Nah. The computer was created as a follow-on to the IBM 601.[1]<p>There's a whole line of development, the IBM 600 series, which gets no respect in computer history, yet led to the first mass produced business computers.<p>IBM 601 (1939). IBM's first multiplier. All electromechanical. Punched cards in and out.<p>IBM 602 (1946, World War II stalled development) Electromechanical. Added division. 6 memory locations.<p>IBM 603 (1946, project resumed from 1937) Vacuum tube version of the 602. At last, electronics. Only about 20 made.<p>IBM 604 (1948) A bigger, better 603. 5600 manufactured. First electronic computing product produced in volume. Things are getting serious. There are now one-off larger electronic computers, but they're too expensive for commercial use.<p>IBM CPC. (1949) An IBM 604 or 605, cabled up to several other IBM tabulating machines, allowed programming via punched cards instead of plugboards. About 2500 made.<p>IBM 650 (1953) Knuth's first computer. Tube computing, drum memory. This was a real general purpose computer, and the first one made in quantity. About 2000 made. Lots of accessories available - printers, card readers, card punches, and, in 1956, disks. Now we're getting somewhere.<p>IBM 608 (1955) A successor to the 604/CPC line, made with transistors.<p>That was the end of the IBM 600 line. Next was the IBM 1401 (1959), which was a quite good computer. Over 10,000 made. The mainstay of business computing in the 1960s.<p>These boring but useful 600 series machines were cost-effective, worked well, and sold well. IBM also did expensive one-offs and low-volume systems, as the 700 series (701 through 7094) that were more bleeding edge. Most early ones were for government-related "supercomputer" customers.<p>In 1964, IBM announced the IBM System/360, which brought together the "supercomputer" 700 line and the workhorse 600 series. That lives on today as the IBM Z-series.<p>And that's how computers became a volume product.<p>[1] <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_601" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_601</a>