Must see for 'vintage' IBM engineers..

[granddad]

For me you can keep your Star Wars and fantasy nonsense movies that pass for entertainment these days, which means my trips to the cinema are few... but I would recommend, well not recommend 100% the " Hidden Figures" film , there are scenes with real computers ! , don't think its supposed to a comedy , but it made me smile... Don't wish to decry the talents of the space race mathematicians , but one character gets a book on Fortran .. a short while later she can program an IBM main frame... with a stack of what looked like blank hollerith cards... mmmm

 

[Reloadron]

A good friend of mine whose dad and my dad grew up together went on to MIT where he earned his masters degree. I saw him for the first time in what had to be over 40 years. Paul was and is among the brightest people I know. During our visit we talked of the old days and his many years at MIT. He showed me his theists which was a stack of thousands of IBM punch cards. He wrote the entire Master's Thesis on IBM punch cards. I grew up in NYC and Paul in New Bedford MA. where my dad was from. We reminisced about the 1963 / 1964 Worlds Fair and how we talked on the Picture Phone exhibit by Bell Laboratories. We saw it as the entrance to broadband. The technology displayed at the fair was incredible. The GE Carousel of Progress was really cool and as of today has had several decades added to it.

When I began my career at the firm I retired from we were using monster IBM systems for control purposes, some interesting stuff. Learned vacuum tubes in my early education and retired in a world of micro-controllers, one hell of a ride.

Yes, the movie is on my must see or likely buy on a DVD.

Ron

 

[Pommie]

I highly recommend the movie. Whilst I'm sure there was a lot of "theatrical license" used, the fact remains that the story is based on true events.

Mike.

 

[atferrari]

For me you can keep your Star Wars and fantasy nonsense movies that pass for entertainment these days, which means my trips to the cinema are few... but I would recommend, well not recommend 100% the " Hidden Figures" film , there are scenes with real computers ! , don't think its supposed to a comedy , but it made me smile... Don't wish to decry the talents of the space race mathematicians , but one character gets a book on Fortran .. a short while later she can program an IBM main frame... with a stack of what looked like blank hollerith cards... mmmm

View attachment 105361

Hola granddad

I watched that movie maybe one week ago. Could you point precisely what things are not actually true?

The lady starting the machine by herself just by looking at two or three things seemed too much to me.

Really interested.

 

[granddad]

Hi at... Well I think like Pommie Mike posted , some "theatrical license" was taken... Although it did not distract from the powerful story being told at the time, the IBM stuff seemed a little hard to believe.... the scope probe sequence , the card loading thing also would NASA leave a big main frame ready to go, in an unsecured room ? but hey I enjoyed the film . Be interesting to know what an old IBM engineer thought...

 

[JoeJester]

There are plenty of interviews and tidbits about the movie on youtube, which illustrates the theatrical licenses they took.