yo

From: Sam Ismail <dastar_at_crl.com>
Date: Wed Apr 30 00:06:08 1997

On Tue, 29 Apr 1997, Brett wrote:

> > Yes, I realized that. The PDP-8 and PDP-11 are definitely worthy of
> > mention, but did they really make the impact and have significance equal
> > to the Altair and the others? I'm sure you could argue to that effect.
> > Care to?
>
> Well, I think the point the mini's made was fundamental to the micros
> history. Coming from the 60's (oops) I remember the ?joy? of realizing
> that you didn't need a powerplant and a huge room of boxes with spinning
> tape drives chilled to just above freezing to have a computer 8-)
> That is what the minis did, for me and businesses. There were
> technological advances sure, but if you wheren't IN the know, very few
> people know the processor was that desk over there and not all that
> *other* stuff. Once seeing a PDP-8, it kind of hit home that, Yes you
> could pack all the power of a room full of stuff into one half hieght
> 19" rack with a mini and a tape reader with one ASR-33. It changed the
> way people *viewed* the computer.

Well, even though I am proposing a micro as the Computer of the Show, it
does not mean that this is to the exclusion of all other systems.
Definitely the PDP will be featured (if we can get one at the show) and
will enjoy a billing equal to the other systems. Your next point is
compelling though...

> > Good suggestions. But for the first year, recognizable names from the
> > annals of computer history would go a longer way towards gaining support
> > from sponsors and such. This is in my opinion. Anyone care to offer a
> > challenge to this?
>
> I don't know Sam, (as I stated before 8-) maybe if you specialized you
> could get support from those involved. I mean Cray is loosing market
> share but might fork over some bucks/equipment/mock-ups if you said -
> "Look, we want to feature Cray as founding father who help make desktop
> computers a reality. Without his foresight, we could not have gotten
> where we are today." Gee, advertizing! And then find out who he had a
> running battle with and ask them too! Explain how the *battle* improved
> the world for everyone. Nobody was right - nobody was wrong. It's just
> how things went.

This would be attractive to Cray. But isn't Cray gone now? Anyhow, if
we tell the plight of one manufacturer, other manufacturer's will get a
black eye that we didn't choose THEIR system and will hold a grudge
against the show for ever more. I don't think you can win unless you
highlight ALL the systems and have ample history on ALL the players in
the computer industry. So this is what I plan on doing, except I still
want to showcase a micro as the show highlight because: 1) I grew up on
them and 2) they brought computers into the hands of the masses. Mini's
made them accessible to businesses, etc. But micro's made computing
power accessible to just about anyone. They would be the systems that
people would most readily identify with. I think as long as we have a
mix of all the different platforms, it will be a show for all.

Sam
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Computer Historian, Programmer, Musician, Philosopher, Athlete, Writer, Jackass
Received on Wed Apr 30 1997 - 00:06:08 BST