Countdown to 50

 Like a bullet train hurtling forward through space, the IBM mainframe is an unstoppable and unprecedented force in IT—quickly approaching its 50th anniversary milestone. And just as a bullet train bears little resemblance to the first steam-engine locomotive, today’s zEnterprise EC12 has advanced far beyond the System/360—the first mainframe with a compatible, upgradable architecture—which IBM announced to the world on April 7, 1964. Similarly, while the steam engine helped usher in the Industrial Age, the mainframe ushered in the Computer Age. 

To mark nearly 50 years of computing innovation, IBM Systems Magazine has launched a new site—ibmsystemsmag.com/mainframe50. A sort of historical and social gathering place, built around next years’ milestone, the site offers the “mainframe generation” a chance to share their memories or thoughts, through multiple media:

• Write a post recounting your first mainframe job—whether you started 30 years ago or 30 days ago
• Upload a video about what’s made mainframe a lasting, one-of-a-kind computing icon
• Or submit an audio podcast recounting your favorite mainframe-related anecdote 

Some of the audio, video and written contributions may be used in future print or online features as well. So please help us mark this unprecedented computing milestone, and be part of history in the making.