"Requiem for the Mainframe" on CBC-Radio, 4 PM Saturday

[Brent Hilpert]

Sridhar Ayengar wrote:
> 
> Brent Hilpert wrote:
> > Brief notification, but I just heard a blurb announcing as per the subject
> > line, for those who happen to be near the radio in the next hour and can tune
> > in the CBC (after the news at 4).
> > (It's on the show "SPARK", if one wishes to try to hear a repeat.)
> >
> > It is about the mainframe computer, but that's all I got ... can't testify
> > further as to the content.
> 
> *Requiem* for the mainframe?  Bleh!!
> 
> My living depends on mainframe manufacturing!  As does the living of
> many of the people in this city!
> 
> Peace...  Sridhar

Yeah, well, as it turns out, the radio mention was rather specific: about the
shutting down of the "mainframe" at the Univ. of Winnipeg. It was about 2
minutes out of a half-hour show. Started out mentioning the U's first computer
- an IBM 650 in 1957, then mentioned getting 300 users on the mainframe 27
years ago and the shutting down of the mainframe (what machine was not
specified). Then the host stepped in and talked about shutting down the
machine after 50 years, making it sound like the 650 was in active use up to
2007 (!). And all framed by a bad poetic eulogy.

I can only guess that what they meant was the termination of providing a
general computing service to the campus after 50 years.

As inaccurate or misleading as it all was, I must say I seem to hear more
frequent mention of vintage/old computers in popular culture or the mass media
lately, at least relative to a few years ago. I heard Commodore 64's mentioned
offhand on some show just a couple of days ago. Retro-technology may be having
a bit of a heyday.