BESYS

The system was developed because Bell recognized a "definite mismatch...between the 704's internal speed, the sluggishness of its on-line unit-record equipment, and the inherent slowness of manual operations associated with stand-alone use." According to Drummond, ==Internal use==

BESYS was used extensively by many departments of Bell Labs for over a decade. It was made available through the SHARE organization to others without charge or formal technical support. ==BESYS versions==

Versions of the BESYS environment (BESYS-3 (1960), BESYS-4 (1962), BESYS-5 (1963), BESYS-7 (1964), and BE90 (1968)) were implemented as the underlying computers transitioned through the IBM 709X family. BESYS development was discontinued when Bell Labs moved to the IBM System/360 in 1969. Throughout this period the head of the BESYS development project was George L. Baldwin. ==References==