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[CM] the ECHO IV home computer, 50 years later

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  [CM] the ECHO IV home computer, 50 years later RS Wood  <rsw@therandymon.com> - 2016-06-04 00:02 +0000
    Re: [CM] the ECHO IV home computer, 50 years later Quadibloc <jsavard@ecn.ab.ca> - 2016-06-03 17:30 -0700
      Re: [CM] the ECHO IV home computer, 50 years later Michael Black <et472@ncf.ca> - 2016-06-03 22:18 -0400
        Re: [CM] the ECHO IV home computer, 50 years later "gareth G4SDW GQRP #3339" <no.spam@thank.you.invalid> - 2016-06-04 11:06 +0100
          Re: [CM] the ECHO IV home computer, 50 years later Michael Black <et472@ncf.ca> - 2016-06-04 09:39 -0400
            Re: [CM] the ECHO IV home computer, 50 years later "Charles Richmond" <numerist@aquaporin4.com> - 2016-06-11 10:45 -0500
            Re: [CM] the ECHO IV home computer, 50 years later hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com - 2016-06-11 13:19 -0700
    Re: [CM] the ECHO IV home computer, 50 years later Al Kossow <aek@bitsavers.org> - 2016-06-03 17:38 -0700

#164446 — [CM] the ECHO IV home computer, 50 years later

From the «home before it wass cool» department:
Title: The ECHO IV home computer: 50 years later
Author: Thom Holwerda
Date: Thu, 02 Jun 2016 16:41:21 -0400
Link: http://osnews.com/story/29239/The_ECHO_IV_home_computer_50_years_later

This year we celebrate the 50th anniversary of a home computer built and
operated more than a decade before 'official' home computers arrived on the
scene. Yes, before the 'trinity' of the Apple II, the Commodore PET and the
Radio Shack TRS-80 - all introduced in 1977 - Jim Sutherland, a quiet engineer
and family man in Pittsburgh, was building a computer system on his own for his
family. Sutherland configured this new computer system to control many aspects
of his home with his wife and children as active users. It truly was a home
computer - that is, the house itself was part of the computer and its use was
integrated into the family's daily routines. "It is not easy to be a pioneer -
but oh, it is fascinating! I would not trade one moment, even the worst moment,
for all the riches in the world." (Elizabeth Blackwell).


--
Posting to comp.misc, sci.misc, and misc.news.internet.discuss

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#164447

This did not ring a bell; I guess I must have missed the April, 1968 issue of 
_Popular Mechanics_, which had an article about that computer.

John Savard

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#164452

On Fri, 3 Jun 2016, Quadibloc wrote:

> This did not ring a bell; I guess I must have missed the April, 1968 
> issue of _Popular Mechanics_, which had an article about that computer.
>
And the tone is wrong.

People wanted their own computers, and some even got them.  There was the 
ACS (Amateur Computer Society) that had some members. Some built their 
own, others scrounged, and I guess some might have had a PDP-8.  I think 
the thrust was having your own computer,  for many that goal was hard 
enough, so "using it" came second.

So when microprocessors came along, many kind of abandoned their works in 
progress, since suddenly a computer could be had cheaper, simpler and 
smaller.  And suddenly your home computer was something other people had, 
you didn't have to write the operating system and BASIC or whatever for 
your unique computer.

But the tone of the article is also off, since it hypes 1977, when it 
should be 1975 and the Altair 8800, or 1974 and the 8008 based Micro-8, or 
even the Scelbi 8008 computer.  Things moved a lot faster in retrospect 
than they did at the time.

   Michael

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#164462

"Michael Black" <et472@ncf.ca> wrote in message 
news:alpine.LNX.2.02.1606032214200.7954@darkstar.example.org...
>   I think the thrust was having your own computer,  for many that goal was 
> hard enough, so "using it" came second.

An appropriate attitude for such an excellent complex machine in its own 
right!

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#164469

On Sat, 4 Jun 2016, gareth G4SDW GQRP #3339 wrote:

> "Michael Black" <et472@ncf.ca> wrote in message
> news:alpine.LNX.2.02.1606032214200.7954@darkstar.example.org...
>>   I think the thrust was having your own computer,  for many that goal was
>> hard enough, so "using it" came second.
>
> An appropriate attitude for such an excellent complex machine in its own
> right!
>
I remember reading an article (after the fact) in Popular Electronics. 
Somewhere around 1964, there had been a hurricane somewhere, and a 
computer written off for insurance purposes.  And a school ended up with 
the remains.  I don't know if they ever got it going but the potential of 
having their own computer at the time must have seemed great.  But they 
had to deal not only with water damage (I think salt water damage too), 
but if I recall properly, the computer had been hacked apart to move it to 
the new location, so they had to splice endless wires and such to get it 
operational.  But they probably learned  a lot.

   Michael

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#164915

"Michael Black" <et472@ncf.ca> wrote in message 
news:alpine.LNX.2.02.1606040936490.8682@darkstar.example.org...
> On Sat, 4 Jun 2016, gareth G4SDW GQRP #3339 wrote:
>
>> "Michael Black" <et472@ncf.ca> wrote in message
>> news:alpine.LNX.2.02.1606032214200.7954@darkstar.example.org...
>>>   I think the thrust was having your own computer,  for many that goal 
>>> was
>>> hard enough, so "using it" came second.
>>
>> An appropriate attitude for such an excellent complex machine in its own
>> right!
>>
> I remember reading an article (after the fact) in Popular Electronics. 
> Somewhere around 1964, there had been a hurricane somewhere, and a 
> computer written off for insurance purposes.  And a school ended up with 
> the remains.  I don't know if they ever got it going but the potential of 
> having their own computer at the time must have seemed great.  But they 
> had to deal not only with water damage (I think salt water damage too), 
> but if I recall properly, the computer had been hacked apart to move it to 
> the new location, so they had to splice endless wires and such to get it 
> operational.  But they probably learned  a lot.
>

"Experience is what you get... when you don't get what you want."  When it 
becomes a "DIY" project, you learn of lot... of necessity.

-- 

numerist at aquaporin4 dot com

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#164925

On Saturday, June 4, 2016 at 9:38:35 AM UTC-4, Michael Black wrote:

> I remember reading an article (after the fact) in Popular Electronics. 
> Somewhere around 1964, there had been a hurricane somewhere, and a 
> computer written off for insurance purposes.  And a school ended up with 
> the remains.  I don't know if they ever got it going but the potential of 
> having their own computer at the time must have seemed great.  But they 
> had to deal not only with water damage (I think salt water damage too), 
> but if I recall properly, the computer had been hacked apart to move it to 
> the new location, so they had to splice endless wires and such to get it 
> operational.  But they probably learned  a lot.

Sometimes a business would donate an obsolete computer to a
school.  Nice publicity and tax deduction.

I knew of one high school that had a 1401 long after S/360 and even
S/370 replaced most of them.  Perhaps some company donated it.   But
I heard IBM had a deep educational discount available for those old
machines.  Again, that was nice publicity, plus it encouraged
young people to get into programming, for which there was a big
demand.

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#164448

On 6/3/16 5:02 PM, RS Wood wrote:
> From the «home before it wass cool» department:
> Title: The ECHO IV home computer: 50 years later
> Author: Thom Holwerda
> Date: Thu, 02 Jun 2016 16:41:21 -0400
> Link: http://osnews.com/story/29239/The_ECHO_IV_home_computer_50_years_later
> 

This is actually a pointer to a CHM blog post written by Dag Spicer

http://www.computerhistory.org/atchm/the-echo-iv-home-computer-50-years-later/

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