from
Jargon File (4.4.4, 14 Aug 2003)
glass tty
/glas T.T.Y/, /glas ti'tee/, n.
[obs.] A terminal that has a display screen but which, because of
hardware or software limitations, behaves like a teletype or some
other printing terminal, thereby combining the disadvantages of both:
like a printing terminal, it can't do fancy display hacks, and like a
display terminal, it doesn't produce hard copy. An example is the
early `dumb' version of Lear-Siegler ADM 3 (without cursor control).
See {tube}, {tty}; compare {dumb terminal}. See TV Typewriters
(Appendix A) for an interesting true story about a glass tty.
from
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008)
glass tty
/glas T-T-Y/ or /glas ti'tee/ A terminal that has a display
screen but which, because of hardware or software limitations,
behaves like a teletype or some other printing terminal,
thereby combining the disadvantages of both: like a printing
terminal, it can't do fancy display hacks, and like a display
terminal, it doesn't produce hard copy. An example is the
early "dumb" version of Lear-Siegler ADM 3 (without cursor
control). See {tube}, {tty}; compare {dumb terminal}, {smart
terminal}. See "{TV Typewriters}" for an interesting true
story about a glass tty.