What was a major technological limitation of computers in the 1930s?

In the 1930s, a significant technological limitation of computers was their limited memory capacity. Early computers, such as the ones developed during this time, utilized vacuum tubes and mechanical parts, which restricted the amount of data they could store and process. The memory systems in use were rudimentary compared to modern standards, largely based on punched cards or magnetic drums, which could only hold relatively small amounts of information. This limitation impacted the overall capabilities of these machines, affecting everything from computation speed to the complexity of problems they could solve.

While the inability to connect to the internet and high costs of electricity are relevant points, they were not as directly relevant to the technological development of computers of that era, as the internet as we know it did not exist until decades later, and electricity, while important, was not a prohibitive factor for the development of these early machines. The lack of hardware components, while an issue, did not accurately capture the specific challenge posed by memory capacity during this foundational period in computing history.