Chapter 1
The age of the punch card
Chapter 2
Mainframes and the race to the Moon
Chapter 3
The personal computer revolution
Chapter 4
Smart machines and the grand pivot
YOUR GOAL
Master of The story of IBM
Ch 1 · The age of the punch card
marcus History of Computing
Once holes held the world's data, IBM built smarter tech later, Deep Blue then beat the grandmaster.
marcus Thomas Watson Sr. introduced the "Think" slogan, shaping IBM's corporate culture for decades.
marcus Three distinct manufacturing businesses merged in 1911 to form the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company.
BETA
marcus Sort innovations to understand IBM's evolution from punch cards to Deep Blue.
Fun Fact
Punch card music: Early IBM punch cards were sometimes used as organ grinder music sheets, translating paper holes into beautiful street melodies.
Glossary
punch card (noun)
A card perforated with holes in specific positions to represent data or instructions for a computer. In 1928, IBM introduced its iconic eighty-column format, which became the global data processing standard.
A card perforated with holes in specific positions to represent data or instructions for a computer. In 1928, IBM introduced its iconic eighty-column format, which became the global data processing standard.
Quiz
In what year did the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company officially change its name to International Business Machines (IBM)?
Quiz
How did early IBM punch cards store data so that mechanical brushes could read them?
Quiz
Which legendary IBM leader introduced the iconic one-word slogan "Think" in the 1910s?
Quiz
Which massive 1935 United States government program relied on IBM punch cards to manage records for millions of citizens?
Quiz
What crisis in the late 19th century led to the invention of the punch card tabulating machine?