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<p class=MsoNormal>The claim is about the early days of computing, and there
are two parts: that the petroleum industry was the initial lead consumer, and
that the federal government eventually replaced it. We can look at the first
two large machines sold commercially in the US: the Univac I and the IBM 701.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>According to the list at <a
href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UNIVAC_I">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UNIVAC_I</a>
there were 18 Univac 1 installations. None went to petroleum firms. The first 6
all went to the Federal government. 3 went to insurance companies and several
to utilities.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>The IBM 701 had 18 installations. <a
href="http://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/701/701_customers.html">http://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/701/701_customers.html</a>
None were for petroleum companies. Only three seems to have been directly for
the federal government. Eight were for aerospace firms (and so supported by
Federal contracts indirectly). A couple went to universities.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>The IBM 702 customer list is less easily accessible, but I
suspect would be dominated by utilities, large manufacturers, and insurance
firms.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>So neither claim holds up for large machines of the first
generation. Of course by number the IBM 650 sold far more than any of the other
models, but it was by no stretch of the imagination a large number cruncher.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>According to the Feb 1958 issue of Office Automation, of 472
IBM 650 computers for which data was available (from a population of around
1,100) the biggest user sectors are refinery (9.8%), Aircraft (8.9%), Insurance
(8.8%) and electrical and electronic manufacturing firms. (8.4%) About
12% were in the federal govt and military.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>So the claim holds up much better for small computers in the
mid-1950s – refineries are the biggest private sector users, though still
not literally true as the Federal government is larger still.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><br>
Tom<o:p></o:p></p>
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