On Thu, 12 Apr 2001, Mark Gregory wrote:
> I remember the Icons well from my school days. I have a semi-serious belief
> that the Ontario government and/or the Toronto Board of Education has
> attempted to erase all evidence that the Icon ever existed. For those who
> didn't grow up in Southern Ontario, the Icon project was an ambitious early
> attempt to put a computer in every school. Unfortunately, it was sabotaged
> by the politically motivated insistence on a "made in Canada" solution.
>
> A consortium was put together that created proprietary hardware running a
> Unix variant (years before Linux put Unix in the mainstream). In a world
> rapidly being swamped by the enthusiasm and high hopes of the "Home
> Computing" revolution, where Commodore, Apple and Atari were king, the Icon
> was a costly failure. It limped along for a few years, but once the
> government lost its initial enthusiasm for computer-assisted learning, the
> plug was quickly pulled. The last place I remember seeing an Icon was at
> the Ontario Science Centre, where they were used to run programs like
> Forest fire fighting simulations. I'd love to get one if I ever run across
> one.
Yes, I'd like to add one to my collection too. I'm seriously interested:
cash or trade. If any of you in the 51st US State come across an extra
one please let me know :)
Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival
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International Man of Intrigue and Danger
http://www.vintage.org
Received on Thu Apr 12 2001 - 11:57:15 BST