My First Computer

The IBM 1401 Mainframe IBM's 1400 series of data processing systems made a significant impact on the business world. The 1401 mainframe, the first in the series, replaced the vacuum tube with smaller, more reliable transistors and used a magnetic core memory. Over 12,000 of the 1401's were shipped, and its success made a strong case for general purpose computers over specialized systems. This mainframe replaced most Unit Record equipment at the time. Our first system had 32K of memory. Eventually upgraded to 64K at a cost of $50,000 in 1965. Unbelievable!