It goes back longer than that Steve. In the 1800s/1900s the pros were using ticker tape machines in the NYSE in real time.
Then it really gained momentum when NASDAQ launched in 1971 as the first electronic stock exchange and again in the 1980s when Electronic Communication Networks (ECNs) made order execution faster.
Of course us retail traders were last to the race when the tech caught up and reall;y became available.
