Computer user cooperatives

摘要

The type of computer used largely determined the capability of the user before the advent of integrated circuit computers of the early sixties. Until then, most substantial computer complexes required a vast housing facility needing huge cooling capacity. The large-scale integrated-circuit computers of the late sixties made available a new technology called time-sharing which permitted for the first time use of large numbers of interactive terminals. Computer technology during this period was developed in conjunction with the needs of the space and military research projects. Changes occurred in software technology during the same period which enabled users to utilize the computer more to their advantage. This was due in part to the development of easy-to-use languages with simple commands expressed in common English. The greatest breakthrough in technology came when software was married to the hardware to produce a virtual-memory environment enhancing both storage and processing capabilities.