Gordon's Personal View of Personal Computing: Before the PC

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Gordon’s Personal View of Personal Computing: before the PC Vintage Computer Society 27 September 1998 Gordon Bell [email protected] http://www.research.microsoft.com/~gbell Apple II First personal computer Micral In the beginning: Manchester “Baby” ran the first program 22 June 1948 English Electric Deuce Console 1955 Whirlwind c1953 … 1st generation, 16-bit word; 4 KB memory; 8 K drum Whirlwind begot TX-O/TX-2 begot DEC PDP-1 Real time, first compiler, ECAD, text editor Whirlwind console, drum, 1 Kw core SAGE Control Room c 1962. Whirlwind used for first experiments. SAGE (Semi-Automatic Ground Environment) Operator Console TX-0 Console c1959… one of the first transistorized personal computers Speech, handwriting recognition, neuro data analysis, etc. Interactive editors, debuggers, etc. MIT Speech group with TX-0, c1959. DEC Computer before PDP-11 1957 1961 1963 DEC PDP-1 c1961 Wes Clark & LINC c1962: Personal computers for bio-medical research PDP-5 c1964: PDP-8 predecessor Process control, real time experiments. Fortran ran in 4 K, 12 bit words Gbell with LINC and PDP-8 c1965 PDP-8: first mini First OEM computer. OS/8 (from timesharing) begot RT-11 begot CPM PDP-8 Modules PDP-8/E PDP-8 and Linc Family Tree PDP-8 12 bit word price (t) PDP-8 prices (t) Timesharing: given everyone their own, low cost, personal computer PDP-6 c1965 : First commercial time shared computer. Gbell & Alan Kotok PDP-6 Development team c1965 PDP-6/10/ DECsystem 10/20 family tree TThheerree iiss nnoo rreeaassoonn aannyyoonnee wwoouulldd wwaanntt aa ccoommppuutteerr iinn tthheeiirr hhoommee.. Ken Olsen President, Chairman and founder of Digital, 1977 Equating yourself to the average “user/buyer” is risky . unless you’re an average user. Why didn’t Digital lead personal computers? That’s another talk… Minis and timesharing contributions 4SpaceWar demonstrated the importance of interactive graphics 4Editors, calculators, interactive debuggers, interpreters were in use 4Mail and chat used timesharing 4Minis established embedded computers .

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Chester Gordon Bell Born August 19, 1934, Kirksville, Mo.; DEC designer of the PDP line of computers; with wife Gwen, founder of the Computer Museum, Boston. Education: BSEE, MIT, 1956; MSEE, MIT, 1957. Professional Experience: research engineer, Research Laboratory for Electronics, MIT, 1959-1961; manager, computer design, Digital Equipment Corp. 1961-1966; associate professor of computer science: Carnegie-Mellon University, 1966-1978; professor, electrical engineering and computer science, 1978; senior consultant, Stardent Computers, Sunnyvale, Calif. Honors and Awards: Mellon Institute Award, Carnegie Mellon University, 1973; fellow, IEEE, 1974; IEEE W. Wallace McDowell Award, 1975; National Academy of Engineering, 1977; IEEE Computer Society Pioneer Award, 1980; ACM/IEEE Eckert/Mauchly Award, 1982; National Medal of Technology, 1991; IEEE John von Neumann Medal, 1992. Bell's citation for the award of the IEEE Fellowship reads: “For contributions to the design of time-sharing computer systems, and for education in the understanding of computer structures.” Bell designed the first minicomputers and time-sharing computers at Digital Equipment Corp., and led the development of the company's VAX minicomputers. His other achievements include start-ups at Encore Computer, where he was responsible for one of the first multiple microprocessors, and at Ardent Computer, where he built the first graphics supercomputer. A director of several companies and a cofounder of the Computer Museum in Boston, Bell has received many prizes. President George Bush awarded him the National Medal of Technology “for his continuing intellectual and industrial achievements in the field of computer design, and for his leading role in establishing cost-effective, powerful computers that serve as a significant tool for engineering, science, and industry.” BIBLIOGRAPHY Biographical Slater, Robert, Portraits in Silicon, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1987, Chapter 19.
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