movies_creation

American Movie Archives (美國電影檔案)

Title
On Guard! The Story of SAGE
Year
1956
Abstract
Innovations in computer technology as weapons in the Cold War.
Notes
Produced: IBM Corporation, Military Products Division
Sponsor: IBM Corporation, Military Products Division
Run Time: 12:15
Audio/Visual: Sd, C
Keyword
Cold War;Electronics;Computer;History;Electronics;Computer;History
Theme
Great Film for Computer Buffs
Review
SAGE, the semi-automatic ground environment, was the first iteration of the air defense systems that guard us to this day. A couple of key points about this film: First, it may be the first public illustration of the concept of the "black box," i.e., a self-contained, easily replaceable, electronic module. Even more interesting, to me, is that the computer on which you watch this film is thousands of times more powerful than the entire SAGE system. In fact, your computer is more powerful than all of the computers in the world combined, circa 1956. An interesting little film about the early days of electronic computers.
(Reviewer: Rocketeer)
Location
A/V room, 2/F