On Thu, 21 Jun 2001 12:52:17 -0700
Micah Cowan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> A tty is actually an archaic abbreviation that isn't really used in
> it's original meaning - teletype (I believe - someone correct me
> otherwise). These were 'dumb' terminals that just knew how to accept
> and display text, and communicate with a 'smarter' server.
>
Dumb is hardly the word. The original teletypes were developed as a
replacement for the telegraph -- sort of a glorified electromechanical
typewriter, and used a 5-bit coding system. The fancy ones had a tape
puncher/reader, so you could make long messages without a horrible
number of mistakes. They were pretty cool in their own way -- round
about 1942.
--
Cam Ellison Ph.D. R.Psych.
>From Roberts Creek on B.C.'s incomparable Sunshine Coast
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
