I loved the S/36, as I did the S/34 and S/32 before, as well as the S/38 and AS/400 which followed. I did an enormous amount of development work on all these before switching to Unix, Windows, and mainframe integration. Good times!
I'm a retired I. B. M ' er. Computer technician. 1981-2003. maintained 32,34,36,38,as/400. Series 1. Loved It. From the Rio Grande Valley, south Texas.
Hi Arturo, thank you very much for your comment! Sounds like you had quite a career, maintaining all those different models. I bet you were witness to many changes in the technology during that time too! Glad you found our channel, hope you will continue to explore! ~ VK
Our high school bought one, presumably to computerize their operations. The side effect was that it was connected to a room full of terminals which allowed students to learn BASIC programming.
I worked and studied at System 36 at the beginning of my profession between 1990-1993 (I was born in 1969), in the rural factory of the then largest machine manufacturing company in Hungary. It was a great experience for me at the time. We write programs for it in Kobol and Basic languages. I will never forget! Thanks for the upload!
Hi Zoltán, thank you very much for sharing some of your history related to the System/36! I am glad you enjoyed the upload of this vintage film too. Hope you will explore some of our other early IBM computer films here on our channel. Keep well! ~ Victor, at CHAP
I use to work on these for IBM back in the early 90s. It was only for a short time before the as400 came out and I moved to the RS/6000. Great memories and fantastic equipment!
As a modern day IT L3 support phone jocky it may be rose tented glasses but it seems like these older systems made it easier to jump from support to systems.
A lot of memories. Well, the 3/36 is a "small" system in IBM's terms, not only in size but particularly in terms of cost. However, to ordinary medium size companies, especially companies outside US, the cost of any of the system or the peripherals components are not cheap. I remember buying a tape drive for data back up (the size of a washing machine) would cost USD20,000, a line printer will cost similar, list price, if you don't have some kind of corporate discount. The company that I worked with some of the deepest discount level, up to 40% on some items. Even with this level of discount, a fully configured system which can support for about 100 terminals will cost about a quarter million (but the potential benefit it can bring will be huge too). So there are a lot of OEM or compatibles available in the market, and even some specialized company selling 2nd hand equipment. 1985-2000 is also the years for down-sizing. IBM created the Personal Computer standard, which I believe even IBM itself cannot have foreseen the huge impact of PC to the world. All the rest are history.
Hi Frankie, yes, you make some great points. I also remember the System/36 and it was quite expensive for a "mid-range" or small system. Our first model only came with 1MB memory. We had to pay a lot for another 1Mb. These were interesting times for IBM. So much changed with the advancement of the PC world from 1982 onwards. Great to have lived through these times. Thanks again for your great feedback! ~ Charles
I did operate the midrange systems S/36, S/38 (Quaker Oats) and AS/400 (Quaker Oats, Head police quarters in The Hague, The Netherlands) and ABN/AMRO international, though mostly the AS/400. Great machines for relational databases. The OS of these machines were specifically build for handling these databases.
Hi Rene, fascinating. A good spread of different machines. We just found an interesting AS/400 commercial (video). Perhaps we should upload it for those interested in that family. Work at the Hague sounds like it might have been very interesting. Thanks for sharing! ~ Hunter
Makes me want to break out my AS400 Advanced 36 and have a play with it! :D System 36 has been very very good to me around Y2K with 2 digit years in RPG programs.
Boy, that brings back memories, by first real job in MIS was as a System/36 operator, backing that thing up every morning was a real “treat”. I remember the one I worked on being the 5360 model but had some other add-ons, were there expansions for it? Was primarily used for billing there, a ready mix concrete company, VAX boxes handled the ready-mix operations and let’s say getting data from one to the other wasn’t always pleasant.
Hi Daren, finally, I get to talk to another System/36 serious user! Great feedback, thank you! Do you remember the software that came with it? IDDU/36, Displaywrite/36, etc. IDDU was Interactive Data Definition Utility, or something. A database. The machine only had 2 MB of memory. Imagine if they had made it with 8 MB or more. Something to ponder. Thanks Daren! ~ Victor
@@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject man, that’s going back a ways, I vaguely remember IDDU but DisplayWriter, yep. Those old high speed IBM printers… The noise they made, had to wear earmuffs in the printer room when we ran invoices and other batch jobs. One of the printers, can’t remember the model, had a multi-part form splitter than sent 2 copies one way then fed another one, the white one, to an automated envelope stuffer. It was all quite mesmerizing to watch, when it worked…
@@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject probably, I’d love to be able to de-solder some chips off that old stuff now. Had I known about the Great Chip Shortage 2 years ago…
We still use them. If it ain’t broke why fix? While our competitors have lost buisness due to hackers and ransomware, data loss etc.. we keep on working. IBM should bring them back.
That thumbnail commits an IBM crime. The word 'minicomputer' was not permitted when I was there. Minicomputer is not used in the video. Whoever put that in the thumbnail will have to be sent to Room 101.
It is pitiful to know that IBM has lost lots of business, thanks to the makers of clone computers that sold them to the masses. I once worked on an IBM System 36 terminal. Keyboarding on it was similar to using the Selectric typewriter by the touch of the keyboard.
There is an entire tech subculture of keyboard enthusiasts (mostly gamers). Most IBM keyboards are still highly regarded. The original IBM 5270 PC/AT models have a keyboard which is similar in layout to a Selectric typewriter and the clacky sound the keys make, something like a Selectric typing, are music to the ears of some.
@@dalecomer5951 Dale Comer, you are wise. I have enjoyed the IBM keys and I would not want to work on anything else. I am a staunch typist using a microcomputer called Dell Inspiron. My keyboarding skill has made my computer use more simple, an again I would not want to work on anything else. I do business productivity applications to endeavor my typewriting service, right in the privacy of my home. Thank you for tapping or typing to me. Happy Keyboarding!
Hi Captain Keyboard, very interesting. I remember getting a System/36 where I worked in 1985. It arrived with 512K of memory(!) We had to upgrade it to 2Mb of memory, and that was very, very expensive at the time. It was a clean machine, but just needed a lot more power.
@@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject Hello, Computer History Archives Project. I liked the IBM System 36 better than the Entrex Data Terminal which had a keypunch-like keyboard. As an avid typist, I wanted to use all my fingers and right thumb, not just one handful of fingers just to key numeric data. The System 36 was used to transmit data to a mainframe computer many miles away from the site. I am unfamiliar with the specifications for the IBM System 36 terminal. Now that I am out of the workforce since 1997, I acquired an interest in specifications for my computer and printers, while working as an end user at home. I would like to see more people using the [micro]computer on your channel. It would be very delightful to watch. Happy Keyboarding!
Greetings Cap'n, thanks for the great feedback as always. I share your interest in the microcomputer world as well. Hope to explore that area further. It seems like a whirlwind of micros came into being in the 1970's- early '80's, then so many faded away as the survival-of-the fittest took hold. I have also been looking for good video material from the Businessland, Computerland and CompUSA days, and it seems more rare than previously thought. I need to up my game in this area. ~ Thanks again! ~ Victor
Hi Caribou Data Science, thanks for your question. I believe this system has been replaced by the A/S 400 series of "mini" computers. The A/S 400 has gone through several models as well, and followed by the eServer and other machines. Hope this helps!~
The system got renamed every decade and is now known as "IBM i", which appears to run on the same hardware as AIX does, but remains compatible to AS/400 applications.
I loved the S/36, as I did the S/34 and S/32 before, as well as the S/38 and AS/400 which followed. I did an enormous amount of development work on all these before switching to Unix, Windows, and mainframe integration. Good times!
Hi Emmett, interesting info. Were these systems all in use a the same company?
Me too! I did y2k conversion on DAS in RPG! 2 different installations, running on AS400 Advanced 36. Still have about 5 of them in my garage. :D
I'm a retired I. B. M ' er. Computer technician. 1981-2003. maintained 32,34,36,38,as/400. Series 1. Loved It. From the Rio Grande Valley, south Texas.
Hi Arturo, thank you very much for your comment! Sounds like you had quite a career, maintaining all those different models. I bet you were witness to many changes in the technology during that time too! Glad you found our channel, hope you will continue to explore! ~ VK
Our high school bought one, presumably to computerize their operations. The side effect was that it was connected to a room full of terminals which allowed students to learn BASIC programming.
I worked and studied at System 36 at the beginning of my profession between 1990-1993 (I was born in 1969), in the rural factory of the then largest machine manufacturing company in Hungary. It was a great experience for me at the time. We write programs for it in Kobol and Basic languages. I will never forget! Thanks for the upload!
Hi Zoltán, thank you very much for sharing some of your history related to the System/36! I am glad you enjoyed the upload of this vintage film too. Hope you will explore some of our other early IBM computer films here on our channel. Keep well! ~ Victor, at CHAP
I love these old videos. System 36 raised me to be the quantum physicist I am today.
I love the synth music.
Normally I would too but it's drowning the narration.
I use to work on these for IBM back in the early 90s. It was only for a short time before the as400 came out and I moved to the RS/6000. Great memories and fantastic equipment!
As a modern day IT L3 support phone jocky it may be rose tented glasses but it seems like these older systems made it easier to jump from support to systems.
A lot of memories. Well, the 3/36 is a "small" system in IBM's terms, not only in size but particularly in terms of cost. However, to ordinary medium size companies, especially companies outside US, the cost of any of the system or the peripherals components are not cheap. I remember buying a tape drive for data back up (the size of a washing machine) would cost USD20,000, a line printer will cost similar, list price, if you don't have some kind of corporate discount. The company that I worked with some of the deepest discount level, up to 40% on some items. Even with this level of discount, a fully configured system which can support for about 100 terminals will cost about a quarter million (but the potential benefit it can bring will be huge too). So there are a lot of OEM or compatibles available in the market, and even some specialized company selling 2nd hand equipment. 1985-2000 is also the years for down-sizing. IBM created the Personal Computer standard, which I believe even IBM itself cannot have foreseen the huge impact of PC to the world. All the rest are history.
Hi Frankie, yes, you make some great points. I also remember the System/36 and it was quite expensive for a "mid-range" or small system. Our first model only came with 1MB memory. We had to pay a lot for another 1Mb. These were interesting times for IBM. So much changed with the advancement of the PC world from 1982 onwards. Great to have lived through these times. Thanks again for your great feedback! ~ Charles
I did operate the midrange systems S/36, S/38 (Quaker Oats) and AS/400 (Quaker Oats, Head police quarters in The
Hague, The Netherlands) and ABN/AMRO international, though mostly the AS/400. Great machines for relational databases. The OS of these machines were specifically build for handling these databases.
Hi Rene, fascinating. A good spread of different machines. We just found an interesting AS/400 commercial (video). Perhaps we should upload it for those interested in that family. Work at the Hague sounds like it might have been very interesting. Thanks for sharing! ~ Hunter
Makes me want to break out my AS400 Advanced 36 and have a play with it! :D System 36 has been very very good to me around Y2K with 2 digit years in RPG programs.
Boy, that brings back memories, by first real job in MIS was as a System/36 operator, backing that thing up every morning was a real “treat”. I remember the one I worked on being the 5360 model but had some other add-ons, were there expansions for it? Was primarily used for billing there, a ready mix concrete company, VAX boxes handled the ready-mix operations and let’s say getting data from one to the other wasn’t always pleasant.
Hi Daren, finally, I get to talk to another System/36 serious user! Great feedback, thank you! Do you remember the software that came with it? IDDU/36, Displaywrite/36, etc. IDDU was Interactive Data Definition Utility, or something. A database. The machine only had 2 MB of memory. Imagine if they had made it with 8 MB or more. Something to ponder. Thanks Daren! ~ Victor
@@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject man, that’s going back a ways, I vaguely remember IDDU but DisplayWriter, yep. Those old high speed IBM printers… The noise they made, had to wear earmuffs in the printer room when we ran invoices and other batch jobs.
One of the printers, can’t remember the model, had a multi-part form splitter than sent 2 copies one way then fed another one, the white one, to an automated envelope stuffer. It was all quite mesmerizing to watch, when it worked…
Hi Darren, yes, I remember those printers too. Where did all that heavy equipment end up? Some in landfills, I guess...
@@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject probably, I’d love to be able to de-solder some chips off that old stuff now. Had I known about the Great Chip Shortage 2 years ago…
We still use them. If it ain’t broke why fix? While our competitors have lost buisness due to hackers and ransomware, data loss etc.. we keep on working. IBM should bring them back.
I want my computer to have a warm up button.
That thumbnail commits an IBM crime. The word 'minicomputer' was not permitted when I was there. Minicomputer is not used in the video. Whoever put that in the thumbnail will have to be sent to Room 101.
Guilty as charged. : )
I remember seeing this film when it came out. Made me ponder about learning os/36 and RPG, but not for very long......
There used to be so many help wanted ads for coders with RPG experience on System/3[x].
I remember this film the last time this channel posted it… but I still watched it 🤣
I did too! By any chance was it DAS?
Ahhh soooo simple. Never breaks or needs special attention, repairs or expertise!
"IBM System 36. It won't make you a Fortune 500 company."
Hi, used to work on the 36, I never liked it, the 38 however was my dream machine.
You didn't want them to lose power. They could produced errors until they came back to operating temperature.
Loved the 34 and 36. When we went to the A/S 400 using Native code a lot of things changed an NOT for the better.
Thanks for sharing. And I thought the A/S 400 was a good thing ...(?)
@@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject The programmers using NATIVE CODE changed a lot of stuff that I used. Maybe safe to say that THEY were the problem??
🎶 We've come a long ways, baby!!! 🎶
Well, I'm sold. Where do I get one of these machines?
nice,,,do you have something about cad cam o computers ided design vintages system videos
Not as yet, but an interesting idea for the future. Thank you!
5:50 - Small size... Girl, we have different views on size 😁
I'm sure we all remember... "D P,P1"
It is pitiful to know that IBM has lost lots of business, thanks to the makers of clone computers that sold them to the masses. I once worked on an IBM System 36 terminal. Keyboarding on it was similar to using the Selectric typewriter by the touch of the keyboard.
There is an entire tech subculture of keyboard enthusiasts (mostly gamers). Most IBM keyboards are still highly regarded. The original IBM 5270 PC/AT models have a keyboard which is similar in layout to a Selectric typewriter and the clacky sound the keys make, something like a Selectric typing, are music to the ears of some.
@@dalecomer5951 Dale Comer, you are wise. I have enjoyed the IBM keys and I would not want to work on anything else. I am a staunch typist using a microcomputer called Dell Inspiron. My keyboarding skill has made my computer use more simple, an again I would not want to work on anything else. I do business productivity applications to endeavor my typewriting service, right in the privacy of my home. Thank you for tapping or typing to me. Happy Keyboarding!
Hi Captain Keyboard, very interesting. I remember getting a System/36 where I worked in 1985. It arrived with 512K of memory(!) We had to upgrade it to 2Mb of memory, and that was very, very expensive at the time. It was a clean machine, but just needed a lot more power.
@@ComputerHistoryArchivesProject Hello, Computer History Archives Project. I liked the IBM System 36 better than the Entrex Data Terminal which had a keypunch-like keyboard. As an avid typist, I wanted to use all my fingers and right thumb, not just one handful of fingers just to key numeric data. The System 36 was used to transmit data to a mainframe computer many miles away from the site. I am unfamiliar with the specifications for the IBM System 36 terminal. Now that I am out of the workforce since 1997, I acquired an interest in specifications for my computer and printers, while working as an end user at home. I would like to see more people using the [micro]computer on your channel. It would be very delightful to watch. Happy Keyboarding!
Greetings Cap'n, thanks for the great feedback as always. I share your interest in the microcomputer world as well. Hope to explore that area further. It seems like a whirlwind of micros came into being in the 1970's- early '80's, then so many faded away as the survival-of-the fittest took hold. I have also been looking for good video material from the Businessland, Computerland and CompUSA days, and it seems more rare than previously thought. I need to up my game in this area. ~ Thanks again! ~ Victor
6:00 She is the systems administrator but she's not mechanically inclined ... sheesh!
The doctor say he doesn't want to be bothered with billing. Of course, if he worked in a sane health system, he wouldn't have that problem at all.
What is, the latest version of this system?
Hi Caribou Data Science, thanks for your question. I believe this system has been replaced by the A/S 400 series of "mini" computers. The A/S 400 has gone through several models as well, and followed by the eServer and other machines. Hope this helps!~
The system got renamed every decade and is now known as "IBM i", which appears to run on the same hardware as AIX does, but remains compatible to AS/400 applications.
I worked on this when I began my career haha
With single payer health care this computer would have been useless
36
First YES!