[Boatanchors] IBM Selectric

[James Liles]

Hi Carl:
IBM's delay line storage dates to 1964 --- four years earlier --- maybe 
sanders found IBM's idea appealing.  As I recall, there wasn't anyone not 
suing IBM --- even sued them for dressing well --- tried to get them to mess 
up their hair a bit --- kind-a silly I suppose.  Do you happen to recall 
which patents were carried off and if this is one of them.  To this day, 
many don't like successful forward thinking corporations.

Kindest regards Jim K9AXN

----------------  ORIGINAL MESSAGE --------------------------

Message: 4
Date: Mon, 27 Dec 2010 14:34:23 -0500
From: "Carl" <km1h at jeremy.mv.com>
Subject: Re: [Boatanchors] IBM Selectric Terminal
To: "James Liles" <james.liles at comcast.net>,
<boatanchors at mailman.qth.net>
Message-ID: <00af01cba5fd$12dddd30$6401a8c0 at DAVES>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
reply-type=original

No but I remember the  "memory" mechanical delay line that Sanders Data
Systems Division of Sanders Associates had in 1968 for their 810 multi user
word processor.....stolen from Sanders maybe?

IBM tried to steal several patents from Sanders and had to pay some big
bucks for being naughty.

Sanders is also where Pong was developed. Today it is a thriving part of
BAE.

Carl
KM1H



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "James Liles" <james.liles at comcast.net>
To: <boatanchors at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Monday, December 27, 2010 12:12 PM
Subject: [Boatanchors] IBM Selectric Terminal


>
> An interesting fact about the Selectric.  The chrome plating process on
> the
> plastic type head was never patented.  GM, Ford, and Chrysler desperately
> wanted the secret to use on their bumpers and other plastic components but
> IBM would not budge.  The reason that it wasn't patented was that any
> process that is "valuable enough and patented will be stolen".  The auto
> engineers didn't crack the code for years.
>
> It was the best output device in it's time, used by nearly every computer
> vendor but a mechanical Freddy Kruger!
>
> Not the right place for this but do any of you remember the first telecom
> storage device that IBM implemented for the 1401?  The sonic delay line
> that
> could store one 132 character line of data.  Was a spiral of hardened wire
> housed in a 1 foot square by 1 inch container.  It used a transducer to
> twist the wire and another at the other end to sense the twist and
> re-cycle
> the data with a sync character.
>
> Last but not least, did anyone work with the 90 ohm tri-lead disaster or
> virtual triplex 67's project (NASA) in upstate NY??
>
> Kindest regards Jim K9AXN