Re: lynx-dev screen widths

[Philip Webb]

990417 Chuck Martin wrote: 
> On Fri, Apr 16, 1999 at 12:17:18PM -0400, address@hidden wrote:
>> 132 column terminals weren't common until the early 80's --
>> around the time that punchcards went away
> I believe 132 column *printers* were very much the norm in the 70's.
> Since terminals were primarily for input, originally done with punched cards,
> it was logical to make them 80 columns, but printers were for output
> and there was no reason to duplicate the width of the punched card.
> I know the terminals were also for output,
> but that was mostly for the programmer's benefit --
> reports and such generally used 132 columns.
 
i'm thinking of my first interactive encounter, early in 1976:
APL on an IBM golf-ball terminal-printer, which i'm sure was 132 columns.

the reason for making CRT terminals 80-col seems most likely to have been
that on a 12" screen it gives characters roughly paper-printing size;
some very early personal computers had 40-col displays,
probably due to their very small memories or processors.

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