Green screen – all about terminal emulation

Video: The IRMA board

IRMA board, judging by the Attachmate logo and the PCI interface, mid 90's vintage.

The IRMA board got a mention in my 3270 post last week and low and behold I’ve just stumbled across an interview with one of the former senior executives at Digital Communications Associates (DCA), the company behind the IRMA board. The interview touches on the product itself, the company’s rise and fall and the history of tech companies in that region during the 80′s. The interview was conducted by techdrawl.com, a site the focuses on all things tech from the south…unfortunately that particular page is coming up 404 just now,  however the interview is hosted on vimeo and survives (below).

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The IBM 3270 terminal

The IBM 3270 Information Display System (and related terminals) was one of the most successful and popular terminals ever made.

The IBM System 360/25

First announced by IBM in 1971 it could be connected to the company’s System/370 or System/360 Model 25  mainframe. The 3270 became extremely popular during the 1970’s and later on with the release of the IBM 3090 mainframe in 1985.

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Legacy Systems Still the Driving force

Terminal emulation & the automotive industry

The automotive industry is an major global economic force, renowned for utilizing cutting edge technologies and manufacturing techniques. Yet despite all this, buried behind the high tech glitz, IT systems from a generation ago are still working away, keeping the industry on the road.

For much of America’s twenty thousand plus strong automotive dealer network the legacy host systems which have been hard at work behind the scenes for several decades continue to manage the vital inventory and stock keeping functions that are crucial for day to day business. Not that the dealers notice of course; the hulking, phosphor green terminals screens that once hogged desk top real estate have long since been retired and replaced with slick web based systems and touchscreen hand-held computers. It’s only hidden in back rooms and remote locations where the vintage host systems they connect to can still be found, quietly continuing to provide the vital conduit between suppliers and dealerships.

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