UK Post Office Experimental Packet-Switched Service (EPSS) soon to establish direct links to Packet-Switched networks in the US, allowing EPSS users in the UK access to vast databases and computers in the US, Typescan of Glasgow introduce a hand-held Datawand OCR reader developed by Compuscan Inc of Teterboro, New Jersey, capable of reading both typed and free-hand text on documents, a GEC developed thermal analysis software suite is to be made available as a Bureau service by SIA of London. Known as Meltan, it is designed to give analysis of heat transfer through complex structures and initial trials have been done in the Nuclear industry, The UK government funded general purpose international computer network is now up and running in Europe connecting government and higher educational establishments in the UK, France, Switzerland and Italy.

Honeywell expands it’s Series 60 level 64 range with the 64/30 and 64/50 with memory ranges from 96KB to 384KB and supporting up to 8 100MByte disk drives and 8 tape units, US based Software AG gives UK software a boost by adopting MSF’s Datamanager data dictionary system for their Adabas DBMS, ICL introduce the 2904 mainframe computer with 80% more performance, twice the memory (96K words) and twice the disk capacity of the 2903, and has already had 10 orders valued at £1.25 million, and Comshare introduce the Ambassador bureau service via a newly installed transatlantic link between it’s Xeros processors in Michigan and those in London to enhance it’s overall European service.

ICL announce the 2960, a cost reduced but faster medium-range system with a performance of 2.5 times a 1904S, Honeywell introduce conversion software to convert ICL 1900 Cobol, Fortran and assembly language applications to Honeywell Level 66, DEC unveiled a dual CPU system 1088 to rival IBM 370’/158 and CDC Cyber 72 and 73 systems, Ferranti win a £350,00 contract for two FM-1600D mini-computers with AAEE for an Air Traffic Control system radar processing, GEC-Elliott Process Automation introduce a March-4 micro based on-board marine monitoring system, Intel launches the 8048 ‘computer on a chip’ incorporating active and passive memory on the same chip as the processor, and Royal Navy Taunton introduce an EMI-Threshold voice Information Processor 100 to enable voice information to be recorded with digitised maps.

GEC release a low cost variant of their 4080 minicomputer designated the 4070 minicomputer running at 75% of its performance, British based Sintrom now offer an American made, fixed head disk drives with 1.25ms latency aimed at Digital and Data General minicomputers, Hitachi introduce a 16Kbit N-Channel MOS RAM with a 200ns access time, EMI come under competition pressure from US, German, French and Italian companies in the X-Ray brain scanner market that will eat into their £80 million earned business over the past 4 years, The Post Office’s Experimental Packet Switching Service (EPSS) reach a major milestone in exchanging data packets between several university computing centres, Tally introduce the modelM1315C paper tape reader/perforator to enable system designers to incorporate paper tape facilities into their designs, Rupert Neve of Royston introduce a Computer Automation LSI 2-10 computer-based sound mixing system that will ‘make studio engineer’s life a lot easier’ and after the earlier successful EPSS data traffic test, The London exchange successfully transferred packets between different mainframes, network interfaces and terminals from Queen Mary Collage, NPL, Computer Aided Design centre, ICL and the Post Office.

Staffordshire Police install a real-time command and control system using Ferranti Argus 700S and 700e minicomputers, Data Recording Instruments (DRI) claim a world first 12MB front loading single disk unit, Calcomp introduce a low cost model 836 table-top drum plotter in the UK to replace the very popular 15 year old 536 model, Electronic Memories and Magnetics (EMM) introduce an up to 4 Megabytes N channel MOS based memory system for the IBM 370/158, Euronet, a European data transmission network over packet switched networks, and having over 1000 terminals and 20 databases, will be introduced over the next 2 years, Prime introduce the prime 400 supermini to compete with the IBM 370/158, Digital PDP-11/70 and Data General Eclipse and others, and Muirhead introduce a held held data collection unit that can hold 64k characters in semiconductor memory, replacing and competing with existing cassette based systems from other manufactures.

IBM enters the Satellite communications business with a joint venture with Comsat General and Aetna Life, ICL releases the new smaller packaged and less expensive 2903/20 model, ICL delivers the first NIFU 9network Interface Unit) for the Post Office’s EPSS (Experimental Packet Switching Network), Applied Data Research of New Jersey, have released ‘Look’ that offers real-time performance monitoring for IBM 360 and 370 systems, IBM UK wins a £375,000 PoS order from Royal Arsenal Co-operative society, Computer Automation’s Naked Mini computer used to control self-service filling stations has been installed by Arco Petrol Company on the West coast of the USA, DEC introduce the System-20 to fill a gap in the interactive transaction-orientated market and will compete with ICL 2903, Univac 90/30 and IBM system 3 & 370/115.

J. Lyons, Lucas Industries and Computer Resources Ltd introduce one of the largest TeleProcessing (TP) bureau services in the UK utilising multiple IBM 370/155 and 370/158 main-frames and 60 100Megabyte disc drives, EMI updates its revolutionary brain scanner with a new version, the CT1010, that is 4 times faster, W. S. Atkins introduce the Asas Structural Analysis System to analyse the stresses on the joints of oil rigs in the North Sea, General Automation SPC 16/15 minicomputers have been installed to help with general police communication in Kent, Sussex and Surry constabularies and the The National Computing Centre introduce an ICL 8790 interface unit and a Ferranti Argus 700S for interfacing to the Post Office’s Experimental Packet Switched Service (EPSS) which is based on Ferranti Argus 700Es and ICL 1905F computers.

Whitbread to do a multi-million pound revamp of their computer systems to add on-line ordering via Modem connected VDUs, Honeywell introduce a new coaxial “Data Hiway” control architecture for distributed process control utilising several General Instruments CP 1600 16-bit microprocessor based systems, European Infomatics Network (EIN) packet switching system has passed its acceptance testing using 48K Baud connections between 2 CII Mitra 15 mini based packet switches, HP introduce their next generation of mini data stations with the HP2644A VDU capable of carrying out program preparation, editing, copying and tape-to-printer operations, locally, IAL introduce a Medus modular data communications control system for small and large networks to enable monitoring and switching of multiple V24 lines, National Physical Laboratory (NPL), via Triad Computing Systems to market their in-house developed scrapbook textual information system to operate on Computer Technology Modular One system and CMG Group is now offering the INTABS, International Terminal and Banking Service, an on-line processing service using Burroughs B4700 main-frames to London branches of continental banks.