Of hunger and thirst.
Next day he was buried
Face down, nine edge first.
And his wife, through her tears,
Accepting his fate,
Said, "He's not really goneHe's just working late."
Lou Ellen Davis
97 Brook Run Lane
Stamford, Conn. 06905

WHO'S WHO IN THE COMPUTER FIELD - ENTRIE'S
The Fifth Edition of Who's Who in the Computer
Field will be published by Computers and Automation
during 1969-70. This Edition will include three
separate hard-cover volumes containing upwards of
7,000 capsule biographies of computer people, as
follows:
Vol. 1
Vol. 2
Vol. 3

Systems Analysts and P.rogrammers
DP Managers and Directors
Other Computer People

If you wish to be considered for inclusion in
the Who's Who, please complete the following form
or provide us with the equivalent information. The
deadline for receipt of entries in our office for
Vol. 1 is Fri., Sept. 5, 1969. (If you have already
sent us a form some time during the past eighteen
months, it is not necessary to send us another form
unless there is a change of information.)
SEND US YOUR ENTRY TODAY

Following are sample capsule biographies which
we shall publish in the 5th edition of Who's Who in
the Computer Field.

Special Abbreviations
~M~a~i~n_I~n~t~e~r~e~s~t~A~b~b7re~v~1~'a~t~i~o~n~s
b: born
A Applications
ed: education
B Business
ent: entered computer
C Construction
field
D Design
m-i: main interests
L Logic
t: title
Mg Management
org: organization
Ma Mathematics
pb-h: publications, honP Programming
ors, memberships,
Sa Sales
and other distincSy Systems
tions
h: home address
PAGEN, Dr. John / director - CAl project / b: 1926
/ ed: BS; MEd; EdD / ent: 1967 / m-i: A P Sy; computer assisted instruction / t: director - INDICOM
/ org: Waterford Township School District, 3101 W
Walton, Pontiac, MI 48055 / pb-h: AERA; Phi Delta
Kappa; MASA; AASA; reports on CAl / h: 463 Berrypatch, Pontiac, MI 48054
PALM, John N. / EDP management / b: 1938 / ed: BA,
math / ent: 1957, part time; 1960, full time /
m-i: P Sy; management of systems, programming,
operations, etc. as applied in solving retail problems / t: vice p~esidentt information sy~tems /
org: Target Stores, Inc., 8700 W 36 St, Minneapolis, MN 55426 / pb-h: CDP, SPA / h: Route I, Box
27, Wayzata, MN 55391
'
PALMER, Dennis W. / EDP mgr / b: 1937 / ed: 2 yrs
college / ent: 1959 / m-i: Mg P Sy / T: EDP mgr /
org: Protected Home Mutual Life Ins Co, 30 EState
St, Sharon, PA 16146 / pb-h: DPMA, SPA, CDP / h:
Rt3, Box 700, Corland, OH 44410
PALMER, Fred E. / systems & programming / b: 1935 /
ed: 3 years college / ent: 1960 / m-i: A B P Sy /
t: manager of programming / org: Western Farmers
Association, 201 Elliott Ave W, Seattle, WA 98119
/ pb-h: CDP, DPMA / h: 19611 62nd NE, Seattle, WA
98155
PAN, George S. / senior technical management / b:
1939 / ed: BSEE, Illinois, MSEE, Syracuse / ent:
1960 / m-i: A Mg Ma P Sy; simulation / t: director,
management sciences division / org: Interactive
Sciences Corp., 170 Forbes Rd, Braintree, MA 02184
/ pb-h: "Weighted File System Design Method" t 1965
IBM Na tional Systems Symposium, "Generalized File
Structure and Optimum Design Considerations", 5th
Nat'l Computer Conference of Canada / h: 5146 N
11th Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85013
44

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

7.
8.
9.
10.
11.

WHO'S WHO ENTRY FORM
(may be copied on any piece of paper)
Name? (Please print) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
Home Address (with Zip) ? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
Organization?
Its Address (w"7it':":'h-=Z"':'"ip""':)-=?::------------Your Title ? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
Your Main Interests?
Applications
Mathematics
(
Business
Programming
(
Construction
Sales
(
Design
Systems
(
Logic
Other
( )
Management
(Please specify)

Year of Birth?
~--~-----------Education and Degrees?
Year Entered Computer -~~--------Field ? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
Occupation ? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
Publications, Honors, Memberships, and other
Distinctions ? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

(attach paper if needed)
12. Do you have access to a computer? ( )Yes ( )No
a. If yes, what kind of computer?
Manufacrurer? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ____
Model
b. VVhere-l-·s-it-l-·n-s-t-al-l-e-d-:-----------Manufacturer? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ___
Address? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
c.
d.

Is your access: Batch? ( ) Time-shared? (
Other? ( ) Please explain: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
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UNDERESTIMATES AND OVEREXPECTA TIONS
Dr. J. C. R. Licklider
Professor of Electrical Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, Mass. 02139

During the last three decades, the military-industrial
complex of this country has had dozens of major experiences in the design, development and deployment of large
complex systems. These have involved radar, communication, computer and other related electronic subsystems, all
of which are essential to the ABM. From these accumulated
experiences, lessons have been learned by individu~ls ~nd to
a lesser extent by organizations. And as a result, It IS now
part of the "common wisdom" of many scientist?, engineers and administrators of technology that-particularly
for a certain class'of systems-costs and times tend to be
grossly underestimated and performance tends to be mercifully unmeasured.
By all rights, it would be taken for granted that lessons
learned through past experience would have been applied in
evaluating the probable effectiveness of the proposed antiballistic missile system. But the "facts of life" about other
complex systems have never been incorporated adequately
into the basic procedure of procurement. Thus the elaborate process of planning, proposing, awarding,. funding,
slipping and overrunning continues almost as though it were
a chain of instinctiye behavior, not modifiable by learning.
The class of systems for which costs and times are
repeatedly underestimated and performance repeatedly
overestimated have certain definable characteristics. These
are: (a) complexity and "sophistication"; (b) several interacting technologies; (c) several or many concurrent but
geographically separated instances; (d) operating conditions
not mainly as envisioned by the designers or under the
control of the operators; (e) the changing of the task with
time; and (f) difficulties in the way of testing and practice.
Some of the systems in this class are:
1. All-weather interceptors
2. Semiautomatic Ground Environment (SAGE) for
air defense
3. Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line
4. Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS)
5. Strategic Air Command Control System (SACCS)
6. Many others of the so-called "L" systems (intelligence and command-and-control systems)
48

7. Airlines reservation systems (e.g., SABER)
8. Electronic Switching System (ESS)
The closest things to counterexamples, we think, are
Polaris and the Mercury-Gemini-Apollo series. Both are
complex and sophisticated and involve several interacting
technologies, and both have pretty good records. Note,
however, that in both cases the operating conditions are
mainly as envisioned by the designers or under the control
of the operators and the basic task remains constant over
time.! Moreover, a large fraction of an over-all Polaris
system can be tested periodically, and every manned space
mission is in essence a period of test and practice. And-we
think a very significant factor in the case of the NASA
systems-the spacecraft have been operated one at a time
on a "fire when ready" basis by the original design-development-operation team; they have not been subjected to the
rigors of "continual readiness" under field conditions and
at the hands of nonprofessional personnel. Even relatively
simple missile systems seem to run into trouble under
pressure. The newspapers have reported five firings of
Minuteman missiles in demonstrations to Congressmen. All
five demonstrations failed.
If a wise decision is to be made about the ABM, it is
necessary for high-level decision-makers to understand how
the several factors work together to influence cost, time
and performance-and how strong their combined influence
is. I nasmuch as most of those decision-makers did not have
close exposure to the technological experience provided by
systems such as those listed, and inasmuch as there is no
source that is both comprehensive and convenient, it may
be necessary for the decision-makers to hear scientists,
engineers and administrators on the subject. 2 Even with
power of subpoena and much staff assistance, however, it
would be difficult or impossible to develop truly authoritative data on the underestimation of cost and time or on
the overestimation of performance. What could be reasonably developed, we think, is a subjective appreciation of the
difficulties and uncertainties and of the distortions of
perception and estimation that characterize the planning,
development and deployment of complex systems even
when they are in good hands. (Let us stress that the
distortions of which we speak are not attributed either to
stupidity or to villainy; they seem just to be characteristic
of technological or organizational thinking in the complexsystem field.)
COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for August, 1969

"Can we design computers and their attendant programs with a
reasonable expectation that they will function?"
I nterceptors: The F irst Test

Will an ABM system work when it is used for the first
time? For obvious reasons, it will not have been tested as a
whole.
Although the Air Force's all-weather fighter planes have
not had to intercept enemy bombers, they have been
"used" in tests with airborne targets. Perhaps the earliest
full-scale tests were the Engineering Suitability Tests of the
F~86 (North American), F-89 (Northrop), and F-94 (Lockheed), back in the early 1950s. Those aircraft were quite
complex weapons systems by then-current standards,
though not by today's. This is what happened the first time
each aircraft fired rockets at a towed target: the F-86 had a
malfunction of the rocket launcher; no hits. The F-94's
rockets disturbed the air intake of the jet engines and
caused a flame-out; no hits. The F-89 fired all its 104
rockets: 103 went off at an angle of about 45 degrees from
the line to the target; one rocket wobbled erratically,
departed from the others, and by the sheerest of flukes
scored a direct hit on the target.
A direct translation of those experiences-which were by
no means the worst offered by the all-weather interceptors-into the ABM context would, of course, spell out a
horrible debacle.

SAGE System: Idiosyncratic Behavior

What about the extrapolation from developmental tests
of a precursor to deployment of a full-scale system? The
Semi-automatic Ground Environment for air defense
offered pertinent lessons.
The Cape Cod system had a few troubles, but it
worked-surprisingly well-less than a year after it was
undertaken. The SAG E system was to be essentially a
scaled-up and replicated Cape Cod system, hence easy to
estimate and schedule. Yet the number of man-years of
programing required was underestimated by six thousand at
a time when there were only about a thousand programers
in the world. Up to a few weeks of the scheduled date of
the first full installation-wide software test, the programing
was "on schedule"-but then it slipped a year, and then
another. Initially, it was thought that when the software
was perfected for one installation, it would have only to be
COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for August, 1969

copied for all the others-but then it was found that each
location was idiosyncratic and required time-consuming
custom programing. And, of course, the computer technology advanced more rapidly than the system development.
And the threat advanced more rapidly than the computer
technology. SAG E was obsolete before it was completed.
Although it was never subjected to a realistic test, the initial
exercises made it obvious that SAG E could be brought
under control, if at all, only step by step over a period of
many months .
. Another kind of lesson could be learned by dropping in
on SAGE installations a couple of years ago-and probably
still today. According to credible reports, there were makeshift plastic overlays on the cathode-ray displays, and the
'scope watchers were bypassing the elaborate electronicsoperating more or less in the same "manual mode" used in
World War 11.3 But perhaps we should not call that a lesson;
it is part of the bottled-up knowledge in most systems
engineers' heads that operational readiness simply cannot
be maintained in an inactive man-machine system, in a
man-machine system that is not repeatedly performing its
essential function so that one can repeatedly see how well
or how poorly it performs. If you try to achieve sustainable
operational readiness by turning to fully automatic design,
you give up human control over the crucial decisions. If
you retain human control, you have to remember the sad
experience of SAGE and other man-machine systems that
tried to remain "ready" and "set" without ever receiving
the word "gO."4

DEW Line: Changes on the Spot

The Distant Early Warning Line was a highly amplified
example of "hurry up and wait." According to a summary
by Donaldson ,5 it was" conceived in 1952," "born in 1953,"
and "formally turned over to ITT Federal ,Electric Corporation by the USAF for operation and maintenance in the
summer of 1957." (Five years for design, development, and
deployment.) Donaldson's summary says:
Most of the electronic equipment, because of the
urgency of the situation, did not have a normal
development period. Equipment was manufactured
directly from the breadboard design. Because of this,
49

many operations and maintenance problems arose
which were not normal to a technician's daily work.
The problem of modifications to electronic equipment and building and outside plant equipment to
meet its new environment is discussed. Reliability of
the detection and communication equipment and
experience on remote area operation of a complex
weapons system, in the face of ever increasing military operation requirements, and their solutions are
reported.

was put into operation. He was trying to go to Boston, but
the Detroit-Boston flight for which he was ticketed was
oversold-and he took the New York plane as the next-best
thing, a step in approximately the right direction, not
realizing what he was getting into. When he reached
LaGuardia, about two hundred people were milling about
in the American Airlines area, and all the other airlines were
flooded by American's overflow. Most of them had "reservations," but a reservation on the first day of the computer
system's IOC6 turned out to be worth just about as much
as a letter of complaint to a computerized billing system.

BMEWS: Moonbeams
The ESS: Double-time

Early in its operational life, the Ballistic Missile Early
Warning System made its now-famous detection of "incoming ballistic missiles" that turned out to be the moon.
Fortunately, cool wisdom in Colorado Springs-and lack of
confidence in the new system-prevailed over the reflex of
counterstrike, and what could have been the greatest
tragedy in history became a lesson. Was the lesson merely
to remember that large, distant objects can reflect as much
energy as smaller, nearer ones? Or was it that men may not
trust the advice of untested electronic systems enough to
launch nuclear missiles? Or was it that men should not trust
the advice of untested electronic systems?

SACCS: The "Bug" Problem

The development of SACCS (Strategic Air Command
Control System) updated the programing experience gained
in the SAGE system. It showed dramatically that, when
software gets very complex, you can pour more and more
men and money into it without causing it to be completed.
The programs germore and more compl icated but not more
and more operable. You begin to understand the possibility
that they may literally never be "debugged" and integrated.
You lower your aspiration level and accept what there is,
working or not. You hope that the military computer
people can finish the task the contractor's computer people
could not...,-but you know that is only a hope, and you are
happy that they can find things to do with parts of the
contractor's unfinished product.
To put SACCS-like software into an ABM system would
be folly-potentially hideous folly. To put perfected software into an ABM system would be-and this is the
consensus of experienced system programers-impossible.
All the large software systems that exist contain "bugs."
There is no prospect for wholly perfecting any large
software system in the next decade.

Other "L" Systems

At one time, at least two or three dozen comptex
electronic systems for command, control and/or intelligence operations were being planned or developed by the
military. Most were never completed. None was completed
on time or within the initial budget. There should be a
"History of the 'L' Systems."

SABER: The IOC Factor

One of my associates had the experience of flying from
Detroit's Metropol itan to New York's LaGuardia the first
day American Airlines' SABER (airline reservations) system
50

The telephone company developed its Electronic Switching system carefully and deliberately. The curve of "percent
programing completed" against time rose at about half the
projected rate, then bent over and approached one hundred
percent asymptotically.7 Indeed, the curve looked very
much like curves for other large computer-based systems
and added another bit of confirmation to the rule that such
systems turn out to require at least twice as long for their
development and deployment as their planners think they
will.
ESS was developed over a period of about three years;
tested, modified and augmented over a period of six
months in a pilot installation; improved; tested, modified
and augmented over a period of a year in a second
installation; and then put into wider service gradually.
Hundreds of flaws were discovered and corrected in the
process.
Although a great advance over the older electromechanical systems, ESS is actually not very far out. It switches in
milliseconds, not microseconds or nanoseconds. It switches
lines, not messages. It is a far cry from the switched digital
network that the nation ought to have. Note that such a
conservative system as ESS can be deployed successfully
only with much trial and error and gradual progression.
How can one expect to make the much more radical ABM
electronics work the first time out?

Computer Programing: Endless Revisions

From experiences of the kind described in the preceding
section, we have learned that the brash confidence of the
"systems salesman" usually fades into the background soon
after the development contract is let-and that the schedules slip, the costs mount and the delivered product falls
short of the promise. We have learned that the misestimation of time, cost and performance are usually worst for the
most complex subsystems. And we have learned that in
many systems the most complex subsystem is the computer
software, that is, programing. It seems worthwhile to focus
attention, during the process of deciding about the ABM,
upon its software subsystem. The following paragraphs deal
with problems in the development and deployment of
software that will probably be pertinent to the ABM
software subsystem.
First, experience shows that computer programs that
carry out regulatory and control functions are usually much
simpler and easier to prepare than computer programs that
involve target acquisition, pattern recognition, decoy discrimination, decision-making and problem-solving. If the
ABM software were required only to handle clear signals
and uncomplicated threats, and if it could be tested in an
operational context, one might not expect more than ()
COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for August, 1969

moderate amount of programing misestimation and trouble.
On the other hand, if-as the case will actually be-the
system will have to contend with weak signals and a sky full
of man-made objects, some of them designed to resemble
missiles or warheads, then, no matter how simple and
straightforward it is expected at the outset to be, the ABM
software will turn out to be very complex, continually in
the process of revision and augmentation, and never free of
bugs and "gl itches."B

Fallibility: On the Research Frontier
Because the matter of errors in the programing of
complex computer software is so fundamental, let us take
time to make it clear that the presence of such errors in a
program is not evidence of poor workmanship on the part
of the programers. True, the fewer errors the better the
work and the more, the worse-other things being equal.
But the essential facts are that all complex programs
contain programing errors, that no complex program is ever
wholly debugged and that no complex program can ever be
run through all its possible states or conditions in order to
permit its designers to check that what they think ought to
happen actually does happen.
On the frontier of computer science, research people are
working to overcome the obviously unsatisfactory situation
just described, but they are not yet within reach of
practical solutions. In the meantime, an important part of
the software art is the part that concerns the practical
mastery or "containment" of complex software subsystems. The techniques that have been successful involve
continual operational testing of the over-all systems within
which the software runs, careful recording of all detected
anomalies of system behavior, taking the system out of
operation periodically to make diagnostic tests and to track
down the bugs and glitches and very careful revision and
retesting of the programs. The revising' has to be done very
carefully because a progrqmer is likely to do more harm
than good when he makes a "corrective" change. Correcting
one error may expose another, which, when it gets a
chance, may disrupt the whole subsystem-which may then
disrupt (or conceivably even destroy) the over-all system.
To a person who has been bombarded by phrases about
"the fantastic speed and accuracy of the computer," the
foregoing may appear to be either a heresy or grounds for
barring computers from all functions that are vita~ t.o
society. Actually, it contains a trace of both, but It IS
substantially neither. As we said, recognition of the facts of
computer life is part of the common wisdom of knowledgeable computer scientists and engineers. Just as the foregoing
assertions are facts of computer life, so also is the assertion
that even quite complex software subsystems can be
"mastered" (which is not the same as "perfected") and
made to provide useful and effective service if they can be
developed progressively, with the aid of extensive testing of
systems (as well as subsystems and components), and if
they can be operated more or less continually in a somewhat lenient and forgiving environment. A crucial question
for consideration at this time, it seems to us, is the extent
to which the ABM system and its environment will offer
the conditions under which the esserttial software subsys'tem can be mastered in the sense and in the way just
described.

Slowness and Cost: The "Retrofit" Factor
The study referred t..o earlier (summarized by Noss.iter in
the Washington Post) notes that "complex electronic sysCOMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for August, 1969

tems typically cost 200 to 300 percent more than the
Pentagon expects and generally are turned out two years
later than promised."9 From the data presented. by
David 10 and from our own unsystematized observations,
we have the impression that the two years is an underestimate of the typical schedule slippage, but it does ~ot lead
to a seriously distorted conclusion if one keeps in mind that
a complex system may be delivered o.r .deployed long before
it is actually in fully operable condition. Indeed, complex
systems ordinarily go through a long seri~s Of. "ret~ofits"
and field modifications. The F-lll sWing-wing flghterbomber leaps to mind as the example, of course, but
perhaps the significant thing is that, although it seems to
have been singled out for criticism, it is actually not much
worse than quite a few other weapon systems.
In 1964, the rule of thumb for estimating the manpower
requirement of the programing of large systems was 20~ or
300 machine instructions per man-month. However, In a
11
.
graph developed that year by Nanus and Farr,
summarrzing experience gained in developing eleven complex systems, the function relating man-months to number of
instructions curved upward rather sharply. It showed-on
the average, though with quite a bit of variation-about 200
instructions per man-month on systems .of 100pOO or
200,000 instructions, but fewer than 100 Instructl?ns per
man-month on the largest of the eleven systems, which had
640,000 instructions. Such figures make it clear that the
programing of large systems is governed by other fa~tors
than the capability of a typical programer to wrrte. a
procedure: it would be difficult for a. programer. to wrrte
fewer than 100 instructions in a single morning. The
governing factors have to d.o with the ~efinition and
organization of large programing tasks that Involve several
or many programers.
.
Many things have changed for the bet.ter In the world of
software since 1964, but not the essential facts about the
programing of large, complex systems. To obtain a ro~gh
check on the figures of Nanus and Farr, we n:ade a qUick
calculation of the programing rate of the Multlcs system, a
multi-access computer system developed jointly by General
Electric, the Bell Telephone Laborat9ries, and M.I.T. For
five years, it has been the focus of ef.fort of a softv;;are
group averaging about 50 people-which translates 1n~0
3,000 man-months. After having reached a size of well over
a million instructions, it is now down to about half a
mi II ion, and much better for having been made more
compact. Thus Multics has yielded roughly 160-170 instructions per month for each of about 50 men. Perhaps one
should take one instruction per hour for each of 100 men
as a close-enough, easy-to-remember rule.
The instructions to which we have referred are machine
instructions. To a first approximation, it may not matter
how they were written-whether in a simple "assembler
language" or in a high-level "compiler language." The
significant thing is that the main causes of inefficiency lie
outside the individual programer. If the 100 men were
increased to 1,000, the hourly productivity of each would
decline to one-third or one-fifth-or possibly one-twentieth.
It may well be that, for any given state-of-the-art, there is
an upper limit to the rate of production of complex,
integrated software, and it may well be that it is now in the
neighborhood of 10,000 or 20,000 instructions per month.

Significance for the ABM: The Slow Software Pace
The significance of the foregoing discussion of slowness
and cost lies in the slowness much more than in the cost. If
a 10-billion-dollar ABM system required a 10-millioninstruction software subsystem, the cost of the software, in
and of itself, would be almost negligible. The trouble would
51

come from the interaction of the software development and
the development arid deployment of the other subsystems.
After each partial 12 system test, there would be weeks and
months of reprograming-c;oncurrent with the argument as
to whether the failure of the test was due to the software or
to other subsystems. Meanwhile, the threat would be
changing-and the system would be continually improved
and adapted-and the software would always be adjusting
to changes in other parts of the system as well as to changes
within itself. Thus the whole system effort would be
reduced to the software's pace and to its state of confusion.
On the other hand, the sad pi ight of the software system
might be hidden from some of the other subsystems-and
from the outside world-until the arrival of the hopedagainst moment of truth. Then would the bugs come out.
We have, in sum, tried to set forth some of the
considerations which we think should be held in mind by
the decision-makers who determine whether or not to
deploy an ABM system-and, if so, where, when and how.
Most of the considerations pertain 'to the unhappiness that
lies ahead for anyone who deploys a large, complex system
that involves computers and s'oftware, that faces a changing
and complicating threat and that cannot be tested continually as a whole. But we doubt that a mere description will
serve to convince those not already convinced. We doubt
that adversary proceedings are what are called for in the
decision process of an issue so crucial to the futllre of life
on this planet.
0

C·a
NUMBLES
Number Puzzles for Nimble Minds
- and Computers
Neil Macdonald
Assistant Editor
A " numble" is an arithmetical problem in which: digits
have been replaced by capital letters; and there are two
messages, one which can be read right away and a second
one in the digit cipher. The problem is to solve for the
digits.
Each capital letter in the arithmetical problem stands for
just one digit 0 to 9. A digit may be'represented by more
than one letter. The second message, which is expressed in
numerical digits, is to be translated (using the same key)
into letters so that it may be read; but the spelling uses
puns or is otherwise irregular, to discourage cryptanalytic
methods of deciphering.
We invite our readers to send us solutions, together with
human programs or cOI1;puter programs which will produce
the solutions.
NUMBLE 698

Acknowledgement
This article is from the book ABM: An Evaluation of the Decision
to Deploy an Antiballistic Missile System, CopyrightO 1969 by Abram
Chayes and Jerome B. Wiesner. Reprinted by special permission of
Harper and Row, Publishers.

References
lWhen Apollo's LEM lands on the moon, the operating conditions
may cease to be mainly as envisioned by the designers or under the
control of the operators, and the basic task will change considerably and, significantly, it is precisely at that time the confidence built up through the long series of orbital missions will need
the most support from success in the ongoing operations.
2Perhaps the closest approach to a comprehensive report is one
that was circulating early this year in governmental and academic
circles. See article by Bernard D. Nossiter, "Weapon Systems: A Story
of Failure," Washington Post, Sunday, January 26, 1969. See also
Congressional Record, February 9, 1969, p. S 1450 for the full text
of this report.
:lFrederich B. Thompson, "Fractionation of the Military Context,"
AFIPS Conference Proceeding, Vol. 25, Spring Joint Computer Conference, 1964, pp. 219-230.
40f course, the interceptors "scrambled" against "unknowns," but
that is nothing like going in earnest against a nuclear attack.
"w. G. Donaldson, "A Decade of Field Operations and Maintenance of the DEWLlNE," Conf. Proc. MiI-E-Con 8 (International Convention on Military Electronics), p. 134, 1964.
Glnitial operating capability, or the day on which a system is put
into operation for the first time.
'Edward E. David, Jr., "Effects on the Professions and on the
Character of Individual Contributions to Society," talk presented at
the 1968 Alumni Seminar, M.LT., November 9-11, 1968.
8Glitches are errors that, once they are located and understood,
seem more glaring and blatant than bugs.
llNossiter, B.D., op. cit.
lODavid, E. E., op. cit.
llBurt Nanus and Leonard Farr,."Some Cost Contributors to LargeScale Programs," talk presented at the Spring Joint Computer Conference, M.I.T., 1964.
l~There could not be a complete system test without exploding
nuclear warheads.

PEOPLE

WA X

+ WIT H

+ HEADS

HAAL S

L A lEE I
PDT K
18532

LOU X

55539

72045

P NUX

386135

Solution to Numble 697
In Numble 697 in the July issue, the digits 0 through 9
are represented by letters as follows:

E=O

A=5

0=1

S=6

T=2

F=7
W=8

N=3
1=4

H=9

The full message is: Want is the whetstone of wit.

Our thanks to the following individuals for submitting their
solutions to Numble 696: A. Sanford Brown, Dallas, Tex.;
T. P. Finn, Indianapolis, Ind.; Ross F. Garbig, Toronto,
Ontario, Can.; Adrian Kuhs, Williamsport, Pa.; G. P. Petersen, St. PeterSburg, Fla.; David Sickles, Williamsport, Pa.; D.
F. Stevens, Berkeley, Calif.; and Robert R. Wedin, Edina,
Minn.
COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for August, 1969

THE ROLE OF EDP EQUIPMENT IN THE ACCOUNTING
SYSTEM OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA
William J. Carlin, Director
Bureau of Program and Management
Capital Building
Harrisburg, Pa. 17102

"A new computer system will relieve each comptroller of the function
of maintaining budgetary accounting records, and will enable him to
concentrate his efforts on interpreting, forecasting, and advising officials
of his department and the Office of Administration about the operations of the department which he serves."

The accounting systems employed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are characterized by close central
co-ordination and control exercised from the Office of
Administration, a part of the Governor's Office. This is a
direct result of legal provisions which assign responsibility
for designing and maintaining uniform accounting systems
to the Governor.
Background

Prior to 1955, each Department under the Governor's
jurisdiction maintained its own budgetary accounting
records under very limited central requirements. As a result,
it was impossible to determine the financial condition of
the Commonwealth as a whole on an accurate and timely
basis. In fact, several conflicting financial statements were
issued from different sources well after the close of the
accounting period.
When the Office of Administration was formed, a
Bureau of Accounts was created and given responsibility for
establishing uniform accounting systems subject to central
controls established and enforced bY,the Bureau. Realizing
that each Department required time'ly accounting reports
concerning its activities and the advice of an experienced
financial manager, the accounting organization was established with a Comptroller physically I'ocated in each Department. The Departmental Comptrollers are under the
supervision of the Director of Accounts in the Office of
Administration.
This arrangement provides the Director of Accounts
with direct and immediate control over all accounting
operations and places an independent financial advisor and
resident auditor in each of the departments under the
Governor's jurisdiction. A system of summary daily reports
COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for August, 1969

at the general ledger level from the comptrollers to the
Bureau of Accounts enables the Bureau to produce accurate
financial statements for any of the major budgeted funds
on very short notice.
Expansion

Initially, the detailed subsidiary allotment records maintained by the Comptrollers' Offices were maintained
through use of bookkeepin~ machines. It soon became
apparent that this equipment could not efficiently handle
the volume of transactions occurring in the larger departments. Consideration was given at this point to maintaining
all records centrally, employing unit record equipment on
the Univac I which the Commonwealth acquired in 1958. It
was determined that the most feasible approach would be
to employ unit record equipment in those departments
where volume warranted its use and to maintain the system
under which a comptroller was assigned to each
department.
Over the next several years, advances in data processing
technology and our own growth resulted in substantial
updating from bookkeeping machines to unit record
equipment and finally to EDP equi'pment in our larger
departments.
The relatively recent advances which have made largescale, low-cost random access equipment available required
that we again review the system in use. As a result, systems
redesign is now under way for the formation of a system
under which all accounting records will be maintained
within our central computer center on its random files. In
the Comptrollers' Offices, transactions will be audited and
batched for transmittal to the computer center where the
accounting records will be maintained. Initially, the transmission media will be created on magnetic tape through the
53

use of a keypunch-like device now available from both
Mohawk and NCR. This device permits transcription of
source data directly to magnetic tape, rather than through
punched cards as has been the usual practice to date.
During the early phases of this system, output to the
comptrollers will take the form of computer-produced
reports of daily status showing the current status of each
allotment account. Eventually, we hope to have direct
input-output devices in each of the Comptrollers' Offices,
probably in the form of cathode ray tube devices.

mately 50 general, mental and geriatric hospitals;
and 13 State colleges.
In all of these endeavors, the accounting requirements
are substantially the same as they would be if the organization in question were not owned and operated by the
Government.
Thus, we face many of the problems faced regularly in
designing and automating accounting systems for manufacturing, retail distribution, insurance, construction, and
hospital functions.

Central Data Bank
Example: The Liquor Control Board
Essentially, the new system will result in the formation
of a central data bank which will store all accounting
information. It will make each comptroller's organization
more efficient in that the comptroller will be relieved of the
function of maintaining budgetary accounting records so
that he can concentrate his efforts on interpreting, forecasting, and advising officials of his department and the
Office of Administration concerning the operations of the
department which he serves.
More importantly, this system will provide a Commonwealth-wide accounting data base which is readily accessible
by top management. Preliminary systems work has now
been completed and computer programming is in process.
Several departments are scheduled to begin the new system
on a test-basis soon. If no major problems are encountered
during the shakedown period, we expect to have the central
data bank in operation within the next year.
The system which I have outlined here has as its
objective the recording of the execution of the budget. It
serves to display for the public and the Legislature the
financial condition of the Commonwealth as it relates to
taxes, appropriations and fund balances.

Management Accounting Systems
Most of our recent work in accounting systems and EDP
applications has not been in the area of budgetary or fund
accounting. Efforts have been concentrated in the area of
developing management accounting systems and related
EDP applications for the large segment of the Commonwealth's operations which are, at least from an accounting
point of view, non-governmental in nature.
Examples of these activities would include:
1. The cost accounting system accounting for manufacturing operations within Correctional Industries. These industries manufacture virtually all
clothing used in State institutions, most of the
wooden office furniture used in State offices,
soap, printed forms and various textiles, including
blankets. Annual sales are approximately $10
million.
2. The Commonwealth operates what is probably the
largest retail distribution system in the State
through the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.
This system, which is also the largest buyer of
liquor in the world, now includes seven hundred
stores with annual sales in excess of $400 million
and an,nual profits in excess of $110 million.
3. Within the Department of Highways, the Commonwealth has developed a computer-oriented
system which is used to account for in-house
construction and maintenance costs amounting to
$94 mi II ion per year and to classify and process
accounting records relating to construction performed by contractors at an annual rate of $208
million.
4. Finally, the Commonwealth also operates: 2
competitively oriented insurance carriers; approxi54

One of the more complex systems now being implemented concerns the integrated management system for the
Liquor Control Board. Since I was initially rather closely
associated with it, and because it clearly demonstrates
application and organization problems common to automating both government and private functions, I will
outline our experiences to date in some depth.
In the fall and early winter of 1965, the Liquor Control
Board came to the conclusion that its EDP facility-an IBM
1401-would no longer satisfy the requirements of current
applications and permit the extension of automation to
other areas of operations. The Board's recommendation was
that the 1401 be replaced by an IBM 1460 computer,
retaining the same programs and systems, but taking advantage of the faster operating speeds of the 1460.

Computer Selection
We in the Office of Administration suggested that a
complete review of the information and operating systems
within the Board be performed and that new equipment, if
needed, be selected on the basis of the resu Its of that
review.
To complete this review in a reasonable period of time
and to insure that expert knowledge representing all appropriate disciplines was provided, a task force was formed
composed of Liquor Control Board employes, consultants
from the firm of Peat, Marwick, Mitchell who were engaged
by the Board, and representatives of the Office of
Administration.
During the next six months, this team thoroughly
investigated the Liquor Control Board's operations. It
concluded that:
1. Methods then used fell into two broad groupsthose formulated at the Board's inception in 1933
and those developed with the installation of the
1401 computer in 1961 and thereafter.
2. The system was characterized by massive paper
processing activities, repetitive entries from single
transactions, duplicate records, and excessive
layers of control. The system was highly accurate,
but very slow to produce the needed data and very
expensive.
3. The applications which had been computerized
were efficiently designed as discrete applications.
However, the concept of multi-use files had not
been employed to the extent necessary to reduce
repetitive entries and duplicate files.
4. The IBM 1401 was, in fact, not capable of hand ling the Board's current and anticipated
applications.
5. High and middle levels of management were relatively competent and aware of their responsibilities. However, the impending retirement of a large
number of these managers created a substantial
problem in that lower level workers generally had
COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for August, 1969

no concept of the system outside of the narrow
duties of their own jobs. This level of employee
also feared automation. Even when automation
was accepted, there existed a tendency to favor
conversion of current practices to identical methods employing the computer, thus negating the
major reasons for automating.
Based on the data revealed during the review, the team
developed computer specifications which resulted in the
selection of an NCR 315 Rod-Memory Computer as the
Board's future EDP facility.
The development of detailed systems to meet the
Board's needs was approached by dividing the task into
three major sub-systems. They were:
1. Merchandising
2. Accounting
3. Compliance
I n the Merchandising Sub-System which included liquor
purchasing, warehousing, distribution, sales and. store
administration, the basic objectives were to reduce Inventories to the lowest levels consistent with customer service
and to reduce paper work in stores and elsewhere to a bare
minimum.

Automatic Re-order System

The systems concept which is now in detailed design and
programming includes full utilization of optically readable
adding machine tapes as the principal means of input from
the 700 store locations. I n add ition, the computer is to be
used to automatically order merchandise both for stores
from the warehouse and for warehouses from vendors.
When fully implemented, we believe that this automatic
re-order system may be the most advanced system developed to date in the retail distribution field. It is based on
the sales history of the store for a similar period over the
past three years, weighted through exponential smoothing
so that the most recent sales history has a higher value than
older sales history. In this way, trends are recognized and
given emphasis. The system also provides for an override of
the automatic order by the store manager, when local
conditions not known at the central office occur. The
manager's override must specifically refer to the event in
question and records concerning the accuracy of his adjustments to automatic orders are maintained since this is a
factor in evaluation of the manager's job performance.
We expect that the new system will reduce average
inventories by as much as one-third, or approximately $20
million.

Licensing and Enforcement

In the Compliance Sub-System, which includes licensing
and enforcement, our basic objectives were to improve the
quality and accessibility of the data needed to issue and
review licenses and to maintain a history of the license from
an enforcement point of view.
This information is now maintained manually in several
massive files which are difficult to cross-reference and
update. Information retrieval is often difficult and timeconsuming.
In the new system, we expect to issue approximately
50,000 licenses per year from the computer, by sending the
license holder a computer print-out of the license applicaCOMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for August, 1969

tion in his file to be updated by the applicant rather than
forcing the applicant to completely fill out a complex
application each year. We also expect to standardize license
and application formats from slightly less than 50 now in
existence to about 8.
Finally, we expect to maintain license and enforcement
files in a randomly addressable format. This will enable the
Board members, enforcement officers and others to have
immediate access to the license file which identifies the
licensees, the license location, previous citations, enforcement visits, and other enforcement data.

Accounting Sub-System

The Accounting Sub-System serves as a central data
bank and shares its inventory, supply, and sales files with
the Merchandising Sub-System, while also sharing its licensing revenue files with the Compliance Sub-System. The
Accounting Sub-System is the primary input area for all
files through an input control division in the Office of the
Comptroller. I nput affecting financial data, including inventories, which is not introduced into the system from the
Accounting Sub-System is logged by the computer for audit
by the Comptroller's Office.
Sales and physical inventory data is received from the
stores by the Comptroller's Office in the form of machinescannable adding machine tape. Data concerning inventory
shipments and receipt of new inventory is received from
warehouses throughout the State over communication lines
linked directly to the computer. This data is subject to later
audit based on hard copy records of the transfers.
Disbursement, asset, adjustment and other accounting
data are entered into the system from other divisions of the
Comptroller's Office in the form of magnetic tape or
punched cards.
As input data affects subsidiary files, it is automatically
summarized and posted to the general ledger which is
maintained within the computer. Thus, financial statements
can be produced by the computer once any necessary
adjusting entries have been made.
Significant savings will be made in auditing invoices and
preparing statistical reports as many aspects of these functions will now be automated. For example, as a by-product
of recording receipt of merchandise, the computer will
determi ne the appropriate freight charge and report th is
item to the individual who will audit freight charges. This
saves a fairly involved manual reference to freight tariffs.

Personnel

Although our primary objectives did not include an
attempt to replace personnel, the peculiar age situation
which prevailed at the Liquor Control Board with many
employes reaching retirement age at this time lent itself to
staff loss by attrition as we automated various functions.
During the time I was Acting Comptroller (1966), the staff
of the Comptroller's Office was reduced through attrition
from slightly less than 300 employees to approximately
215.
Eventually, fewer than 100 people will be needed to
staff the Comptroller's Office. I am certain that the reduction of staff can be accomplished through voluntary retirements and reassignments.
The foregoing should not be taken to imply that all has
gone smoothly or that the system as finally and completely
implemented will look exactly as I have described it. The
Liquor Control Board has had its share of problems in
eqwipment, programming, and people. We have been at
55

IDEAS: SPOTLIGHT
The Technical Iron Curtain: The Communications Barrier Between Senior Management and the
Computer Men
Peter Hall
International Computers, Ltd.
London, England
(Based on a report in "The Times", Printing House Sq.,
London EC4, England, May 13, 1969)

Computer men are frustrated by the seeming ignorance
of management; wh ile managers are so confused by computer experts' jargon that they become frightened and give
up.
Prime responsibility for this state of affairs, it seems to
me, belongs to computer people.
The biggest obstacle to the successful introduction of a
computer system is not the manufacturer, but fear on the
part of non-computer management. It is up to us computer
men to remove this fear by insisting on proper educational
programmes that help to show that we are human and can
speak English as well as our own jargon.
Some computer installations have been doomed to failure because the wrong man was placed in charge. Four
easily recogni~able character types of "wrong man" are the
amateur computer expert, the gadgeteer, the straw clutcher
and the abdicator.

times between up to six months behind in the implementation schedule.
Membership of the Board itself has turned over almost
completely since work began early in 1966. This resulted in
the task force's having to orient each new Board member to
conditions and objectives. For without one hundred percent support from the top, no progress would have
occurred.
Several top executives have retired or died in the last
fifteen months; this also increased the difficulties that were
faced. Nevertheless, I am confident that the system as
finally installed will meet all of the expectations outlined
here.
You will notice that I have emphasized the Merchandising and Compliance Sub-Systems and the part that we in
the Comptroller's Office played in formulating them. This
was done purposely to emphasize that we no longer have an
Accounting System as such. It has become a Sub-System in
the Liquor Control Board's Management System. With the
advent of computers containing large elements of core
storage, extremely fast internal speeds, the ability to work
on two or more programs simultaneously, and virtually
unlimited on-line storage, the justification for the expensive
process of separate sales, purchasing, distribution, and
accounting systems has disappeared.

A Change in the Accountant's Role

Concurrent with this change, a change in the role of the
accountant is also occurring. He can no longer afford to
look upon EDP as simply a means of manipulating data
through the system more rapidly. Better computers,
increasingly sophisticated software, and improved quality in
the work of in-house programmers is bringing about a new
56

The amateur computer expert has read a few articles, has
become firmly hooked by a few notions, and does not
match the firm's requirements to his proposed system. He
ends up with an interesting installation working three shifts
a day and producing lots of paper, but doing no good to
anybody.
The gadgeteer sprinkles his company with terminals,
cathode-ray-tube display units, etc., irrespective of the real
need and the pay-off. Everybody will have a lot of fun, but
does he really improve the profitability of his company?
The straw clutcher is a director or works manager who is
having a terrible time. Things are going wrong, and he is in a
position higher than his incompetence level. He installs a
computer because he believes that it has some magic power
which will somehow restore the company's fortunes and
save him personally from disaster.
The abdicator is a senior man who recognizes that his
firm ought to have a computer because Joe Bloggs around
the corner has one. He approves its purchase and, with a
sigh of relief, forgets all about it. He believes he has done
what is necessary to bring the company to the forefront of
modern technology, but he does not wish to become
in~olved. He tells the computer expert to do what he likes
so long as he does not upset anybody. ...
0

situation. In th,is situation, managers, accountants, and
comptrollers who do not understand the applications performed by their company's computer, the way they are
performed, and the ways they might be better performed,
are not going to remain in their positions.
An EDP facility will not replace them, but people who
understand how the facility works, will. The advancements
in EDP technology which have occurred, especially the
most recent ones, enable the top manager of a large
organization to be'more aware of, and to more directly
affect, the operations of his organization than ever before.
Certainly he retains a need for technicians and advisors, but
only those who understand the data on which he bases his
actions, and this is not possible, lacking un understanding
of the system through which the data is gathered and
processed to produce management's reports.
Too often I have seen financial managers and others
allow EDP personnel to completely resystematize their
areas of responsibility without fully understanding how the
new system was developed or how it would operate.
It is easy to take the position that "the machine will
never replace a professional like me" or to say, "that
computer down there is just a big calculator." Most of the
people I know who have taken a position like this have
found themselves supplanted in the organizational hierarchy by individuals who recognized the need to understand the techniques of systems and computers.
Accounting as a profession almost lost the field of
maRagement consulting to Booz-Allen and other general
consultants. Only recently have the big CPA firms made a
comeback. I believe that as a profession, accountants must
now recognize the need for a comprehensive knowledge of
systems techniques and EDP.
Failure to recognize this need must result in erosion of
the accountant or auditor's position as an advisor to
management.
0
COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for August, 1969

REPORT FROM GREAT BRITAIN
Buy BritisJ1
I BM unbundling arrived in Britain in the middle of yet
another determined assault by a number of American
manufacturers operating in the United Kingdom on the
Ministry of Technology's "Buy British" policies. It went
almost unnoticed therefore and, since IBM (UK) will make
no pronouncement till April 1970, we will leave the topic
for a moment.
What sparked the rumblings on Buy British was not the
fact that the Government had awarded a large contract to
I nternational Computers-the company it has backed with
$50m of taxpayers' money-but that it had awarded the
$6m plum to IBM.
It is for two 360/50's, a mass of discs and other
peripherals, plus some very fancy software to take over pay
and personnel data from IBM 705's and a 1401 and handle
175,000 accounts for British troops.
All th is appears straightforward and above-board. But
I nternational Computers is furious on the grounds that here
was a piece of accounting work any computer manufacturer
could handle. At the same time, I BM has indicatedunofficially, of course-that it had previously told the UK
Government, through the Ministry, that unless it got a fair
crack of the whip it would withdraw from all Government
tenders.
Meantime, the long drawn-out fight over the customs
and freight document system at london Airport, commonly known as the lACES system, is similarly fraught
with arguments over this Buy British policy. It would
seem-though events may contradict this view-that I BM is
out of the running for this $8m-$10m network which will
serve all the airlines using london as a freight centre.
Whether the Army Pay Corps contract was a sop to IBM
can only be surmised. This leaves Univac in the field with
ICL. Univac is believed to have called in the U.S. Embassy
to "see fair play", having put in a tender reportedly more
than $1 m lower than that of the British company.
Yet Univac and I BM both have giant systems installed
with Britain's two national airlines. BOAC has IBM's
Boadicea and BEA has the Univac Beacon network. Moreover Univac has won a number of big Government stores
and records handling contracts while ICl's largest system
specified for the Government area was for the Social
Security centre at Reading, now more than three years
back.

U. S. Manufacturers React
More important still, neither IBM nor Univac have seen
fit to set up in Britain a significant computer operation.
It seems that both companies are screaming before they
are hurt. This is, of course, a good policy with a governCOMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for August, 1969

ment like the one we have now in Britain, which suffers
from too tender a conscience where industry is concerned.
Maybe the Ministry and the Board of Trade fear Britain will
continue to be by-passed by I BM for major production
moves. It undoubtedly will if concessions are made at each
threat.
One claim made by competitors on the British market,
to be so much better at big EDP systems than the I C l men,
would bring a belly laugh if it were voiced in the U. S. after
what we have heard on both sides of the Atlantic from Dick
Brandon and John Diebold. It is somewhat impudent in the
present U. S. climate of lawsuits for poor performance or
failure of a number of installations, as well as the abandonment of the Burroughs 8500, the CDC 6600 cliff-hanger
and so on.
I t must not be forgotten that Honeywell in the UK has
been developing a number of software packages for management purposes that its U. S. counterpart does not yet see
required at home. UK techniques are good. Most British
companies have little enough to throw around after taxes,
, and cannot afford prestige computers. It follows that the
operating staff will be required to get the most-often too'
much-out of the equipment they are given. Programmes
have to be more ingenious. Time-sharing was first conceived
in the UK and I BM set up its Pl-1 hothouse at Hursley. So
have we so much to receive, apart from equipment already
amortised by the U. S. military?

lel's Reaction
I think the final word on the "Buy British" quarrel
should be left to Arthur Humphreys, managing director of
ICL. A few days ago he said rather ruefully: "What? ICl
the Government's chosen instrument!
"If there is a Government policy to buy from ICl-as
has so often been said by our competitors these last few
years-we would like very much to see it. But we can't
expect to have business handed to us."
Mr. Humphreys was confident of one market howeverAmerica. He is offering a number of interesting peripherals
for the terminals market. These include a tiny and quite
speedy line printer as well as card readers and punches.

IBM's Unbundling
To return to unbundling. No one in the UK has interpreted the "great event" as anything more than a breathing
space for I BM while it prepares to take a swat at the leasing
company mosquitoes, crunch the pesky software houses
and settle the hash of CDC at the top of the range. But, we
(Please turn to page 59)
57

CALENDAR OF COMING EVENTS
Aug. 11-15, 1969: Australian Computer Society, Fourth Australian Computer Conference, Adelaide Univ., Adelaide,
South Australia; contact Dr. G. W. Hill, Prog. Comm.
Chrmn., A.C.C.69, C/-C.S.I.R.O., Computing Science Bldg.,
Univ. of Adelaide, Adelaide, S. Australia 5000.
Aug. 25-29, 1969: Datafair 69 Symposium, Manchester,
England; contact the British Computer Society, 23 Dorset
Sq., Lon~~n~ N.W. 1, England
Aug. . 26-28,' 1969: Association for Computing Machinery
(ACM) National Conference and, Exposition, San Francisco,
Calif.; contact Pasteur ~. T. Yuen; P.O. Box 2867, San Francisco, Calif. 94126
'
Sept.' 8-10~ 1969: American Inst'itute of Aeronautics and
Astronau'tics (AIAA) Computer, Systems Committee, 1st
Technical Specialist Conference, - International Hotel, Los
Angeles, Calif.: contact i}IAA Headquarters, 1290 Sixth
Ave., New York, N.Y. 100~9
.
Sept.: 8-12, 1969: International Symposium on Man-Machine
Systems, St. John's College, Cambridge, England; contact
Rohert C. McLane, G-MMS Meetings Chairman, Honeywell
Inc., 2345 Walnut St., St. 'Paul, Minn. 55113
Sept. 15-17, 1969: First International Conference on Programming Languages for Numerically Controlled Machine Tools,
IFIP-IFAC, Rome, Italy; contact Dr. E. L. Harder, R&D
Center, Westinghouse Electric Corp., Beulah Rd., Pittsburgh,
Pa. 15235
Sept. 28-0ct. 1, 1969: Association for Systems Management
International (formerly Systems and Procedures Association)
International Systems Meeting, New York Hilton Hotel, New
York City, N;Y.; contact Richard L. Irwin, Association for
Systems Management, 24587 Bagley Rd., Cleveland, Ohio
44138.
Sept. 30-0ct. 2, 1969: Computers and Communications Conference (sponsored by th(! Mohawk Valley Section of the
IEEE), The Beeches, R~me, N.Y.; contact John M. Harrington, Conference Chairman, 3q4 E. Chestnut St., Rome,
N.Y. 13440
Oct. 1-5, 1969: American Society for Information Science,
32nd Annual Meeting, San Francisco Hilton Hotel, San
Francisco, Calif.; contact Charles P. Bourne, Programming
Services, Inc., 999 Commercial St., Palo Alto, Calif. 94303.
Oct. 6-10, 1969: Second International Congress on Project
Planning by Network Analysis, INTERNET 1969, International Congress Centre RAI, Amsterdam, the Netherlands;
contact Local Secretariat, c/o Holland Organizing Centre,
16 Lange Voorhout, The Hague, the Netherlands
Oct. 9-11, 1969: D PMA Div. 3 Conference, Lafayette Hotel,
Little Rock, Ark.; contact Robert Redus, 6901 Murray St.,
Little Rock, Ark.
Oct. 13-16, 1969: Associat~on for Computing Machinery
(ACM) Symposium on Data Communications, Calloway
Gardens, Pine Mountain, Ga.; contact Edward Fuchs, Room
2C-518, Bell Telephone Laboratories, Inc., Holmdel, N. J.
07735; Walter J. Kosinski, Interactive Computing Corp.,
P.O. Box 447, Santa Ana, Calif. 92702
Oct. -13-16, 1969: 1969 International Visual Communications
Congress, International Amphitheatre, Chicago, Ill.; contact
Internat'l Assoc. of Visual Communications Management,
Suite 610, 305 S. Andrews Ave., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 33301
Oct. 14-16, 1969: American Society for Cybernetics, Third Annual Symposium, National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg,
Md.; contact Dr. Carl Hammer, UNIVAC Div., Sperry
Rand Corp., 2121 Wisco~sin Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C.
20007
Oct. 15-17, 1969: IEEE Tenth Annual Symposium on Switching and Automata Theory, University of Waterloo, Waterloo,
Ontario, Canada; contact Prof. J. A. Brzozowski, Dept. of
Applied Analysis and Computer Science, University of
Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
58

Oct. 22-24, 1969: IEEE 1969 Systems Science and Cybernetics
Conference, Philadelphia, Pa.; contact C. Nelson Dorny,
Moore School of Electrical Engineering, U niv. of Pa., Philadelphia, Pa. 19104.
Oct. 26-30, 1969: ACM/SIAM/IEEE Joint Conference on
Mathematics and Computer Aided Design, Disneyland Hotel,
Anaheim, Calif.; contact J. F. Traub, Program Chairman,
Computing Science Research Center, Bell Telephone Laboratories, I:nc., Murray Hill, N.J. 07974.
Oct. 27-29, 1969: Electronics and Aerospace Systems Convention and Exposition (EASCON '69), Sheraton Park Hotel,
Washington, D.C.; contact Howard P. Gates, Jr., EASCON
'69 Technical Program Chairman, P.O. Box 2347, Falls
Church, Va. 22042.
Oct. 27-29, 1969: Data Processing Supplies Assoc. Fall General Meeting, New York, N.Y.; contact Data Processing Supplies Assoc., 1116 Summer St., P.O. Box 1333, Stamford,
Conn. 06904
Oct. 27-30, 1969: 24th Annual ISA Conference & Exhibit,
Astrohall, Houston, Texas ; contact H. Buntzel, Jr., Program
Chairman, Bonner & Moore Assocs., Inc., Suite 1124, 500
Jefferson Bldg., Houston, Texas 77002.
Oct. 27-31, 1969: Business Equipment Manufacturers Assoc.
(BEMA) Annual Business Equipment Exposition and Management Conference, New York Coliseum, Columbus Circle,
New York, N.Y. 10023; contact Laurance C. Messick, Business Equipment Manufacturers Assoc., 235 East 42nd St.,
New York, N.Y. 10017
Oct. 30-31, 1969: Assoc. of Data Processing Service Organizations Management Conference, Regency Hyatt Hotel, Atlanta, Ga.; contact Jerome L. Dreyer, Assoc. of Data Processing Service Organizations, Inc., 420 Lexington Ave., New
York, N.Y. 10017.
Nov. 3-5, 1969: 5th Annual IEEE Symposium on Automatic
Support Systems for Advanced Maintainability, Chase-Park
Plaza Hotel, St. Louis, Mo.; contact Matthew F. Mayer,
Program Chairman, P.O. Box 4124 Jennings Station, St.
Louis, Mo. 63136
Nov. 3-7, 1969: GUIDE International, Denver Hilton Hotel,
Denver, Colorado; contact Jack Eggleston, GUIDE Secretary, Mgr., Programming R&D, Mutual of Omaha Insurance
Co., P.O. Box 1298, Omaha, Nebraska 68101
Nov. 5-7, 1969: IEEE Northeast Electronics Research and Engineering Meeting (NEREM), War Memorial Auditorium
and Sheraton Boston Hotel, Boston, Mass.; contact NEREM,
31 Channing St., Newton, Mass. 02158.
Nov. 6-7, 1969: First National Symposium on Industrial Robots, IIT Research Institute, Chicago, Ill.; contact Mr.
Dennis W. Hanify, lIT Research Institute, 10 West 35 St.,
Chicago, Ill. 60616
Nov. 10-11, 1969: Digitronics Users Assoc. (DUA), 4th Annual Conference, Barbizon-Plaza Hotel, New York City:
contact Secretary, DUA, Box 113, Albertson, Long Island.
New York, 11507
Nov. 13-14, 1969: Conference on the Legal Protection of
Computer Programs (sponsored by the Law Group of the
British Computer Society), Bedford Hotel, Brighton, England; contact Conference Dept. of The British Computer
Society, 21 Lamb's Conduit St., London, W.C.1, England
November 15-16, 1969: ACUTE (Accountants Computer
Users Technical Exchange), Jack Tar, San Francisco, Calif.;
contact ACUTE, 947 Old York Rd., Abington, Pa. 19001
Nov. 17-19, 1969: IEEE Eighth Symposium on Adaptive
Processes, The Pennsylvania State Univ., State College, Pa.;
contact Dr. George J. McMurtry, Program Chairman IEEE
1969 (8th) Symposium on Adaptive Processes, Dept. of Electrical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State Univ., University
Park, Pa. 16802
COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for August, 1969

REPORT FROM GREAT BRITAIN
(Continued from page 57)

PROBLEM CORNER
Walter Penney, CDP
Problem Editor
Computers and Automation

PROBLEM 698: FROM BINARY TO BCD
"Somebody goofed on this output," AI said.
"What's the matter?" Bob asked.
"All the numbers have been interpreted as binary and
they should have been BCD. Here, for example, this 152.
It's 1 00 1 1 000 in the machine, but this really represents
98. Now I have to figure out a way of changing all of these
numbers. I don't want to run the whole program over again,
this time with the proper output routine."
"How many numbers are there? Too many for it to be a
hand job?"
"Oh, yes." AI sounded a little pessimistic. "Since I have
the results on tape I'll just have to figure out a way of
converting them to the BCD equivalents."
"That shouldn't be too difficult. How large are the
numbers? If they're all about three digits, like that 152 you
showed me, it might be simpler just to construct a table.
Punch up the values and run your output again, this time
replacing each number by its equivalent."
"Making up the table would be too big a job. Some of
these numbers have six digits. There's nothing over a
million, though."
Bob wrote something on the back of an IBM card.
"Okay, then. This statement should do the trick."
What was the statement?

feel, this is one of President Nixon's many problems,
though by no means the smallest.
So far as Britain is concerned, we shall not know what
IBM (U K) proposes to do for nine months, though it has
already said that the babe it will then produce doubtless
will be startlingly like IBM Corporate's offspring.
But in Britain we have a Prices and Incomes Board, with
nasty prying habits, to protect customers of big companies.
It already stepped in during 1968 to prevent I BM from
raising the leasing cost of equipment already installed and
operating at customers' premises. If any more is made to
raise the cost of computing on I BM equipment in Britain,
there is no doubt at all that the Users' Association will
again call in the watchdog Board with reasonably predictable results.

Honeywell's UK Growth Continues
Honeywell, "the other British computer company" is
growing so quickly in Europe that it has had to reorganise
on the European front after only 2~ years. By the end of
this year the company will have close on 1,100 machines on
order or installed in Europe with 20 to 25 per cent of these
being process control installations.
Of the 1,OOO-odd machines more than half have been or
will have been built at Newhouse in Scotland which is the
company's main production unit outside the U. S. and
wh ich has an export performance of 70 per cent of
production.
Three new operating areas have been created to serve
countries in which the total computer market should grow
from aroung $1,600m last year to $2,900m in 1971. This is
a growth rate of not far off 25 per cent which is considerably steeper than the current pace of advance in the U. S.

Solution to Problem 697: The Volume of a Mujib
The statement V = T -< (I T + A I - I T - A I )/2 will
yie!d values of V = T - A if T is greater than A, V = T + A
if T is less than - A and V = 0 if - A ~ T ~ A.
Readers are invited to submit problems (and their solutions)
for JlUblication in this column to: Problem Editor, Computers
and Automation, 815 Washington St., Newtonville, Mass. 02160.

Sept. 8-10, 1969: American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics (AIAA) Computer Systems Committee, 1st
Technical Specialist Conference, International Hotel, Los
Angeles, Calif.: contact AIAA Headquarters, 1290 Sixth
Ave., New York, N.Y. 10019
Sept. 3D-Oct. 2, 1969: Computers and Communications Conference (sponsored by the Mohawk Valley Section of the
IEEE), The Beeches, Rome, N.Y.; contact John M. Harrington, Conference Chairman, 304 E. Chestnut St., Rome,
N.Y. 13440
Md.; contact Dr. Carl Hammer, UNIVAC Div., Sperry
Rand Corp., 2121 Wisconsin Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C.
20007
Oct. 27-29, 1969: Data Processing Supplies Assoc. Fall General Meeting, New York, N.Y.; contact Data Processing Supplies Assoc., 1116 Summer St., P.O. Box 1333, Stamford,
Conn. 06904
Nov. 3-7, 1969: GUIDE International, Denver Hilton Rotel,
Denver, Colorado; contact Jack Eggleston, GUIDE Secretary, Mgr., Programming R&D, Mutual of Omaha Insurance
Co., P.O. Box 1298, Omaha, Nebraska 68101
Nov. 6-7, 1969: First National Symposium on Industrial RoCOMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for August, 1969

Ted Sclweters
Middlesex
England

Stanmore~

bots, liT Research Institute, Chicago, Ill.; contact Mr.
Dennis W. Ranify, IIT Research Institute, 10 West 35 St.,
Chicago, Ill. 60616
Nov. 10-11, 1969: Digitronics Users Assoc. (DUA), 4th Annual Conference, Barbizon-Plaza Hotel, New York City:
contact Secretary, DUA, Box 113, Albertson, Long Island.
New York, 11507
Nov. 13-14, 1969: Conference on the Legal Protection of
Computer Programs (sponsored by the Law Group of the
British Computer Society), Bedford Hotel, Brighton, England; contact Conference Dept. of The British Computer
Society, 21 Lamb's Conduit St., London, W.C.l, England
Nov. 20-21, 1969: Conference '69: 1969 Data Processing Conference sponsored by the Empire Div. (13) of the Data
Processing Management Association (DPMA), Statler Hilton Hotel, New York, N.Y.; contact Registrar, Conference
'69, P.O. Box 1926, Grand Central Station, New York,
N.Y. 10017
May 5-7, 1970: Spring Joint Computer Conference, Convention Hall, Atlantic City, N.].; contact American Federation for Information Processing (AFIPS), 210 Summit Ave.,
Montvale, N.J. 07645
59

ACROSS THE EDITOR'S DESK

Computing and Data Processing Newsletter

Table of Contents

APPLICATIONS
Relation of Speed to Highway Accidents Is
Subject of Computer-Based Study
Physics Lab Adapts Small ,Computer To Do
Large Job
Field-of-Vision Maps and Computer System
Used in Early Detection of the Major
Causes of Blindness
Central Water Filtration Plant (Chicago) Relies on Computer for Quality and Quantity
Reports
Heart "Pacemaker" Proj ect to Help Atlanta IS
75 Heart "Pacemaker" Patients

Software
61
61
61
61
62

AIMES (Automated Inventory Management Evaluation System) -- University Computing Co.
CIP (~onsole Interface frogram) -- Worldwide
Computer Services Inc.
COGO -- Scientific Data Systems
Compumeter -- Computyne, Inc.
DEADLINE! -- Synergistic Cybernetics, Inc. (SCI)
Intercomm -- Programming Methods, Inc. (PMI)
3R (Request, Retrieve, and Report) -- System
Development Corp.
TESTMASTER COBOL/360 -- Hoskyns Systems
Research, Inc.

64
64
64
64
64
64
65
65

Peripheral Equipment
EDUCATION NEWS
Computer Environments Institute Accredited
by the Veterans Administration
Army School Starts Two-Year Test of CAl
Computer Education Center Established by
Inter-ACT Corp.

62
62
62

INPUT 2 OCR System -- Recogni tion Equipment Inc.
960 Videojet Printer -- A. B. Dick Company
BCOM - Microfilm Recorder -- Burroughs Corp.
SP-20 Strip Printer -- Clary Corporation
DigiNet 500 Data Systems -- General Electric
Communications Terminal System -- Data Access
Systems, Inc.

65
65
65
65
65
66

Data Processing Accessories
NEW PRODUCTS
Digital
GE-120 Computer -- General Electric
Expansion of 6000 Series -- Control Data
Corp.
Series 1808 Computer -- Arma Division of
AMBAC Industries

63
63

66
66

COMPUTING/TIME-SHARING CENTERS
63
63

Memories
Random Access Memories -- Andersen Laboratories
Photo-Optical Random Access Mass Memory
(FM390) -- Foto-Mem, Inc.
File Storage Core Memory Systems -- Standard
Logic Inc.
VersaSTORE IV Core Memory -- Varian Data
Machines

Special Purpose Systems
Model 816 Data Processor -- Beckman Instruments, Inc.
ADAC System -- Astrodata, Inc.

Manual Keyboard Punch for Tapes -- Data Devices, Inc.
Computer Room Planning Kits -- "Visual" Industrial Products, Inc.
Two New High Speed Forms Separator Models -Standard Register Company

UCLA To Be First Station in Nationwide Network Linking Computers of Different Makes
American Biomedical Subsidiary Opens Center
in Chicago
Control Data Offers Its CYBERNET System to
Service Organizations

66
66
67

63
64
64
64

COMPUTER-RELATED SERVICES
Software Testing Service Offered by Computer
Center, Inc.
Computerized System Provides Librarians with
Printed Catalog Cards
New England-Bound Executives Receive Computer
Aid in Locating Homes

67
67
67

COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for August, 1969

program technique that allows the
PDP-9 to use only a portion of the
total program at a time, while the
bulk remains in mass storage. Three
nuclear s truc ture programs originally written for large computers
(wi th core memories in the range
of 32-128K) are now being used wi th
the PDP-9.
The program run times
on the PDP-9 computer compare favorably with those on the larger
computers.

APPLICATIONS
RELATION OF SPEED TO HIGHWAY
ACCIDENTS IS SUBJECT OF
COMPUTER-BASED STUDY

A 14.5-mile section of Indiana
State Route 37, north and south of
13100mington, is the tes t area for
a computer-based study seeking to
answer the question: Is excessive
speed the maj or cause of highway
accidents? The study -- funded by
the National Highway Safety Bureau,
U. S. Department of Transportation
-- uses an IBM 1800 da ta acquis ition and control system to continuously moni tor the test area on a
24-hou~ seven-day-basis.
The project is analyzing the amount of
risk involved in driving at all
speeds apart from those considered
normal.

FIELD-OF-VISION MAPS AND
COMPUTER SYSTEM USE.D IN
EARLY DETECTION OF THE
MAJOR CAUSES OF BLINDNESS

Often the onset of maj or diseases· affecting the eyes, and the
resulting change in one's field of
vis ion, go unnoticed; and in the
early stages, conventional tes ts
sometimes are not conclusive. The
Universi ty of Texas Southwestern
Medical School at Dallas has disclosed development of a new method
for early detection of the seven
major causes of blindness.
These
maj or causes each affec t a person's
field of vision, with each showing
a characteristic pattern of visual
loss. By studying the patterns of

The stretch of highway is linked
electronically to the computer at
the universit~ Vehicles traveling
the study highway (a typical two-lane
road) register directly on the computer through buried wires and roads ide vehicle detec tors. Researchers
analyze the data every hour to determine the normal traffic flow
profile and the speeds of vehicles
involved in accidents.
Resul ts, including type and size
of vehicle, proximi ty to others,
and direction, are stored on magne tic tape. After further refining,
the information is forwarded to
Research Triangle Institute (RTI),
Raleigh, N.C., primary contractor
for the study, for final analysis.
Resul ts of the study will enable
highway engineers to develop mathematical models of vehicle behavior
at certain speeds, and under certain
road condi tions.
This, in turn,
should help in the des ign of bet ter
roads wi th more realistic speed
limits.

l3y us ing the mass storage capaci ty of the computer (a magnetic tape
recording system) they developed a

While the value of detailed
visual field tests has long been
recognized, the cost of equipment,
specialized training of technicians
and the human error fac tor, have
kept such tests from being part of
a routine examination.
Wi th the
new technique, cos ts would be relatively low.
Several ophthalmologis ts, each wi th a tes ting screen,
could share a single computer linked
to their offices through regular
telephone lines.
"The public heal th impac t of this
new system will be significant,"
said Dr. John R. Lynn, chairman of
the school's Department of Ophthalmology, who guided development of
the new technique. The new system
was among the medical exhibits at
the American Medical Association's
annual convention in New York City
in July.
CENTRAL WATER FILTRATION
PLANT (CHICAGO) RELIES ON
COMPUTER FOR QUALITY AND
QUANTITY REPORTS

-- Large island-like area in
this segment of a field-ofvision map depicts a blind
spot in a person's viewing
field.
Surrounding lines
represent degrees of visual
capability.

PHYSICS LAB ADAPTS SMALL
COMPUTER TO DO LARGE JOB

Using a relatively small computer to do a job normally requiring a large data processing system
would be considered an impossible
task by mas t data process ing people,
but the Nuclear Center Laboratory
at Lowell Technological Insti tute
(Lowell, Mass.) is doing just that.
For lack of a larger computer on
campus,Dr. Suresh C. Mathur, Donald
H. Dona ti, and Richard Hully developed a way of adapting large analytical nuclear structure programs
to their 16K core memory PDP-9.

into the system by the examiner,
cause whi te dots of light, or "blips",
to appear momen tarily on the sc reen.
The location, intensi ty and size of
each dot of light vary.
As the
patient sees a blip, he moves a
lever below the TV screen toward
the blip. Factors such as the speed
and accuracy of the patient's responses are measured by the IBM
computing system.
Following the
test, the IBM system automatically
prints maps of the patient's viewing field. Once a disease is identified and treated, ophthalmologists
will repeat testing to determine
the effectiveness of their remedial
trea tmen t.

a person's blind spots, eye specialists are able to diagnose in early
stages those maj or diseases which
cause blindness.
The new testing method uses an
IBM 113~ a re-wired portable television set and a modified program
(originally developed by IBM to
make geologic maps).
A patient
undergoing the new tes ts, covers
one eye while focusing the free eye
on a spot in the center of the television screen.
Punch cards, fed

COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for August, 1969

Nearly one billion gallons of
water flow daily through Chicago's
Central Water Fil tration Plants' 51
acres of purification equipment.
Staff engineers at the water treatment facili ty depend on an electronic sens ing network for up-tothe-minu te reports on qual i ty and
quanti ty of the Lake Michigan water
being processed for almost three
million residents of Chicago and
some 40 suburbs.
Remote sensing devices at more
than 300 points in the process feed
da ta to an IBM 1800. As the compu ter
gathers data, it prints out such
information as filter performance,
amount and concentration of chemicals used for purification, reservoir levels and weather conditions.
The sensors continually
measure these fac tors to help insure the highest quality water possible. The computer also compares
readings of key ins truments wi th
pre-set standards.
Any deviation

from standard readings triggers an
off-nor~al re~ort to
su~ervisors
who decIde on corrections.

netic tape. The tapes thenwillbe
fed into one of the Center's compu ters for a predic tion of when the
patient will need a new battery.
This prediction service will, it
is hoped, prevent unnecessary operations to replace the battery,
and also allow the patient time to
make arrangemen ts for the operations when needed.

EDUCATION NEWS
COMPUTER ENVIRONMENTS INSTITUTE ACCREDITED BY THE
VETERANS ADMINISTRATION

The 1800 checks the instruments
for varia tion from normal every two
minutes. To gather all other operating data, the computer "polls" each
of the sensors every two minutes.
The elec tronic messages are converted into numbers which are printed
in report form hourly on the control room terminal.
At midnight,
a 24-hour summary is printed.
James W. Jardine, ci ty commissioner of water and. sewers, said
computer moni toring permi ts pinpoint control of the mul ti-phase
water treatment process.
He said
the computer also moni tors the distribution of the water which is
pumped into the plant but flows by
gravi ty from the plant to the seven
district pumping stations.
The
1800 records the rate of flow and
engineers adj us t the in take according to the rise or fall of demand.
Excess flow in a period of low consumption could flood the plant
reservoirs.
HEART "PACEMAKER" PROJECT TO
HELP ATLANTA'S 75 HEART
"PACEMAKER" PATIENTS

The Rich Electronic Computer
Center of Georgia Tech has a new
data acquisi tion system, for conducting special research projects,
including what may be a novel method
of aiding heart patients with battery-operated "pacemakers".
The
proj ect being considered would help
Atlanta's 75 heart "pacemaker" patients in determining When they
will need new batteries.
According to Dr. 1. E. Perlin,
Chief of the Compu ter Cen ter, patients will be able to call in their
EKG's over the telephone for feeding directly into the dita acquisi tion system. The syste'm will convert the analog impulses of the
heart beats into a digi tal format
and record this information on mag-

Computer Environments Institute
(CEl) of Burlington is the firs t
data processing school in Vermont
to receive accredi tation by the
Veterans Administration.
The announcement of this distinction was
made by Dr. Daniel J. McCarthy,
CEI's president. With its accreditation, CEI now is able to offer
courses in computer education to
mil i tary veterans who are subsequently reimbursed for tui tion cos ts
by the federal government.
CEI offers day, evening, and Saturday classes in computer programming and operation.
It is operated by Computer Environments Corporation which has eight other compu ter school s throughout the Northeast.
ARMY SCHOOL STARTS
TWO-YEAR TEST OF CAl

The United States Army Infantry
School, Fort Benning, Ga., has put
a battlefield on-line to a computer
through CRT uni ts for a two-year
test of computer-assisted instruction.
Before the tes t ends in
September, 1970, over 20,000 Army
personnel will come in direct contact with the computer.
The proj ec t is the resul t of a team effort
by subject matter specialists (Army
instructors), education specialists
at Fort Benning, computer programmers and Honeywell's Electronic Data
Processing Division.
Equipment includes a Honeywell
Model 200 computer system and 50
television-like cathode ray tube
(CRT) devices. The 50 CRT devices
are in a 200-man classroom.
Each
CRT unit puts a student in direct
contact with the computer by means
of a keyboard console.
The compu ter, programmed to reac t to a
wrong answer, tells the student
what is wrong, provides remedial
instructions and requests the studen t to perform the work again.
After a correct answe~ a new problem is displayed on the CRT screen.

The civilian manager of the project, William F. Freeman, says the
study for the Continental Army Command will seek to answer three questions:
What is the best way to use
the CRT devices for the practical exercise phase of Army
training?
What are the benefi ts and
problems that arise from computer-assisted instruction?
What types of practical exercise are best sui ted for
computer-assisted instruction?
Among the first programs for the
proj ect are two practical exercises
in directing mortar fire for officer
students. A third program has been
developed to train enlisted mechanics by practical experience in the
use of an Army parts manual. Other
programs will be developed during
1969-70. The effectiveness of the
programs as teaching tools will
determine what programs the Army
will add to the system.
COMPUTER EDUCATION CENTER
ESTABLISHED BY INTER-ACT CORP.

Inter-ACT Corporation, a subsidiary of Advanced Computer Techniques Corp. of New York City, has
established a new learning center in
the Burlington Industries building in
New York Ci ty. Two types of programs
are being offered: participatory
courses - continuing sessions on
topics of broad current interest;
and lec ture/workshops offering an
orderly presentation of knowledge
available on a particular subject.
Participatory courses are intentionally designed wi th open ends;
participants start when they can
join a group wi th convergent interests. They remain until both participants and instructors agree the
students have acquired the depth of
knowledge consistent with the students goals and Inter-ACT's standards. The first such course, which
started June 30th, is "The Design
of Applications Systems for Operation in a Real-Time Environment."
Instructors will be available from
June 30th to August 29.
Lecture/workshop courses are limi ted to ten or fewer to enable
instructors to provide the level of
personal attention essential in advanced computer courses. The first
such course was "Computer Technology for Non-Technical Personnel".
This intrOductory course surveys
computer anatomy. computer language,
compu ter
applica tions,
and the
technology of implementing a computer system.
Offered June 30th
through July 3, it will be offered
again August 25 through 28.
(For more information, circle u41
on the Reader Service Card.)
COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for August, 1969

NEW PRODUCTS

Digital
GE-120 COMPUTER /
General Electric
The GE-120 computer, fourth in
General Electric's GE-IOO series,
is primarily for users of small-tomedium sized computers. The GE-120
fi ts between the smaller, lesssophisticated GE-1l5 and the more
powerful GE-130.
All are upward
compatible.
The GE-120 is available in both
magnetic tape and disc configurations.
Memory cycle time is four
microseconds.
Memory capacity is
12,288, 16,380 or 24,576-bytes.
New software available with the
GE-120 includes the Report Program
Genera tor, GE-IOO RPG, making the
machine compatible wi th competitive equipment. Users of competitive computers can move to the
GE-120 without the expense and
trouble of reprogramming.
In addi tion to the RPG, the software
library includes Operating Systems,
Assembly Programming System, COBOL
'65, FORTRAN IV, and Sort-Merge
Generators,
(For more information, circle u42
on the Reader Service Card.)

EXPANSION OF 6000 SERIES /
Control Data Corp.
C~C's announcement of expansion
of its 6000 series of super-scale
compu ters is highligh ted by a new
sys tern called the 6700.
The expanded series includes a smaller
6400 configuration and additional
options which apply across the entire compatible 6000 line.
The
new approach is geared to several
different customer growth requirements, according to Robert M. Price,
vice president, sales for CDC.

If a customer's growth requires
more core memory, 49K and 9SK options have been added to the 32K,
65K and 131K sizes to permi t growth
in smalle~ yet significant, steps.
Greater growth requirement is provided by the new 6700 mul ti-processor system which uses primary
and secondary processors standard
to the 6000 series.
The 6700 provides greater throughput than the 6600, and has all the
other advantages of the 6000 series
computers, including field-tested
and proven 6000 series software.
The CDC 6700 uses the 6000 series
peripheral and input/output equipment.
COMPUTERS and AUTOMATION for August, 1969

The new smaller 6400 sys tern consists of a central memory uni t which
the user can upgrade from the minimum memory capaci ty of 32K words of
core memory to as high as 131K in
increments of 49, 65 and 98K. The
basic configuration consists of the
32K central memory, seven peripheral
processors, nine I/O channels, console display wi th keyboard, a large
capacity disk file and controller,
two data channel converters, four
magnetic tape transport uni ts and
associated controller, a card reader,
card punch and line printer.
(For more information, circle u43
on the Reader Service Card.)

SERIES 1808 COMPUTER /
Arma Division of
AMBAC Industries
A parallel-organized general purpose computer has been added to the
Arma Division's family of miniaturized Micro-D computers.
The new
computer, Series 1808, weighing less
than 9 pounds, is an 18-bi t word
computer wi th 56 instructions. The
180S has a mul tilayer board configuration, T2L type integrated circui ts, and a wide tempera ture memory.
Mainframe storage is in blocks of
4096 lS-bi t words, which are addressable either directly or indirectly. Software for all Micro-D
compu ters has been prepared in FORTRAN for execution on an IBM 360.
The Series 1808 is now in production for weapons delivery, navigation
and fire control applications. The
computer is also sui ted for solving
a variety of other real-time aerospace applications such as electronic
warfare, information processing,
command and control, and data displays.
(For more information, circle u44
on the Reader Service Card.)

Special Purpose Systems
MODEl 816 DATA PROCESSOR /
Beckman Instruments, Inc.
The Model 816, a completely selfcontained data processing system,
is capable of accepting both digi tal
and analog information, processing
the data in digital form, and producing an output that can directly
interface wi th a variety of recording devices.
A 4,096-word core memory is used
to s tore the proces sing program and
to act as a reservoir for information being processed.
Changes in
the program can be accomplished
entirely in software, with minimum
expense and virtually no down-time.
Processing versatility is expanded

by a variety of hardware options
affecting the input/output capabili ties of the Model 816 system. Most
of these options make use of interchangeable plug-in cards, which
again permi t the Model S16 to be
adapted to changing requirements
with minimum delay and expense.
The sys tern is adaptable to a
broad range of instrumentation, process control, and data reduction
applications. Since the 816 can be
completely preprogrammed at the
fac tory wi th all interface equipment and software buil t in, the system is particularly useful for specific applications where the operator is only marginally familiar
with computer technology.
(For more information, circle u46
on the Reader Service Card.)

ADAC SYSTEM / Astroclata, Inc.
Digital Equipment Corporation's
small PDP-S/L digi tal computer is
the central control element of
Astrodata's latest analog and digital system, the ADAC system. The
new system can be used for both
data acquisition and control.
ADAC acquires low- and high-level
analog signals, provides for online moni toring and control and produces a digi tal computer compatible
output.
The system can acquire a
range of input signals from five
millivol ts to ten vol ts over a broad
speed range and can be easily expanded in the field. The standard
system consists of an analog input
section wi th a low-level mul tiplexer
and an analog-to-digi tal converter,
an intercoupler for connecting the
analog and digital sections of the
sys tern, the PDP-S/L and a teletypewri ter.
Software accompanying the system
includes assemblers, a FORTRAN compiler, a symbolic tape edi tor, utili ty and rna in tenance programs, device diagnostics, checkout routines,
modular data acquisi tion packages
and DEC's conversational language,
FOCAL®. First deliveries of ADAC
sys terns are scheduled for September.
(For more information, circle u45
on the Reader Service Card.)

Memories

RANDOM ACCESS MEMORIES /
Andersen Laboratories
This series of random access memories is designed to replace core
memories for applications in which
the fast access time capability of
more cos tly core memories is not
utilized.
For sui table applica63

tions these random access memories
replace other equipment at less than
50% of the cos t according to the
company.
Such applications encompass keyboards, printers, copiers,
and various communication devices.
Digital storage is accomplished
by the wiresonic method. As opposed
to conventional serial wiresonic
memories, the RAM series permi ts
read out of specifically addressed
information wi thout requiring the
entire memory to b~ unloaded.
The series has low power, from
5 volts,' 2.2A to 12 volts .1A for
various models. Access time varies
from 1.1 to 8.4 microseconds for
the series.
Size is 12.5 inches
x 9.8 inches x 1.5 inches.
(For more information, circle ~47
on the Reader Service Card.)

PHOTO·OPTICAL RANDOM ACCESS
MASS MEMORY (FM390) /
Foto·Mem, Inc.
The Photo-Optical Random Access
Mass Memory (FM 390) has mul ti-billion bit capacity. FM 390 is used
to replace and/or supplement magnetic tape, disc or drum devices.
The FM 390, which may be used
separately or combined into one
system, employs a Photo-Data Card
(PDC)
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