>I'm in my early 30s and wasn't aware software was getting used in business much until the late 70s/early 80s.
Of course it was. E.g.:
Bill Gates went to an affluent high school that was one of a handful to have a computer students could use, as well as a computer club, this was in the late 60s I believe.
In Paul Allen's (auto?)biography he mentions that it was a group of mothers from the school that paid for the computer (or maybe the teletype terminal). I might be getting details mixed up, it's been a while since I've read his book.
Re:My Favorite Books of 2016
by abecedarius on Tuesday December 06, 2016 @12:15AM
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As I remember it it was a teletype. In the same autobio, somewhat later, Allen and Gates got to learn from Steve Russell (of Spacewar) at his local company which I think might've had its own DEC mini. It's been a long time for me too since I read it.
Re:My Favorite Books of 2016
by dwightgunning on Tuesday December 06, 2016 @02:38AM
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This explanation is also given in Outliers by Malcom Gladwell.
Maybe that's where I read it. I've been reading a bunch as of late so I might be getting them mixed up.
The opportunities for business use of computers was realised pretty early on - the first dedicated business computer was created in 1951:
I guess there were mainframes and not minicomputers? Still, surprising a high school kid would get a coding job in the early 70s.