Will word processors start a home working revolution? (1979) [video]
During this time, 'secretarial services' were still a thing, and women (and it was predominantly women) did WPM tests (words per minute) to qualify for a role in the office. I remember the noise of the IBM Selectrics in serried ranks in banks, and in offices. Amazing to think we worked just fine on a turn-around time of an hour to get a document done.Also, this was a window when the printers unions in the Uk were going on strike as the first journalist-direct-entry systems were coming into the news print business. Rupert Murdoch went full bore with a new clean build, shut down the old printing, and locked them out. Huge strikes, police on horseback, riots.ICL was trying to sell the home office/desktop office concept, it was still very much about the styling of a giant desk/cab with a tiny monitor and built in printer, and the key issue was the quality of the keyboard (as ever)It turns out that seeing more than one line of input in a buffer helps. Who knew?