Microcomputer Forum: Microcomputers in the Instruction of Operations Research
Paul A. Jensen · INFORMS Journal on Applied Analytics · 1983
After years of programming and running codes on mainframe computers, I have a closet full of boxes of computer cards, and the university computer center has many tapes assigned to me. I am constantly amazed at the progress of mainframes from the IBM 7094 on which I did my dissertation to the Cyber 175 system that I use for large network flow problems today. I am also very impressed with the timesharing, interactive processing that allows me to write, use and store programs on our systems. Actually, it has isolated me from the mainframe so that I hardly know which computer runs my codes or how or where they are stored. The computer professionals take care of all that, and they seem to do a very good job in the face of constantly increasing demands. However, it is disconcerting to have my codes stored at points unknown with the ever-present possibility of destruction if I don't use them often enough or forget to add money to my computer account. I'm also a little annoyed by the response time of my time-shared system now that hundreds of users share its magnificent resources. Although the system has been continually updated, it can barely keep up with the new users and uses.