The IBM System/360 Model 40, a large computer owned by the KCG Computer Museum of Kyoto Computer Gakuin (KCG), will be exhibited in the first half of the "Science Dreamed Up at Expo '70" exhibition (December 6, 2024 - January 26, 2025) at the Osaka Science Museum (Kita-ku, Osaka).In 1980, this machine, which was popular at the time for its revolutionary system of connecting remote terminal equipment to a central computer via a telephone line for communication, was installed at KCG Rakuhoku School as a training machine and utilized for cutting-edge education at the institute.The "Model 40" is said to be the only one still in existence in Japan.The exhibition at the special exhibition is likely to attract attention as a way to learn about the rapid development of information technology.
The concept of the exhibition is "Dreams, Future and Science depicted by the 1970 Osaka Expo.The reason for requesting the KCG Computer Museum to exhibit the machine was that "the previous Osaka Expo was a place where people could operate computers, which until then had only been for specialists, themselves, learn about their power, and dream of a future where computers are close at hand.We would like to introduce the large computers used during that period with actual products and show how computers have become familiar from 1970 to the present.
The IBM 360 is a mainframe computer with a body 84 cm wide, 170 cm deep, and 155 cm tall.It features solid-state elements (transistors), resistors, diodes, etc. mounted on a small ceramic substrate, making the circuit more compact than the previously common method of wiring each component individually.It has continued to influence subsequent computer designs and is considered "one of the most successful computer designs in history.
The KCG Computer Museum preserves and exhibits computers and other equipment used in education, training, and research over the past 60 years since the founding of KCG, the first computer education institution in Japan.In 2009, the Information Processing Society of Japan (now a general incorporated association) granted the first "Distributed Computer Museum" accreditation in Japan for "preserving many of the most valuable equipment in Japan.In addition, seven models, including the TOSBAC-3400 and OKITAC-4300C systems, have been recognized as "Information Technology Heritage.In 2011, KCG President Yasuko Hasegawa received a certificate of appreciation from the society.In addition to the equipment certified as "Heritage of Information Processing Technology," KCG Kyoto Ekimae School exhibits many other valuable machines from the past, attracting many visitors as a place where they can get up close and personal with the technology that supported Japan's rapid economic growth.
