Today in
preparation of writing a blog about the part my friend, Paul Terrell,
played in the microcomputer explosion of the mid-1970s, I came across
the PC Magazine article titled "Inside Computer Stores of the 1970s and 1980s" written
by Benj Edwards, posted on July 13, 2022.
The article was written as
part of PCMagizine's 40th Anniversary celebration, and it states. "here are some rare scenes from the early days of personal computer shopping."
I began writing a response to the article, but went a wee bit
further. Like so many articles on the evolution of the computer
industry, the author went for the big guys and overlooked the real
beginning,
overlooked the persons and the store which really began the
computer store industry. In 1975 Paul Terrell and his partner,
Floyd Wilson, opened the second computer store in America, the
Byte
Shop, in Mountain View, California.
The first computer store was a
storefront shop run by a couple in Los Angeles. After opening the
Mountain View Byte Shop store, Paul
with his brothers, began opening other Byte Shop stores - and this
evolved into the first computer store chain, also called
the Byte Shop.
At the same time, Paul Terrell was involved with the Homebrew Computer Club which met at Stanford,
comprised of a group of folks who were excited by the new microcomputer
chips and eager to see what could be done with them . To the best of
my knowledge, that is where Paul met Steve Wozniak and
Steve Jobs, the eventual founders of Apple Computer.
One evening
Wozniak brought a breadboard computer
based upon a microprocessor to the meeting and created quite a
stir. Paul Terrell told Wozniak and Jobs
if they would package that computer in a nice enclosure, he would
buy the first 50 units. Thus Paul Terrell purchased for his Byte
Shop store, the first 50
Apple computers.
Going to Google, I found an article titled "The Byte Shop Story"
excerpted from the book "Fire In The Valley" written by Paul
Freiberger and Michael Swaine. I hope the book is much more
accurate than this excerpt. Almost the only thing right in
that article is Paul Terrell's name, the Byte Shop, and MITS.
Other than that, I found little that was accurate. The authors
took a number of true facts and wove them into some kind of
fairy tale. How can I say this? Because, I was there when it all
happened.
The blog below is comprised of excerpts taken from my blog "The Amazing Computer Evolution - And I Was There!" posted April 28, 2023, on
the Bill & Dory Gray Christian Ministries blog site:
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
THE AMAZING COMPUTER EVOLUTION - AND I WAS THERE! ~ And what a wild ride it has been! In 1958 I began my computer technology journey with Burroughs Corporation Electrodata Division in Pasadena, California, on a million dollar vacuum tube mainframe computer system.
Like the beginning of any good story, I have written: "It All Began With" me working on the Burroughs B220 mainframe computer system, first as a Test Technician and then as a Field Engineer. Then in 1967 I left Field Engineering and ventured into sales and finally, over a number of years, tried my hand at marketing. . . .
In 1975, like the 1959 song by the Coasters, "Along Came Jones" - I guess I would have to add: Along Came Ed Roberts - who with a fellow Air Force technology officer, Forrest Mims, started a company in Albuquerque named MITS (Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems), a company formed in 1969 to sell electronic telemetry modules for model rocket guidance and control. . . .
In 1974, when Intel began producing its newer and faster 8-bit microprocessor, the 8080, Ed Roberts and MITS made the leap into computer history - by creating and producing the MITS Altair. And this is the computer which brought Paul Allen, an engineer with Honeywell, to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to demonstrate a Basic software package he and Bill Gates, student at Harvard, had created.
Bill Gates and Paul Allen moved to Albuquerque and became the programming staff for MITS, living in a motel across the highway from MITS. At the same time they were laying the foundation for the beginning of Microsoft.
When I joined MITS in 1975, the MITS Altair, with the Basic compiler, a high-level programming language, was available first in kit form, much like the old Heathkit products - and also factory assembled . . . .
Like Heathkit, Ed Roberts and MITS sold Altair microcomputer kits. When I joined MITS in 1975, I was surprised to see large companies such as Hughes Aircraft buying computer kits and having their inhouse technicians build them. I suppose it was a way to keep technicians busy and also let them become familiar with the microprocessor, while waiting for the next big contract to came in.
At MITS my job was to contract and manage independent Manufacturer Representative companies who would sell the Altair Microcomputer along with complementary products from other companies. One way I could help our Reps sell the Altair was to present Microcomputer Seminars in their local areas.
That was a time when companies large and small were looking for ways to use microprocessors in their products. And the MITS Altair with the Basic compiler created by Bill Gates and Paul Allen helped the engineers use the microprocessors. So my seminars were always filled with company engineers eager to learn about microprocessors.
In 1974 I had signed a Manufacturer's Representative company in the Palo Alto area to sell my Control Logic modules and systems. When I left Control Logic and joined MITS, I asked Paul Terrell and his partner, Floyd Wilson, to jump to MITS with me. But since they were just getting up to speed selling Control Logic products, they chose not to jump.
A months or so later, I gave two nights of Microcomputer Seminars at Dinah's Hyatt House Hotel in Palo Alto - and the first night the room was overflowing and I had to ask the people standing ten deep outside the room to come back the next evening. After the seminar the first night, Paul Terrell told me, "Bill, I am ready to make the switch to MITS." I was impressed with the overflowing response of engineers and managers in the Palo Alto area who came to the seminars - and so was Paul.
Paul and Floyd made the switch in a really big way. Shortly after joining the MITS team, they opened the Byte Shop in Mountain View, California - the second computer store in America, most likely the world. The first being a man and wife who had a storefront shop in Los Angeles and sold computer products on consignment. Paul then opened another in Palo Alto with his brother, and a third in Oregon with another brother, and the Terrell brothers continued giving a jump-start to being able to buy a personal computer from your local store, which led to us eventually having computers in our homes.
That was the beginning of the Byte Shop Computer Store Chain, the very first computer store chain in the world. And I believe it was when the Byte Shop Chain was at about 50 stores and with other computer store chains entering the market, they sold to another chain which had subsequently joined the computer store evolution - and retired.
Today Paul Terrell and his wife are driving around America in a large RV and enjoying life. I stay in touch via Facebook - a technology we could not have even imagined in 1975.
And it all started with MITS! The Altair was the rocket into history which truly began the market for microcomputers for both industry and home use - and is responsible, in a large way, for the HP laptop I am using as a desktop computer with a large display to write this blog today. . . .
Ed Roberts eventually sold MITS to Pertec Computer Corporation for $6 million in shares in May of 1977. Meanwhile Bill Gates and Paul Allen had taken Microsoft north to Seattle, and Ed Roberts was able to fulfill his true dream of becoming a small town doctor. He went to medical school - and spent the rest of his life as a small town doctor in Georgia. That is called living your dream. . . .
To read the full blog, visit:
THE AMAZING COMPUTER EVOLUTION - AND I WAS THERE!
https://billdory-christian-ministries.blogspot.com/2023/04/the-amazing-computer-evolution-and-i.html
I pray that you have enjoyed this walk down Computer Memory Lane.
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill
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