CC> Vintage Computer Festival Exhibition Write-ups

From: Doug Spence <ds_spenc_at_alcor.concordia.ca>
Date: Mon Oct 13 05:05:12 1997

On Fri, 3 Oct 1997, Charles E. Fox wrote:

> Have you ever heard of the Icon computer?
> It seems that back in the late '70s the poobahs at the Department of
> Education for Ontario (Canada) were upset because incompatable computers
> were finding their way into classrooms, and the programs for these C-64s
> and Apple ][s could not be used on each other. Being bureaucrats they came
> up with a solution: design and build their own computer which would be
> installed in all seventy five thousand Ontario classrooms! Naturally this
> was designed by a committee, and since it was to be for educational
> purposes they consulted with one (1) teacher and no students.

Amazing! This sounds even dumber that what the Quebec government was
doing at the time! :)

I saw one of the machines purchased by the Quebec government from France,
in a Salvation Army store about a year ago. It was running and appeared
to be in good shape. I just wish I could remember now what the name of it
was. The father of a friend of mine was on the local school board,
though, and I think he still has some promotional material about them.

I think they were just MS-DOS machines with a French keyboard and shipped
with a French-language BASIC variant, but I'm not sure. My high school
actually had some of those things, but I never used one. I only used the
TRS-80 Model IIIs the few times I bothered with the high school computer
lab (I had a ][+ clone at home, and my brother had a PET 2001 and C64, who
needed the computer lab?).

The Icon sounds familiar for some reason. I suspect it may have been
pictured in an issue of Computing Now! that I have from 1983. As soon as
I regain access to my magazines (locked in my father's bedroom - he's
currently sleeping) I'll look it up.


Doug Spence
ds_spenc_at_alcor.concordia.ca
Received on Mon Oct 13 1997 - 05:05:12 BST

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