Jeremy Norman’sHistoryofInformation.com Exploring the History of Information and Media through Timelines
Jeremy Norman’s
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An IBM 704 computer at NACA in 1957. In 1954, IBM was reluctant to use the word computer to describe machine so they called the it the 704 Data Processing System.
In 1954 IBM announced the 704 Data Processing System. Though the company did not designate it as a computer, it was the first commercially available computer to incorporate indexing and floating point arithmetic as standard features. The 704 also featured a magnetic core memory, far more reliable than its predecessors’ cathode ray tube memories. A commercial success, IBM produced one hundred twenty-three 704s between 1955 and 1960.
