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--></style></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>I interviewed Les in that same room. I think that disc is a fixture for his lifetime<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Apple Chancery";color:black'>Chuck House <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Apple Chancery";color:black'><a href="http://www.innovascapesinstitute.com"><span style='color:#0563C1'>www.innovascapesinstitute.com</span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="http://www.anywhereanytime.io/covid19"><span style='color:#0563C1'>www.anywhereanytime.io/covid19</span></a> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:5.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><img border=0 width=206 height=63 style='width:2.1458in;height:.6562in' id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.png@01D69016.EF3BEB10" alt="signature_1929744128"><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:5.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="http://innovascapes.blogspot.com"><span style='color:#0563C1'>http://innovascapes.blogspot.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>805-570-6706<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>From: </span></b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>Members <members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org> on behalf of Salem Elzway <salem.elzway@gmail.com><br><b>Date: </b>Monday, September 21, 2020 at 10:30 AM<br><b>To: </b><members@sigcis.org><br><b>Subject: </b>Re: [SIGCIS-Members] New biggest hard drive candidate: Librascope Disk File<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Hi everyone,<o:p></o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Les Earnest, former executive director of SAIL, uses the only existing (?) Librascope Disk File for a coffee table in his living room (see the image in the SAIL ebook Tom linked to). That is, assuming he hasn't gotten rid of it since I interviewed him at his home last February (2019)...<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Best,<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Salem<o:p></o:p></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div><p class=MsoNormal>On Mon, Sep 21, 2020 at 11:49 AM <<a href="mailto:thomas.haigh@gmail.com">thomas.haigh@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<o:p></o:p></p></div><blockquote style='border:none;border-left:solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 6.0pt;margin-left:4.8pt;margin-right:0in'><div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'>Hello SIGCIS,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'>My new candidate for largest hard drive is the Librascope Disk File, as used at SAIL. According to this letter from Ed Feigenbaum, only two were produced. Stanford acquired one of them for $300K in 1967, but a year later a “massive malfunction” destroyed half of its capacity, leading to a lawsuit settled out of court. In 1976 it was decommissioned, but at least one of the platters was saved and displayed. <a href="https://exhibits.stanford.edu/feigenbaum/catalog/ct397kv6234" target="_blank">https://exhibits.stanford.edu/feigenbaum/catalog/ct397kv6234</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'>According to these pictures of the display, <a href="http://infolab.stanford.edu/pub/voy/museum/pictures/display/1-MD-MemDisk2.htm" target="_blank">http://infolab.stanford.edu/pub/voy/museum/pictures/display/1-MD-MemDisk2.htm</a> it was a “head per track” unit (i.e. more like a flat drum memory than a regular disk) which would solve the problem of large access times moving a head over such a large disk. The overall drive had six platters and weighed 5,200 lbs, to store 1,120,665 32-bit words (ie about 4.27MB) per side. So about 50MB total. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'>An exhibit page at CHM documents what seems to be a platter from the same drive, claiming a 5 foot diameter (i.e. approx.. 60 inches). <a href="https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102682858" target="_blank">https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102682858</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'>On the other hand, an ebook about the SAIL DART archive gives a 4 foot diameter (i.e. approx.. 48 inches). <a href="https://www.saildart.org/simple/booklet/SAILDART_PREVIEW_2020_0330_good.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.saildart.org/simple/booklet/SAILDART_PREVIEW_2020_0330_good.pdf</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'>Both are comfortably larger than the 39 inch diameter for the Bryant drive. And as both platters are still around, someone should be able to make a precise measurement for the record books.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'>Best wishes,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><br>Tom<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'> <o:p></o:p></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal>_______________________________________________<br>This email is relayed from members at <a href="http://sigcis.org" target="_blank">sigcis.org</a>, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at <a href="http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/" target="_blank">http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/</a> and you can change your subscription options at <a href="http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org" target="_blank">http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org</a><o:p></o:p></p></blockquote></div><p class=MsoNormal><br clear=all><o:p></o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><p class=MsoNormal>-- <o:p></o:p></p><div><div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'>Salem Elzway<br>PhD Candidate<br>Department of History<br>University of Michigan<br>(402)730-4775<br><a href="mailto:salem.elzway@gmail.com" target="_blank">salem.elzway@gmail.com</a><o:p></o:p></p></div></div></div><p class=MsoNormal>_______________________________________________ This email is relayed from members at sigcis.org, the email discussion list of SHOT SIGCIS. Opinions expressed here are those of the member posting and are not reviewed, edited, or endorsed by SIGCIS. The list archives are at http://lists.sigcis.org/pipermail/members-sigcis.org/ and you can change your subscription options at http://lists.sigcis.org/listinfo.cgi/members-sigcis.org<o:p></o:p></p></div></body></html>