Classic Computing:

The Complete
Historically Brewed

Historically Brewed
Issues 1 through 9
&

Classic Computing
Issue 1

David Greelish
ClassicComputing.com
Classic Computing Press
Johns Creek, GA

Made in the USA

Copyright © 2014

by David Greelish, Computer Historian

http://about.me/davidgreelish

Classic Computing
The Home of Computer History Nostalgia
http://www.classiccomputing.com

Cover by Tim van de Vall, Illustrator

http://www.timvandevall.com

Updated and Expanded Third Edition

April 2014

ISBN-13 978-0-615-53812-9

This book is dedicated

- to my loving wife Tamara -

She has always been supportive of

my hobby and pursuits.
 Table of Contents
Forward..........................................................................................................................5

My Story........................................................................................................................6

Issue 1
Computer Trek.......................................................................................................20
Programming Languages Compared.......................................................................21
The Graphical User Interface.................................................................................22
The XEROX Palo Alto Research Center...................................................................26
Book review of Stan Veit’s History of the Personal Computer..................................27
Letters....................................................................................................................27
The Altair & Cromemco.........................................................................................28
The ZALTAIR & MAAC...........................................................................................30

Issue 2
Where’s Lisa Now?.................................................................................................36
VIC-20 Remembered.............................................................................................37
The Computer That Cracked the Enigma.................................................................38
more War stories?..................................................................................................39
Computer History Trivia.........................................................................................42
Book review of Hackers.........................................................................................43
Letters....................................................................................................................43
The Coleco Adam..................................................................................................44
Bill Gates’ “An Open Letter to Hobbyists”..............................................................46

Issue 3
The Beginnings of the Apple II Retold - Part I..........................................................52
The Art of Computer Collecting..............................................................................57
The Computer Generation......................................................................................58
Book review of A Collector’s Guide to Personal Computers....................................59
Letters....................................................................................................................59
Tidbits for Collectors..............................................................................................63

Issue 4
Letters....................................................................................................................68
The Beginnings of the Apple II Retold - Part II.........................................................71
Kaypro Korner - Part I.............................................................................................77
Calculating Computers...........................................................................................79
My First Computer.................................................................................................80
A Problem in the Making.......................................................................................83

Issue 5
Letters....................................................................................................................88
The Beginnings of the Apple II Retold - Part III........................................................91
Kaypro Korner - Part II............................................................................................93
Atanasoff’s Computer.............................................................................................94
Book reviews of The Best of BYTE, Insanely Great & Accidental Empires................95
Classic Computer Emulators...................................................................................96
Issue 5 (continued)
Computer History Books........................................................................................97
Computer Museums...............................................................................................98
Apple Pie.............................................................................................................103

Issue 6
Letters..................................................................................................................108
MITS’ Final Days..................................................................................................113
Kaypro Korner - Part III.........................................................................................115
Canon’s Cat.........................................................................................................117
Baby Blue............................................................................................................120
Merger Madness..................................................................................................121
The BREWED Trading Post...................................................................................122
Toys”R”Us Internal Memo....................................................................................127

Issue 7
Letters..................................................................................................................132
The DEC PDP-8 Story - Part I................................................................................137
Computin’ in the Ol’ Days...................................................................................140
For The Collector..................................................................................................141
The Calculating Machine.....................................................................................142
The BREWED Trading Post...................................................................................144

Issue 8
Letters..................................................................................................................152
Computin’ in the Ol’ Days...................................................................................156
The DEC PDP-8 Story - Part II...............................................................................157
For The Collector..................................................................................................161
Intro to Classic Computing...................................................................................162
Home Arcade Enthusiast......................................................................................164

Issue 9
Letters..................................................................................................................171
Computin’ in the Ol’ Days...................................................................................174
A Talk With THE Creator?!....................................................................................175
MITS’ 20 Year Reunion.........................................................................................179
The DEC PDP-8 Story - Part III..............................................................................181
The Internet..........................................................................................................185
For The Collector..................................................................................................186
The Atari 8-Bit......................................................................................................188
The Beginnings....................................................................................................189
Remembering Gary Kildall...................................................................................191
Home Arcade Enthusiast......................................................................................193
Classic Arcades....................................................................................................194

Classic Computing Issue 1

From the Publisher...............................................................................................199
Collecting Classic Computers...............................................................................200
The Alto Computer...............................................................................................205
The First Bug........................................................................................................208
Computin’ in the Ol’ Days...................................................................................210
Byte Nostalgia......................................................................................................211
Full Basement......................................................................................................212
 Forward
Every hobby has its stories, and collecting vintage computers is no different. In fact, it has
great stories. Some are well known by the general public, like the one about two guys named
Steve who launched Apple Computer from a garage. Others are the lore of the hobby—like
the political intrigue around the development of MS-DOS or DEC creating the minicomputer
and kicking IBM’s butt. For every one of these well-known and well-documented stories,
unfortunately, hundreds are yet to be told.

And some of those stories might never be told because no one documents them. The
computer industry is still relatively young. Old computers are just old computers to most people,
even those who work in IT. The historical significance of the computers, technologies, and people
is often not understood until many of the details are lost.

Memories fade, documents disappear, and sadly, the people behind the stories eventually
die. This is why the launch of Historically Brewed in 1993 was both prescient and needed. David
Greelish and his contributors started to tell the stories. At the time, the PC was just 12 years old, a
few years younger than the Apple II, TRS-80, and Commodore PET computers that you could still
find being used in some households. Businesses were still running reliably on DEC PDP and VAX
minicomputers.

Yet the computer collecting hobby was starting to take off in the early 1990s. It was
fragmented with small clubs, user groups, and online forums that focused mainly on a specialized
interest area. There was little that would give all collectors a sense that they were part of a larger
community.

Historically Brewed filled that void, and it brought the community together through
the stories. Those stories were as varied as the community at large. Microcomputer computer
collectors could gain an appreciation of DEC and its PDP-8. Apple fans learned the connection
between the Macintosh and the Canon Cat. Articles such as “GUI: The Graphical User Interface”
cut across all genres. David complemented the stories with plenty of advice for those new to the
hobby.

With the Web, the computer collecting hobby today is a bigger, stronger community than
in 1993, but I believe the hobby still needs Historically Brewed. While the computers get old, the
stories never do.

Michael Nadeau

Author of Collectible Microcomputers

Classic Tech blog
http://classictech.wordpress.com

5
 looked like very large typewrit-
ers. These were terminals of
course, printer terminals – they
didn’t have displays (CRTs)!
I remember clearly that they
had the IBM Selectric balls.
When typing out text, they
spun around in the carriage
in an almost hypnotic way.
They printed out on that iconic
“green bar” printer paper too!
Our teacher and the lab work-
ers got us all seated in twos at
the terminals, and only a very
low hum could be heard from
all of the machines. Suddenly,
they all came to life! It was
amazing and almost magical
how a dozen or so of these
big typewriters were typing by
themselves at the same time.
Hi, I’m David Greelish, Computer If that wasn’t impressive enough, they started
Historian – self-made. Thank you for buying typing out “Welcome” in large letters by com-
my book! Of course it’s not entirely my book, bining ASCII characters. Depending on how
as many of the articles of Historically Brewed old you are, you might remember seeing mall
were written by other people, but more on that vendors making calendars, t-shirts, and such
later. I want to start off by telling you a little with video capture photos the same way. I can’t
more about myself, my history, and just how remember all of the details now and I don’t
this hobby of mine, my newsletter / magazine / know if my friend and I took turns typing in
“zine” . . . all got started. It turns out I was a bit our names, but one of the most amazing things
of a pioneer, in both computer history nostal- happened – the computer asked our names and
gia, and within the zine revolution. then typed them out in even larger ASCII let-
ters. It had learned our names! This thing had
Well, first off, I was born on a warm, intelligence and could interact with us! Or so
sunny Florida afternoon, in a little town called we thought. We spent the rest of our time using
. . . oh wait, that’s a little too far back! Fast the university computer for what it was re-
forward to the fifth grade and my first interac- ally meant for – playing Star Trek! It was a text
tion with the world of computers. I wrote about only game, but it was still amazing. From that
this in one of my first articles, written for issue point on, I remember how significant I thought
one, “Computer Trek.” As the story goes, I went computers were and I knew, one day, I wanted
on a field trip with my fifth grade class in 1975. a job in computer technology. Coincidentally,
We visited the University of North Florida, in while growing up watching Star Trek in reruns,
Jacksonville, my hometown. We were given a I knew that they were to become an integral
tour of their computer lab facility, but I don’t part of our lives. Maybe one day, we would re-
remember actually seeing the computer itself. It ally talk to them too.
was probably locked away in a secure, raised-
floor room. The lab consisted mostly of tables I didn’t grow up with a personal com-
where two people could sit in front of what
6
puter and didn’t get my first hands-on experi- Moving along, but back to 1986, it
ence with one until college. That was in 1982, would be later in that year that I was intro-
in one of the first college courses I selected. duced to the computer that has influenced my
It was called “Introduction to Computer Con- life the most – the Macintosh. I had moved
cepts.” In the lab, I used an Apple ][+ with to Frederick, Maryland, where I went to col-
matching Apple monitor and disk drive. I lege part-time and worked at a computer store
learned to do some BASIC programming and called Frederick Computer Products. I was so
also how to save / load programs to and from excited to get that job, as it was my first related
a diskette. It was shortly after this time that I to computers. I worked on the retail floor, but
first started thinking about buying a computer the company also had large corporate, govern-
for myself. Being on my own by age 19 (in ment, and educational sales and support de-
1983) and essentially poor, I never had enough partments. It was a successful company, serving
money to seriously shop for one. Around 1984, the greater Washington, DC and Baltimore ar-
I had my sights set on the Commodore Plus/4 eas. We sold IBM, HP, Compaq, Epson and Ap-
simply because I saw it advertised on TV for a ple computers. This was my first introduction to
clear-out price of $99. It wouldn’t be until my the full range of personal computing (I was then
22nd birthday in 1986 that I received my first unaware of the Commodore Amiga and Atari
computer as a gift, purchased by a very con- offerings). Though about 90% of all sales were
siderate girlfriend. It was a Commodore C64. PC / DOS-based computers, internally, we used
I loved that computer, even though it was all Macs for just about everything. I was fascinated
that I ever had (no monitor, cassette tape or by the Mac and quickly learned how to use
disk drive, etc.). I just used it with my little 13” them for proposals, sales quotes, and business
color TV. I would whip up a BASIC program letters. I also learned to use a simple networked
and mess around for days on it, but I had to hard drive (fileserver) and printed documents
leave the computer on the entire time or lose on the networked Apple laser printer. There
my program! was something so friendly and intuitive about
the Macintosh, and so I decided that I would
As a young adult, I always had room- never buy anything else. When I worked at the
mates to save money, but in the middle of store, the Mac Plus was the top-of-the-line and
1987, I decided to get my own one-bedroom later the Mac SE was introduced. I aimed for
apartment. All that I had for furnishings was my the low-end Mac 512 Enhanced – it was the
bed, a small table with chairs, my computer, cheapest model I hoped I might afford some
and a TV. The apartment had glass sliding patio day soon (I had not yet considered that without
doors in the back and I still hadn’t purchased a hard drive or additional disk drive, the com-
blinds or curtains after living there about two puter would be almost unusable). I purchased
weeks. I worked in a restaurant at night and, some of my first software there too (for my
being young and naive, went to work one future Mac), including the game Suspended by
Friday night with both the TV and computer left Infocom, in the cool “folio” packaging with the
on. They were both sitting out in the middle disturbing-looking white face mask. Also while
of the living room floor. I came home about working there, I remember the introduction of
midnight to find my glass doors smashed in the Apple IIGS and how impressed I was with
and my TV and computer stolen. My neighbors its color graphics and sound, plus I saw the
were having a loud party, with people all over introduction of IBM’s PS/2 line (which were not
the place outside (I didn’t know any of them). so impressive to me).
Lesson learned, trust diminished, and I grew up
a little bit more. By the fall of 1989, I still didn’t have my
own computer and with more life changes and
7
some additional moving around, I was now by TVOntario in 1983, so it was already very
in Gainesville, Florida (where the University outdated by 1991, but for me, it was a retro,
of Florida is located). I was still on-fire for the computer history entertainment fiesta! I loved
Mac and I got a job with an Apple dealer there it so much that I went back later with my
called Mini Concepts. Selling them again only girlfriend (who I had met at Fort Gordon, was
increased my desire, so after working there a also in the Army, and would later marry me on
while, I asked about buying a computer at a June 1st of 1991) and watched it all again! She
discount, but even with that, I couldn’t hope thought I was a little weird – but still liked me!
to afford one. One day a guy brought in his I’ve posted the first episode of this great show
“Mac” to be serviced; it was odd looking and on YouTube, and I plan to post them all soon. A
larger than a classic Macintosh. I looked it over third catalyst was a gift from my brother Mi-
on the workbench and asked our computer chael. After my training at Fort Gordon, I was
technician about it – it wasn’t a Mac at all, but leaving for Germany, so I was visiting with him
an Apple Lisa. I looked through my MacUser and other family members. We talked about my
and MacWorld magazines and noticed a regu- interests and it turned out that he had a copy
lar ad from a company call Sun Remarketing. of Steven Levy’s book Hackers from 1984. This
They were selling new, old-stock Lisas that classic explained the true, original meaning of
were upgraded to run as Macs! Where it would “hacking.” I even started making certificates
have cost me about $1,600 (with discount) for with The Hacker Ethic on them when I began
the cheapest Mac system – a Mac Plus with publishing Historically Brewed:
an external 20MB hard drive, I could buy
what was essentially a Mac Plus work-alike for
$1,095! I financed that purchase and received
my Lisa “new” in the box at the end of De-
cember, 1989. My first “real” computer (with
a display, disk drive, and hard drive) – my first
Mac! Unboxing it, setting it up, and running
it for the first time was exciting and wonderful
for me. You’ll also read more about this in my
introduction to issue one.
The Hacker Ethic
My Apple Lisa was a key catalyst to my
interest in computer history, as my passion for Access to computers – and anything which
its history blossomed into my interest in the might teach you something about the way the
history of Apple Computer, then personal com- world works – should be unlimited and total.
puters, and then computer history in general. Always yield to the Hands-On Imperative!
Another key catalyst / event that furthered my
growing interest happened while in Army train- All information should be free.
ing during February of 1991 (after basic train-
ing, 12/90 – 1/91). During my first two weeks Mistrust authority – promote decentralization.
at Fort Gordon, Georgia, I had to go to the
Hackers should be judged by their hacking, not
Army Learning Center and watch five differ-
bogus criteria such as degrees, age, race, or
ent training videos and successfully test-out on
position.
them. We had a choice of what to watch within
the criteria of the different topics assigned. For You can create art and beauty on a computer.
technology, I chose a series on personal com-
puting called Bits and Bytes. It was produced Computers can change your life for the better.
8
It’s a great book and I always recommend it. It Computer Shopper regularly (loved Stan Veit’s
has three main sections: The True Hackers, The column, “What Ever Happened to . . .”), and
Hardware Hackers, and The Game Hackers. I was active in the local American Macintosh
It covers the MIT Tech Model Railroad Club, User Group (in Kaiserslautern, near Ramstein
Homebrew Computer Club, Altair computer, Air Force Base).
Apple I computer, Sierra On-Line, and more.
Hackers really whet my appetite for the stories Sometime later in 1992, I first started
of old computers and opened my eyes to read- thinking about going “online.” I had read about
ing more about computer history. So, I began BBSes for years and I wanted to check them
seeking out other books on the subject. Newly out, but I was in Germany (I never did learn
married, my wife and I were stationed in Darm- how to read or speak much German). I was
stadt, Germany, where I found a copy of anoth- surprised to find that I could use the Ameri-
er great book in the Army library, Digital Deli, can CompuServe service through my German
by Steve Ditlea. Later, I discovered Fire in the phone with a local number. So I purchased
Valley by Paul Freiberger and Michael Swaine. my first modem, a Zoom 2400 baud (a deal
These would be followed by many, many more. at the time for $99 by mail-order), and I sub-
scribed. I’ve been “online” continuously ever
After settling into our house in Germany, since. Being connected through CompuServe
and having my things shipped over, includ- opened up a whole new world of online in-
ing my Lisa “Mac,” I decided to finally buy a teraction to me. I was able to find some Apple
printer (never had my own). I had taught myself HyperCard “stacks” (hyperlinked documents)
desktop publishing at the Apple dealer and about computer history, a forum where people
I wanted to start printing things. After buy- discussed old computers, plus the classifieds. It
ing HP’s first inkjet printer for the Mac, the was then that I decided when I returned to the
DeskWriter, I found that I could not get it to states, I would start a computer club for people
work with the Lisa, though I had researched interested in computer history and collecting.
and read that it could. So, in early 1992, I I could then also start collecting old comput-
purchased my first new Macintosh, the Mac ers too. Through CompuServe, and while still
Classic, for $999. As much as I liked the old in Germany, I acquired one of my first old
stuff, I was, and still am, very active in the computers. I looked through the classifieds
modern computing scene. I subscribed to both regularly, so one day, I saw someone look-
MacUser and MacWorld, plus started buying ing to give away a Commodore SX-64. They
wanted it to go to a good home and to be well
taken care of, as it had been a very cherished
machine. I emailed the man and told him of
my plans to start a club, and that I would do
my best to preserve the machine in a collec-
tion and to show it off in presentations. A few
days later he announced that he had chosen
me! I was tremendously excited and I offered to
at least pay him for the shipping costs, but he
didn’t want any money. I had him ship it to my
mother’s house in the states and I got it when
we returned shortly after. A very nice touch
was that he included a print out with all of the
responses that he had received. I was the first
one, but also I was the only one who specifi-
My desk in our house in Germany.
9
cally said that I would preserve it as a piece of “member” and subscriber was Stan Veit, from
history. I still have that computer, the print outs, Computer Shopper magazine. He was active
and the letter from him. You can see the SX-64, in the computer history forum on CompuServe
and hear more of the story in my second video and I was so honored and surprised when he
podcast at ClassicComputing.com. I will post sent me a nice letter of support, with a check
the letter and print outs to my blog someday for $15, and a proof copy of his upcoming
soon too. I also acquired two of my other early book! He had opened the second computer
collectibles while still in Germany: a TRS-80 store in the world, in 1975 in New York City.
Model 4P from my uncle and a 1975 Basic/ The book is one of my favorites and I’m slowly
Four minicomputer. The owner of the mini- reading it into an audiobook podcast. I re-
computer came all the way down to Florida in ceived his permission to do so in 2006, before
a pick-up truck from Pennsylvania (I’m pretty his death in 2010. Within a couple of weeks of
sure that was the state) and dropped it off at my regularly posting the press release, I was getting
father’s house for me! He wanted it preserved. replies of interest about the club and newslet-
This was all arranged online, other than talking ter. I also signed up for AOL (America On-Line)
to my father by phone. and started posting there too. It was exciting to
come home each day from work and answer
Just before leaving Germany for our next three, four or more emails of interest. Soon,
duty station, I started making plans for the club some other checks and letters started to arrive.
and I named it the Historical Computer Society.
I wanted it to be taken seriously and sound dis-
tinguished, as my intent was to one day grow
it into a full non-profit organization and open
a museum. I wrote a press release that I could
use to try and get publicity for the club and I
came up with the name of the newsletter, His-
torically Brewed. I named it as a play on words
to the Homebrew club / movement. I had also
been teaching myself HyperCard, so I created
my own stack and gave it out at the last Mac
user group meeting that I attended in Germany.
It was a Macintosh history stack and it became
the basis of my main article for the first issue,
“The GUI: Where Did its History Really Begin?”
By early April of 1993, my wife and I were Our first appartment in El Paso.
settled in El Paso, Texas (Fort Bliss) and she was My next step was to start writing the sto-
pregnant with our first child. I started posting ries for issue one and then to find contributors
the press release about the club and newslet- for issue two. I ended up having to go out into
ter regularly on CompuServe forums and in the the “field” for two weeks (training away from
classifieds. HB was to be published every other the base in Army conditions – tents, etc.) and I
month – what turned out to be a highly ambi- wrote the Star Trek article there. Since I was a
tious schedule. A subscription to HB was $15 radio repairer and you need electricity to repair
a year for six postage-paid issues and with that, electronics, we worked in a semi-trailer truck
you became a member of HCS. At some point and pulled a gas powered generator. I wrote
in the future, HCS would grow to become a that article on the SX-64 and then printed it to
non-profit organization and HB would become a small Okidata Okimate 10 printer. When I got
a professional magazine as its voice. My first home, I scanned the article into my Macintosh
10
(I had a Performa 400 color Mac by then) and future issues would not cross over years (issue
used OCR software to convert it! At the begin- three was for Dec/Jan). By mid-1994, my wife
ning of the summer of 1993, I was ready to start Tamara was pregnant again and she decided to
printing issue one (by literally “pasting-up” the leave the Army early (they gave her that op-
printed pages from my computer printer onto tion). I decided to not reenlist as well and left
master pages and then copying each of them the Army in September. We both felt that the
at a Mail Boxes Etc.). I would sometimes be at job market was too limited in El Paso as we
the copying machine until late at night, manu- were not bilingual, so we moved to Jackson-
ally copying onto each side of the 11” x 17” ville, Florida (Tamara is also from Florida - St.
sheets. If I remember correctly, I had about 30 Petersburg). In the little less than two years of
paid subscribers and sold a dozen or so single living in El Paso and in pursuing my hobby, I
copies of the Aug/Sept 1993 issue (one). Just had published six issues of HB and had ac-
before that issue hit the “press,” our first child quired about three dozen or so computers.
was born, Addy, who is now 18. I also had an office filled with many books,
magazines, software and other ephemera. I had
been featured in a few articles, with one being
a really nice magazine spot in Texas Monthly
(see my blog). Wired magazine selected HB

as one of the “Top Ten Tech Zines” for the year

1994 and I was even featured on two local
television news channels in El Paso. HB was
regularly listed in Factsheet Five, a magazine
that reviewed and covered the zine revolution
Working in my office, in our house in El Paso. (the publisher contacted me and was a fan of
Letters and checks continued to arrive my work!). It was being sold at the Smithson-
and the subscription base grew steadily dur- ian’s gift shop in Washington DC, at the Com-
ing that first year of publication. I was able to puter History Museum in Boston, Massachu-
line-up other writers from our readership, as setts (now in Mountain View, California), and at
well as from the computer history forums. After the American Computer Museum in Bozeman,
issue one, I never wrote an entire issue again. Montana. There were about 500 subscribers at
I mostly stayed on schedule, but was always a that time, with many from other countries! The
little late. I pushed back issue four a month, so future looked really bright for HB, which was
11
improving cosmetically and starting to look as a young, amateur computer history journal-
even more like a real magazine. ist. Read the interview in issue nine, and you
can also listen to it and read more about his life
After exiting the Army and moving, we on my blog. Unfortunately, Ed Roberts died last
assumed that since my wife had become preg- year, in April, 2010. With issue nine, the run of
nant while I was still in active service, that the Historically Brewed would stop.
Army would cover the pregnancy and child-
birth costs. That was not the case. The Army did In 1997, I decided that I would try and
not cover us, my wife could not work, and so I get the magazine up and running again. I had
worked as much as I could, but we were now a good job and I worked extra on the side in
poor. Even if we could have afforded insurance, order to make ends meet – our household
it wouldn’t have been impossible to cover her was reasonably stable. I decided to change
anyway, as a pregnancy was considered a pre- the name of the magazine so that it could be
existing condition. Life got a lot harder. I don’t recognized for its content right away. I thought
remember now how long it took to get issue this could only help its exposure when it sat on
seven out, but it took even longer than it had bookstore shelves one day. I chose the name
for issue six. Issue eight was released a good “Classic Computing.” It was simple, direct and
bit after our son Andrew was born on March catchy – perfect! I gathered articles for the new
20th, 1995. One of the other things that I did issue and began work. I designed a new cover
after moving to Jacksonville was to self-publish layout too, and made it look more like a main-
a book containing the first six issues of HB. So stream magazine. I created my first full color
there was an HB book that predates this one, covers and set it up to print in what is called a
and you’ll see some ads for it in the later is- four-color-separation. I had however estimated
sues. My intent was for it to open up a larger for the cost of the two-color covers that I had
audience for the magazine and to help pay previously been printing since issue five. I had
the costs of also printing issue seven. I used a the covers printed first, and when it came time
credit card to finance the printing of 200 cop- to start printing the inside pages, the cost of the
ies. It sold slowly, and it certainly didn’t help us covers had already devoured the entire budget
financially (taking a few years to sell them all). run for the whole magazine! They looked great,
We were struggling to just make ends meet, but I was stymied with the situation. The is-
and my dream of making HB into a main-
stream magazine, or even a future career, was
diminishing. Issue nine came out sometime in
early 1996 and I didn’t even do a “From the
Publisher” column, or put a date on the cover.
I didn’t want to draw attention to how late it
was, or have to make excuses. It was a time
of anxiety for me, both personally and about
the magazine. I still think issue nine was one
of the best issues I ever did, highlighted by a
personal interview I conducted with the creator
of the MITS Altair, Ed Roberts. He had sold his
business in 1977 and moved to a small town
in Georgia, where he became a doctor and
opened his own general practice. It was about
a five hour drive from Jacksonville to go and in-
terview him – a very special experience for me
12
sue was not completed and as more time went Nevertheless, my interest in old computers,
by, more personal financial problems came. their history, and the people never waned. I
Classic Computing issue one would never be would give the occasional computer history
and the printed covers remained boxed-up, presentation at a Mac user group meeting, and
between my closet and the garage, for years af- I occasionally found old computers at thrift
terward. In mid-1998, I purchased the domain stores or on eBay. I sometimes still bought and
name “classiccomputing.com,” but I didn’t sold old computers on eBay too. I did teach
really know much about creating web pages. myself some basic web design by way of Claris
Slowly, I learned how to create a basic web Home Page software for the Macintosh, but I
presence, but CC issue one still never material- was just never that good with it. My efforts to
ized. With the year 2003, a new child arrived, keep a web page going never really panned
Jonah, and my computer history hobby seem- out. I had a lot to share, but I couldn’t find a
ingly stopped completely. direction. That changed in the summer of 2006
when I discovered podcasts through
the iTunes Store. On a whim, I did
a search for “computer history” and
found The Retrobits Podcast by Earl
Evans, who had been producing
episodes for almost a year. I enjoyed
listening to the current episode so
much that I went back and started
listening from the beginning! I soon
discovered 1MHz, The Apple ][ Pod-
cast by Carrington Vanston, and the
Boring Beige Box podcast by Matt
Wilson. A little later in 2006 came
the RetroMacCast podcast with James
and John. Carrington and Earl are
now my regular co-hosts on the Retro
Computing Roundtable, and Matt,
James and John have also all been on
the show. So podcasts and podcast-
ing really sparked and renewed my
creativity in the hobby again. I love
podcasts and podcasting, so check it
out!

It’s still hard to get some of

my projects out on time, as my cur-
rent life is filled with my busy fam-
ily. I have two teens in high school
Classiccomputing.com in 2001. and one halfway through elementary
school. I am however very optimistic
Over the years, my computer collection about the future of my hobby and my activities
has expanded and contracted, depending on in it.
circumstances, especially around times when
we moved (six more times because of work).

13
 I co-host and produce the regular
Retro Computing Roundtable podcast
(every three weeks), which has essen-
tially become the modern incarnation of
Historically Brewed. With the comple-
tion of this book, I am back to producing
chapters of Stan Veit’s wonderful audio-
book podcast, and I’ll do an occasional
video podcast (called Classic Comput-
ing). I am working on ideas to make
Classic Computing into a three minute
package for news programs. Last year, I
started up the Historical Computer Soci-
ety again as a regional club / user group.
Working on the Retro Computing Roundtable. It had a couple of misfires, but now it’s
a stable and growing organization. We
have a core group of dedicated members, plus a regular meeting place. We discussed and voted
on the name, which is now the Atlanta Historical Computing Society – a nice nod to the original.
Its goals are to grow and evolve into a stand-alone, self-governing, non-profit, and educational
organization. Maybe one day we can even host an expo for the southeast (I hope)!

So, that’s enough about me, but I hope it gives you a good feel for my past, especially the
times surrounding the creation of Historically Brewed. These were great issues and contain still-
relevant histories of the computers, people and times of our computing past. These stories belong
in a quality book, to be held, read and cherished. You’re now holding that and I couldn’t be more
proud! Enjoy it in good health, and please, contact me sometime and let me know what you think
about it. - October 2011

Photo taken for Texas Monthly article. Photo taken for Historically Brewed.
14
 Showing and selling at the
first Vintage Computer Fes-
tival East in Marlborough,
Massachusetts, July, 2001.

Sitting at the Altair in a desk, 2010.

In my office in a suit,
1994.

Some of my collection in my office, 1993.

15
 Photo taken for Texas Monthly article.

Looking at computers in my office

in El Paso, 1994.

Displaying at the
LA Computer Fair,
1994.

Presenting at a user group, 2010.

16
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 Are you a proud From the Publisher
member of HCS? After all these years . . .
Prove it by showing off your By David Greelish
copy of Classic Computing! Wow! I finally did it - I finished Classic Com-
puting magazine, issue 1! Welcome to the first, and
last issue of the magazine of computer history nostalgia
If you know someone interested (that almost never was). It’s missing the letters section,
in computer history nostalgia, ads, Trading Post, “Friends,” as well as a few other
things, but I think it still has the soul of what Histori-
then tell them about CC. cally Brewed was. This essentially would have been HB
issue 10. I had decided a name change was in order so
Classic Computing that anyone could immediately know what the maga-
zine was about. The covers were printed around 1998
(formally and cost $500! They were my first full-color ones. That
pretty much “broke the bank” and stopped my maga-
Historically Brewed) zine publishing days permanently (I’m keeping this
short, so read the full story in my book). I have had the
ISSN: 1074-2557 covers boxed up for 14 years until now. The articles
here were all submitted to me around that time too (‘97
- ‘98) and my wife and I did a preliminary layout in my
Issue #1 QuarkXpress software for the Macintosh.
Published November 2011 * Unfortunately, bylines had not been assigned
(original material from 1997 & 1998) yet for two articles, so now years later, I no longer have
their original files, or authors. They were in the issue
Publisher / Editor: and stay in the issue. It would be cool if I hear from
one of them in the future. They might just get a kick out
of knowing that their writing finally got published!
David Greelish
I hope you enjoy the stories. Having now re-
Contributors: read them all again during layout and editing, I have to
say that they are all very good! Drop me a line please,
Kevin Stumpf let me know what you think. I will publish them on my
blog.
Unknown* David Greelish, Computer Historian
President, Atlanta Historical Computing Society
Unknown*
Classic Computing
The Home of Computer History Nostalgia
David H. Ahl http://www.classiccomputing.com
Bill Mitchell Classic Computing Blog
Retro Computing Roundtable podcast
Brian Mahoney
Stan Veit’s History of the Personal Computer
audiobook podcast

Classic Computing Show video podcast

199

199
 Collecting Classic Computers
The Hobby Goes Mainstream
By Kevin Stumpf

T hese are exciting times for estab-

lished and would-be computer
puters (desktops, laptops, etc.), and
that makes sense. Microcomputers are
collectors. Fears have been proven physically small and relatively inexpen-
unnecessary, that all of the good, big sive, making them easy to collect. This
or little, old computers have long since also made them appealing to would-
been destroyed. Claims have also been be collectors, but these aren’t the only
Much has proven incorrect that the skills and qualities that explain the sudden surge
happened, knowledge to repair and restore old in the number of computer collectors.
much is computers have been lost. There is still Microcomputers brought com-
plenty of everything for everyone. puting to the people, and many people
happening, The computer field is already found they liked it. The pleasure of per-
and there is over fifty years old now, but in the sonal computing increased computer
grand scheme of things, that is quite literacy and the number of would-be
still much, young, too young for many “end ofs” collectors. Just like the IBM PC was the
much more to creep into its vocabulary. This is just boost the industry needed, so micro-
to happen. the beginning. If you started collecting computing in general was the boost the
today, you can easily build a collection hobby of collecting computers needed.
This article and enjoy the hobby just as much as The first known collector started
is a quick someone who started ten years ago. his collection in 1966 with a 120,000kg
Even the gender breakdown is (about 24,000lb) behemoth. That collec-
introduction shifting. When, in 1984, I started col- tor was Claude Kagan, and he worked
for the would- lecting computers, any collectors I at Bell Labs in New Jersey. When his
be collector knew or knew of, were also males. By employer decided to replace their Bur-
1998, when I wrote and published A roughs 205, Claude acquired it and had
and a status Guide to Collecting Computers and it installed in a barn (remember, com-
report for the Computer Collectibles: History, Prac- puters needed lots of space back then
established tice, and Technique, I had met two and generated lots of heat, so a barn
women who admitted to collecting was an ideal place to keep it). Many
collector. computers. Today, I know three female people around the world must have
computer collectors. been accumulating mementos of the
Much has happened, much is computer revolution, but nothing like
happening, and there is still much, Claude’s effort stands out again until a
much more to happen. This article is a year later in 1967. When then, Gwen
quick introduction for the would-be col- and Gordon Bell officially announced
lector and a status report for the estab- The Computer Museum in Boston, Mas-
lished collector. sachusetts.
Private collections started in
Brief History of the Hobby earnest, but it wasn’t until 1993 that it
was recognized as a hobby when David
Collecting computers became Greelish published the first issue of a
popular with the advent of microcom- newsletter he called Historically Brewed
200

200
under an organization called What Is A Collector? thing every collector should
the Historical Computer Society. learn is the lingo of collecting.
That same year, Dr. Thomas Had- There is an important Here are a few important terms.
dock published a price and rarity distinction to be made between
guide called A Collector’s Guide computer enthusiasts and com- Antique - The generally accepted
to Personal Computers and puter collectors. We all probably definition is something over 100
Pocket Calculators. Both publica- know at least one person who years old. According to this defi-
tions were ahead of their time, somehow came to own an inter- nition, there are no antique com-
but they helped galvanize the esting piece of computing his- puters. This point can be argued
hobby - some people became tory. This doesn’t automatically though, if you claim the rate of
computer collectors. qualify that person as a collector, change computers experience
In 1996, Bill Whitson but as an enthusiast. It is like you to be substantially higher than
opened a list server on the Inter- or I came across an authentic, changes in humans, computers
net called the Classic Computers handwritten letter from some- can be judged to age like dogs
List. It is still serving a very active one who has made a significant do. It is much easier to accept
community of collectors from contribution to humanity. Even the general definition and stop
around the world. Following if we do not have another thing using the term until sometime
that, in the autumn of 1997, Sel- connected with that person, nor around 2040, when the Colos-
lam Ismail held the first gather- had we known much about that sus, ENIAC, Zuse III, and others,
ing for computer collectors, the person before this discovery, we will celebrate 100-year anniver-
Vintage Computer Festival 1.0. would probably still keep the let- saries.
That was followed this year with ter. We might even mount it and
VCF 2.0, and next year the VCF show it proudly to everyone who Artifact - A human made object.
3.0 will again be held in the enters our home. We would own In a historical context, it usually
fall - October 2nd & 3rd at the something that everyone can refers to items in a museum col-
Santa Clara Convention Center appreciate as special. Collectors, lection.
in Santa Clara, California. on the other hand, deliberately
This year saw a significant seek to build a collection (note: Classic - Something that was the
increase in the public buying size is irrelevant) and seek to en- first of its kind or set a standard
and selling of old computers and joy their collection. For instance, by which all other similar things
computer paraphernalia on an the man in Toronto, Ontario are measured against.
on-line auction web site called who has the almost pool-table-
eBay (www.ebay.com). During sized control panel from an IBM Collectible - Something original-
the summer, the first ever book 360/75 (1968) hanging on a wall ly made to be used, not collect-
about collecting computers in his rec room is an enthusiast. ed, but that eventually stopped
was published and a number of My ten tons of hardware, soft- being used and was collected.
articles were printed about the ware, supplies, documentation,
hobby in magazines and news- control panels, etc. qualify me as Ephemera - Something that is
papers. a collector. useful for a very short time. In
Today, there are over 100 collecting circles, ephemera
collections detailed on per- Terminology commonly means paper.
sonal web sites and about 1,000
collectors worldwide, actively Collecting computers isn’t Memorabilia - Things worthy of
collecting and thoroughly en- a venerable hobby, yet. Books, remembrance.
joying playing with (er, I mean coins, stamps, music boxes, etc.
using), talking about, acquiring, have been collected for hun- Memento - Anything that re-
cleaning, and just looking at old dreds of years. This means we minds you of the past.
computers. can learn a thing or two that will
help us enjoy our hobby. Some- Paraphernalia - Apparatus, fur
201

201
nishings and ornaments that are is that mainframe families came computer manufacturer was the
somehow associated with each in a variety of models and sizes. Digital Equipment Corporation
other. The word reminds me of (DEC) of Massachusetts. From
the mainframe days when the Minicomputers - Often are single DEC, a competitor was born in
word peripheral was popular. user, but it is the physical size the form of Data General (DG).
It was used to describe all the that separates these machines A small company called Keronix
equipment surrounding the CPU. from others. built peripherals (memory, disk
Tape drives, printers, card read- drives, etc.) for DG computers
ers, etc. were called peripherals. Microcomputers - Yes, size here and eventually decided to build
is very important - all micro- a clone of DG’s famous Nova
Premium - A bonus offered as computers are small. This should line. That didn’t sit well with cer-
an inducement to purchase, or make the categorization easy to tain employees of DG, so they
a reward given for a particular discern, but an even easier meth- burnt the Keronix plant to the
action. od is determining if the computer ground. Interesting story eh? Still,
runs on a single microprocessor through all of this, Keronix did
Provenance - A record of owner- (an Intel Pentium for instance). build and market the DG clone,
ship and origin. As our hobby If it does, it is a microcomputer one of which ended up in my
matures, this will become very, and within this category are “warehouse” via Long Island.
very important. desktops, workstations, laptops, Another plentiful source is
etc. what I call corporate catacombs.
Relic - Something considered the You are likely to find forgotten
last of its kind. It’s what’s left af- Sources treasures in storage rooms and
ter other things like it have been in the far corners of warehouses.
lost, or through decay, are no There is still time to find Over the years, companies
longer functional or restorable. that special something you want (and government organizations)
in your collection. Years ago, acquired computers by either
Vintage - Something that was I predicted that the remaining renting them, leasing them, or
well known in the past. source of big, old computers buying them. The ones that were
would be garages, rec rooms and purchased were often difficult
Plus, we must agree to corporate catacombs. I was right. to let go. They cost too much to
use terms that are old, but serve Eventually, enthusiasts must part simply send to the dump, so they
the purpose well. I am referring with their mementos. This ex- would be moved to an out of the
to the terms mainframe, mini- plains why still wonderful and way place until more economi-
computer and microcomputer. interesting things are being found cal disposal arrangements could
in garages and rec rooms. be made. Out of sight, they
Mainframes - Not only are My own example of this usually ended up abandoned
mainframes big, but you must centers around a unique mini- and sitting for years waiting for
understand that at one point in computer that was shipped to me someone like you to rescue and
time, the only type of computer from a garage on Long Island. care for them.
was the mainframe. Mainframes Recently, a man called and told Something a good com-
are either old or if they are from me he was moving and needed puter collector should never do
1965 to the present, are physi- to dispose of the Data General is pass by a Goodwill type store.
cally very large. There are certain and Keronix minicomputers he The most remarkable items are
architectural qualities that can had in his garage. The name Ker- donated to these relief organiza-
also be used to distinguish main- onix was music to my ears and tions. Not just computers, but
frames from high-end minicom- I’ll gladly tell you why, because books, software, hard-to-find
puters, but that discussion isn’t collectors love to tell (and re-tell) cables, and supplies (ribbons,
relevant here. What also makes their acquisition stories. diskettes, etc.). Buying from
the distinction difficult to discern The first successful mini- these organizations demonstrates
202

202
the win-win economic model. again, perhaps you’ve convinced Forecast
yourself that anything bigger
History of Computing than a 286 is out of your range; There is definitely a
someday, that big computer bug future for the hobby of collect-
The Keronix story high- just might bite you. When and if ing computers. It includes fun,
lights a real concern. More than it does, don’t panic, the antidote fulfillment, organization, profit,
being a concern about the hobby isn’t buying two Altairs and call- and more fun. Perhaps you don’t
of collecting computers, it is ing your doctor in the morning. like what you’re hearing. Those
about the way information on Examine your present circum- words, organization and profit,
the web is interpreted. Beware stances and who knows, that might upset you, but you must
of legends and hearsay posing classic mainframe just might fit face the inevitable. The world of
as history. People contribute into your life and your garage. collecting computers is chang-
their recollections of a company, But, enough of that. Enough of ing, but hey, change is what
product, technology, etc. and focusing exclusively on hard- computers are all about. If you
then once published, these mem- ware and software. The computer can’t see how such a relatively
oirs become history to those who industry has always been big, new, informal, loosely-knit com-
read them. Due to the nature flamboyant, and diverse, giving munity, as we currently see our-
of electronic public networks, collectors many choices. Don’t selves, can ever turn into the fine
this information is distributed to feel obligated to collect ac- tuned machine that stamp and
many others and if it is misinfor- tual computers. You can collect car collecting has become, then
mation, too bad, the damage is books, documentation, maga- we should examine the past and
done. zines, stocks from defunct com- see what we can learn from it.
If you intend to write panies, clothing, mugs, pens, Let’s take an older, similar
about your collection, you must mouse pads, and the list goes on technology that is collected and
still do your research. When and on. The trick about collect- compare it to computers. We’ll
reading postings to newsgroups ing is to know when to say no. see what is different and what is
and lists, or someone’s web site, You can’t collect everything. You similar about the technologies
you must do so with a very criti- should first decide what your and see how, if at all, the tech-
cal eye. Don’t pollute the infos- focus will be. It might be one of nology affected collectors. The
phere, contribute information in every computer you have ever examination might tell us what
a responsible manner. worked on. It might be every we should expect to see in our
computer that was based on the hobby. The car is the standard
Collecting Options Motorola 6800 and 68000 mi- we’ll use in this comparison.
croprocessors. This method gives Hopefully this exercise will
Microcomputers are fun. your collection a theme - some- convince you that what has hap-
Microcomputers are quiet. Mi- thing you can use to gauge your pened to the hobby of collecting
crocomputers are easy to carry, effort and increase your enjoy- cars can happen to computers.
but don’t shy away from collect- ment. Car Computer
ing (and therefore preserving) Next, admit that you must
Popularity of
minicomputers, and yes, dare I concentrate on the theme. If you the technology: High High
say, mainframes. Nothing worth- collect UNIVAC mainframes, Relative age
while is easy to obtain, so just don’t worry if you can’t buy a of the technology: Young Young
think of all the fun you’ll have mint condition plastic “Think Relative size
sourcing, moving, and finally Again” sign for $50. If you col- of the technology: Big Big
playing with your fridge or room- lect Sun workstations, don’t Technology lifespan: Brief Brief
sized, big, old computer. worry if you can’t buy an original Technology rate
Perhaps you’ve started family tree poster for $75. Focus, of change: High High
with microcomputers deliberate- focus, focus and have fun, fun, Level of expertise
ly, just to get your feet wet. Then fun. to maintain: High High
203

203
 As you can see, com-
puters and cars have much in
common. For instance, both are
such new technologies that most
people consider them too re-
cent to collect. Both are big and
typically not easily moved and
stored. Both experience frequent
upgrades which potentially
increase their collectibility, but
on the other hand, their disposal
can be easily justified. Both are
popular, utilitarian technolo-
gies. Both are also complex and
require a level of expertise to
maintain. The similarities inher-
ent in the technologies will be
reflected in how their respective
collecting hobbies evolve.
If you know how active and
successful collecting cars has
become, then it follows that
our hobby will grow, mature,
become less esoteric and more
mainstream. It will become at-
tractive to a generation with little
or no prior contact with the com-
puters and computer collectibles
they collect. It might become an
industry in itself.

204
204
 The Alto Computer
The Mother of Invention?
By UNKNOWN*

T heeredAltotheComputer can be consid-

source of many of today’s
128K bytes). RAM size for the later
Altos were 256K words (512K bytes).
GUI concepts and systems. But the Alto The Alto’s digital hardware used MSI
was designed as a research tool, and (medium scale integration) chips and
as such had many “faces” depending was rather large compared to todays
upon what a researcher needed. The micros. The processor was custom-built
The Alto was
Alto had many different environments, by Xerox and occupied five boards
produced from some of which were very antiquated. with around 70 chips each (this makes
1973 to 1979. Only the Smalltalk development en- the CPU have around 350 chips!) RAM
There were vironment sported a fully integrated consisted of around 312 chips. The I/O
GUI. The normal Alto operating system Controllers resided on three boards with
two models
(called the Alto OS) was command line 60 chips each (180 chips total). The Alto
(Alto I and II) oriented. From this mouse had three
developed command line you buttons (mainly for
with II could run programs use by the Smalltalk
like WYSIWYG development envi-
superceding I.
(What-You-See- ronment).
Is-What-You-Get)
word processors Software
or bitmap drawing
programs. Word processing
was a major Alto
Design activity and Xe-
rox produced two
The Alto was word processing
designed in two programs, Bravo
months (from (later improved and
11/72–12/72) and called BravoX) and
two wirewrapped prototypes were cre- Gypsy. Bravo was the first WYSIWYG
ated in four months (from 1/73–4/73). program, but was difficult to use due to
Three people worked on the design and it being modal. Gypsy was less modal
implementation of those units. and therefore easier to use, but was not
as powerful as Bravo. Each program-
Implementation ming language for the Alto also sported
its own simple word processor for
The Alto was produced from 1973 to source code files. Alto also included a
1979. There were two models (the Alto collection of three drawing programs,
I and II) developed with the model II Markup (bitmap editor like the Apple
superceding I. RAM size started at 64K Macintosh’s MacPaint), Draw (splines
words (an Alto word was 16 bits thereby like the Macintosh’s MacDraw), and SIL
making the 64K model really contain (technical drafting using only horizontal
205

205
 being the GUI system which Ap-
ple sold commercially. Note that
Apple implemented Smalltalk-80
on the Lisa around 1980–81 as a
R&D environment.

Hardware

The Lisa pixels were rectangular,

since this pixel shape produced
more readable characters. The
Lisa’s 68000 CPU ran at 5MHz
(compared to the Macintosh’s
8MHz), but the Lisa wa some-
what faster than the Macintosh,
since the Lisa used DMA and
supported distributed internal
processing via several micropro-
cessors (the keyboard contained
a COPS chip, the Twiggy 5.25
and vertical lines with characters the Motorola 68000 since it was
860K disk drives contained a
and special symbols). cheaper. At the end of 1979, sev-
6502 chip).
eral Apple people visited Xerox
Programming Languages PARC, saw the Alto and
Operating system
Smalltalk’s GUI, and changed the
BCPL (predecessor to C), Mesa Lisa to be a GUI machine from
One can in no way say that the
(Pascal-like but with module then on. As such, the Lisa did
Lisa operating system was not
handling), Smalltalk (fully inte- not begin life as a GUI system,
quite as refined as the Macintosh
grated, the highlight of the Alto but rather as a staid text system
operating system (as Historically
GUI), LISP (boring to me), and whose only merit was that it was
Brewed once said). The Lisa’s
Cedar (very sophisticated, inte- to be a fast 16-bit system. You
low-level OS was very advanced
grated). could say the Lisa went through
and supported processes, non-
three iterations, with the third
The Daughter?
Apple Lisa

Origins

Apple began work on a com-

puter called Lisa (named after
Steve Jobs’ illegitimate daughter)
in mid-1978. This system was
text-based, had a green moni-
tor and dark case, and was to be
powered by a custom CPU built
by Apple (this was a fast bit-slice
CPU that executed Pascal P-
Code). In October 1979, Apple
dumped the bit-slice CPU for
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206
premptive multitasking, and de- collectively called the Lisa Desk-
mand-page based virtual mem- top Libraries. This library resided
ory (a scheme Apple may adopt in two files on the Lisa hard disk
for Mac OS 9 in the future). The and not in the Lisa boot ROM.
high-level OS (called the Desk- This implemented such familiar
top Manager or the Lisa Finder features as windows, mouse han-
for Mac people) supported dling, and graphics drawing. This
inter-application events (Apple library code was around 500K in
now calls these AppleEvents), size and was mainly written in
a document-centered interface Pascal. Apple later took parts of
via stationary pads (the Mac is this library and recoded them in
application-centered), and non- 68000 assembly language for the
physical (logical) Macintosh 64K Toolbox.
document names (i.e. a docu-
ment name could be up to 63 One area of HB’s GUI article
characters long for the user- which I found remiss was the
though the Lisa File System sup- lack of names associated with
ported physical names with up to the development of today’s GUI.
31 characters). Documents could It seems that many UI design-
also have the same name in the ers migrate from one company
same folder. to another improving their UI
strengths at each successive
Boot ROM company. Xerox obtained several
UI designers from other com-
The 16K ROM contained code panies to found Xerox PARC.
that tested the system at startup
and booted the operating system.
Nothing else was in the ROM
(e.g. user interface code). This
scheme was adopted for the Lisa
(versus the Macintosh scheme of
having a lot of code in the ROM)
to make the Lisa more versatile
from an OS perspective. For
example, the ROM first loaded
the OS Loader, then the OS
Loader loaded the Lisa low-level
OS (or MacWorks if you had the
MacWorks disk), then this OS
loaded the default high-level OS Apple hired several Xerox people
Shell (e.g. the Lisa Office System for the Lisa development (e.g.
or the Lisa Workshop or UNIX), Larry Tesler - GUI, Tom Malloy
then the Shell (which was called - Bravo / LisaWrite). Microsoft
the “Desktop Manager” by us- hired Charles Simonyi, who
ers) loaded the various Lisa tools directed on the Alto software
(a.k.a. applications). development and who reimple-
mented Bravo on the IBM PC. He
The Lisa’s user interface was called it MicroSoft Word.
based on a set of code modules
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 The First
What was it?
Bug
By UNKNOWN*

W hat was the first bug? That is,

when did people start referring
with that knowledge my programs
started getting longer. Though I didn’t
to the glitches that computers make as realize it at the time, I was following in
“bugs?” In my own case, it happened a grand tradition. After the first program,
about two lines into my first computer comes the first bug.
program, back in 1972. For my initial
The FIRST
plunge into computing, I had decided The FIRST bug then, probably oc-
bug then, upon: curred on the first computer program,
probably run on the first computer! Curiously,
occurred 10 PRINT “HI, I’M THE COMPUTER. I’ve never heard of any stories of bugs
WHAT’S YOUR NAME?” in the ENIAC. And since Charles Bab-
on the first
20 INPUT A$ bage’s 19th century Analytical Engine
computer 30 PRINT “PLEASED TO MEET YOU was never built, we’ll never know if Ada
program run “,A$ Lovelace’s software would have run.
on the first But, the earliest bug we do have docu-
Not exactly a world-changing, pro- mented is truly a great one.
computer.
ductivity-boosting, paradigm-shaking
Curiously, I’ve bit of code, but hey - you have to start
never seen somewhere. I punched RUN into the
an stories on school teletype and prepared to key in
my name. However, the computer on
bugs in the
the other end of the acoustic coupler (a
ENIAC. Hewlett-Packard HP-2000C time-shar-
ing beast) only allowed a single letter
for my name. After I typed the “L” it spit
out:
A Harvard professor named Mark Ai-
PLEASED TO MEET YOU L ken was among those men 50+ years
ago who had a vision of machines that
I then understood, almost intuitively, could compute. He persuaded Harvard
that I had a “bug” in my program. University that they should create such
Which led me to change line 20 to a machine, and he talked IBM into
read: building it - the IBM Automatic Se-
quence Controlled Calculator (ASCC),
20 INPUT A$;B$;C$;D$;E$ or the Harvard Mark I. An inspiring-
looking machine, the Mark I stretched
This worked great, if you had a five- 55 feet down one wall with gleaming
letter name. The next day, I discovered art-modern chrome and glass accents.
that in HP-2000 BASIC, strings had to
be DIMensioned before they could hold The guts were not as sophisticated as
more than a single character. Armed the packaging though. Fearing that elec
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tronics (remember, this was the placed under transparent tape on step is an intuition, and comes
tube era) were unreliable, IBM a page of the Mark I’s operating with a burst, then difficulties
built the calculating machine logbook with the notation, “First arise - this thing gives out and [it
from thousands of electrome- actual case of bug being found.” is] then that ‘Bugs’ - as such little
chanical relays! Unlike tubes, The logbook exists today in the faults and difficulties are called -
relays didn’t burn out. They did archives of the U.S. Navy. You show themselves and months of
have some drawbacks however. can look it up. intense watching, study and la-
Relays aren’t fast. IBM’s press bor are requisite before commer-
materials proudly pointed out It’s tempting to claim this as both cial success or failure is certainly
that the Mark I could add num- the first computer bug, and as reached.”
bers up to 23 digits long at the the origin of the word “bug” in
rate of three additions / second. the sense of glitches and prob- The speaker - sounding remark-
It could also multiply two num- lems. Certainly most people ably like a 19th-century Bill
bers in 6 seconds and divide in wouldn’t argue this, but it isn’t Gates - was Thomas Edison. The
12 seconds. These speed records so - the word “bug” predates the high technology he was wrestling
didn’t last long. computer. with was the electric light bulb
(and thank goodness he didn’t
Relays also made noise - a lot of Here’s a mystery for you: I have call his product “Light ’78!”).
noise. The Mark I made a sound before me a reference to “bugs”
described, rather charmingly, as - instantly comprehensible in Which came first, the bug or
resembling hundreds of knitting context - from way back in 1878. the computer? Surprisingly, the
needles, as it ran calculations fed The speaker apologized to the bug. It’s at least as old as Edison.
to it from giant paper tapes. Re- press for delays in getting his How much older? Good ques-
lays also ran into other problems, newest technology out to the tion. One can almost imagine
and here’s where our first bug public, claiming he still needed Johannes Gutenburg, struggling
occurs. The giant machine would several months or perhaps a year with version 1.0 of his print-
occasionally seize ing press, trying to
up with errors. work the bugs out
Sometimes a relay so he could bring
wouldn’t make printing to the
contact. This glitch masses.
was intermittent
and hard to track Pleased to meet
down, until one you Johannes. We
day the technicians have something in
working behind the common.
machine found the
culprit - a computer Editor’s note: Dur-
bug. A real bug - a ing layout and edit-
real dead one. A ing of this article, I
moth had fluttered discovered that this
into the machine moth was actually
and gotten crushed found in the relays
under the contacts of the Mark II in
of a relay! 1947. It is often er-
roneously attribut-
The exact details of the story “to get the bugs out.” He went ed to Grace Hopper as well, who
vary, but the outcome does not. on to write, “It has been just so wrote about it, but did not find it.
The moth was removed, and in all of my inventions. The first
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 “...We’d like to put two bucks on ‘Happy
Daddy’ running in the seventh today...”
“Looks like it might be a nice day tomorrow!”

“A box of CMOS please. He gets terrible

migraines when he has to do intricate figuring.” “I compute therefore I am.”

- Reprinted with kind permission from David H. Ahl, Founder & Publisher, Creative Computing Press -
210
210
 Byte Nostalgia
A Look Back at the Magazine
By Bill Mitchell

I happen to have Byte issue #1 from

September of 1975 in front of me,
are 1975 dollars folks. The article con-
cludes, “... The 008a is one of the most
and thought I’d take a quick nostalgic economical systems on the market, ...”
run through it. It’s 96 pages long, and
50,000 issues were pressed. Carl Mikkelsen’s article on Recycling
BYTE used ICs described how to remove ICs
Wayne Green and Carl Helmers each from surplus boards using a propane
magazine torch and vise grips for reuse as project
have a scene-setting article. Wayne
was a described how Byte started, and Carl components.
microcomputer tried to define what
magazine, “homebrew comput- No electronics hob-
influential in ing” was and how byist magazine of
the late 1970s Byte would fit into it. the period would
have been complete
and throughout without an article by
Hal Chamberlin’s
the 1980s article, “Which Don Lancaster. Don’s
because of its Microprocessor for article is titled “Se-
wide-ranging You?” begins, “At this rial Interface.” It de-
editorial time there are three scribes synchronous
coverage. microprocessor chips and asynchronous
or chip sets readily serial data, presents
It was not circuitry for serial
available to the hob-
dedicated byist: the 8008, the interfaces and de-
to a specific 8080, and the IMP- scribes and presents
platform, but to 16.” It seems to me circuitry for 20ma,
developments that the 6800 should 60ma, RS-232, RS-
in the entire have been in that list 422, and GPIB inter-
as well. faces. It also describes and presents cir-
field. cuitry for a 300 baud cassette interface,
James Hogenson reviewed the RGS- discusses radio data links and presents
008A Microcomputer Kit, an 8008 circuitry for a RTTY receiver. Lastly,
based machine with 1K of RAM. The presenting and describing circuitry for
Front Panel provided rocker switches a Bell 103 300 baud modem interface,
for loading bytes into RAM, and the and discussing DTMF signaling. At 16
program was started by setting a Restart pages, it’s a typical Don Lancaster piece
instruction into the Front Panel DATA which leaves you with eyes glazed over,
switches and pressing an “INT” switch. planning soldering iron time and think-
The kit price was $325, a cassette tape ing about parts sourcing.
adapter kit was $100, and $43.75 for
a TTL parallel interface (the only pe- There’s a Clubs section which introduc-
ripheral interfaces available). Those es several microcomputer clubs around
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the county. I was going to Chicago Area Computer your own Assembler.” Carl Helmers has a hard-
Hobbyist Exchange (CACHE) meetings around this ware oriented article titled “Deciphering Mystery
time, but we didn’t get into this section. Oh well Keyboards,” an article on Charles Conway’s Game
(moment of silence here in memory of Ward Chris- of LIFE (he credits Conway, and points readers to
tiansen). Martin Gardner’s column in Scientific American
(now sadly defunct), and a book review of the best
Chris Ryland has a short article on “How to Write book ever written on the craft of programming --
for Byte,” and seeking authors (most of the articles Elements of Programming Style by Kernighan and
in the initial issue are by members of the Byte edi- Plauger.
torial staff).
There’s even a Letters to the Editor section -- pretty
Dan Fylstra has a nine page article titled “Write neat for the initial issue of a new magazine.

Full Basement
An interview with & by Brian Mahoney, computer collector

W hat’s all that stuff in your basement?

By that I guessed my visitor meant the stacks of
have many others in what used to be a guest bed-
room, Apples, Tandys and so on. Oh yeah, there’s
computers, disks, magazines and cords in two of my another stack in the washroom cupboard, a few more
basement rooms. You see, besides poverty, the only IBM clones set up on the family room corner table . .
thing that I am on the cutting edge of is computer . uh, and some monochrome monitors and XT shells
collecting. “Its my hobby,” I explained. “Wanna play on a shelf between the rafters.
‘Hunt the Wumpus’ ?” I asked.
Is that it?
Where did you get all this? Not really. To support all of this hardware, I also have
For the last couple of years, I have scrounged garage a large collection of books, manuals and schemat-
sales, flea markets, want ads and thrift stores for any- ics. The books are from the days when you couldn’t
thing and everything to do with old, antique comput- go down to the software store to pick up the latest
ers. Antique is a relative term here. For me, it means computer game. You had to sit and write your own or
something that is totally useless in terms of practical laboriously copy out someone else’s program. There
computing, but something that at one time was very are also piles of magazines from the early eighties,
serviceable and, frequently, very expensive. My par- listing almost all of the equipment I own at its original
ticular interest is home computing. Someday I would price. I should say that the magazines also give you
love to open a home computing museum where visi- some kind of idea of the growing interest in home
tors could actually play a game of “Hunt the Wum- computing, the excitement and the early versions of
pus” or Zaxxon or Missile Command. For the time some of the stuff we have today. Of course, the mags
being however, you will have to visit my basement. have programs in them, too.

What types of computers do you have? Anything else?

Everything from Commodore Vic-20’s, C64’s and Well, there’s the software. Boxes and boxes of 5 1/4
C128’s, to a Hyperion portable, a couple of Franklin inch diskettes, game cartridges, cassette tapes with
Aces and this thing called a Decider. The Decider is programs on them, and a few low density diskettes.
an Apple II clone but this is far nicer in appearance While this material is mostly Apple based, a good
than the run of the mill Apple. It has a wooden case deal of it is Commodore based, lots of Vic 20 and 64
and a painted metal cover, but only a black and white items and some for the 128 and something called
video output. That’s OK as, I don’t have the special Windows Version 1.
RGB interface anyway. Besides these computers, I
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So that’s it right? the Franklins might be worth a quite some time. There are some
Not exactly. There’s also a large hundred bucks now. That’s ninety concerns about EPROMS gradually
pile of game consoles and mod- more than I paid, one eighty for deteriorating and other memory
ules, mostly ColecoVision, Nin- the pair. The trick is to find the problems, but I figure sooner or
tendo and Atari. These are from right buyer, so you want to keep later there will be a solution for
garage sales mostly. I’ve got this all of this and sell it later. Not re- that.
neat steering wheel module with a ally though, If I have several of the
gas pedal attachment. Wanna play same model I might consider it, Kind of like watching paint dry?
“The Dukes of Hazzard”? but the point, and, you’ll have to Some people have that point of
sit down for this one . . . the point view, but the beauty of collecting
Are they considered computers? is that this stuff is all going into is that there is always something
Well, you could ask yourself the landfills and if someone doesn’t for everyone. In the world of
same thing about the computers grab a bit of it here and there, computer collecting, you would be
we are using now. In twenty years there won’t be anything to show surprised at the diverse items that
we might be saying, “Hell, those my kids or your kids! Automobiles people find attractive. One fellow
weren’t computers. These are real progressed from horseless carriag- has a group of office computers in
computers.” At the time, these es to Saturns over many decades. his apartment. Another has large
video game modules were revo- Computers, home computers that business units in a warehouse. Still
lutionary. They were interactive is, haven’t even been around for others collect software, magazines,
before anyone knew what interac- twenty years, yet look how far advertising and all the various and
tive meant. And they are still alot we’ve come. The average home sundry bits that go with comput-
of fun. The games were generally computer now has the speed and ers. Anyone can get started, prob-
non-violent and loads of fun. I capacity of the supercomputers ably with what they have. If you
have one titled Impossible Mission from less than twenty years ago. have an old unit in your home
which plays on the Commodore now, try to locate user groups who
64, complete with great sound and Have you been computing for a specialize in that particular model.
wild visuals. It is difficult to play long time? Atari and Commodore user groups
and has many levels and, this is Just the opposite. I have only been are worldwide. Even the Internet,
the best part, when the guy misses in this or any form of computing actually the Web, is full of retro
his footing and falls into the pit for a few years. You see, the first computing sites, some having
there’s this incredible scream. Its computer I bought, the Commo- emulation programs to make the
the same scream they use now in dore 128, was at a garage sale. The latest computers run like the relics
Duke Nukem 3D. Duke Nukem main reason for picking it up was that I have in the basement.
has many bits of trivia in it refer- that it had a color monitor. I knew
ring to retro-computing and the I could use that monitor for show- You’re kidding, right?
scream is a reference all the way ing videos to the kids by hooking it Not at all. I have a program right
back to the Commodore 64. up to a VCR. The computer interest now on my IBM that will allow me
came later when I decided to put to run Apple II programs. The start-
What’s the point really? Isn’t this it all together for word processing. ing screen is exactly like the vari-
just someone else’s junk? Then I discovered the games. The ous Apple II’s I have downstairs.
Maybe, but have you priced an old rest, as they say, is history. But I would rather boot up one of
Victrola lately? A brightly painted mine and wait for the disk drive to
metal lunch box? A 1957 Chevy Where does it go from here? grind its way along. That gives me
Belair? I myself had a Robin Hood Well, hopefully more people will more of a sense of true history.
metal lunch box and Thermos get on the bandwagon. The beauty
about 35 years ago. Conserva- of collecting is that the items that Well, I guess I’m somewhat
tively, it would be worth sixty-five are collected become treasures, educated now. Let me try that
bucks now. Who knows what the and treasures are kept for a very Whump the Humpus thing! It’s
Decider will be worth in another long time. The end result is that Hunt the Wumpus. It’ll only take
twenty years? Or the Franklin these relics, these pieces of metal me a minute. I think I saw it in one
Aces? Someone on the Web thinks and plastic will now be around for of these boxes.
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