Advanced Remote Display Station
| Developer | MIT's Project MAC |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Computer Displays, Inc. |
| Type | desktop vector graphics and text display terminal |
| Release date | 1968; 56 years ago |
| Introductory price | $12,750 (equivalent to about $114,675 in 2024) |
| Display | Tektronix Type 611[1] |
| Input | keyboard, mouse, joystick, graphics tablet |
The Advanced Remote Display Station (also referred to as the ARDS or ARDS 100A[2]) was a desktop vector graphics and text terminal produced by Computer Displays, Inc. starting in 1968. It was announced at the 1968 Spring Joint Computer Conference and available by August 1968 for $12,750 (about $114,675 in 2024).[3] By December 1969, the price of the ARDS had dropped to under $8000.[2]
The ARDS was the first commercial product to include a computer mouse as an optional peripheral as early as April 1968 for an additional $1200 (about $10,793 in 2024).[1][3]
The ARDS was capable of connecting to a computer remotely through a modem, or locally through an RS-232 cable. Computer Displays, Inc. also offered optional graphical input peripherals for the ARDS, including a mouse, joystick, and graphics tablet.[2]
Development
The ARDS began development as part of Project MAC at MIT's CSAIL, with prototypes named the ARDS I and ARDS II prior to becoming a commercial product.[4]
Mouse
The commercial ARDS' mouse did not use a rolling ball to track movement, but rather two perpendicularly mounted wheels on the bottom and three buttons on top, much like Douglas Engelbart's mouse.[5]
References
- ^ a b Computer Design V07 N04 (PDF). April 1968. pp. 80–86.
- ^ a b c Datamation (PDF). December 1969. p. 17.
- ^ a b Datamation (PDF). August 1968. p. 13.
- ^ Smith, Lyle B. (1970-12-01). "A Survey of Interactive Graphical Systems for Mathematics". ACM Comput. Surv. 2 (4): 261–301. doi:10.1145/356580.356582. ISSN 0360-0300.
- ^ Advanced Remote Display System Reference Manual (PDF). Computer Displays, Inc. December 1, 1968. pp. 29–31.
External links
- The ARDS Reference Manual of December 1, 1968
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