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This color US Navy training film is about basic computer techniques. This is a 1962 film based on the roman numeral copyright at the end.
Opening credits: This US Navy Film has been adopted for department of the Army use. Unclassified. US Navy Training Film - DIGITAL COMPUTER TECHNIQUES
(:08-:58). What are digital computers? Explanations are provided. Computers remember data and can fetch it in a fraction of a moment (:58-1:53). At 1:05 a Univac mainframe is shown. An ElectroData mainframe computer, built by Burroughs, is shown at 1:08 (and later at 16:20). At 1:22, a group of " IBM Girls " monitors a mainframe. Computers no matter how complex are basically simple. A mother teaches her daughter how to count. Early ways of counting are explained (fingers, stones, etc.) (1:54-4:13). At 1:57 an RCA 501 data process system computer is shown. A rocket takes off and progress is explained as many images are shown (ships, planes, buildings, workers working, etc.). Different types of calculators are shown and explained. At 2;59 an abacus is used to count. At 3:06 John Napier's counting bones are shown and at 3:28 Pascal's calculator / adding machine is shown. At 4:00 the first slide rule is shown. Digital and analog are explained (4:14-6:16). The computer process is explained in steps: problem (data), program, input medium, computer, output medium, solution. The functions of the computer are then explained: add, subtract, multiply, divide, compare, sort, and find. Simplicity, multiplicity, and speed are explained. Off/on, Cut-off/conduct, low voltage/high voltage are explained in detail (6:17-10:24). At 6:07 an IBM mainframe is shown, a true digital computer with electronic components. The Binary number system is discussed and shown. A card being hole punched shows more detail about this system (10:25-13:43). Inputting information into the computer storage (memory) and heading towards the output is shown in a diagram (13:44-15:47). A man is shown using a massive computer as our narrator explains how good computers are (15:48-16:26). End credits (16:27-16:46).
Napier's bones is a manually-operated calculating device created by John Napier of Merchiston, Scotland for calculation of products and quotients of numbers. The method was based on lattice multiplication, and was also called Rabdology.
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