WAS THE IDIIOM THE FIRST STAND-ALONE CAD PLATFORM

This article recounts the development of a stand-alone CAD platform, t he IDIIOM. The IDIIOM was developed during the mid-1960s at Informatio n Displays, Inc. (IDI), then in Mt. Vernon, N.Y. According to its crea tors, the IDIIOM was the first general-purpose design workstation, the first commercial CADD platform, and the first software drafting packa ge to operate on its own computer without communication links to a mai nframe computer. The article follows IDI's startup, the company's evol ution into the fledgling computer graphics field, IDI's development of stand-alone CADD hardware and software, and IDI's unwillingness to ac cept the emerging technology of the Direct View Storage Tube.