BASIC's creators used a similar computer four years later to develop the programming language. Credit: GE / Wikipedia A brochure for the GE 210 computer from 1964.

Technology is a growing industry, with thousands of open computing jobs in Louisiana that pay an average salary of $82,545, according to the state’s computer-science education plan.

Long before the days of laptops and smartphones, Thomas E. Kurtz worked to give more students access to computers. That work helped propel generations into a new world. Kurtz has died at 96.