https://pjmedia.com/richardfernandez/2008/12/26/future-sages/feed/PJ Media is a leading news site covering culture, politics, faith, homeland security, and more. Our reporters and columnists provide original, in-depth analysis from a variety of perspectives.en-usThu, 11 Jun 2026 20:37:42 -0400<![CDATA[Consider whether archaeologists of the far future will understand the social significance of the existence of the built-in ashtray &#8212; and its disappearance &#8212; standard on the SAGE computer display terminals of the 1950s. The Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) air defense system &#8220;was an automated control system for tracking and intercepting enemy bomber aircraft used by NORAD from the late 1950s into the 1980s.&#8221; While the heart of the system was giant computer called AN/FSQ-7, operators controlled the beast from terminals equipped with technological innovations which would not become common for decades: a CRT display which represented data in graphical form, a pointing device in the form of a light pen and modems for wide-area networking. But if SAGE situation displays were a harbinger of the future, the terminal contained features which were representative of things even then receding into the social past: the built-in cigarette lighter and ashtray. Significantly and probably to the astonishment of moderns, the consoles had no integral coffee cup holder.]]>Fri, 26 Dec 2008 04:12:47 -0500<![CDATA[Richard Fernandez]]>https://pjmedia.com/richard-fernandez/2008/12/26/future-sages-n186864