Ken Olsen computer pioneer passes 1926 - 2011

[xlii]

Before there was Steve Jobs there was Ken Olsen. He build Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) into the second largest computer company in the world after IBM. This youtube video is quite a tribute to the man. If you watch... about half way though... Barbara Carlson speaks... she was my manager in MRO1-3 (Marlboro, Mass) when I was a technician in KL10 manufacturing in the late 1970s.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6We6VDtyHY

 

[maflynn]

I saw that on my local web newsite. Growing up in the boston area, one cannot help but see the meteoric rise of DEC, and its sale to compaq who themselves got swallowed up by HP.

I have some friends that started off at Digital and one is still with HP. In fact I almost got a job there back in the 90s

 

[xlii]

I worked for DEC, Compaq, HP from 1977 to 2003. First as a technician in KL10 manufacturing and later as a technician and then as an engineer doing design work. Spent most of the time in MRO1 (Marlboro, Massachusetts). When HP bought the company we knew it was over for us. I was in AlphaServers then and HP already had a server group in California. So they laid us all off. Heck, they laid off everyone... we had guys with 30, 40 patents get laid off.