Guest editorial

Even fifteen years ago, most of us felt privileged to be co-located with a terminal room enabling us to run our various programs on remote mainframes. Those in the most technical positions, such as programmers and equipment designers, had nearby labs with somewhat more impressive, but bulky equipment. We communicated with our associates, suppliers, and customers either face-to-face or via telephone. Our presentations were prepared by hand and made presentable by clerical staff. Paper documents were transmitted by mail or courier; paper tape was still sometimes used for data. Any suggestion to an executive that he type something for himself was immediately met by indignation.