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June 19, 1968: First software patent awarded to Martin Goetz
In the early days of software engineering, innovations in the software realm were considered to be unpatentable. This began to change with the first patent, awarded to an engineer for...
Oct. 1, 1969: Traffic bottlenecks relieved with automated transponder-based tolls
An automated toll-payment experiment on the Golden Gate Bridge improves traffic flow. “Computer Collects Tolls From Passing Vehicles” published in Computerworld Volume 3, Issue 39 on October 1, 1969 In...
May 8, 1968: The Baseball Encyclopedia becomes first book with computer typesetting
An IBM 360 computer processed and typeset 100 years of baseball data into an encyclopedia, marking a milestone in both baseball history and publishing technology. “Complete Baseball Fact Book Planned”...
April 3, 1968: Early visions for self-driving cars relied on computerized roadways
While today’s efforts to create a driverless future focus on artificially intelligent cars, an early attempt instead focused on computer-controlled roads. “A Driverless Car In Your Future” published in Computerworld...
April 3, 1968: Students rule ancient cities in early educational video games
In 1968, students played The Sumerian Game, recognized as the world’s first educational video game. It was originally designed by Mabel Addis, recognized as the world’s first video game writer....
March 27, 1968: ASCII character encoding adopted as federal standard under President Johnson
To improve efficiency within the federal government, President Lyndon B. Johnson issued a Presidential Memorandum requiring the adoption of ASCII character encodings. Before these words could appear on your screen,...
Nov. 22, 1967: Analog computer simulations shake up agriculture
Tree shaking was an early attempt to automate crop harvesting. Analog computers, now obsolete, were used to refine the process. “Computer Aids Fruit Growers” published in Computerworld Volume 1, Issue...
Nov. 1, 1967: Atomic Energy Commission's 125 GB storage system breaks world record
In 1967, a $1 million dollar contract produced a record-breaking 125 GB computer storage system. Today, the same storage can fit in a USB flash drive and costs less than...
Oct. 11, 1967: Computer vision sees early breakthrough with "Electronic Retina" system
Optical character recognition systems were an early milestone in the field of computer vision, a branch of artificial intelligence currently driving significant innovation. Examples of 36 recognized characters (top) and...
Sept. 13, 1967: Americans file tax returns on magnetic tape
Before TurboTax and electronic filing, Americans once submitted their tax returns on magnetic tape. Tax preparation software like TurboTax has infused automation into the otherwise burdensome process of filing a...