And, of course, there are the people, hundreds of them catering to everything that glows within the room. Similar computer tracking scenes are repeated the world over for all kinds of purposes from air traffic control, to public transportation systems, to police and fire departments, 911 calls, FedEx shipments, the locations of bank ATMs, to just about everything and anything that's vitally important to keep notice of. Can anyone really imagine a world without such a capability? Can anyone conceive of a future world with any less of it? More is the more likely case.

But it wasn't always that way. Far from it. On New Year's Day 1950, none of it existed; by October of 1950, the very first such system was in operation: radar antennas, digital networking, modems, computers whirring away, and screens aglow with blips from aircraft. Digital computing and networking all ready and waiting for the future to pounce.

Where'd it all come from and how did it all come about? Better yet, where was it all going? Well, some pioneers were busy at work behind the scenes putting it all together. I call them, quite simply, the bright boys, and Bright Boys is their story.