Its hardness, strength, and stability are its most remarkable qualities

On March 31, 1951, the Census Bureau accepted delivery of the first UNIVAC computer. The final cost of constructing the first UNIVAC was close to one million dollars. The first data exchange over this new network occurred between computers at UCLA and Stanford Research Institute. On their first attempt to log into Stanford's computer by typing "log win", UCLA researchers crashed their computer when they typed the letter 'g'. Imagine a giant roomful of noisy, clicking metal parts, 55 feet long and 8 feet high. The 5-ton device contained almost 760,000 separate pieces. Used by the US Navy for gunnery and ballistic calculations, the Mark I was in operation until 1959.