In 1957, newly commissioned 2nd Lt. John Morgridge was installed at a Dover Air Force Base tabulating center alongside the latest in computing technology: a 25-ton, 6,000-square-foot Honeywell DATAmatic 1000.
How things have changed, said Morgridge, considering the future as he spoke on the construction site for the future home of the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s School of Computer, Data & Information Sciences. Many of the crowd gathered Tuesday for the building’s ceremonial groundbreaking carried more computing power than the DATAmatic 1000 in the tiny smartwatches on their wrists.