Harvard Mark I: Difference between revisions

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{{OSinfobox
{{OSinfobox
|image = harvardmarkiavi.png
|image = Harvardmark1.jpg


|cname = Harvard Mark I
|cname = Harvard Mark I
|alias = IBM Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator, "ASCC"
|alias = IBM Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator, "ASCC"
|hname = Marcie Aiken
|hname = Bessy
|debut = Early 2010
|debut = Apr 2010<ref>[https://www.ostan-collections.net/forum/index.php/topic,1154.msg78093.html#msg78093 Description in More IBM-tans]</ref>/Sep 2025 (rework)<ref>[https://www.ostan-collections.net/forum/index.php/topic,1817.msg177249.html#msg177249 Description in More IBM-tans III: The One With Actually More IBM-tans]</ref>
|height = 5'5''
|height = 5'5''
|haircolor= Brown
|haircolor= Brown
|eyecolor= Light green
|eyecolor= Light green
|weapon = N/A
|apfaction = [[Deceased]]
|apfaction = [[Deceased]]
|lineage= Harvard Mark/Harvard architecture
|lineage= Harvard
|rival= N/A
|rival= N/A


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==Technical details==
==Technical details==
The ASCC was an electromechanical computer designed by Howard Aiken at IBM. It was shipped to Harvard University in February 1944, where it was rebranded as the Harvard Mark I computer and put to use by the U.S. Navy Bureau of Ships. Its IBM origins were all but ignored, something that enraged IBM's CEO, Thomas J. Watson.  
The Harvard Mark I was an early general purpose, electro-mechanical computer designed by Howard Aiken and manufactured by IBM for Harvard University. It was used by the U.S. Navy Bureau of Ships during the final part of WWII.


The Harvard Mark I/ASCC inspired three successors, the Harvard Mark II, III, and IV, and spawned the Harvard computer architecture. ASCC's influence can be seen in modern computers, many of which employ a variation of the Harvard architecture called the Modified Harvard architecture.
==Character details==
===Physical===
Harvard Mark I-tan is depicted as a doll-like automaton. She is of average height, with red-brown hair tied into two buns at the sides of her face<ref>In reference to Ada Lovelace</ref>, pale skin, and light green eyes. She has exposed metal frame on her lower legs and arms, while her chest is encased in glass revealing clockwork mechanisms inside. She is powered by a wind-up key lodged into her upper back.


==Character details==
Her typical expression is calm and a touch smug.
===General===
 
Harvard Mark I-tan is depicted as a green-eyed, brown-haired woman of average height. Being a first-generation computer, she is somewhat worshiped by her human creators and operators, who chose to dress her in elaborate Byzantine-style outfits. She usually feels unworthy of all this pomp, and prefers to wear contemporary clothing or her uniform.
She dresses in 1940s clothing refashioned in the shape of Victorian-era garb, with her preferred colorways tending toward light green, cream and bronze. She wears a pearl necklace with one sapphire bead, paper tape headbands and florettes, and wide paper tape ribbon on her bustle.
 
Owing her New Yorker, Bostonian and "Victorian English" heritage, she has a pronounced transatlantic accent. Combined with her extremely slow cadence of speech, she can be a bit hard to follow, but has excellent penmanship and written communication.
 
Her movement and mannerisms are quite slow overall, though she makes up for it by being physically dexterous and precise.
 
===Personality===
Her demeanor is antiquated in an elevated, almost regal way. She's rather demanding of her servants and confident about her way of doing things, though she has trouble making decisions. Her indecisiveness combined with other quirks makes her come off as spacey, but she is, in reality, detail-oriented to the point of obsession.
 
She moves through life at her own pace, unbothered by what others are doing. She is extremely secure in herself and has no sense of inferiority, even if she's not as fast or powerful as some of her contemporaries.
 
Unlike her contemporary [[ENIAC | ENIAC-tan]], she is not contemplative or ruminative about the nature of computers, her place in the world or legacy, only happy to be here doing what she does best.
 
==Relationships and family==
Harvard Mark I-tan is the oldest of four sisters. Her relationship with Harvard Mark II & Harvard Mark III is pleasant, but hindered by the geographical distance between them. She maintains a close, but more fraught relationship with her youngest sister, Harvard Mark IV. She is estranged with her cousin [[SSEC | SSEC-tan]]


Mark I-tan was born in the old IBM Territory, but moved to Harvard early in life. She rejected much of her IBM heritage and considers her university her home. A WAVES ensign, her mathematical skills were put to good use by the US Navy.  
She maintains a close friendship with [[Whirlwind | Whirlwind-tan]] despite their differences, and is charmed by the smaller and simpler mechanical computer [[GENIAC | GENIAC-chan.]]


===Relationships and family===
==History and Background==


Like many first-generation computer-tans, Mark I-tan lived all but isolated from other computers. She was terribly lonely as the only computer in Cambridge, but her spirit was buoyed when she discovered and met [[Whirlwind]]-tan, another early computer living at the nearby Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She had three children, Harvard Mark II, III and IV-tan, though she was separated from the first two rather early in their lives and had little contact with them, something that troubled her greatly. The only child she had regular contact with was Harvard Mark IV-tan, who resided at Harvard along with her mother.
==References==


[[Category:Mainframe]][[Category:Historical]][[Category:Deceased]][[Category:IBM]]
[[Category:Mainframes]]
[[Category:Historical]]
[[Category:Deceased OS-tan]]
[[Category:IBM]]

Latest revision as of 09:36, 25 August 2026

Tick tock, editors….
This article is a work in progress.
…well, all the articles here are, in a way. But this one moreso, and the article may contain incomplete information and editors’ notes.


Harvard Mark I
Harvardmark1.jpg
Character Information
Common Names Harvard Mark I
Other Names IBM Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator, "ASCC"
Human Name(s) Bessy
Faction Deceased
Lineage Harvard
Rival(s) N/A
Appearance
Height 5'5
Hair Color Brown
Eye Color Light green
Design
First Appearance Apr 2010[1]/Sep 2025 (rework)[2]
Technical Information
System Personified Harvard Mark I/IBM ASCC
Developer(s) IBM, Harvard University
Debut February 1944
Latest release Unknown


Technical details

The Harvard Mark I was an early general purpose, electro-mechanical computer designed by Howard Aiken and manufactured by IBM for Harvard University. It was used by the U.S. Navy Bureau of Ships during the final part of WWII.

Character details

Physical

Harvard Mark I-tan is depicted as a doll-like automaton. She is of average height, with red-brown hair tied into two buns at the sides of her face[3], pale skin, and light green eyes. She has exposed metal frame on her lower legs and arms, while her chest is encased in glass revealing clockwork mechanisms inside. She is powered by a wind-up key lodged into her upper back.

Her typical expression is calm and a touch smug.

She dresses in 1940s clothing refashioned in the shape of Victorian-era garb, with her preferred colorways tending toward light green, cream and bronze. She wears a pearl necklace with one sapphire bead, paper tape headbands and florettes, and wide paper tape ribbon on her bustle.

Owing her New Yorker, Bostonian and "Victorian English" heritage, she has a pronounced transatlantic accent. Combined with her extremely slow cadence of speech, she can be a bit hard to follow, but has excellent penmanship and written communication.

Her movement and mannerisms are quite slow overall, though she makes up for it by being physically dexterous and precise.

Personality

Her demeanor is antiquated in an elevated, almost regal way. She's rather demanding of her servants and confident about her way of doing things, though she has trouble making decisions. Her indecisiveness combined with other quirks makes her come off as spacey, but she is, in reality, detail-oriented to the point of obsession.

She moves through life at her own pace, unbothered by what others are doing. She is extremely secure in herself and has no sense of inferiority, even if she's not as fast or powerful as some of her contemporaries.

Unlike her contemporary ENIAC-tan, she is not contemplative or ruminative about the nature of computers, her place in the world or legacy, only happy to be here doing what she does best.

Relationships and family

Harvard Mark I-tan is the oldest of four sisters. Her relationship with Harvard Mark II & Harvard Mark III is pleasant, but hindered by the geographical distance between them. She maintains a close, but more fraught relationship with her youngest sister, Harvard Mark IV. She is estranged with her cousin SSEC-tan

She maintains a close friendship with Whirlwind-tan despite their differences, and is charmed by the smaller and simpler mechanical computer GENIAC-chan.

History and Background

References

  1. ↑ Description in More IBM-tans
  2. ↑ Description in More IBM-tans III: The One With Actually More IBM-tans
  3. ↑ In reference to Ada Lovelace
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