IBM 1401

IBM's second successful, commercial computer. Introduced in 1959 and offered until the early 1970s, the 1401 was an outstanding success. More than 18,000 units were installed, an immense number of computers back then. It had 16KB of six-bit core memory, six tape drives and used punch cards for input. In 1960, IBM introduced the larger 1410 model with 80KB of memory.

For migration later on, 1401 emulators were built into the System/360 series, IBM's first family of computers. Taken down for maintenance many hours a month while IBM service technicians cleaned and tested its innards, the 1401 was very reliable for its time.

Stand-Alone or As a Peripheral
The 1401 was used as a stand-alone computer in many companies, but was also used in large enterprises as an input/output peripheral to larger IBM computers. Equipped with card readers and card punch devices, the 1401 was often used in the datacenter to transfer cards to tape, and print the results from the tapes after they were processed. For an interesting story about the 1401, read "A Note from the Author" in software bloat. See IBM 650 and System/360.

IBM 1401

The 1401 was very successful. Its architecture and machine language were simple and straightforward. (Image courtesy of International Business Machines Corporation. Unauthorized use not permitted.)