The Advanced Remote Display Station (also referred to as the ARDS) was a desktop storage-tube-based 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).[2]
 ARDS desktop terminal with mouse. | |
| Developer | MIT's E.S.L. and 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 storage tube[1] |
| Input | keyboard, mouse, joystick, graphics tablet |
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][2]
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 and joystick.
Development
editThe ARDS began development in early 1965 jointly by MIT's Electronic Systems Laboratory and Project MAC at MIT's CSAIL, with prototypes named the ARDS-I and ARDS-II prior to becoming a commercial product.[3][4] The first ARDS-I prototype was completed in 1965; an early ARDS-II prototype was functional by May 1967, and was updated in August 1967 with the larger, final display CRT.[4]
Hardware
editDisplay
editThe display of the commercially produced ARDS was a Tektronix Type 611 direct-view storage tube, meaning that once graphics or text were drawn onto the screen, they could not be erased individually without erasing the entire screen.[1][5] This was attributed to the terminal's relatively low cost and intended remote use over narrow-bandwidth telephone lines. Filling the entire display with 4000 alphanumeric characters took about 33 seconds.[5]
Mouse
editThe ARDS's 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 the mouse used during The Mother of All Demos.[6]
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Top view of the ARDS's mouse. -
Bottom view of the ARDS's mouse.
Other models
editThe ARDS 100A was released as the successor to the ARDS in 1969.[7] It was priced at under $8000, much lower than the original ARDS. Along with the original ARDS's mouse and joystick, it added a graphics tablet as an input option.[8]
Computer Displays, Inc. was acquired by Adage, another graphics terminal manufacturer, in 1970.[9] By 1971, another ARDS model was being sold under Adage as the ARDS 100B.[10][7]
References
edit- ^ a b c Computer Design V07 N04 (PDF). April 1968. pp. 80–86.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b Ross, D. T. (Douglas Taylor); Ward, John Erwin; Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Electronic Systems (May 1968). "Investigations in computer-aided design for numerically controlled production". MIT LIDS Technical Reports: 100–113.
- ^ a b Fiasconaro, James Gerard (June 1970). "A Computer-controlled Graphical Display Processor". MIT LCS Technical Reports: 6–9.
- ^ Advanced Remote Display Station Reference Manual (PDF). Computer Displays, Inc. December 1, 1968. pp. 29–31.
- ^ a b "epocalc - Computer models database". www.epocalc.net. Retrieved 2024-10-26.
- ^ Datamation (PDF). December 1969. p. 17.
- ^ Datamation (PDF). November 1, 1970. p. 98.
- ^ Modern Data (PDF). June 1971. p. 47.
External links
edit- The ARDS Reference Manual of December 1, 1968
- An MIT paper describing a graphical circuit drawing and editing program for the ARDS from October 1969 (source code listed on pp. 62–94)
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