Your Obedient Servent

Dating to 1967, "Your Obedient Servent" was made by JBM Productions in the UK. Summary: To the layman the world of the computer is surrounded by mystery. This film contends that it should be as acceptable in modern life as are the telephone and television. Man is master and a computer cannot work correctly unless each step is logically planned.

00:00 Lord Snow predicted computers would revolutionize work, exceeding the industrial revolution's impact. 0:33 Computers are millions of times faster than clerks, man's most wonderful machine. 1:46 Computers worry people due to their perceived mystery. 3:02 However, computers are obedient servants, processing data as instructed. 3:25 Experts explain computers using jargon like "software package" and "bit" (binary digit). 4:23 Computers operate on on/off switches; messages travel at light speed 5:55 Bits represent numbers, letters, and instructions, shuffled by the computer at 186,000 miles per second. 7:34 Computers perform thousands of additions in fractions of a second 7:59 A computer calculated a schedule in 7 seconds, but printing took 55 seconds due to slower peripherals. 9:44 Programming requires precise, logical flowcharts; computers can't infer missing steps. 11:51 Omitting vital instructions can lead to embarrassing results. 12:13 Programming is writing these precise, step-by-step instructions. 13:08 A girl crossing a road illustrates how computers need slavishly obeyed 14:38 A program flaw: the programmer forgot parked cars. 15:17 Full programming for simple human actions is too complex for computers, lacking natural advantages like muscle control. 15:47 Computer speed is crucial. 16:17 Complex wiring, designed by computers, relies on delicate human assembly. 16:53 Wiring links thousands of tiny circuit packages, enabling compact large computers. 18:13 AND, OR, NOT gates form the computer's arithmetic unit. 20:50 Six gates on one package allow compact, powerful computers. 21:48 Time, limited by light speed, is now the challenge, driving research for smaller, faster computers. 22:43 Modern computers are compacting and gaining power. 22:55 Factory workers assemble tiny magnetic rings, forming the computer's memory (store). 23:06 Delicate wires thread millions of these rings into a core store grid. 24:30 Rings are assembled into linked planes, holding thousands of "words" (bits). 25:00 Cores store bits by magnetizing rings with electrical pulses. 25:25 Reading involves reversing magnetism 25:59 Large stores have hundreds of thousands of cores, with selected wires storing/reading bits. 27:14 Data is read in/out in microseconds. 27:28 Computer speed enables rapid execution of elementary steps 28:04 This ability to compare and choose is fundamental, not a sign of "giant brains." 28:31 Data and instructions flow to the central processor at electronic speeds. 29:01 Mechanical input/output units need to keep pace with the processor. 29:15 Magnetic tape reads/writes 300,000 characters/second; paper tape 1,000 characters/second; punched cards 1,000/minute. 30:00 Disk files hold millions of characters, locatable in microseconds. 30:45 Printers 31:43 Special fonts enable direct paper-to-computer reading. 32:16 Computer "hardware" 33:47 Programs now use pre-supplied "subroutines" (software packages) for efficiency. 34:16 Manufacturers provide these tested, error-free subroutines. 34:57 Software 35:34 Software factories produce thousands of packages, ranging from weeks to months to write, including compilers. 36:22 Software development is a new, specialized profession. Manuals assist users. 3 37:04 Cobalt translates simple English into machine instructions. 38:05 Computer languages allow English instructions, with the computer handling translation. 38:17 Hundreds of software packages are dispatched annually with hardware. 38:48 Computers are global, handling vast data and controlling complex industrial operations. 39:01 Lord Brain explains computers' appeal: modern society relies on immense, accurately interpreted facts. 39:54 Computers meet the "cry" for facts, handling data in grocery warehouses to optimize stock and save time/money.. 41:49 Computers store and retrieve millions of facts; Islington's rates assessments moved from cards to a single tape, cutting processing time. 43:16 A "data grid" concept allows remote access to central computers, foreshadowing a "world computer grid" with global communication. 44:18 Automated machine tools 45:50 We must learn to use and value computers, much like telephones and televisions, even without full comprehension.