The IBM 704 is announced. The 704 is the first commercially available computer to
incorporate indexing and floating point arithmetic as standard features. The 704
also featured a magnetic core memory, far more reliable than its predecessors'
cathode-ray-tube memory. A commercial success, IBM produced 123 704s between 1955
and 1960.
IBM develops and builds the fastest, most powerful electronic computer of its time
- the Naval Ordnance Research Computer (NORC) - for the U.S. Navy Bureau of
Ordnance. The NORC was the most powerful computer of its day, and its
multiplication unit remains the fastest ever built with vacuum tube technology.
The faster, more powerful IBM 705 replaces the 702. New Model B Standard and
"Executive" Typewriters are introduced.
IBM introduces the an input-output channel as a feature on the Naval Ordnance
Research Computer (NORC). This innovation synchronizes the flow of data into and
out of the computer while computation is in progress, relieving the central
processor of that task. Channel technology is widely adopted throughout the
industry.
