1960s Computer Mainframe

[HowardBerry]

Just started this yesterday, and felt like sharing... It's nowhere even near finished at the moment, but it's ok for the time spent on it so far. A few obvious things to do are to smooth out those curved frames in the foreground, and I'm going to add furniture and men in white lab coats holding clipboards and looking serious!

http://static.flickr.com/15/69558278_f05caffce0.jpg (http://static.flickr.com/15/69558278_f05caffce0_o.jpg)
Click for larger version... all comments and crit most welcome. This is the first time that I've uploaded any work here.

[paulk]

You will need an operations desk, upon which will be a monitor with green text on a black background (no graphics), a keyboard, and no mouse. You'll also need a big printer that handled 11x14 green bar fan fold paper with sprocket holes and a bookcase full of untouched manuals and documentation (Why look up the solution when you can call the programmer at 2:00 AM?). Plus, a gigantic A/C unit in the room for cooliong off all those heat sources would be nice, too.

You kicked off a nice(?) nostalgia trip. Definitely no DIY/buy from a dealer hardware debates. Imagine installing Lightwave from a reel of tape.

Looks good so far. Are you reproducing a real brand or just going for the "look"?

[prospector]

Imagine installing Lightwave from a reel of tape.
probably faster than the 50+ floppies we use to do :)
nice pic and add more stuff :hey:

[adrian]

Pretty neat stuff, keep it going. Another UK lightWaver I see...

Adrian.

[HowardBerry]

http://www.jstone2001.force9.co.uk/2Small.jpg (http://www.jstone2001.force9.co.uk/2Large.jpg)

Changed the lighting around a bit (still not sure about it, and thinking about taking the back wall lights away entirely), added a few items (tape reel trolley, alarm bell etc.), moved around the tape machines and made a few general adjustments.

Overall I'm thinking "meh" about this one - lots of things I need to improve! Thanks to all for the feedback :)

Paulk: thank you for all the suggestions! I'd love to add them all in - and the space on the right of the room needs filling! The machines aren't based on any brand in particular - just based on an idea in my head for what they should look like and a few source photos I'm relying on.

And yep Adrian, another Britisher here! ;)

[Starlost]

Really nicely done. I likes it. I would only suggest that you consider in the next evolution of this image that the flooring in the mainframe room be the Large square tiles. Most computer rooms back then had all the wiring under the floors and each tile was removeable. The tiles were usually with some off blue carpeting on them. Not only did the computers get smaller since the 60's but so did the cabling that connected them. I was in one of those rooms back in 66/67 ish The computer took up the whole room. And they were very very cold rooms at least to me they were. You think attempting to install LW via Tape would be bad try anything with punch cards. You would learn to love tapes http://vbulletin.newtek.com/newreply.php?do=newreply&noquote=1&p=319727#
Lol

Render ON!

Starlost...

[Lynx3d]

Nice WIP!
When i was born the "personal computer" had already been invented years ago, but the famous IBM PC was introduced when i was just over two months old :D

Hm let's see...60s...not even Floppies yet...neither the C programming language!
Tapes, Cobol, Algol and Fortran...oh boy :D
I think not even monitors where common those days!? Like you'd read in some punch cards and when the job finished it printed the result on paper...gosh, the "print" statement survived til today in many languages...
oh yea, punch cards! You need some of those...

[Starlost]

One of the things that I remember the most from those days with the tape based systems was this plastic ring that they used to protect the tapes from being erased. These things were practically indestructable with the exception of melting maybe. We had these things around the house and did everything from being used as teething rings for my kid brother, ring toss, linking things via a rope and pulling and hauling stuff they were rather resilient...here's what one of them looked like roughly...

[pauland]

Here's how I remember the rings..

[marble_sheep]

I have the strangest urge to type "4 8 15 16 23 42..."

Nice image, Howard! IMO, I like the first arrangement better. However, if you're planning on filling up that empty space with other stuff, then it's all good! I love the detail on those tape machines!

Good work :thumbsup:

[shaol]

very funny thanks for the laugh

[HowardBerry]

Not too sure how to take that comment....

[pauland]

Howard, it's lacking one essential that would make this scene believable - a girl in a mini-skirt loading a tape... ;-)

[Starlost]

4 8 15 16 23 42

For those of you out there that have been modelling, rigging, texturing, rendering till all hours of the night and haven't been able to keep up with the rest of the world on whats going on.. here's some thought provoking stuff...

http://athensohio.net/entertainment/4-8-15-16-23-42/

That might help you figure out at least something that is happening while you were away in LWLand ( hmm hey Newtek I think we have come up with a themepark idea for you hehehehe..)

Render On!
Starlost...

[Matt]

I can't see it, did you remove the image?

[HowardBerry]

Ah! Well I'll see what I can do.... ;)