Fifty Years Ago .... from the pages of Computer Weekly

13th June 1974 computing, compiled by TNMOC volunteer archivist, Brian Aldous.

A selection of stories from Computer Weekly from 13th June 1974. The full archive of Computer Weekly can be seen at TNMOC, where there are special rolling displays of front pages from 25 and 40 years ago.

NPL, Iria networks in Anglo-French link: The first test of “host-to-host” protocols between the National Physical Laboratory’s computer network and the French Cyclades network are expected to be made next week. A CTL Modular One on the NPL network is linked via Codex modems and a 9,600 baud line to one of the five CII Mitra 15s which make up Cigale, the Cyclades network switching system. Communication with the Mitra 15 mini, which is at Iria, the
Institut de Recherche d’lnformatique et d’Automatique has been at the lowest level using the IBM BSC line control protocol, which has been adopted for Cyclades because of the IBM machine on the network, and on top of that packet formats have been transmitted. Some of these dummy packets, or “bubbles” as the French call them, have been dropped into the Mitra 15, while others have been sent with NPL as the address and these have been returned by Cygale. (CW 397 13/6/1974 p1)

Laser-based system from InterScan: Still hoping for an upswing in the sluggish UK market for OCR equipment, InterScan plans to introduce a completely new laser-based system here next month. Known as the InterScan Laser One, it will compete directly with the IBM 3866 in the low-to-medium price bracket. At the same time, InterScan’s German subsidiary has sold a
Scan Data 2250 reader in Switzerland which the company believes to be the first anywhere in the world to read all 26 alphabetic characters in handprinted form in a full-scale live data capture operation. The Laser One is manufactured in the US by Optical Business Machines, of Melbourne, Florida, and about 25 systems have been installed and another 20 are on order. The machine reads characters using a laser beam scanner at a speed of about 350 chps. Models can be supplied to read either the OCR A or OCR B founts, plus handprinted numerics.  Sizes of forms handled can vary from A4 down to 5 by 3 inches, single line documents or stubs. (CW 397 13/6/1974 p56)