Editing Whirlwind I (section)

==Legacy==
The Whirlwind used approximately 5,000 vacuum tubes.  An effort was also started to convert the Whirlwind design to a transistorized form, led by [[Ken Olsen]] and known as the [[TX-0]]. TX-0 was very successful and plans were made to make an even larger version known as TX-1. However this project was far too ambitious and had to be scaled back to a smaller version known as [[TX-2]]. Even this version proved troublesome, and Olsen left in mid-project to start [[Digital Equipment Corporation]] (DEC). DEC's [[PDP-1]] was essentially a collection of TX-0 and TX-2 concepts in a smaller package.<ref name="PDP-1">{{cite web |url=https://www.computerhistory.org/pdp-1/_media/pdf/dec.digital_at_work.1992.102630350.pdf |title=dec.digital_at_work |author-first=Jamie P. |author-last=Pearson |publisher=Digital Equipment Corporation|page=3|date=1992}}</ref>

After supporting SAGE, Whirlwind I was rented ($1/yr) from June 30, 1959, until 1974 by project member, William M. Wolf (1928-2015). The power to run the machine cost $2500 per month, and the Wolf Research and Development Corporation did work for the Air Force and [[Buckminster Fuller]]'s [[World Game]]. Ultimately moving Whirlwind I cost $250,000 and the company made $100,000 on it. Wolf R&D Corporation was sold to [[EG&G]] in 1967 for $5.5 million.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wolf |first1=William |title=No e |date=2005 |pages=63–65|isbn=1413468462|publisher=Xlibris }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=William M. Wolf&lt;br/&gt;August 29, 1928 - April 25, 2015 |author= |work=Daily Pilot |date= 28 April 2015|access-date=27 March 2024 |url= https://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/news/tn-dpt-william-m-wolfaugust-29-1928-april-25-2015-20150428-story.html}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Whirlwind Move |author= |work=cdn.libraries.mit.edu |date=28 April 1960 |access-date=27 March 2024 |url= https://cdn.libraries.mit.edu/dissemination/diponline/AC0069_NewReleases/NewsRelease_1960/AC0069_1960/AC0069_196004_004.pdf |quote=this time for the Wolf Research and Development Corporation of Boston. William M. Wolf, president of the Boston corporation, believes that the historic machine can be utilized to advantage in a number of ways.  }}</ref>

[[File:Whirlwind Computer plaque - IEEE Milestone - MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts - 20171202 141142.jpg|thumb|right|Commemorative plaque on the original Whirlwind building]]
[[Ken Olsen]] and [[Robert Everett (computer scientist)|Robert Everett]] saved the machine, which became the basis for the [[The Computer Museum, Boston|Boston Computer Museum]] in 1979. Although much of the machine was lost when decommissioned, many of its components are now in the collection of the [[Computer History Museum]] in [[Mountain View, California]] and the [[MIT Museum]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fedorkow |first=Guy |date=2018-11-30 |title=The Whirlwind Computer at CHM |url=https://computerhistory.org/blog/the-whirlwind-computer-at-chm/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231130032807/https://computerhistory.org/blog/the-whirlwind-computer-at-chm/ |archive-date=2023-11-30 |access-date=2024-02-05 |website=[[Computer History Museum]] |language=en}}</ref>

As of February 2009, a core memory unit is displayed at the [[Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation]] in [[Waltham, Massachusetts]]. One plane of core memory, on loan from the [[Computer History Museum]], is on shown as part of the Historic Computer Science displays at the [[Gates Computer Science Building, Stanford]].

The building which housed Whirlwind was until recently home to MIT's campus-wide IT department, Information Services & Technology and in 1997–1998, it was restored to its original exterior design.<ref name="Waugh">{{cite web |url=http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/1998/n42-0114.html |title=Plenty of computing history in N42 |author-first=Alice C. |author-last=Waugh |publisher=MIT News Office |date=January 14, 1998}}</ref>