IBM 704: 1954

This network of black magnetic beads, smaller than a postage stamp, is one of a number of input-output "memory" units in the new "704" electronic calculator built by International Business Machines. This particular "memory" unit of the 704 instantaneously strips all information off a slow-moving punch card, stores the data momentarily in the form of magnetic charges, and passes along the individual items, one at a time, to a lightning-fast calculating section, which can handle around 10 million operations an hour, theoretically replacing 3,000 hand-operated adding machines. Orders are in for over thirty 704's, which I.B.M. will rent at some $20,000 a month each. View full size. Photo by Ezra Stoller.