00:22:35 Gilles Philippe: Hello from Canada. Cdn DEC Badge #2804 Corp badge # 63XXX 00:25:31 Jeremy (Maynard Library): Welcome to everyone joining us tonight! 00:26:01 Jeremy (Maynard Library): Just a reminder to those of you joining us late or having to leave early… The program is being recorded and we’ll send out the YouTube link to you all in the next day or two. 00:38:09 Jeremy (Maynard Library): Just a reminder, if you have any questions or comments for David, you can type them in the chat and we’ll have a Q&A at the end of his presentation. 00:51:10 Len Segal: I was present when Ken again stated that nobody needed a computer on their desk. It was at the Marlboro facility addressing engineers in late 1980s. Funny thing is now the push is to store everything in the cloud, so Ken was ahead of his time, missing the middle piece and we lost the best company in the US! 00:53:23 Karen Shor: I have that DECWorld 1987 poster and Digital Dictionary, in treasured places in my house. 00:54:07 cynthia nadreau whitty: I have the Digital Dictionary. In fact, I worked to update it in the early 1990s when I worked in Spitbrook. 00:55:07 POBOX::KAPLOW: The red logo change was to use up all the red ink being generated then. 00:56:28 Gilles Philippe: The colour of the PDPs were tied to the industry product group that made them. Mauve= Manufacturing & Distribution group ; Green = Labs , etc. 00:59:37 Frank Catania: DEC Computers found their way around the world. But I believe I had the only DECMate II in Mogadishu Somalia. I shipped it there for my work as a USAID contractor in 1983 with help in getting the appropriate export license from Digital. Having the DECMate enabled me to write all my reports. It was my first personal computer. 01:02:48 Jim: Can you pleasenrecap the Google Alta Vista story? 01:04:27 Jim: I think the downfall of DEC came as a result of inability to capitalize on the PC and UNIX revolutions 01:04:30 Todd Short: Learned to program on a PDP-11/70 (running BSD Unix) and then a VAX-11/780 (running Ultrix) at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School… thanks to you all! 01:04:58 David Garrod: Decworld 1987 was on the QEII not the Queen Maryhttps://www.nytimes.com/1987/09/08/business/digital-enlists-the-qe2-for-lavish-trade-show.html 01:06:10 Michele Rosen: Ken was. very generous to us. Weekends in the autumn were free days at Canobie Lake Park. Rides, food, ice cream for the whole family. 01:06:23 Elizabeth Strong: Yes, it was the QE II. I was the Events Manager for De 01:06:32 Jim: Right, babel 01:06:41 Elizabeth Strong: DECworld '87 01:06:44 POBOX::KAPLOW: YEs, Babelfish was part of AltaVista 01:07:01 Mrs. Arcelay: Fond Memories of Canobie every year. Not an employee but a child of a long term employee 01:07:04 Jim: yes, he did 01:07:30 Len Segal: I worked in product safety on the Rainbow and still have S/N DMT001 (test unit) that I purchased when I was laid off. Sadly moving out of MA, I trashed tons of DEC documentation on GiGi, Rainbow, printers, etc. when Maynard Historical Society told me that they didn't want the stuff. 01:07:31 Sharon A. Wulf, Ph.D.: Does your work address the Intel, DEC Alpha Chip Dispute? 01:07:36 Mrs. Arcelay: Elizabeth do you remember working with my Dad? Jack…. 01:07:43 Karen Shor: The very week I was hired the Salem, NH facility enjoyed friendly competitions amongst the different departments and lots of good tasty food. I miss Digital! 01:08:15 Len Segal: Sorry, S/N was DMT100, not DMT001. 01:09:30 Jim Rosencrans - Maynard, MA: People would be amazed where Digital Alpha is still "just running" inside certain government agencies today, particularly in critical infrastructure. 01:10:28 Tim Leonard: In discussing Bob Metcalfe, you said Ethernet was a precursor to the Internet. You’re confusing the Ethernet with ARPAnet, which was the precursor of the Internet. (Bob wanted to be responsible for Harvard’s connecting to the ARPAnet, but Bob wasn’t involved in developing ARPAnet.) In talking about the VAX knockoffs behind the Iron Curtain, you joke about the pronunciation of “WAX.” Actually, in the languages in which it was spelled that way, “W” is pronounced as a voiced labiodental fricative, the sound represented in English by the letter “V.” So it was pronounced VAX both places. 01:10:38 Bob Anundson: employed between 1969 and 1980. The experience was amazing and shaped me. A young guy I got so much responsibility and experience. It included the PDP11 marketing, Vt50 product manager and lots of sales situation. 01:10:43 Karen Turczyn: I worked in Boston Financial District in the first DEC PC Store demonstrating the Rainbow. Then after Burlington and Waltham Sales Offices. 01:10:45 POBOX::KAPLOW: I still have at least a dozen of those coffee mugs. Along with several shelves of DEC books & manuals. Including the Dictionary and ALtaVista 01:12:19 Bob Anundson: Would the library like writeup of experiences? 01:12:28 Fred Isbell: Remember the term "Business Intelligence" originated from DEC -- Howard Dresner is known as having coined it, I worked with him then in DEC BOIS and last year went to work for his company, Dresner Advisory Services that focuses on BI research, after my retirement from SAP. I wrote the research for DEC BOIS that became the foundation for BI and have kept it and will look to donate it somewhere to preserve it. 01:12:59 John Crabtree: DEC hired 35 of us from Electronic Institute in Pittsburgh on 2/19/1968. 01:14:59 Len Segal: I have a ton of DEC mugs, once I unpack everything, Savers in Nashua will probably get most of them. 01:15:22 Michele Rosen: I met Ken's son at the memorial to Ken that was held at Gordon College. I told him that I thanked his dad for playing an important role in giving me the life I have enjoyed. He was similarly touched. 01:15:55 Carol: Thank you for the step back in history. 01:17:28 Jim: Any info on the use of a version of Alpha chip by Ford? 01:17:41 POBOX::KAPLOW: Ken was also connected to Wheaton College here in the Chicago suburbs. IIRC one of his kids went there. 01:19:02 CA - Bill Slade: As a Services National Account Manager in Canada I used the DEC flight from Ottawa to Hanscombe Airfield with customers for plant tours so often. For difficult customer we filled them with beer before heading back on the Aerocommander or the King Air. No washrooms for the hour and a half flight. Brutal to watch. 01:19:53 ashpatil@msn.com: I worked with Digital from 1985 to 2000 in the UK and European HQ in Geneva. It was the best of my employment where a the whole ethos was so non Hierarchical. I am also a proud owner Digital Management Sciences Mug as well as a first generation laptop from 1992. 01:19:59 Jim Rosencrans - Maynard, MA: DEC's IP infringement litigation against Intel resulted as divesting Hudson Fab to Intel as part of the settlement. Hudson/Intel is still alive as a design facility although the Intel fabs finally closed around 2015. 01:20:14 John Crabtree: What can you say? 01:20:36 David Sandler: I started in 92 only saw the decline 01:21:58 Michael Hancock: Did Ken’s Quaker beliefs manifest themselves in the way he ran the company or dealt with people ? 01:22:15 Steve Wagner: DEC also had a strong connection with Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, partly through Gordon Bell, VP for Engineering, who was also involved in forming what became the Boston Computer Museum (later moved to California). 01:22:16 cynthia nadreau whitty: I loved working at DEC (1982-93). Loved matrix management, everything about DEC. 01:22:43 Jack Mileski: Don't know if you got this but you can donate any excess memorabilia for the parade and dinner on SEptember 19th Send me an Email: jm999@comcast.net I'm a part of www.decconnection.org 01:23:44 POBOX::KAPLOW: I was with DEC in the Chicago region/area office from 80-91. Loved almost every day. The company started declining when they laid me off! 01:23:52 Michele Rosen: The 70% interest in the company by the venture capital company seems outrageous. Did Ken ever try to renegotiate?… Rick Rosen 01:25:18 Jack Mileski: The VAX was used by the Soviet Union for their nuclear program and probably still does. Their engineers in Dresden in East Germay made a lot of clones 01:26:06 POBOX::KAPLOW: There was a CVAX chip that had etched into the silicon in Russian “When you care enough to steal the very best!” 01:26:22 Jack Mileski: We visited Dreaden and they were very proud of the clones since they were now looking for jobs at the end of the Soviet Union 01:27:46 Gilles Philippe: I started in 1977 and married a fellow employee in 1984 - We were known as DECmates. Happy to report it's still going. I had lunch at the dinner across the street from the mill on the last day of Digital June /1998 01:27:48 Jim: Do you think that a culture similar ti DEC's would thrive today in this contemporary world? 01:29:04 POBOX::KAPLOW (Bob): David mentioned his email address, can you share it in the chat 01:29:14 Jack Mileski: We will be giving these items out for those that attend the Parade 01:29:59 Jack Mileski: I went to the Tower and you had to climb a bunch of boards to get there and don't take a wrong step- 01:30:41 Jack Mileski: There was a rule that no one should go up there 01:31:02 Karen Shor: I started in DEC in Salem, NH then worked in the Mill. The first time I went to the Mill still working in Salem I had a granola bar with me. Because my Salem, NH colleagues told me it was confusing navigating the Mill and if I got lost I might get hungry and need something to eat! 01:31:45 V. Brown: I took a tour of the clock tower in 1994, I think. I don't remember signing my name on the wall, though. 01:31:51 cynthia nadreau whitty: Can you say when the parade will be? 01:31:56 Sally Thurston: David's email address is damark51@gmail.com 01:31:58 Jack Mileski: I(f you are wiling to march n the Parade on SEptember 19th send an Email to info@decconnection.org 01:33:21 Jim: It would be worth talking about the earteries… we went to... the cheese-steak shop... the pizz parlor... 01:33:24 V. Brown: When did Ken's brother leave the company? What was the story there? 01:33:49 Jack Mileski: We will have a DEC part in the Parade and will have a dinner later (maybe even a tour of the Mill if we can) 01:34:10 Sally Thurston: I love the elevators in the mill with two sets of doors and floor buttons. 01:34:12 POBOX::KAPLOW (Bob): You are in a little twisty maze of passages, all different! :) 01:34:59 Larry White: It was an “Adventure”! 01:35:11 John Crabtree: I wonder if I could still navigate from the cafeteria to DEC Tech. 01:35:41 Joe: so POBOX::Kaplan - how many times did you have to run Adventure on the DECSystem 20 to get to the end? Or was it on a PDP-10? 01:36:32 Elena: Fantastic presentation and wonderful stroll through Memory Lane, thank you. 01:36:34 POBOX::KAPLOW (Bob): I ran it on the PDP-8, 11, and VAX; never on a 10/20 01:36:50 Michael Hancock: Really interesting chat. Thanks so much from the UK . I did 20 years 83 - 03. Best company ever . 01:37:22 Elizabeth Van Twuyver: I use to joke if you made it out of the mill from your job interview you were guaranteed a job at DEC. Loved that job best job i ever had. A software engineer with CAD development. 01:37:37 Joe: A friend of mine was at the DECSystem training during the blizzard of 1978 and was stuck in MRO1 and ran it to the end! 01:37:53 Jack Mileski: www.decconnection.org has a newsletter that goes out every 2nd month. Also, for things like the Parade we will be sending out other announcemnents 01:38:25 cynthia nadreau whitty: I ran a cost center ... I felt like I was running my own company, very invested in my job, loved it. 01:38:25 Karen Shor: DEC hired me even though I had to call from a MA gas station and tell them oops I was headed to Salem, MA instead of Salem, NH where my interview was. 01:39:49 Paul and Jeanne Alizio: I was a proud Deccie from 1965 to 2000. I have many fond memories. Started in Building 5-4. The lanolin floors were very slippery in the Summer. Still remember Ken walking through from time to time. I built one of the last PDP-8s. 01:40:03 Steve Wagner: Does anybody else remember the CPU Wars comic series at DEC? The villain was Big Blue. I didn’t contribute to that but did draw cartoons for the engineering group I worked for as a secretary for numerous vacations. 01:40:46 Jack Mileski: Isn't it wonderful that after over two decades, we still have a great following. What other company ever had this 01:41:02 Steve Wagner: Digital very deliberately did not get the Mill designated as a historical landmark. The legal people wanted the firm to be able to continue to make changes to the buildings as needed. 01:41:28 Ken Berkun: DEC was the best employer I ever had, even when I've been self employed. 01:41:34 Rhoda & John: I started in January 1981 at Educational Services in Bedford as a programmer. About 2 months later got letter praising my work and giving me a salary raise. I was so excited that my work had been recognized p. Found out sometime later that there had just been a general raise over all for that job code. But it felt good anyway! Stayed until end of 1999 and even went to Houston once to pay homage to new bosses. 01:41:45 Joe: Yes, I had a copy of CPU Wars - it featured HEC (Human Engineered Computing) versus IPM (Impossible to Progam Machines). Sad to say I lost it over the years. 01:43:00 Alan Miller: Interesting paper about DEC which covers AltaVista 01:44:43 Steve Wagner: One of my late friends in neighbor did important walk on teaching computers to speak, in the early stages. He proudly had me listen to it. I told him it sounded like a drunken Swede. He was disappointed and said other people said the same. It had a curious sing-song quality to it at that point. 01:45:25 Debra Tuttle: GRATEFUL...……the word that says it all. I, too, am very grateful and thankful to learn and grow in a corporation led by Ken Olsen. I only wish I could have personally thanked him and his celebration at Gordon College. Forever grateful for all that that did for us! 01:46:19 POBOX::KAPLOW (Bob): I’ve still got my CPU Wars, and have an interesting connection to the author… 01:46:55 Steve Wagner: Ken did NOT have an executive washroom. We found ourselves using the same men’s room in Building 12 many times. 01:47:24 Jim: I joined DEC as a young engineer after getting my Master's, and my life has been shaped by the experiences and value system I learned at DEC... 01:47:38 Susan Mozynski: My husband Fran Mozynski, worked there from 1966 - 2000 in CSS. 01:48:03 Steve Wagner: CPU Wars was entirely separate from the official newsletter and probably NOT sponsored by DEC. Another participant has provided more details than I had. 01:48:31 Jack Mileski: By the way, when I joined DEC in 1974 there was a graffity that said "Some day I'm going to own this place - signed Ken Olsen" 01:49:02 Steve Wagner: In CPU Wars Le Petite Auberge on Walnut Street was called Le Petite Quick-Lunch or something like that. 01:49:22 Jim Rosencrans - Maynard, MA: Here is something on "CPU Wars" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CPU_Wars 01:49:38 POBOX::KAPLOW (Bob): Jack, another standing joke was someone asked Ken how many people worked for DEC, and he said “About half of them” 01:49:39 Alan Miller: I started with DEC in Maynard in 1978 and never really left until my retirement from HPE last year. Got to travel the world and work with all major DEC/COMPAQ/HP/HPE customers. Great company. I carried the DEC culture with me throughout my career. 01:49:39 John Crabtree: Video on demand product was IVIS produced in Westfield. 01:50:07 Jack Mileski: Thst's right it was in the bathroom stallos 01:50:24 Maria A. Navedo: Thank you. Great job!👏🏼 01:50:51 Jack Mileski: Thank you David and Jim 01:50:56 cynthia nadreau whitty: Thanks for this presentation. Fun to remember! 01:51:09 Jim: Thank you. for organizing this wonderful event 01:51:10 Larry White: Thank you!!! 01:51:27 Michael Samett: Thanks! 01:51:33 Len Segal: Thanks. Great connecting with all this info. 01:51:38 Jim Rosencrans - Maynard, MA: Great session!! Great company! Thanks! 01:51:39 Carol: thank you! 01:51:43 SK Weiss: Thank you to Jeremy & David -- excellent presentation & questions -- great memories! 01:51:43 Alan Miller: Thank You. Great!!! 01:51:51 Debra Tuttle: Thank you so much!