Prior to the introduction of AutoCAD, most other CAD programs ran on mainframe computers or minicomputers, with each CAD operator ( user ) working at a graphical terminal or workstation.

Prior to the introduction of the ubiquitous fax machine, one of the first being the Exxon Qwip in the mid-1970s, facsimile machines worked by optical scanning of a document or drawing spinning on a drum.

Prior to the introduction of modern reinforced-soil gravity walls, cantilevered walls were the most common type of taller retaining wall.

Prior to the introduction of the Latin term, incest was known in Old English as sibbleger ( from sibb ' kinship ' + leger ' to lie ') or mǣġhǣmed ( from mǣġ ' kin, parent ' + hǣmed ' sexual intercourse ') but in time, both words fell out of use.

Prior to the introduction of plastics, it was used for billiard balls, piano keys, Scottish bagpipes, buttons and a wide range of ornamental items.

Prior to the introduction of PostScript, printers were designed to print character output given the text — typically in ASCII — as input.

Prior to the introduction of pneumatic tires, riding over the large wheel of the " penny-farthing " gave a much smoother ride, which accounts for their popularity.

Prior to the introduction of this new technology, moving image production was only available to the consumer ( or the artist for that matter ) by way of eight or sixteen millimeter film, but did not provide the instant playback that video tape technologies offered.

Prior to the introduction of contrapposto, the statues that dominated ancient Greece were the archaic kouros ( male ) and the kore ( female ).

Prior to the introduction of standard time, each municipality around the civilized world set its official clock, if it had one, according to the local position of the Sun ( see solar time ).

Prior to the introduction of the mechanical cotton gin, cotton had required considerable labor to clean and separate the fibers from the seeds.

Prior to the introduction of specialised video connector standards such as SCART, TVs were designed to only accept signals through the aerial connector: signals originate at a TV station, are transmitted over the air, and are then received by an antenna and fed into the TV.

Prior to the introduction of BS 25999, BCP professionals relied on information security standard BS 7799, which only peripherally addressed BCP to improve an organization's information security procedures.

Prior to the introduction of the 802. 1Q standard, several proprietary protocols existed, such as Cisco's ISL ( Inter-Switch Link ) and 3Com's VLT ( Virtual LAN Trunk ).

Prior to the introduction of a new city charter on June 20, 1984, council members in Windom were referred to as alderpersons.

Prior to the introduction of fibreglass as a construction material, dories were more popular because their ease of assembly and, thereby, lower cost.

Prior to the introduction of inks made with aniline dyes in 1856, the quality of copies made on letter copying presses was limited by the properties of the available copying inks.

Prior to the introduction of the basic chromium species in tanning, several steps are required to produce a tannable hide.

Prior to the introduction of antibiotics, colloidal silver was used as a germicide and disinfectant.

Prior to the introduction of videotape in 1956, kinescopes were the only way to record television broadcasts, or to distribute network television programs that were broadcast live from New York or other originating cities, to stations not connected to the network, or to stations that wished to show a program at a different time than the network broadcast.

Prior to the introduction of the Bulletin Board System ( BBS ), modems typically operated on direct-dial telephone lines that always began and ended with a particular modem at each end.

Prior to the introduction of the term " PDA " by Apple in 1992, handheld personal organizers such as the Sharp Wizard and the Psion Organiser were also referred to as " PIMs ".

Prior to the introduction of Beta Hi-Fi, Sony shifted the Y carrier up by 400 kHz to make room for the four FM carriers that would be needed for Beta Hi-Fi.

Prior to introduction the reborn " TC1 " after a year of road testing received improvements to critical chassis components due to the harsher roads of rural Argentina and a lot of parts were re-selected for ease of availability although most of it still had to be imported from European Ford plants.

Prior to the start of the 2007 – 08 season, the Blue Jackets organization brought a hand-made replica 1857 Napoleon cannon into Nationwide Arena.

Prior to the tank, armies used horses and field guns ( cannon ), and possessed no gun designed to fire within a confined space.

Prior to 2001, COMPSRON 2 consisted of up to 20 ships, including four Combat Force Ships which provided rapid-response delivery of equipment to ground troops in the US Army.

Prior to this, passing ships stopped irregularly at the island for a period of mere hours.

Prior to the arrival of the British, a small fleet of supply ships had arrived in Quebec with much-needed supplies.

Prior to 2002, the flag was often used unofficially by Bermudian ships as an ensign, as reflected in Admiralty correspondence dating back to the 1950s.

Prior to that time the assembly of ships for naval operations was referred to as fleets, divisions, or on the smaller scale, squadrons, and flotillas.

Prior to working for Union Pacific, Curran worked for Paxton and Vierling Steel ( pvsteel. com ), also in Omaha, which engineered banana conveyor systems to load cargo ships in the tropics.

Prior to the 19th century, transatlantic crossings were undertaken in sailing ships, and the journeys were time consuming and often perilous.

Prior to disestablishment, Second Fleet oversaw approximately 126 ships, 4500 aircraft, and 90, 000 personnel homeported at U. S. Navy installations along the East Coast.

Prior to the GMDSS, the number and type of radio safety equipment ships had to carry depended upon its tonnage.

Prior to dredging the port was only able to load vessels less than 2, 000 tonnes but today it is able to accommodate ships over 250, 000 tonnes.

Prior to his conquest of Siberia, Ermac ’ s combat experience consisted of leading a Cossack detachment for the tsar in the Livonian War of 1558-83 and plundering merchant ships.

Prior to the American Revolution, Wickes was captain of the merchant ships the Neptune and the Ceres.

Prior to this time the Arsenal had served mainly as a place to maintain privately-built ships.

Prior to this change, numerous ships had struck the bridge over the years, the worst incident being the 1978 one described above, and the bridge's center pier ultimately was deemed an impediment to river navigation.

Prior to 1824, when the newly independent Mexico liberalized the trade rules and allowed trade with non-Mexican ships, the occasional trading ship or U. S. whaler that put in to a California port to trade, get fresh water, replenish their firewood and obtain fresh meat and vegetables became more common.

Prior to this, the flotilla had coastal and air defense artillery, airfields, and new ships.

Prior to the formal establishment of the corps, ships ’ surgeons served without commissions, unless given one by the commanding officer.

Prior to the advent of radar, military personnel would use binoculars and compasses to search for ships at sea and relay their coordinates to a central post.

Prior to the adoption of oil fired machinery, navies could extend the range of their ships either by maintaining coaling stations or for warships to raft together with colliers and for coal to be manhandled aboard.

Prior to this, other America traders, such as Robert Morris, had sent ships to trade with China, notably the Empress of China in 1784, but had had trouble finding goods for which the Chinese would trade.

Prior to Keyes, the Dover Patrol had been commanded by Admiral Bacon and had succeeded in sinking two German U-Boats in the English Channel in the previous two years, but out of 88, 000 crossings by ships only five had been torpedoed and one sunk by gunfire.