Computers II: The new IBM AS/400 computer —Its significance for museums

The IBM AS/400 range of computers was originally planned and designed as a 1980s replacement for the larger commercial users of mainframe computers. As such, it needed to be built for the changing requirements of even the most demanding customers while being economically expandable over a period of many decades. Since it is not designed for just one generation of hardware technology, it will outlast existing, more limited technology. It is, however, not unproven in that its prototype (the IBM System/38) has been increasingly successful in the commercial world of medium-size companies for nearly 10 years. Since museums are characterized by requiring both exceptionally long timescales for information and complex intellectual databases, and suffer from chronic shortages of funds to achieve either, this most recent announcement may well provide the vehicle for cost-effective investment in computer equipment over the longer term.