<s>
T-Square	B-Application
is	O
an	O
early	O
drafting	B-Application
program	O
written	O
by	O
Peter	O
Samson	O
assisted	O
by	O
Alan	O
Kotok	O
and	O
possibly	O
Robert	O
A	O
.	O
Saunders	O
while	O
they	O
were	O
students	O
at	O
the	O
Massachusetts	O
Institute	O
of	O
Technology	O
and	O
members	O
of	O
the	O
Tech	O
Model	O
Railroad	O
Club	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
T-Square	B-Application
was	O
written	O
for	O
the	O
PDP-1	B-Device
computer	O
and	O
its	O
Type	O
30	O
precision	O
CRT	B-Device
that	O
Digital	O
Equipment	O
Corporation	O
donated	O
to	O
MIT	O
in	O
1961	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
unlikely	O
that	O
many	O
people	O
have	O
had	O
the	O
opportunity	O
to	O
use	O
T-Square	B-Application
although	O
Samson	O
has	O
said	O
the	O
group	O
drew	O
some	O
schematics	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
were	O
privileged	O
to	O
be	O
enrolled	O
when	O
the	O
school	O
's	O
first	O
programming	B-General_Concept
courses	O
were	O
taught	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
negotiated	O
with	O
their	O
advisors	O
and	O
the	O
operations	O
manager	O
John	O
McKenzie	O
for	O
time	O
and	O
became	O
single-users	B-Operating_System
long	O
before	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
were	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
wrote	O
the	O
programming	B-Application
software	I-Application
which	O
is	O
used	O
to	O
build	O
application	B-Application
software	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
this	O
period	O
Samson	O
created	O
other	O
"	O
firsts	O
"	O
in	O
application	B-Application
software	I-Application
for	O
music	B-Language
,	O
games	B-Application
and	O
page	B-Protocol
layout	I-Protocol
so	O
it	O
is	O
perhaps	O
not	O
surprising	O
he	O
wrote	O
what	O
may	O
be	O
the	O
first	O
drafting	B-Application
program	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Based	O
on	O
this	O
experience	O
,	O
later	O
in	O
life	O
Samson	O
worked	O
on	O
an	O
electronic	O
drafting	B-Application
program	O
with	O
80,000	O
lines	O
of	O
code	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
received	O
a	O
patent	O
in	O
virtual	B-Application
reality	I-Application
at	O
Autodesk	O
,	O
a	O
vendor	O
of	O
CAD	B-Application
and	O
CAM	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
move	O
the	O
cursor	B-Application
,	O
T-Square	B-Application
used	O
a	O
Spacewar	B-Application
!	I-Application
</s>
<s>
game	B-Device
controller	I-Device
built	O
by	O
Kotok	O
and	O
Saunders	O
in	O
1962	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
not	O
known	O
if	O
Saunders	O
was	O
involved	O
in	O
repurposing	O
it	O
for	O
T-Square	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ivan	O
Sutherland	O
used	O
a	O
light	B-Device
pen	I-Device
in	O
his	O
programs	O
as	O
did	O
Jack	O
Gilmore	O
and	O
others	O
before	O
him	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
pens	O
allow	O
fine	O
detail	O
but	O
drawing	O
on	O
a	O
vertical	O
surface	O
like	O
a	O
CRT	B-Device
tires	O
the	O
hand	O
quickly	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
is	O
no	O
evidence	O
they	O
studied	O
ergonomics	O
but	O
T-Square	B-Application
used	O
an	O
input	O
device	O
more	O
like	O
a	O
mouse	O
in	O
that	O
it	O
rested	O
on	O
a	O
horizontal	O
surface	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Spacewar	B-Application
!	I-Application
</s>
<s>
Although	O
they	O
are	O
often	O
considered	O
to	O
be	O
the	O
first	O
joysticks	B-Device
,	O
Kotok	O
did	O
not	O
accept	O
credit	O
for	O
coinventing	O
them	O
with	O
Saunders	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
thought	O
there	O
were	O
similar	O
controllers	O
in	O
use	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
in	O
games	B-Application
such	O
as	O
Tennis	O
for	O
Two	O
and	O
at	O
NASA	O
or	O
another	O
organization	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
T-Square	B-Application
is	O
a	O
small	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
reason	O
people	O
use	O
today	O
's	O
computers	O
for	O
drafting	B-Application
,	O
architecture	O
,	O
drawing	O
and	O
illustration	O
and	O
engineering	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Prior	O
to	O
this	O
revolution	O
and	O
in	O
some	O
places	O
to	O
this	O
day	O
,	O
draftsmen	O
and	O
women	O
used	O
triangles	O
,	O
wood	O
or	O
metal	O
T-squares	B-Application
,	O
pencils	B-Device
and	O
technical	O
pens	O
on	O
film	O
and	O
paper	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
beginning	O
of	O
this	O
change	O
can	O
be	O
seen	O
in	O
a	O
video	O
of	O
Sutherland	O
demonstrating	O
Sketchpad	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
goes	O
on	O
to	O
say	O
,	O
"	O
Somewhat	O
before	O
my	O
first	O
effort	O
was	O
working	O
,	O
Welden	O
Clark	O
of	O
Bolt	O
,	O
Beranek	O
and	O
Newman	O
...	O
"	O
showed	O
him	O
a	O
"	O
similar	O
program	O
"	O
running	O
on	O
a	O
PDP-1	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
T-Square	B-Application
and	O
Sketchpad	B-Application
were	O
developed	O
in	O
the	O
same	O
location	O
a	O
year	O
or	O
two	O
apart	O
but	O
their	O
influence	O
on	O
each	O
other	O
is	O
unknown	O
.	O
</s>
