OVERVIEW

Back in my college days of long ago (the mid-1970s), I once had the special privilege and it was considered a real privilege in those days of seeing my first computer, an IBM 370 architecture system.

Or rather I should say I didn't see it. All I actually saw was a CRT terminal, one of many provided under the auspices of the State of New Jersey, which had peppered them around various academic institutions residing within the borders of the Garden State. The actual computer itself was "somewhere." Perhaps it was at the state capital at Trenton, perhaps at Rutgers University or the Newark College of Engineering (now NJIT). The point is, my terminal could have gone up in flames or been the victim of a Mississippi-like flood and the computer itself would still be humming and computing merrily along, no worse for wear indeed, with one less foolish college student stealing CPU cycles, the system would now be running a bit more efficiently!

Unfortunately, the high priest mentality of the old days that kept the average person from experiencing the high technology in all its glories also did a darned good job of protecting its assets. Computers were hidden away in "secure locations" in places ranging from distant office buildings to underground bunkers, protected by nasty-looking people stationed in front of bland-colored metal doors, behind which were rumored to be rooms built with raised floors, computer-safe fire-suppression systems, and enough battery and diesel generator power to run a system clear...