The GE-400 series were
time-sharing
In computing, time-sharing is the sharing of a computing resource among many users at the same time by means of multiprogramming and multi-tasking.DEC Timesharing (1965), by Peter Clark, The DEC Professional, Volume 1, Number 1
Its emergence a ...
Information Systems computers by
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...
introduced in 1964 and shipped until 1968.
System description
The GE-400 series (Compatibles/400) came in models: 415, 425, 435 (1964), 455 and 465.
GE-400 systems had a word length of
24 bits which could contain binary data, four
six-bit BCD characters, or four signed decimal digits. GE-400 systems could have up to 32,768 words (132K characters) of
magnetic-core memory
Magnetic-core memory was the predominant form of random access, random-access computer memory for 20 years between about 1955 and 1975.
Such memory is often just called core memory, or, informally, core.
Core memory uses toroids (rings) of a ...
with a cycle time of 2.7 microseconds (435) or 5.1 microseconds (425). The systems supported up to eight
channels
Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to:
Geography
* Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water.
Australia
* Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...
for input/output.
The GE 412 (1962) was an incompatible computer system with a 20-bit word length intended for
process control
An industrial process control in continuous production processes is a discipline that uses industrial control systems to achieve a production level of consistency, economy and safety which could not be achieved purely by human manual control. I ...
applications.
Unique features
GE-400 systems featured a "variable length, relocatable
accumulator"
which could be set programmatically to a length of one to four words and relocated to overlay any four adjacent locations in memory (modulo four). "The accumulator can be moved to the data to be processed, rather than moving the data."
Successor systems
The 400 series was succeeded by the incompatible 36-bit
GE-600 series
The GE-600 series was a family of 36-bit mainframe computers originating in the 1960s, built by General Electric (GE). When GE left the mainframe business the line was sold to Honeywell, which built similar systems into the 1990s as the division ...
.
See also
*
GE-200 series
GE 210 advertisement from 1960
The GE-200 series was a family of small mainframe computers of the 1960s, built by General Electric (GE). GE marketing called the line ''Compatibles/200'' (GE-205/215/225/235). The GE-210 of 1960 is not compatible w ...
*
GE-600 series
The GE-600 series was a family of 36-bit mainframe computers originating in the 1960s, built by General Electric (GE). When GE left the mainframe business the line was sold to Honeywell, which built similar systems into the 1990s as the division ...
References
External links
GE-400 Time-sharing information systems: Bring a powerful computer to the fingertips of all your people , 102646147 , Computer History Museum
{{General Electric
General Electric mainframe computers
Transistorized computers
Computer-related introductions in 1964
24-bit computers