OTD 1982: The founding of #SunMicrosystems.
-
OTD 1982: The founding of #SunMicrosystems.

@aka_pugs The first Sun box that we had was built in a grey metal box.
Looking at those big monitors makes my body ache. John Romkey and I hauled a couple of those down the stairs of my house (as well as a big Sun - the size of a half height refrigerator, and heavier.) I have no idea where those things all went, but they are no longer downstairs in my house.
-
OTD 1982: The founding of #SunMicrosystems.

@aka_pugs I had one of those moments where someone joining a computer company today, asked what it was like when I joined Sun, which is now 40 years ago. And realized that 40 years before I joined Sun was 1946 and computers had gone from zero to workstation. Now 40 years after that, its nearly unrecognizable right? Kind of like airplanes going from Wright flyer to 747 in 80 years.
-
@aka_pugs I had one of those moments where someone joining a computer company today, asked what it was like when I joined Sun, which is now 40 years ago. And realized that 40 years before I joined Sun was 1946 and computers had gone from zero to workstation. Now 40 years after that, its nearly unrecognizable right? Kind of like airplanes going from Wright flyer to 747 in 80 years.
@ChuckMcManis Smaller, faster, cheaper and way too much software!
But the architecture moves slowly. -
OTD 1982: The founding of #SunMicrosystems.

@aka_pugs wonder if Bill Joy is one of the five in photo. he was strictly speaking not an orig cofounder but a huge enough employee and early enough IIRC they retconned him as such around 6 months in
-
@rl_dane @synlogic4242 Yes, Bill has the beard.
-
@aka_pugs wonder if Bill Joy is one of the five in photo. he was strictly speaking not an orig cofounder but a huge enough employee and early enough IIRC they retconned him as such around 6 months in
@synlogic4242 There are FOUR lights!
-
@rl_dane @aka_pugs thanks! agreed bearded guy, 2nd from left, is likely Bill Joy
Google's "AI Says" results beshat itself as usual. it showed me a recentish photo of Bill Joy, as olderish grey-haired man, as if it were his 1982 appearance. no QC or sense of pride left inside Google engineering by 2026
-
@aka_pugs wonder if Bill Joy is one of the five in photo. he was strictly speaking not an orig cofounder but a huge enough employee and early enough IIRC they retconned him as such around 6 months in
@synlogic4242 @aka_pugs Definitely Bill.
-
@aka_pugs I had one of those moments where someone joining a computer company today, asked what it was like when I joined Sun, which is now 40 years ago. And realized that 40 years before I joined Sun was 1946 and computers had gone from zero to workstation. Now 40 years after that, its nearly unrecognizable right? Kind of like airplanes going from Wright flyer to 747 in 80 years.
I can still understand a computer from 40 years ago.
That isn't true today, and that is intentional by mis-design. -
I can still understand a computer from 40 years ago.
That isn't true today, and that is intentional by mis-design.@bitsavers @ChuckMcManis @aka_pugs
there is just too much abstract junk piled on!
I ran into an interesting thing with my DIY z80 laptop, I decided to implement a rewritable function vector table, and I realized it took the code from being rather absolute, to something more virtual, it seemed a step away from the absoluteness I think we all enjoy about retro equipment. -
R relay@relay.infosec.exchange shared this topic