Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ilaine who wrote (99689)	2/10/2005 8:35:14 AM
From: aladin	Respond to of 793645

CB, Noodling around on a computer history website, it appears to me that the first cathode ray tube display was in use in the 1960's. See DEC PDP-1, circa 1960 You would be wrong :-) The PDP-1 in its origin: dbit.com It used punched paper tape as its primary storage medium. Unlike punched card decks, which could be sorted and re-ordered, paper tape was difficult to physically edit. This inspired the creation of text-editing programs such as Expensive Typewriter and TECO. Because it was equipped with online and offline printers that were based on IBM electric typewriter mechanisms, it was capable of what, in eighties terminology, would be called "letter-quality printing" and therefore inspired TJ-2, arguably the first word processor. The console typewriter was the product of a company named Soroban Engineering. It was an IBM Model B Electric typewriter mechanism modified by the addition of switches to detect keypresses and solenoids to activate the typebars. It used a traditional typebar mechanism, not the "golfball" IBM Selectric typewriter mechanism which was just starting to become popular. Case shifting was performed by raising and lowering the massive type basket. It was equipped with a two-color red-and-black ribbon, and the interface allowed color selection. Programs commonly used color coding to distinguish user input from machine responses. The Soroban mechanism was unreliable and prone to jamming, particularly when shifting case or changing ribbon color, and was widely disliked. From: en.wikipedia.org Now the processors lasted a long time and you may have seen a picture of one with a CRT on it in the 70's.... I used PDP-1's for real-time data collection in labs during the mid 70's. We had migrated to tubes. The damn paper tape was a pain to work with. John@iwasahackerinthe70s.com