Reynold B. Johnson

A researcher for IBM in San Jose, Calif., Johnson led the team which developed the computer disk drive in 1956. Faster to access than tape, the "Random Access Method of Accounting Control" drive revolutionized the way data were stored. Delivered to its first customer on September 13, 1956, RAMAC used as many as fifty 24-inch platters and had a capacity of 5 MB; it weighed 2,000 pounds. Johnson did not dislike tape, however: he also developed the half-inch video tape cassette for Sony, as well as the "Scantron" grading system using answer sheets filled in by millions of students with a No. 2 pencil during multiple choice tests. Johnson died September 15 of cancer at age 92. From This is True for 13 September 1998 Suggestions for further reading: IBM and the Holocaust: The Strategic Alliance Between Nazi Germany and Americ... by Edwin Black Amazon Price: $16.40 Customer Review: As a consultant, I often hear complaints from others in the workforce about IBM's WebSphere product line, but the objects of these complaints pale in comparison to the history of IBM that Black presents in this work. While IBM is barely mentioned in ...   Who Says Elephants Can't Dance? Inside IBM's Historic Turnaround by Louis V. Gerstner Jr. Amazon Price: $18.47 Customer Review: I was crawling through this book and then the good stuff finally arrived. The last third of the book was worth the price of admission in some great observations and especially leadership ideas. I am not really into the business history of technology ...   Father, Son & Co.: My Life at IBM and Beyond by Thomas J. Watson, Peter Petre Amazon Price: $17.95 Customer Review: This is a brilliant autobiography from one of the most talented business figures in last century. This book is unique for two reasons: (1) seldom had an author who had had experienced so much and accomplished so much; (2) his keen observation of hum...   IBM's 360 and Early 370 Systems (History of Computing) by Emerson W. Pugh, Lyle R. Johnson, John H. Palmer Amazon Price: $50.62 Customer Review: Classic book about a revolutionary technology   The Maverick and His Machine: Thomas Watson, Sr. and the Making of IBM by Kevin Maney Amazon Price: $18.76 Customer Review: It is a very easy-to-read book. You find yourself goin' on and on readin' and you can finish the book in a couple of days. I recommend it to everybody. It is very interesting, even if you don't like or have never read a biography. Thomas Watson Sr wa...   Newsfeed display by CaRP

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