Few things are as pleasant as watching an 'old' computer carry out its original tasks and stand the test of time. Our readers might still remember the Commodore 64 installed in a Polish workshop, but today we have something that takes us even further back: an IBM 1401 from 1959, compiling nothing less than Fortran.
Restoring a retro computer can be as simple as cleaning its case and removing a bit of rust, or it can demand open-heart surgery with no guaranteed results. Repairing and preserving these hardware giants is critical to ensuring the integrity of our computing legacy, and the same applies to software through emulation. Many enthusiasts have formed communities dedicated to one computer or another, where they share all kinds of resources—from tricks to spare parts—though some systems out there require a superior effort. A good example is the Xerox Alto, whose restoration was documented by the CuriousMarc channel on YouTube, but among his videos there is also room for computers that are already working, and one of the most impressive is the IBM 1401, so large that it deserves a complete exhibition:
The trained eye will probably recognize it: it's the same IBM 1401 that printed a Christmas card at the end of last year. This time, the so-called "Model T of computers" (IBM produced more than 12,000 units in nearly twelve years of activity) was used for a task more appropriate and compatible with its era: compiling and running a program written in Fortran II. In the video we can see how punched cards with the source code are loaded into the impressive IBM 1402 reader (used in many other series besides the 1400), along with a tape containing the Fortran II compiler, which apparently required months of work. Naturally, the process isn't entirely 'clean' and needs several adjustments along the way. At first, the IBM 1402 only read one card because the chain printer wasn't ready, and at one point the panel 'turned red' with multiple errors.
Soon a bet arose among those responsible for restoring that magnificent IBM 1401, who had doubts about its ability to compile Fortran, because everything has to work perfectly for it to succeed. The video explains that the IBM 1401 is very good at operations like addition, subtraction, data reading, and high-speed printing, but any advanced calculation pushes it to the limit. Even so, the IBM 1401 succeeded, and in a more than acceptable time for a platform that runs at 90 kHz. If you want to know more about this computer, don't hesitate to visit its official page (link below).
