New technologies, explorations and innovations
1970's Control Data release of Plato (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PLATO)
By the late 1970s, it supported several thousand graphics terminals distributed worldwide, running on nearly a dozen different networked mainframe computers. Many modern concepts in multi-user computing were first developed on PLATO, including forums, message boards, online testing, email, chat rooms, picture languages, instant messaging, remote screen sharing, and multiplayer video games.
LN offered scholarship to the US to study the role of Plato in Australian education - declined.
1980's The British Broadcasting Corporation Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, is a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers in the 1980s for the BBC Computer Literacy Project. Wikipedia Imported to Australia by Barson Computers (Julian Barson and Scott Brownell).
1981?? mortgaged people's bathrooms to buy 8 computers for CEGV and worked with Carolyn Dowling, Tony Jones and others for CEGV Services
In 1982, the Tasmania Department of Education requested a tender for the supply of personal computers to their schools. Earlier that year Barson Computers, Acorn's Australian computer distributor, had released the BBC Microcomputer with floppy disc storage as part of a bundle. Acorn's Hermann Hauser and Chris Curry agreed to allow it to be also offered with Econet fitted, as they had previously done with the disc interface. As previously with the Disc Filing System, they stipulated that Barson would need to adapt the network filing system from the System 2 without assistance from Acorn. Barson's engineers applied a few modifications to fix bugs on the early BBC Micro motherboards, which were adopted by Acorn in later releases. With both floppy disc and networking available, the BBC Micro was approved for use in schools by all state and territory education authorities in Australia and New Zealand, and quickly overtook the Apple II as the computer of choice in private schools.
With no other supporting documentation available, the head of Barson's Acorn division, Rob Napier, published Networking with the BBC Microcomputer,[7] the first reference documentation for Econet.
Barsons gave computers to a small number of people including LN.
1984 - Programming course with Hal Abelson, Jim Miller, Gerry Sussman, et al.
LN joined Barson Research in 1984 - worked on a wide range of things including viatel and the BBC Domesday disc ...
LN joined ACER and worked on Boxer with Andi diSessa and faculty of Berkeley - the Napa Agreement was signed with Berkeley!
?? Telecom Fellows pioneered use of video conferencing across Australia.
LN had first private videophone from ??? in Telstra?
Personal computing became private computers...
WWW 'invented' and Tim Berners-Lee moving to MIT.
CD with a hole 'invented' and used first in Australia
Charles Nevile and Andrew White developed online course in HTML programming - used extensively around the world for several years
Digital accessibility became a problem - led to creation of W3C/WAI - Jim Miller etc..
OZeKIDS CDs for all schools in Australia