Early days with computers

At college I learnt to program an ICL 1301 using punched cards and Mercury Autocode (MAC). I learnt how to punch cards by hand on a manual punch and later used an IBM 029 which made things easier.

Next came the IBM 1401 which was programmed in FORTRAN and I also had a dabble at assembler. More intereresting was the KDF-9 at the National Physical Laboratory, which allowed large programs in FORTRAN. They also had a terminal to an external time share system and a V21 modem which used BASIC which was very easy to understand and use.

Regretably whilst I was at NPL they still had the ACE computer operational it was one of the last first generation valve machines in the UK, but I never even went to see it although recall being told it was programmable in MAC.