n this episode of Computer History with Chris Garcia, we look at the IBM System/360, announced on April 7, 1964, and why it became one of the most important computer families in history. The System/360 was not just a new machine. It was IBM’s attempt to unify business, scientific, government, and institutional computing under one compatible architecture.

The episode covers Thomas J. Watson Jr.’s massive corporate gamble, Bob Evans’s role in pushing the project through IBM, Gene Amdahl and Gerrit Blaauw’s architectural work, Fred Brooks and the software nightmare of OS/360, Erich Bloch and Solid Logic Technology, and the way System/360 helped define the modern idea of a computer platform.

We also discuss the importance of compatibility, the transition from IBM’s older incompatible product lines, the 1964 launch, early models, the Model 67 and time-sharing, the move toward System/370, and the long-term legacy of System/360 in IBM mainframes and software engineering.

Sources and links:

IBM Archives: System/360

https://www.ibm.com/history/system-360

Computer History Museum: IBM System/360 announcement

https://www.computerhistory.org/tdih/april/7/

Computer History Museum: IBM System/360 mainframe history

https://www.computerhistory.org/revolution/mainframe-computers/7/164

IEEE Spectrum: Building the System/360 Mainframe Nearly Destroyed IBM

https://spectrum.ieee.org/building-the-system360-mainframe-nearly-destroyed-ibm

IBM: The 360 Revolution PDF

https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/zvm/history/360rev.pdf

Britannica: IBM

https://www.britannica.com/money/IBM

Wikipedia: IBM System/360

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_System/360

Wikipedia: Gene Amdahl

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Amdahl

Wikipedia: Fred Brooks

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Brooks

Wikipedia: The Mythical Man-Month

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mythical_Man-Month