1979: Will WORD PROCESSORS start a HOME WORKING revolution? | Past Predictions | BBC Archive
BBC Archive1 HN recommender · recommended in 1 month, 2022–2024
news · general · evergreen · 2022–2024 on HN
A 1979 BBC Nationwide report asking whether word processors and networked microprocessors could end office commuting. It shows early word processing and a woman working from home, with surprisingly prophetic predictions.
HN finds it a striking historical look at early text editors and remote work that feels very modern.
Up next
2 mo on HNSusan Kare explains Macintosh UI ergonomics on the Computer Chronicles (1984)
erg0steur
2 HN recommender · 2020–2022
3 mo on HNiPhone Magnifier and Voice over
Kristy Viers
3 HN recommender · 2021–2022
2 mo on HNAmiga Samplers : Budget dance music in 1990
debuglive
2 HN recommender · 2020–2022
6 mo on HNIntro to Synthesis Part 1 - The Building Blocks of Sound & Synthesis
matrixsynth
3 HN recommender · 2018–2022
3 mo on HNI BOUGHT A WHOLE CHURCH ORGAN - Part 1 The Organs Removal
LOOK MUM NO COMPUTER
3 HN recommender · 2022–2023
15 mo on HNAT&T Archives: Similiarities of Wave Behavior (Bonus Edition)
AT&T Tech Channel
12 HN recommender · 2014–2026
14 mo on HNMicro Men - 720p (2009)
gimpymoo
15 HN recommender · 2015–2026
11 mo on HNLight Years Ahead | The 1969 Apollo Guidance Computer
TNMoC
11 HN recommender · 2021–2026
12 mo on HNMechanical Computer (All Parts) - Basic Mechanisms In Fire Control Computers
Excelsior10000
13 HN recommender · 2014–2025
12 mo on HNProject Code Rush - The Beginnings of Netscape / Mozilla Documentary
The Documentary Network
13 HN recommender · 2015–2026
11 mo on HNBret Victor The Future of Programming
Joey Reid
12 HN recommender · 2017–2026
11 mo on HNAlan Kay - Normal Considered Harmful
powerfuloutlet
10 HN recommender · 2012–2026
3 comments from Hacker News
Perhaps it's better to see for a minute how people used this kind of editors when they first appeared, than to keep reading about them for ages: ▶ this video (BBC from '79, mentioning how people start working from home with the aid of newfangled microcomputers and network connectivity). I'm reminded most of all of the fdisk util, where the workflow is pretty much the same: print, modify, print, save. But also I can see where Vi/Vim come from, as I regularly do the same thing as in the vid: %s/something/something else/g and then wq.
Video from 1979 about F International (Dame Shirley's company) - working from home, as a computer a programmer, is the greatest revolution for working women since the pill. ▶ this video
The example of a mother working from home[0] feels very modern. It's strange to know that we drifted away from that direction at some point. 0. ▶ this video