https://www.tampabay.com/news/business/how-does-the-florida-man-who-patented-the-magnetic-strip-feel-about-the/2266983/
Sent from Outlook for Android<https://aka.ms/AAb9ysg> ________________________________ From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List <IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU> on behalf of Steve Thompson <ste...@wkyr.net> Sent: Sunday, April 27, 2025 5:14:44 PM To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU <IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU> Subject: Re: What has IBM ever done for us? (probably more than I know) I'm not sure the mag stripe on a credit card was by IBM. As I understood it, TeleCredit of Tampa owned that patent as it had been invented by one of their people. I used to know their name as I worked there helping them with their CICS based credit card system. BTW they started out, if I remember correctly as TeleCheck, then added TeleCredit. Last I heard they had been acquired/merged with one of their competitors. They offered their services to FL based banks, credit unions, etc. for producing credit cards and processing payments and charges as a service -- (early cloud stuff, we just didn't know that service bureaus were clouds then). Steve Thompson On 4/26/2025 8:34 AM, Timothy Sipples wrote: > Here are some more entries.... > > The de facto standard width of 80 columns -- still respected in (for example) > the latest version of Microsoft Windows when you open a command prompt. > > The magnetic tape vacuum column. This innovation made data storage on tape > viable. Tape storage is more popular than ever for long-term retention. All > the major public commercial cloud vendors have vast tape storage estates. > > The floppy disk. This storage medium played a vital role in the PC revolution. > > Magnetic stripes on payment and other cards (such as ID cards). This > innovation made electronic payments, ATMs, electronic hotel room door locks, > employee badge readers, and so many other day-to-day interactions viable. EMV > chips and contactless cards/devices are direct successors to the magnetic > stripe. > > Excimer laser surgery, which made LASIK and many other precision surgical > procedures possible. > > Automated tabulation and accounting (via a corporate ancestor) -- essentially > the birth of the information technology industry. > > The relational database (and SQL). > > The first commercially available laser printer. (You can thank IBM for your > clear, legible, and timely printed bank statements and utility bills.) > > The 8-bit byte. > > Various useful typefaces including Courier and most recently the IBM Plex > family. > > Fantastic keyboards and keyboard layouts. They still inspire today's > enthusiast mechanical keyboards for gamers and professional writers. > > The scanning tunneling microscope (STM). > > Generalized Markup Language (GML), the inspiration (via SGML) for Hypertext > Markup Language (HTML) — the standard for Web pages. > > Online travel reservations (SABRE, Deltamatic, PANAMAC, etc.) > > ————— > Timothy Sipples > Senior Architect > Digital Assets, Industry Solutions, and Cybersecurity > IBM Z/LinuxONE, Asia-Pacific > sipp...@sg.ibm.com > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
