Definition: BIZMAC

The BIZMAC was one of the first computers in the U.S. It was made by RCA, which was a natural candidate as it was already a vacuum tube supplier. In 1956, commissioned by the U.S. military, the first BIZMAC went to the Ordnance Tank-Automotive Command (OTAC) in Detroit to keep track of supplies for the U.S. Army. In today's dollars, its annual maintenance was $5 million. A few more commercial installations followed, but that same year IBM's 705 was more advanced. RCA's own 501 computer, which used transistors, came out only two years later, and BIZMAC was quickly obsoleted. See RCA computers.




Twenty Thousand Square Feet - One Computer