"Blue-Sky" kilomegacycle computers and down-to-earth hardware shared the spotlight at the ninth annual Eastern Joint Computer Conference in Boston. Among the predictions of an International Business Machines Corp. representative were these:
- Microminiaturization in computers, batch-bulk processing, automated logic synthesis and equation-controlled manufacturing.
- Computers with interconnections and active devices made in a continuous process from bulk material to finished product.
- The merger of device, circuit, and interconnecting technology.
These forecasts were by IBM's Dr. Rex Rice, who also noted the need for increased logic capabilities, vast amounts of storage, improved input-output techniques and higher speed.
"With the advent of microminaturization," he said, "servicing will be accomplished by replacing the whole computer." (Electronic Design, Jan. 6, 1960, p. 4)
In the 1960s, the Joint Computer Conferences, Eastern and Western, were primary venues for developments in computer systems. They were replaced by the National Computer Conference, which in turn faded away with the growth of personal computers and the emergence of Comdex.