Articles
May 19, 2020
Tribute to Larry Roberts - Under Appreciated Internet and Packet Switching Pioneer
Introduction: Only a small handful of people can truly be called the grandparents of the Internet, but only one of them was also a pioneer in X.25 public packet switching data networks. That individual was Larry Roberts, PhD, who died of a heart attack on December 26, 2018 at his home in Redwood...
April 26, 2018
Are Americans in danger of losing their Internet?
It’s hard to imagine life without the Internet: no smart phones, tablets, PCs, Netflix, the kids without their games. Impossible, you say? Not really, because we have the Internet thanks to a series of conditions in the United States that made it possible to create it in the first place and that...
January 6, 2018
Tribute to radio and wireless transmission inventor Nikola Tesla
Nikola Tesla, whose name Elon Musk chose for his electric car company, was on the cover of Time magazine in 1931 for his achievements. Unfortunately, he died a poor man in 1943 after years devoted to projects that did not receive adequate financing. Although the main Tesla lab building on Long...
March 22, 2016
Andy Grove, ex-Intel CEO & Silicon Valley icon, dies at 79
There are several excerpted articles and quotes from those that worked for or with Andy Grove at Intel: San Jose Mercury article by Steve Johnson (edited for clarity and conciseness by Alan J Weissberger): Andy Grove, the brilliant Hungarian-born former chief executive and chairman of chip-making...
November 14, 2015
Amdahl Recollection
On 11/13/2015 the NY Times printed the obituary of Gene Amdahl, which prompted this recollection of him. His revolutionary attack on IBM with plug-compatible high-end computers occurred at the time I was most involved in industry forecasting for AD Little. One result was a consulting assignment...
August 15, 2015
Excellent Flash Memory Summit (FMS) History session with Eli Harari
On Thursday, August 13, 2015, an FMS audience enjoyed a marvelous "conversation" between FMS Technical Chair Brian Berg and SanDisk founder Eli Harari, PhD. Eli's narrative was stimulated and augmented by very informative slides Brian created. Thanks also to Ken Pyle for video recording this...
August 3, 2015
Help on a History of IBM
Dear fellow members of ITHS, I am an historian, serve on the board of ITHS, and worked at IBM for 38 years. Some of you may have seen books I have written on the history of the IT industry over the years. I am now going to write a large, full history of IBM from the 1880s to the present and need...
January 1, 2015
The SSEC First Electronic Machine on the Silver Screen
The IBM Selective Sequence Electronic Calculator (in use from 1948-1952) pioneered some features of the modern computer such as self-modifying instructions and stood on the indistinct dividing line between the modern computer and the calculating machines that came before. It was also a pioneer in...
December 25, 2014
2014 Year End Review: IEEE Silicon Valley Tech History Committee
The IEEE SV Tech History committee fulfilled its mandate by holding four technical meetings in 2014. It was a close call as three of those meetings occurred in the last three months of the year. Our committee’s charter is to have at least four technical meetings per year that will educate, inform...
November 14, 2014
IEEE Milestone: The First Transpacific Cable System (TPC-1) in 1964
Introduction: IEEE Silicon Valley Technology History committee co-chair Tom Coughlin attended the dedication of an IEEE Milestone in Hawaii for the first Transpacific Cable System (TPC-1) in 1964. Plaque citation summarizing the achievement and its significance: The first transpacific undersea...
October 5, 2014
Gordon Bell: Information on the old The Computer Museum in Boston, MA
Note: This blog post was authored by Gordon Bell and edited by Alan J Weissberger. The Computer Museum website is a place to view all the extensive material of The Computer Museum (which was relocated to Mt. View, CA in 116/97), whereby one can go immediately to an exhibit, event, etc. and 350+...
September 30, 2014
Computer History Museum: Celebrating 35 Years: Sept 26,2014
Introduction: The Computer History Museum (CHM) marked its 35th birthday on September 24, 2014. Visitors from around the world see an impressive set of exhibits, artifacts and come for the conversations, panel sessions and lectures. One such panel took place on Sept 26th, with CHM co-founders...