On 8/22/20 8:52 AM, Murray McCullough via cctalk wrote:
> 45 yrs. ago last month, mid-July, Dick Heiser started a new industry,
> the retail computer store. It opened in West L.A. under the name
> Arrow Head Computer Company. aka, The Computer Store. This began the
> direct marketing of microcomputers to hobbyists, later to the masses
> of the middle class.
Slight correction: The name was Arrowhead (one word, not two) Computer
Company.
I remember this very well. I was living in Santa Monica at the time,
and drove down Pico Boulevard almost every day. Needless to say, I
immediately noticed the "Computer Store" sign and stopped in, soon
becoming one of the regular "hangers on".
Dick Heiser and his wife Lois were taking a big chance, but it
proved to be a good bet. Initially, their business consisted of
buying Altair 8800 kits and assembling them in the back of the
store. A lot of people were happy to pay extra to not have to
solder all those hundreds of connections.
Dick was a regular fixture at meetings of the Southern California
Computer Society (SCCS), often making deliveries and taking orders
there. In those days, SCCS monthly meetings were *the* place for
computer geeks to get together and exchange news and get help.
A few months later, two guys named Steve showed up at a meeting
with a kit they called the "Apple I", for the grand price of
$666.66. I wish I had had the foresight to buy one! Instead,
I wound up joining the SCCS group purchase of DEC LSI-11 systems.
I still have that system, with a case and power supply from a
TRW surplus sale. It isn't worth nearly as much as an original
Apple I, though! :-)
Alan "Hindsight is 20-20" Frisbie
Fred Cisin <cisin at xenosoft.com> wrote:
> On Tue, 25 Aug 2020, Alan Frisbie via cctalk wrote:
> > A few months later, two guys named Steve showed up at a meeting
> > with a kit they called the "Apple I", for the grand price of
> > $666.66. I wish I had had the foresight to buy one!
> Q: although WE call it "Apple I", did the Steves call it "Apple I" or
> "Apple Computer"? The answer tells us whether they were explicitly
> planning on making other models later!
I honestly do not recall if they used the "I" or not. This was,
after all, 45 years ago!
At that time there were many tiny startup companies trying to get
our attention, most of which sank without a trace. If I had been
asked back then which ones I thought would survive, I probably
would not have picked Apple. Not my first mistake, and certainly
not my last. :-)
Those *were* exciting days, with new products and developments
happening every month. I looked forward to every SCCS meeting,
with people showing off their latest homebrew project, swapping
tips, and buying parts & boards. For a while, there was even
a large wheel of cheese which we eagerly devoured. :-)
Alan Frisbie
I have a Mac mini os-x 10.15/16 11.
I?m Really trying to find a working Iscsi Initiator
Software. Yeah looked at atto 200 bucks
GlobalSan broken.
Who is using their Mac with an iScsi drive
Attached storage ?
Help appreciated.
K.
"That might be true for discussions where people don't care to do any
research, or where words like "first" are uses more for hyperbolic
emphasis, but suggesting someone started an industry on a list like this,
I think, doesn't seem out of place."
I agree that using ?*first**?* has a certain connotation. However, until it
is proven otherwise it?s quite appropriate. If this word were not used, by
me or anyone else, on this website then we never get to learn anything ?
*new*?. Even in historical writing, of which I?ve done some as a historian,
one has to acknowledge a source, but I for the life of me can?t remember as
I didn?t have the source on my electronic-research rolodex. In such an
occasion, as the note I sent to cctalk, should have stated this. My
apologies.
Happy computing!
Murray ?
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Virus-free.
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Hi,
I have a VAXstation 4000/60 with an internal disk but no CD drive. I'd
like to install VMS (7.3), but I'm new to VMS.
I have a SIMH VAX instance running on the same LAN with VMS installed
(mounting the VMS images is easy, of course). Can anyone point me to a
HOW-TO which explains how to use one VMS system to MOP / netboot another
system to install VMS?
Thanks,
John
> I was going to comment that the only way I could see a 1U VAX was if
> someone rack mounted a 4000/VLC. Is that the stock VLC power supply?
> My cluster doesn?t even have that much space.
>
> What do you use to go from SATA to SCSI (SCSI-1 even)?
It's a standard 1U power supply with a custom adapter. You can see it
better here:
https://twitter.com/AnachronistJohn/status/1294725819038752768
I use a SATA to IDE adapter, then an IDE to UW-SCSI adapter, then an
UW-SCSI cable and terminator, then finally a 68 to 50 pin adapter.
The previous drive was a Samsung SSD, but I think that constant, non-stop
swap use wore it out. This was the smallest new spinning rust drive I
could find.
SCSI2SD would work for a while, but, again, swap usage would wear out an
SD card in no time, I'm sure.
John
> When dozens or hundreds start up within weeks or months of each other,
> every one is important, and most are interesting, but "FIRST" or
> "STARTED THE TREND" (implying being the "first") cease to really mean
> anything.
>
> It's generally better to never use the word "FIRST"; there is almost
> always a lesser known one that was earlier.
That might be true for discussions where people don't care to do any
research, or where words like "first" are uses more for hyperbolic
emphasis, but suggesting someone started an industry on a list like this,
I think, doesn't seem out of place.
If someone has examples of this being wrong, he / she will say so, and
we'll all learn. If not, the original message has conveyed useful
information.
Relatedly, I have what I think is the only 1U VAX in the world. I've
mentioned this in many places, but if someone says I'm wrong and shows me
an example of another, it would please me, not upset me. I'll have learned
of another :)
John
We would live this photos. Force archive here.? Your? pay pal. Address For postage costs? please? Thanks Ed Sharpe Archivist? for SMECC museum project
On Monday, August 24, 2020 Marvin Johnston via cctalk <marvin at west.net; cctalk at classiccmp.org> wrote:
? Spoken for.
> I sent an email to Al asking if he wanted them, and no response which I took to mean no :).
>
> There are about 40 photos of the fronts of computer stores circa 1977-1978, and were taken by a friend of mine who was a computer salesman at the time. Most (all) are date stamped and have the store location written on the back.
>
> None for Santa Barbara :), so I'll pass them along to whoever wants them. And Al still has first shot at them if he missed my original email.
>
> $1000 with free postage, or free if you pay postage :). Priority mail should run about $8.00.
Spoken for.
> I sent an email to Al asking if he wanted them, and no response which I took to mean no :).
>
> There are about 40 photos of the fronts of computer stores circa 1977-1978, and were taken by a friend of mine who was a computer salesman at the time. Most (all) are date stamped and have the store location written on the back.
>
> None for Santa Barbara :), so I'll pass them along to whoever wants them. And Al still has first shot at them if he missed my original email.
>
> $1000 with free postage, or free if you pay postage :). Priority mail should run about $8.00.
I sent an email to Al asking if he wanted them, and no response which I
took to mean no :).
There are about 40 photos of the fronts of computer stores circa
1977-1978, and were taken by a friend of mine who was a computer
salesman at the time. Most (all) are date stamped and have the store
location written on the back.
None for Santa Barbara :), so I'll pass them along to whoever wants
them. And Al still has first shot at them if he missed my original email.
$1000 with free postage, or free if you pay postage :). Priority mail
should run about $8.00.
