So could an IBM Composer kern? Dr. Bouffard can't say with 100% accuracy, but he does not think it's possible that early machines had the computer memory necessary to complete such a function. The only possible way to find out would be to obtain an IBM Composer circa 1972. Long story short? I'm just presenting the analysis one expert forensic document examiner that specializes in typefaces, so, ignoring the statements by Killian's family that disavow the documents, ignoring the inconsistencies in tone, format and the active military status of individuals mentioned in the memo, soley based on forensic typographical analysis, it is highly unlikely that the documents are real, and if someone can verify that a 1972 IBM Composer cannot kern (or auto center, for that matter), then it will be completely verified that the documents are frauds. Once again, I am not commenting on the myriad of other angles that question this story, merely providing an in depth summary of Dr. Bouffard's findings. To quote: "Because it takes such a stretch to come up with all of the remote possibilities involved in creating the (CBS) document, it is much more likely that it is a computer generated document. ... I can't imagine the Composer would have enough memory (to kern)."
see post 529... the "History of Word Processing" talks about the Composers and doesn't mention kerning.
Then it states, "Kerning was implemented with WordPerfect 5.0, in 1988."
I used a IBM Selectrec with Proportional Spacing, throughout the 60's to type, formulate and publish a trade magazine....what a nightmare to set up with the string tension doowah on the back of the carriage....anyway, I had no "superscript" that I recall. Just typed, for instance..."th" and it would be proportionally spaced right at the bottom after the number....and looking at copies of the magazine which I still have, the spacing was an "abortion" at times. I think we should demand that Rather be put in a PigPen for the rest of his miserable life!