I'm not sure the mag stripe on a credit card was by IBM. As I
understood it, TeleCredit of Tampa owned that patent as it had
been invented by one of their people. I used to know their name
as I worked there helping them with their CICS based credit card
system. BTW they started out, if I remember correctly as
TeleCheck, then added TeleCredit. Last I heard they had been
acquired/merged with one of their competitors. They offered their
services to FL based banks, credit unions, etc. for producing
credit cards and processing payments and charges as a service --
(early cloud stuff, we just didn't know that service bureaus were
clouds then).
Steve Thompson
On 4/26/2025 8:34 AM, Timothy Sipples wrote:
Here are some more entries....
The de facto standard width of 80 columns -- still respected in (for example)
the latest version of Microsoft Windows when you open a command prompt.
The magnetic tape vacuum column. This innovation made data storage on tape
viable. Tape storage is more popular than ever for long-term retention. All the
major public commercial cloud vendors have vast tape storage estates.
The floppy disk. This storage medium played a vital role in the PC revolution.
Magnetic stripes on payment and other cards (such as ID cards). This innovation
made electronic payments, ATMs, electronic hotel room door locks, employee
badge readers, and so many other day-to-day interactions viable. EMV chips and
contactless cards/devices are direct successors to the magnetic stripe.
Excimer laser surgery, which made LASIK and many other precision surgical
procedures possible.
Automated tabulation and accounting (via a corporate ancestor) -- essentially
the birth of the information technology industry.
The relational database (and SQL).
The first commercially available laser printer. (You can thank IBM for your
clear, legible, and timely printed bank statements and utility bills.)
The 8-bit byte.
Various useful typefaces including Courier and most recently the IBM Plex
family.
Fantastic keyboards and keyboard layouts. They still inspire today's enthusiast
mechanical keyboards for gamers and professional writers.
The scanning tunneling microscope (STM).
Generalized Markup Language (GML), the inspiration (via SGML) for Hypertext
Markup Language (HTML) — the standard for Web pages.
Online travel reservations (SABRE, Deltamatic, PANAMAC, etc.)
—————
Timothy Sipples
Senior Architect
Digital Assets, Industry Solutions, and Cybersecurity
IBM Z/LinuxONE, Asia-Pacific
[email protected]
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