ENIAC had demonstrated what a computer could do militarily. Soon the same team of Eckert and Mauchly created their own company to show the world how a computer could positively impact the world of business.
The flagship creation of the Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation (EMCC), the UNIVAC 1 (usually just referred to as “the UNIVAC”), was a smaller, cheaper version of the ENIAC with various improvements that reflected the changing technology of its time.
For starters, it made data entry easier and more expressive by including I/O devices like a keyboard from an electric typewriter, up to 10 UNISERVO tape drives for data storage, and a tape-to-card converter which would allow companies to use punch cards in addition to magnetic storage tape.
Like its predecessor, the UNIVAC (link resides outside ibm.com) still required the use of a great deal of floor space (382 square feet), but this was a considerable downsizing from the ENIAC. However, the UNIVAC, with its added bells and whistles, cost considerably more than the ENIAC, typically going for around USD 1.5 million (around USD 11.6 million now).
However, for that sum, the UNIVAC was able to perform amazing tricks. Most notably, CBS News used it to accurately predict the 1952 US Presidential election. Conventional Gallup polling had predicted a tight election, but the UNIVAC stunned all reporters by making an early call for a blow-out win by Dwight D. Eisenhower, which is exactly what happened. No one saw it coming, except the UNIVAC. The event stunned the public, which overnight gained an appreciation for the amazing analysis and predictions that computers could generate.
Despite a sleeker profile, the UNIVAC was still massive, weighing just over 8 tons and requiring 125 kW of energy. The UNIVAC 1 was unveiled in 1951, with the first model purchased by the U.S. Census Bureau. Unfortunately, UNIVAC use was complicated by a serious design flaw, still relying upon glass vacuum tubes that were prone to various types of breakage and producing considerable amounts of excess heat.
Fortunately, the next revolution in CPUs would directly address this problem.
