This #Juneteenth, we want to take a moment to honor a few influential black PC, tech and gaming pioneers who have touched our lives in ways we never knew...
#TechHistory #JUNETEENTH2020
First up, Jerry Lawson.
He pioneered the video game cartridge for the Fairchild Channel F system, the first gaming console that utilized interchangeable cartridges back in the 70s. It never saw the popularity like the Atari VCS or the NES but, its influence is undeniable.
Following Jerry Lawson's work, Ed Smith co-designed an early cartridge-based video game system, the APF MP-1000 (1978) for APF Electronics.
He also worked on its computer attachment, the Imagination Machine, which competed with products from Apple and Atari in the late 1970s.
Marie Van Brittan Brown patented the first closed circuit home security system in 1966.
Her invention was groundbreaking, allowing for images to be projected on a television. Later features included a panic button that would notify police and microphone.
If you use @Adobe's design products, you've got John Henry Thompson to thank. Thompson developed Lingo, popular scripting language that rendered visuals in computer programs.
Lingo has been used to create flash & shockwave programs found in animation, web design, & video games.
IBM engineer Mark Dean has numerous inventions & patents under his belt that shaped the modern PC.
He helped develop the first color IBM PC monitor, brought the first IBM PC to life (co-creating the PC 5150's ISA bus) & led the team that designed the first 1GHz CPU.
This is just a small round-up of black pioneers that helped pave the way for the tech we use everyday, and we encourage you to seek out more and pay homage to these unsung heroes.
For more PC pioneers, here's an awesome list by @PCMag: pcmag.com/news/7-black-c…
#JuneteenthDay
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