Lee Felsenstein(en.wikipedia.org) |
Lee Felsenstein(en.wikipedia.org) |
I tried looking for SJSU events and found the earlier Vintage Computing Fair talks, but at least I can trade this time capsule link from that era even if it doesn't quote me toon the Byte Shop specifically: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1977/04/04/bytes-and-chip...
"You're going to do all that for the computer? What are you going to do for the people?"
In my mid 20s, I ran the SF Hardware Meetup, and Lee came and just told me something like: "Oh yea, I've been into hardware for a long time.", and only later did I realize who he was haha.
Like others here, I was concerned seeing his name trending here, and I'm so glad he's still alive.
Lee represents the best of mentalities of the tech scene, and I hope we can get back to a more pro-social place and away from this profit-first bubble shit.
For example, I found this one of a younger Lee: https://archive.computerhistory.org/resources/access/still-i...
Prototype for the Automatic Photoelectric Keratometer, (US 4,345,437 - 1966, to Westheimer and Felsenstein). Taken by myself in the lab of Gerald Westheimer in 1965.
Vacuum tube electronics of my design controlling an oscilloscope pattern focused on a sumulated eyeball with two photomultiplier tubes catching the glint (specular) reflection and reversing the sweep direction.
A poor idea which went nowhere but it got a patent for the professor who generously included me as co-inventor and coauthor of a paper.
UC Berkeley School of Optometry — I was a Lab Helper at $2.03/hour. Prof. Westheimer later moved to Physiology. He was 99 in 2023 when we last met.
( ;^^)b
He's reissued the classic Homebrew Computer Club t-shirts he sold at the final meeting, and also posters!
https://felsensigns.com/engineers-and-programmers-with-attit...
>The cartoon shows a caricature of Chares Proteus Steinmetz – a hero of mine, posing for a photograph at the inauguration of one of his big generators (he taught American engineers how to calculate with alternating current starting around 1890). He was a German immigrant hunchback dwarf and was never admitted to “polite society” of the day, but he changed to world.
>The front of the shirt shows him in front of the massive, throbbing machine – hand on the switch, dressed in formal wear. The rear of the shirt shows the rear view, with Steinmetz’ fingers crossed as the photographer takes his shot.
Looked like a neat little machine but (just a little) before my time, I’d have been in nursery when it released.
