A Romp Through the Early History of Computers (Mountain View)

Submitted by the Event Organizer

Intel and Microsoft did not invent the computer, nor did Apple—there was computing before PCs. In this non-technical talk, Len Shustek will highlight some of the colorful figures and strange machines from the days when computers were big enough to walk into, not small enough to wear. It is a rich 75-year history with many lessons for us today. You will also hear about the Computer History Museum here in Silicon Valley, which is dedicated to preserving and telling the stories of the Information Revolution that is changing civilization forever.

Len Shustek is a high tech entrepreneur who co-founded the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA and was its Chairman for 25 years. His educational background is in Computer Science (MS and PhD from Stanford University) by way of Physics (BS and MS from Polytechnic Institute of New York University). He was a Research Associate at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, then an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Carnegie-Mellon University. In 1979, he co-founded Nestar Systems, an early manufacturer of networked computer systems for personal computers. In 1986, he co-founded Network General, a manufacturer of computer network analysis tools, notably “The Sniffer”. He then co-founded the seed-round venture capital firm VenCraft. In semi-retirement, Len has taught computer architecture and computer history as a Consulting Professor at Stanford, and has served on the boards of several high-tech startups and non-profit organizations.
A Sci-Fi September Event.

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