Browsing by Author "Galler, Bernard A., 1928-"

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    Burroughs B 5000 Conference
    (Charles Babbage Institute, 1985-09-06) Waychoff, Richard; Turner, Lloyd; Rosin, Robert F.; Pearson, Ralph W.; Oliphint, G. Clark; MacKenzie, F. Brad; MacDonald, Ray W.; MacDonald, Duncan N.; Lonergan, William D.; Kreuder, Norman L.; King, Paul D.; Hootman, Joseph T.; Hauck, Erwin A.; Hale, John E.; Galler, Bernard A., 1928-; Ford, James; Eppert, Ray R., 1902-; Dent, Benjamin A.; Dahm, David M.; Creech, Bobby A.; Collins, George A.; Berce, Henri; Barton, Robert S.
    The Burroughs 5000 computer series is discussed by individuals responsible for its development and marketing from 1957 through the 1960s in a conference sponsored by AFIPS and Burroughs Corporation. In the first session the technical aspects of the B 5000 and 5500 are discussed by a group of managers, engineers, and consultants. Topics include: the state of the industry in the late 1950s; the 5000's predecessors, particularly the ElectroData 101 and 201, B 205, and B 220; factors influencing the decision to produce the B 5000; reasons for designing the machine for ALGOL rather than FORTRAN and the effect of this decision on the computer's development and sales. The group reviews the MCP operating system, PERM, Polish notation, descriptors, stacks, the BALGOL compiler, and other innovations of the computer. In the second session, the same group discusses the development of the B 5000 into a product, including the effect of the administrative organization on the project; the relations between hardware and software engineers; the interaction of project personnel and upper-level management, field marketing, and customers; the COBOL processor, the head protract disk system; the operating system; ALGOL; and documentation of the computer. In the third session managers, sales personnel, and customers of the B 5000 discuss Burroughs' product line before the 200 and 5000 series computers; sales training and market reaction to the B 5000; acceptance of B 5000s at Ohio Oil Company and Stanford University; its rejection by the University of Michigan; reasons why the B 5000 was not marketed overseas; and Burroughs' presidents Raymond Eppert and Ray MacDonald. Technical session participants included: Robert S. Barton, Bobby A. Creech, David M. Dahm, Benjamin A. Dent, Bernard A. Galler, John E. S. Hale, Erwin A. Hauck, Paul D. King, Norman Kreuder, William Lonergan, Duncan MacDonald, F. Brad MacKenzie, G. Clark Oliphint, Robert F. Rosin, Lloyd Turner, and Richard Waychoff. Marketing session participants included: Henri Berce, George A. Collins, James Ford, Bernard A. Galler, John E. S. Hale, Joseph T. Hootman, Paul D. King, F. Brad MacKenzie, Ralph W. Pearson, and Robert F. Rosin.
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    Oral history interview with Bernard A. Galler
    (Charles Babbage Institute, 1991-08) Galler, Bernard A., 1928-
    In this wide-ranging interview, Galler describes the development of computer science at the University of Michigan from the 1950s through the 1980s and discusses his own work in computer science. Prominent subjects in Galler's description of his work at Michigan include: his arrival and classes with John Carr, research use of International Business Machines (IBM) and later Amdahl mainframe computers, the establishment of the Statistical Laboratory in the Mathematics Dept., the origin of the computer science curriculum and the Computer Science Dept. in the 1950s, interactions with Massachusetts Institute of Technology and IBM about timesharing in the 1960s, the development of the Michigan Algorithm Decoder, and the founding of the MERIT network. Galler also discusses Michigan's relationship with ARPANET, CSNET, and BITNET. He describes the atmosphere on campus in the 1960s and early 1970s and his various administrative roles at the university. Galler discusses his involvement with the Association for Computing Machinery, the American Federation of Information Processing Societies, the founding of the Charles Babbage Institute, and his work with the Annals of the History of Computing. He describes his consultative work with Israel and his consulting practice in general, his work as an expert witness, and his interaction with the Patent Office on issues surrounding the patenting of software and his role in the establishment of the Software Patent Institute.