English: An IBM 0478 tape cartridge from the IBM 7955 magnetic tape system, also known as TRACTOR, used in the IBM 7950 HARVEST computer. The information card in the photo reads:

The computer system known as Harvest was designed by IBM specifically to meet the needs of NSA and the Atomic Energy Commission but with an eye on the commercial market.

Completed and installed in 1962, Harvest was without question the most sophisticated computer of its time. An evaluation conducted at the time by an NSA team concluded that Harvest was more powerful than the best commercially available computer by a factor of from 50 to 200, depending on the particular application.

Harvest's Streaming Processor and associated controls made possible many types of jobs never before undertaken. The TRACTOR magnetic tape storage system was the world's first completely automatic tape system and in itself advanced the state of the art in computer speed, capacity and flexibility.

The immense size of Harvest pointed clearly to the need for the development of smaller component parts if the computer was ever to reach its full potential.