All Comments on 'Alan in the Office 02'

That would have been an S-100 bus. I designed an I/O - ROM - RAM board for those. Actually sold a few.

And hardware problems? Back in the day - if they were not fundamental - we fixed them in software.

And back in that day the money funding electronics/computers didn't come from banks (they were intermediaries). It came from dope. Acid and pot in the early days.

Ever look into Resource One? I had a chance to play with that system (remarkably like the 'net given its early origins) in '74. It inspired me to get into computers. That and the Altair on the cover of Pop Tronics in the Jan '75 issue. Which is why I had a KSR33 a few years later. I did get training in hardware (TTL characterization) at Raytheon Computer in '67 when I was just out of the Navy. That came in VERY handy.

And like Ron I had a Radiotelephone 1st Class. Got mine at 17 1/2. The youngest age allowed. Couldn't use it until age 18 though. Which I did. At a major (but independent FM Station).

Never had the kind of parties Alan did. Pity.

Anon: I did some research. Disregard Heathkit's H11 (DEC LSI-11 clone). The H8 used their proprietary 50-pin Benton Harbor buss, more robust than the S-100. The H89 family didn't really have a buss. Alan spoke of having both, but I think his '89 was a factory-built Z89.

And yeah, Alan was (and maybe still is) a real party animal. I am envious. Further accounts of Alan's adventures (as recounted to Ron) will be forthcoming. Stay tuned.