“Distributing the Future since 1983.” That’s this blog’s tagline, so let’s start there. What happened in 1983?
- Alan graduated from M.I.T.
- Alan started work at Apple Computer on the Macintosh
- Alan and Priscilla met (at Apple)
May, 1983. After five years wandering the Infinite corridors of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Alan graduated from that Cambridge institution with a combined Bachelor’s/Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
Alan’s thesis, “A Local Area Disk Server for RT-11” was historically irrelevant, but ended with the proclamation that “…networks are the wave of the future: it is hoped that this project, in some small but not insignificant way, has helped to bring that future just a little bit closer.” Maybe it did.
August 1, 1983. After a cross-country trip with his sister, Alan starts work at Apple Computer in Cupertino, California. Hired at least partially based on his thesis work (undertaken at Digital Equipment Corporation), Alan started in a group that was working on basic network technologies for Apple’s popular Apple-// and not-so-popular Apple-/// computers.
Within weeks, the group was redirected to create a network for the new, secret computer Apple planned to introduce in early 1984, the Macintosh. As you can imagine, we’ll be talking a lot more about that in the future.
October, 1983. Alan and Priscilla meet at Apple over LisaTerminal Pascal code and Santa Clara soccer fields. An unusual Christmas party follows. As you can image, we’ll be talking a lot more about all of that in the future.