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Our DEC Connection Zoom program has really
taken off! The purpose is to preserve our Digital stories,
enjoy nostalgia with friends, learn what else was happening at DEC, and
discuss what might have been. Attending the Zoom session is
now a member benefit, so
join up or renew if you're not a (current-in-dues)
member. Recordings are available for all sessions, see the
links below in each speaker's synopsis.
Corporate
Talk #3 - April 8, 2026 - 12 pm Eastern/9 am Pacific/6 pm GMT -
Encore
with Richard Seltzer on How to Partner with AI -
A new kind of
relationship and a new perspective on what it means to be human.
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Richard's email is seltzer@seltzerbooks.com
and he'd love to hear from folks with questions or comments (especially
with questions for Simon!).
Resources
from the presentation:
This
is a link to the video recording of the April 8 presentation.
Here
are Richard's slides for his April 8 presentation.
Here are some replies generated by Simon in response to our questions:
1. An ex-DECcie lost a job to AI and wanted advice on how to
recover.
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Enjoy
a chat with Richard Seltzer and Simon, his digital partner.
Richard's new book is amazing and insightful... his book is
intended to help readers understand the present-day capabilities and
longer-term implications of human-AI relationships, and to explore how
the existence of non-human intelligence may influence how humans
understand themselves and their place in the world.
Richard served as our "Internet
Evangelist" from 1995-1998 when he wrote a book
on Alta Vista and spoke
about it to Digital customers all over the world. He is a talented
writer who wrote the DECWORLD newsletter and all of Ken's MGMT
MEMO newsletters. Since DEC, he has authored 27 books - How to Partner with AI, In Flux,
and One Family were recently
published.
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Tech
Talk #10: Wednesday May 14, 2025 - 1 pm Eastern/10 am Pacific/6 pm GMT
- Jeff Bergart Encore!
Corporate
Talk #2 - February 4, 2025 - 1 pm Eastern/10 am Pacific/6 pm GMT -
An
Open Discussion with Digital's"Internet Evangelist" and author
Richard Seltzer on Alta Vista, the beginning of the search engine, and
Digital's Internet Business Group
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We
are going to try something fun and different! This
DECconnection
Corporate Zoom with 19-year DEC veteran Richard Seltzer is about all
your questions on Alta Vista, the birth of search engines, and
Digital's Internet Business Group. Richard served as our "Internet
Evangelist" from 1995-1998 when he wrote a book
on Alta Vista and spoke
about it to Digital customers all over the world. He is a talented
writer who wrote the DECWORLD newsletter and all of Ken's MGMT
MEMO newsletters. Since DEC, he has authored 25 different
books - One Family was
just
published (a fascinating blend of genealogy, history, essay and
mystery) and it contains a chapter about Ken Olsen which Richard is
happy to share with you here (link to Medium).
Richard's email is seltzer@seltzerbooks.com
and he'd like to hear from folks with questions or comments.
Link to video recording of Richard's talk
and the discussion afterward.
Link
to Richard's slides.
Link
to the script for his talk.
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Tech
Talk #9: October 8, 2024 - 12 noon Eastern/9 am Pacific/5 pm
GMT - Tech Talk with Jeff Bergart
Jeff at DEC |
Please
save Tuesday, October 8 at 9 am PST, noon EST, and 5 pm GMT, for our
next DEC Connection Zoom event - a Tech Talk with Jeff Bergart (at
left, in his DEC years).
Jeff's Finance career at DEC was
marked by success, innovation and FUN! With his uniquely
multi-disciplinary background, Jeff loved to contribute to his
organizations in unexpected ways.
Part 1 by Jeff will be
about his memories of Manufacturing Process Engineering (1976-1980),
under Bill Hanson and Pete Kaufman, located in the Mill and Piper Rd.
Acton. Later, next spring, he will share Part 2 about his FUN years in
Computer Special Systems (1985-1993).
Please contact Jeff at jeffbergart@gmail.com with any comments after
viewing his recording. He welcomes your feedback!
Link to Jeff's Process
Engineering recording from 10/8/24.
Link to Jeff's slides (no script).
Link
to Jeff's slides with script.
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Corporate
Talk #1: December 13, 2023 - 11 am Eastern/8 am Pacific/4 pm GMT
- The UK's Reading
Digital
Revolution
Sandy
Mackenzie, DEXODUS
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Brendan
Carr,
Reading Museum
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Jacqui
Garrad,
The National Museum of
Computing
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Gavin
Clarke,
Blended
Past
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Ian
Severn,
DECUS UK
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Peter
Thomson
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We are excited to present the first discussion
of the history and plans for the UK's Reading Digital Revolution
project.
This will culminate in June 2024 in a display at the Reading Museum,
and in 2025, a
celebration of the 60th anniversary of Digital's opening its Reading UK
office in 1964. Digital's foothold began the build-up of a technology
center
that over the years built a thriving economy in Reading, and led to
creation of a center of technology and computer education.
The
entire effort is an effective and motivated partnership between
once-private industry (Digital UK's DEXODUS and UK DECUS), government
(UK Reading Museum, the National Museum of Computing, and the UK
National Lottery Fund) and private education (University of Reading
Computer Science Department).
The first presentation featured 6 speakers: an introduction
from Sandy Mackenzie from the DEXODUS team;
Brendan Carr, Reading _Digital Revolution_ project director from the
host Reading Museum; Jacqui Garrad, Director of the UK's National
Museum of Computing, and her consultant Gavin Clarke, a technology
journalist; Ian Severn,
Chairman of UK DECUS; and Peter
Thomson, a former Chairman of DEXODUS. Each speaker will
describe
their
role in the original organizations and with this project, commenting on
the impact that Digital and the
technology center had on Reading and its economy over the years.
The recording is 1 1/2 hours in length (and totally
captivating!).
Link to Video Recording:
1-1/2 hours
Link
to Brendan Carr's slides
Our moderators:
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Alan
Goldsworthy,
DEC Connection
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Rod Sutherland,
Digital's Ambassador to 55 countries |
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Tech Talk #8: April 18, 2023 -
2 pm Eastern/11 am Pacific - A conversation with Tom
Stockebrand, with Bob Anundson
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Tom Stockebrand
Bob Anundson
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Tom Stockebrand ("Stocky") is a
highly-respected computing pioneer who contributed to Digital in
amazing fashion over his 30-year tenure from 1960-1990. Tom,
who earned a mechanical engineering degree from Caltech, worked with
Ken Olsen and others for 6 years at Lincoln Labs prior to joining
Digital. There Tom worked on the predecessor to LINCtape, with giant
14" reels; then he helped morph it into the LINCtape used with Lincoln
Labs' TX-2 computer. At Digital, Tom developed DECtape, which is, according
to CHM, a very reliable block-addressed tape drive with a shirt
pocket-sized tape reel (and probably the first commercial personal
portable digital storage).
He followed this up by starting a group that created the Digital VT
family of video terminals, beginning with the VT05 in 1970 and the VT50
introduced in 1974. When Digital sold the terminals business
in 1995, over 6 million VT units had been shipped -- an unqualified
success by any standards.
Tom recently recorded an Oral History (this OH
is a 3-1/2 hour interview) for the Computer History Museum (CHM) in
Mountain View CA. It covers his professional life history so,
if you want to hear it just from Lincoln Labs through Digital, start
the time slider mark at hour 1 and stop at hour 3. That's
still 2 highly engaging hours of Tom's history, most relevant to
us. Click here
to view it on YouTube.
The purpose of this Tech Talk is not to repeat
Tom's CHM OH, but to summarize 10 minutes of highlights of Tom's
career, and leave a lot of time for Tom's stories and DEC Connection
members' questions and discussion. Bob Anundson,
who gave our first DEC Connection Tech Talk, was the product manager
for Tom's products, and Bob will serve as an interviewer. Bob and Tom
have remained friends since working together in the 1960s.
They will be assisted in the Q&A by Al Goldsworthy of our DEC
Connection board.
LINK TO TOM'S SESSION
RECORDING HERE
Link
to Presentation and Products
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Tech Talk #7: February 23, 2023
- Kerry Bensman
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We recently enjoyed the discussion from Avram
Miller about the Professional 3xx Series of Personal Computers, with
references to the two complementary Digital products in the personal
computing space. One was the Rainbow 100 Personal Computer, a
product about which Kerry Bensman can tell us quite a lot! Kerry, who at the time worked for the late Barry
James Folsom, will share the history of the Rainbow 100, DEC's
relationship with Microsoft, and his own anecdotes about the PC industry in the early days.
After graduating from M.I.T.
with a B.S. in E.E., Kerry joined DEC in December 1969. As a mill rat,
he spent a couple of years in TOPS-10 and then transferred to Denver as
a Software Specialist, covering one fourth of the U.S. He was promoted
to Northern California District SWS Manager in Northern California and
then Northeast Regional SWS Manager in Waltham. After a short stint
in Customer Services Marketing, he joined the Rainbow Group
as Group Product and Applications Manager. He was responsible for the
Rainbow 100B and CP/M and MS-DOS. Following the cancellation of the
Rainbow, Kerry moved on to TOEM as the Basic Industries Manager and
left the company in 1990, a few months after completing the Harvard
Business School International Senior Managers Program. He then spent a
couple of years at Wang Laboratories and later relocated to Boulder, CO
as Director of Software Business for IBM's Printing Systems
Division. After leaving high tech, Kerry served six years as
a City Councilman for Lafayette CO, and now lives in the St. Louis MO
area, enjoying his family including a young granddaughter.
LINK TO VIDEO RECORDING OF KERRY'S TALK.
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Tech Talk #6: January 11, 2023
- Gale "Jake" Jacobs
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Gale Jacobs joined Digital in 1973 and served
in sales, marketing and management positions in Portland, Oregon,
Mexico City and Acton, MA. His talk will feature cultural differences
and the agony and ecstasy of serving as National Sales Manager in
Mexico during a time when the country’s economic pendulum was swinging
from soaring heights to abysmal lows, and Digital’s efforts to manage
the challenges. Plus, the trials and tribulations of relocating from
Oregon to south of the border and the transfer back north to Acton. If
you enjoy tequila, mañana, music, cerveza and a good war story, be sure
to join us for this Tech Talk! Viva Mexico! Viva
DEC!
LINK TO VIDEO RECORDING OF JAKE'S
TALK on YouTube.
Link to
Jake's presentation slides on our website.
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Tech Talk #5: December 6, 2022
- Avram Miller
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Link to amazon.com,
to get Avram's book.
Avram speaking to his project
team, c. 1980.
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Avram Miller gave a fascinating presentation on
Tuesday, December 6. Avram was the Program Manager for
Digital's Professional Series of PCs in the early 1980s. He
worked directly with Ken, Gordon, and other industry icons to
accomplish this challenge. He recently published a book on his
personal experiences in technology and one of the chapters features
Digital. You can read more about Avram's career on his blog,
https://www.twothirdsdone.com,
and his website
http://www.avrammiller.com.
Avram refers us to a 36-min. video posted on
You Tube by the Computer History Museum called DEC: Personal Challenge, 25th
Anniversary Video, which can be found at this
link. This
documentary was produced by DEC and chronicles the 2-year odyssey to
bring three personal computers, the Professional Series (PRO-325 and
PRO-350) and the Rainbow 100 to market a year after IBM launched their
PC. The narrative follows the challenges of the CT Program
Group - Avram Miller (project manager), Michael Weinstein
(merchandising), Ron Ham (software), Art Williams (hardware), and Vah
Erdekian (manufacturing), as they race to develop a personal computer
to show at the June 1982 National Computer Conference in Houston.
LINK TO VIDEO
RECORDING OF AVRAM'S TALK.
A few slides
Avram used in his intro.
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Tech Talk #4: October 19, 2022 - Nick Pappas
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Our #4 Tech Talk was given by DEC Connection
member Nick Pappas, who contributed at Digital both in Engineering and
Services. Nick described his talk:
I started work at Digital in June, 1967 and
left in 1994. My talk will cover the period from 1967 to 1975. For most
of that time I worked in the Programming Department where I managed
language development projects for the PDP-10 and PDP-11. I also
implemented the unbundling and licensing of software late in that
period. And finally, I worked for Tom Stockebrand as a product manager
for a video terminal. My talk on October 19 is about the projects, the
people, and the DEC environment that I experienced in those days.
LINK TO VIDEO
RECORDING OF NICK's TALK.
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Tech
Talk #3: August 31, 2022 - Bob Nusbaum
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Our #3 DEC Tech Talk was delivered by DEC
Connection member Bob Nusbaum, another of our super-duper utility
fielders - a great product manager. He spoke about "High-Tech
Darwinism" -- his experiences and observations of Digital from his FMS
and ALL-IN-1 product manager roles. Bob worked at Digital for 18 years
(plus 4 at CPQ). Discussion continues as long as everyone wants
afterwards.
LINK TO
VIDEO RECORDING OF BOB's TALK.
Link
to Bob's presentation slides.
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Tech
Talk #2: July 12, 2022 - Nathan Brookwood
Tech
Talk #1: February 19, 2022 - Bob Anundson
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Bob
Anundson, a DEC Connection member from Washington state, proposed that
we organize short presentations about Digital products, engineering
culture, and whatever else interests you, with Q&A/discussion
time
afterwards. In the time-honored tradition of Digital, he who proposes
does, and Bob has graciously kicked off this series with a prototype
session. He focused mostly on his Maynard experiences in Product
Marketing using the PDP-11/10, 11/40, RK05, VT50/VT52, and software
licensing as examples between 1969 and 1975, in the context of Digital
culture.
LINK TO
VIDEO RECORDING OF BOB's TECH TALK.
Link to write-up of Bob's experience at Digital he
shared with Maynard Public Library for their Digital collection.
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