James' World 2

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Mainframe computers are often seen as ancient machines—practically dinosaurs. But mainframes, which are purpose-built to process enormous amounts of data, are still extremely relevant today. If they’re dinosaurs, they’re T-Rexes and desktops and server computers are puny mammals to be trodden underfoot.

It’s estimated that there are 10,000 mainframes in use today. They’re used almost exclusively by the largest companies in the world, including two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies, 45 of the world’s top 50 banks, eight of the top 10 insurers, seven of the top 10 global retailers, and eight of the top 10 telecommunications companies. And most of those mainframes come from IBM.

In this explainer, we’ll look at the IBM mainframe computer—what it is, how it works, and why it’s still going strong after over 50 years.

Setting the stage

Mainframes descended directly from the technology of the first computers in the 1950s. Instead of being streamlined into low-cost desktop or server use, though, they evolved to handle massive data workloads, like bulk data processing and high-volume financial transactions.

Vacuum tubes, magnetic core memory, magnetic drum storage, tape drives, and punched cards were the foundation of the IBM 701 in 1952, the IBM 704 in 1954, and the IBM 1401 in 1959. Primitive by today’s standards, these machines provided the functions of scientific calculations and data processing that would otherwise have to be done by hand or mechanical calculators. There was a ready market for these machines, and IBM sold them as fast as it could make them.

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A Z16 Mainframe.

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In recent years, recorded audio has undergone a renaissance thanks to the breakthrough of podcasts. It’s now easy to record audio and share it online, and things that used to require access to a high-end recording studio can now be done by anyone from home.

Our phones, computers, and tablets have built-in microphones that provide surprisingly good sound quality, and people who need even better sound can buy a microphone for a surprisingly affordable prices. Since many of those microphones have a built-in sound card, they can be connected directly to your computer’s USB input.

Free is best

In most cases, the recordings we make won’t be perfect from the start, so you’ll also need audio editing software. One of the best is actually completely free. It’s called Audacity, and the software is so good, it’s used by many audio professionals. It has all the features you need and is easy to use.

Editing audio is similar to word processing. You see the recorded sound as a wave pattern, and you can cut, paste and delete — just like editing text. So you can easily take a piece of audio from the beginning of the recording and move it to the end, or anywhere else.

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Forward progress is a funny thing. It’s important to strive for in all areas of life, but it can be hard to gauge. And it can lead to tricky questions like, am I moving in the right direction? Are we? When it comes to relationships, this is more often true than not, especially when there’s so much fear-inducing messaging about what makes marriages fail rather than what makes them succeed. It’s crucial for couples to grow together, to become more comfortable, to build trust, to gain confidence, but what are the signs of growth in a relationship to focus on?

Growth, notes Dr. Ketan Parmar, a psychiatrist, and mental health expert at ClinicSpots, is an essential aspect of any healthy and fulfilling relationship. “It means that you and your partner are not only compatible, but also willing to learn, change, and evolve together,” he says. Growth in a relationship, he adds, can take many forms, such as overcoming challenges, pursuing goals, developing new skills, or exploring new interests. “When you grow together as a couple, you strengthen your bond, deepen your intimacy, and enhance your happiness.”

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The Right Direction

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Building wealth might not be as difficult as you think, says self-made millionaire and author of “I Will Teach You to Be Rich” Ramit Sethi.

Having spent 20 years of his career writing about finances and psychology, Sethi knows what it takes to grow your money. The No. 1 way to get rich: keep it boring, he tells CNBC Make It.

“The top ways to grow your wealth are really simple, almost deceptively so,” he says. “And they seem boring, but they are the ones that actually work.”

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I love vacations, but my dog Evvie makes them a bit more complicated — and expensive.

If my partner and I want to take her with us, it means we have to drive, because at 50 pounds she’s too big for air travel. That adds time and limits the number of potential destinations. Then there’s the question of where we can stay: Hotels often add a pet surcharge (anywhere from $10 to $100 per night) and many Airbnb rentals don’t allow pets.

We could leave her at home, but there isn’t always a friend available to stay with her, and pet sitters are expensive — ranging anywhere from $35 to $85 if we drop her off at their house (where she’ll probably be with a few other animals), and more if they come to ours. (We live in the high-priced Washington, DC, metro area — rates are likely a bit lower elsewhere.) We could put her at a boarding facility, which cost around $75 per night, but she’d have to spend our holiday in a new, unfamiliar environment without us — and with a bunch of other dogs equally out of their element.

My partner and I always manage to cobble together something, but it adds an additional layer of planning — and often stress — to our vacations because it’s harder to unwind if we’re worried about her well-being. Is she bored? Is she getting enough play time? Was she given meds at the right hour? So on and so on.

If you live in one of the nearly 48 million households with a dog — or one of the 32 million with a cat — you can probably relate. But there’s a lot we can do, and should do, given how frustrated and bored our pets may be even when we’re home. When we go on vacation, which disrupts their routines and likely means they’ll have fewer opportunities for exercise and play, we should be extra mindful to give them a good time.

Evvie wasn’t available for comment, but I spoke with two dog experts, one cat expert, and an experienced housesitter on how to give our companion animals the best life possible while we’re out trying to live ours — and if we think that means including our pet on vacation, how to bring them along for the ride.

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Naomi Elliott for Vox

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During the Great Recession, public discourse about the economy underwent something of a Great Disappointment.

For much of the country’s history, most Americans assumed that the future would bring them or their descendants greater affluence. Despite periodic economic crises, the overall story seemed to be one of progress for every stratum of the population. Those expectations were largely borne out: The standard of living enjoyed by working-class Americans for much of the mid-20th century, for example, was far superior to that enjoyed by affluent Americans a generation or two earlier.

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Illustration by The Atlantic. Source: Getty.

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