22 Nov
2017
22 Nov
'17
1:26 p.m.
These are called DVST - Direct View Storage Tube devices - or a modified
slow persistence phosphor oscilloscope. And yes the clear, function was
done by large voltage pulse (blinding flash). They had a very high
resolution graphics and were (surprisingly) popular for a long time. Tek
invented computer graphics. Tektronix 'Plot 10' plotting package was de
rigeur for years and xterm still supports many of the functions. But it
was funny how companies believe their own hype.
When we developed Magnolia in Tek Labs in 1979, we did a Raster Graphics
display and the Terminals Division poop-ed on it, because they were selling
so many 4014's at the time. When RamTek did a check raster graphics
terminal and almost overnight the market for blinding green flashes went
away. There were terminals lined up in hallways in Wilsonville that they
could not sell.
On Wed, Nov 22, 2017 at 7:22 AM, Robert Diamond <rob(a)robdiamond.com> wrote:
The first non-printing terminal I remember seeing at
Bell Labs was the
Tektronix 4014. The image (green phosphors) was “painted” on the screen and
would remain until an erase function was executed. (I seem to remember that
this action made a soft audible “pop” sound).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tektronix_4010
---
Robert Diamond
rob(a)robdiamond.com
On Nov 22, 2017, at 5:43 AM, Nigel Williams <nw(a)retrocomputingtasmania.com>
wrote:
I stumbled into a reddit post on Unix with the claim about early Unices
only being accessed via printing terminals, and it suggested a question to
me as to the first “glass teletype” or CRT terminal to be used with Unix.
Given the DEC-centric nature of early Unix I would guess perhaps a VT05 or
VT52 but I’m keen to know if anyone from those early years recollects what
happened and when regarding Unix terminal access alternatives aside from
the venerable 33KSR or 33ASR.