Are people becoming obsolete? The giant electronic brain has started cogitating at the University of Pennsylvania. It's made of vacuum tubes like your radio, and it can add up a column of figures a yard long in a second.

It's the world's first electronic computer. Right now, it's solving mathematical problems for the US Army, but who knows, someday a machine like this may check up on your income tax.

• Order Entry: A sales order is received and processed. Instead of being manually re-typed at each stage, its data is captured once on a punched paper tape.
• Manufacturing & Shipping: The initial paper tape is used to automatically generate manufacturing orders, shipping documents, bills of lading, and packing slips.
• Invoicing: Data from the original order tape, combined with manual inputs for quantities shipped, is used to automatically calculate and print customer invoices.
• Accounting and Reporting: The same data, captured as a by-product on tape or punched cards, is then used for downstream processes like accounts receivable, sales analysis, inventory control, and commission reports.

• Pre-IDP Role (Typist/Clerk): The primary role was repetitive data transcription. The film highlights the inefficiency of this process: "Usually, typists preparing manufacturing orders type the same information that was previously written by the salesman." This manual re-entry was slow and prone to error: "Another costly effect of past procedures is transcription errors... one company reported an error rate of 30%."
• Post-IDP Role (Machine Operator): The human role shifts from being the data processor to the operator of the data processing system. The operator is responsible for initiating the process, handling the physical media (tapes and cards), and entering only the new, variable information that the machine cannot know. For example, after a master tape automatically types a customer's address, the operator manually types in the new order number and date.

• Burroughs Sensimatic to Tape: A complex accounting machine connected to a "Perforator Program Console" which punches information onto paper tape.
• Wheeldex Simplafind Tape Storage Unit: A mechanized system of trays containing master paper tapes for quick retrieval.
• Bell System Teletypewriter (Model 19): A teletype machine with an integrated transmitter-distributor and typing reperforator.
• IBM Cardatype Accounting Machine: A central console flanked by two IBM electric typewriters and a card sorter/punch unit.
• Friden Computyper Model C: An electric typewriter combined with a calculator keypad and paper tape reader/punch.
• Underwood ELECOM Computer Model 50: Billed as the "FIRST ELECTRONIC ACCOUNTING MACHINE," consisting of several desk-sized units.

1. Malfunction and Request: A countdown is halted. "A missile must stand waiting for the right part, in the right place, at the right time."
2. Emergency Response: A designated "expediter officer" initiates action.
3. Data Entry: The supply transaction is recorded. "Without data processing, it could have taken hours or days... Now it can be recorded in minutes."
4. Punch Card Creation: An operator creates a transaction card from a master card.
5. Computer Analysis: The IBM 705 updates master files and checks stock levels.
6. Management by Exception: "The machine...recognizes problems it cannot solve: the exceptional situations. It calls attention to these problems by making a printout."
7. Human Decision-Making: A human manager analyzes the report and makes a decision.

• Launch Control Officers: Monitor status and initiate supply chain.
• Supply and Expediter Officers: Manage local stock and coordinate delivery.
• Keypunch and Verifier Operators: Create and verify punch cards.
• Computer Operators: Operate the mainframe, load tapes, and monitor the console.
• Logistics Managers: Review "exception reports" to solve complex problems.

• IBM 705 Mainframe: The "nerve center," shown as large grey cabinets with vacuum tubes.
• IBM 705 Console: A large desk-like unit with a typewriter and indicator lights.
• IBM 727 Magnetic Tape Units: Cabinets containing large spinning reels of magnetic tape.
• High-Speed Printer: Generates long reports for managers.

"Electronic data processing takes care of all routine transactions in each of these functional areas."

"It required human technical skills, human judgments, human decisions to solve this special and complex problem. This is management by exception."

• Large-Scale Scientific Computation: Used by NASA, MIT, Bell Labs.
• Military and Defense Calculations: The IBM NORC was built for the US Navy.
• Atmospheric Modeling: Using STRETCH for "testing mathematical models of the earth's atmosphere" to predict weather patterns.

• Computer Operator: Interactions include flipping switches and mounting tapes. "The lady can tell what's going on by watching the numbers."
• Project Director: Leads design and development.
• Engineers: Designing, building, and inspecting components like transistor circuit cards.
• Scientists/Researchers: End-users using the system to "advance man's understanding of why the atmosphere behaves the way it does."

• IBM 704 & NORC: Shown with large consoles and vacuum tubes.
• IBM STRETCH (7030): A massive room-filling installation with sleek gray cabinets. Key components include "Transistor Circuit Cards," the "Instruction Unit," and the "Look-Ahead" feature. It was capable of "more than one billion... operations every second."

• IBM 1410 Data Processing System: The central computer.
• IBM 1301/1302 Disk File: Large storage units for messages.
• IBM 729 Magnetic Tape Drives: For long-term storage.
• IBM Program Transmission Control Unit: Converts telegraph code to computer binary code.

"In the Industrial Revolution, machines multiplied the power of his hands. Today, the computer can provide an enormous extension of his mental powers."