The Rise and Fall of the Plasma Screen

PLATO V terminal, via Wikipedia.In 1960, a team at the University of Illinois released the first version of their PLATO “computerized instruction system,” a network of what would eventually be thousands of computer terminals connected to large mainframe computers. Users of PLATO could use the system to learn about various topics, with courses on subjects such as chemistry, math, music, and foreign languages.The first iteration of PLATO used a simple TV screen for a terminal display, but this was...