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The origin and unexpected evolution of the word "mainframe"
What is the origin of the word "mainframe", referring to a large, complex computer? Most sources agree that the term is related to the frame...
For example, it appears in thousands of patents from the 1800s, including drills, saws, a meat cutter, a cider mill, printing presses, and corn planters. The USAF Guide for auditing automatic data processing systems(1961) discusses how these "off line" operations make the most efficient use of "the more expensive main frame time." Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedia(1983) was in the middle of the transition; the article focused on large computers and had photos of IBM machines, but mentioned that future growth is expected in microcomputers.
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