The writer discusses the history of computer classifications, and how the idea of what constitutes a ‘supercomputer’ is socially constructed and subject to change over time.
Early computers such as Colossus and ENIAC were considered supercomputers in their time, but would be considered outdated by today’s standards.
The FIRST commercially available digital computer (Ferranti Mark 1) was developed in 1951, mostly being used for calculations in scientific fields.
The invention of the transistor allowed computers to move away from being hulking, room-sized monsters and allowed them to be more compacted and powerful.
The writer discusses the first massively parallel computer (ILLIAC IV), which was conceptualized in 1952 and put into operation in 1975, serving as a useful testbed for developing parallel computation methods and algorithms until its decommissioning in 1981.
The distinction between a mainframe and a supercomputer is also discussed, with the latter being designed for bulk data processing with as much built-in reliability and redundancy as the price tag allows, and the former being designed for running days-long simulations and not needing the same level of hardware-level redundancy.
