The SDS 940 Computer I helped develop was one of three time-sharing computers developed in 1964-5 (GE-225? (General Electric Company, SDS 940, PDP 10 Digital Equipment Company)). All of these machines enabled users to have direct access and use of the computer, as though it was all theirs. A CRT-based terminal was employed by the user. This was the first demonstration of “personal” computing - each user felt as though the machine was all theirs. All of these projects were sponsored by the Advanced Research Projects Agency of the Defense Department, now known as DARPA. Over a relatively short time DARPA-backed research groups developed methods of communicating with one another over what came to be known as ARPANET, which evolved into the Internet. In fact the first “Internet message” was recently celebrated on its 50th birthday. That message was between an SDS 940 computer at Stanford Research Institute (SRI) and an SDS Sigma 7 at UCLA. I played an important role in the development of both computers.
Norm Heller at White Weld
In 1966, I had moved to become regional manager of SDS in New York City. An early customer of the 940 was Mr. Joe Gal at White Weld Company, a Wall Street investment banker. The 940 at that stage was still fragile and Joe Gal very demanding, so we brought our best service man to New York to watch over the White Weld and other machines in the area.
Norm had planned on returning home to Santa Monica for a weekend. On the Friday afternoon he planned to leave, the White Weld 940 “crashed”. I told Norm that he could not go home until the computer was repaired. Norm called his wife with the bad news and then came to me. He said that his wife had told him very sweetly: “Honey, I just want you to know that there is going to be a lot of fuckin’ going on here this weekend and I was hoping that you would be here to be in on it!”. I told Norm to go home and that I would take care on Joe Gal. Which I did. And the world did not stop…
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