PLATO
PLATO, short for Programmed Logic for Automatic Teaching Operations, was an educational computer system developed in 1960. The system ran on a mainframe back-end and used a networked system of terminals which were ahead of their time. PLATO was developed at the University of Illinois and it pioneered a lot of hardware and software technology which would later be used in computers and the Internet including email, forums, chat rooms, emojis, remote screen sharing, plasma displays, and touch screens. It was also a pioneer in multi-user video games and many later popular games were based on games developed for the platform.
With pressure from Control Data Corporation which was paying for much of PLATO's development, the system eventually evolved into a paid service, but the CDC's inability to foresee the future of microcomputers led not only to the PLATO's downfall, but the downfall of CDC entirely. Despite its failure, PLATO was very influential to those few who got to use it and many of them went on to create major products in the computer industry. The system is emulated through a project called Cyber1.
Contents
Personal
While reading the CRPG Addict blog, I was introduced to the PLATO system as the originator of a lot of early video games. This got me interested in the system and caused me to read a book about it, which made it sound even more interesting. I have spent a little time using the Cyber1 emulator, but still don't know much about the system.
Hardware
- Back-end mainframes: ILLIAC I, CDC 1604, CDC 6000
- PLATO Terminal
- Gooch Synthetic Woodwind
Software
Applications and Programming Languages
Games
Other notable games include: Airfight, Avatar (1979 video game), dnd (1975 video game), Empire (1973 video game), Moria (1975 video game), Pedit5, and Spasim.
Notable People
The following people were involved with PLATO.
Media
Photographs
A PLATO V terminal with flat-panel plasma display and touch screen running software.
Documentation
Manual - PLATO III Operating Manual.
Manual - PLATO V User's Guide.
Manual - Flexible Disk Subsystem.
Links
