Christie's auction and other computer history events

From: Tom Jennings <tomj_at_wps.com>
Date: Mon Feb 21 13:24:22 2005

On Mon, 21 Feb 2005, Paul Koning wrote:

> James> much because all the punch cards were produced in the US and
> James> exported. (Reminds me of printer ink cartridges). "In the
> James> manufacture of cards, special machinery is needed. No one but
> James> an IBM affiliate can make IBM cards because in Germany the
> James> contracts contain a clause that the German customer cannot use
> James> cards except those of IBM manufacture...".
>
> That's pretty comical -- the notion that those contracts would mean
> anything at all in war.
>
> I don't believe that special machinery is needed to make punched
> cards anyway, but even if there were, certainly that machinery could
> be reproduced in Germany, and so what if the contract says otherwise?

IBM was in the business of making money -- and apparently during
some significant period 1/3rd of their income was from the cards
themselves! It seems obvious they'd scare customers into buying
their more expensive cards... "Make sure you use only gen-you-wine
Microsoft floppy disks in that there compyooter!"
Received on Mon Feb 21 2005 - 13:24:22 GMT