CC> Vintage Computer Festival Exhibition Write-ups

Have you ever heard of the Icon computer? It seems that back in the late '70s the poobahs at the Department of Education for Ontario (Canada) were upset because incompatable computers were finding their way into classrooms, and the programs for these C-64s and Apple ][s could not be used on each other. Being bureaucrats they came up with a solution: design and build their own computer which would be installed in all seventy five thousand Ontario classrooms! Naturally this was designed by a committee, and since it was to be for educational purposes they consulted with one (1) teacher and no students. Since it was to be used by everyone from little five year olds in kindergarten to senior high students they made the beast in one big chunk,cpu, monitor and keyboard, one size fits all. Since neither the C-64 or Apple software would run on it they assumed that programmers would be happy to supply the needs of all grade levels. Unfortunately by the time the Icon (also widely known as theBionic Beaver) was introduced in 1983, with the government subsidizing two thirds of the cost, the school boards found that their one third would buy several C-64s or an Apple, and would even go a long way toward an XT or a Mac, all of which had far more software available. Some of the Icons ended up in high schools, usually as terminals on networks. I have been trying to get one for my collection, but so far have only the junction box used to hook them to the server. Cheers Charlie Fox