March 27, 1968: ASCII character encoding adopted as federal standard under President Johnson

To improve efficiency within the federal government, President Lyndon B. Johnson issued a Presidential Memorandum requiring the adoption of ASCII character encodings. Before these words could appear on your screen,...

Nov. 22, 1967: Analog computer simulations shake up agriculture

Tree shaking was an early attempt to automate crop harvesting. Analog computers, now obsolete, were used to refine the process. “Computer Aids Fruit Growers” published in Computerworld Volume 1, Issue...

Nov. 1, 1967: Atomic Energy Commission's 125 GB storage system breaks world record

In 1967, a $1 million dollar contract produced a record-breaking 125 GB computer storage system. Today, the same storage can fit in a USB flash drive and costs less than...

Oct. 11, 1967: Computer vision sees early breakthrough with "Electronic Retina" system

Optical character recognition systems were an early milestone in the field of computer vision, a branch of artificial intelligence currently driving significant innovation. Examples of 36 recognized characters (top) and...

Sept. 13, 1967: Americans file tax returns on magnetic tape

Before TurboTax and electronic filing, Americans once submitted their tax returns on magnetic tape. Tax preparation software like TurboTax has infused automation into the otherwise burdensome process of filing a...

April 4, 1973: Accessible tools for computer users with visual impairments

An audio-based system made it possible for people with visual impairments to use computers. “Bureau Caters Only to Blind DP Users” published in Computerworld Volume 7, Issue 14 on April...

President's Message

A vision for technology to amplify the very best of humanity Welcome to the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation. Our work at the Foundation continues the lifelong work and legacy of...

A data-driven pursuit of education that works for us all

Foundation announces first-ever Data4Change program

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on the Cloudera Foundation website. In April 2021, the Cloudera Foundation merged with the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation. by Claudia Juech Dec. 6, 2018...

How we're improving healthcare for children in Burkina Faso

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on the Cloudera Foundation website. In April 2021, the Cloudera Foundation merged with the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation. by Wessel Valkenburg, Azia Merzouki Jan....