the.com/mainframe
The computer that never left the building, because the building is kind of the point.
means A large, powerful central computer system that handles massive data processing and transactions for many users at once, typically in a business or institution.
from From 'main frame' — literally the main metal frame that housed the central processing unit in early computers, distinguishing it from peripheral cabinets holding tape drives, power supplies, and other components. As computers shrank and diversified, the term stuck to the big institutional machines, even after the literal frame stopped mattering.
- uptime
- Routinely runs for decades without a reboot
- who uses it
- Banks, airlines, and most of your taxes
- cobol inside
- Still runs code older than its programmers
- not dead
- IBM still sells new ones, now with AI chips