My PC History 3-14-24

In 1965, I joined United Way in St. Louis Mo. They had an IBM 360 to receive a reverse directory from the phone company to use as a prospect list to raise money for United Way Agencies. 

In 1967, I joined Kearney National In St Louis Mo. They had an IBM 360 Computer and made electrical power company devices and tools. We moved Kearney to Atlanta GA in 1968.

In 1968, I joined Monsanto HQ in St. Louis. They had an IBM 360 model 22 Computer and had an excellent HRIS system.

In 1971, I joined Washington University. They had an IBM 370 and needed an HRIS system. I wrote the HRIS system modeled after the Monsanto system. That allowed us to have the computer write the annual Appointment Letters to 11,000 employees and produce required government reports. I also added a compensation system that included local St. Louis pay rates for staff.

In 1975, I had joined Schwan Foods and wanted to automate the Security function. I had Pete Sias and Mel Schwan build a custom PC. They went to Radio Shack and bought circuit boards, components and cameras. This investment resulted in a $100,000 per year savings on our insurance, because it had rate-of-rise sensors to monitor our ammonia refrigeration units. I also replaced paper timecards and    keys with Rusco magnetic cards to have my local plant computer modemed to the Corporate mainframe computer in Marshall Minnesota.  That allowed us to to calculate and print paychecks on the plant computer  and later moved to direct deposits for 1400 employees.

When I joined Schwan Foods in 1975 sales were $150 million. Automating the manufacturing process resulted in quadrupling out-put.  In 1979, Schwan Foods sales were $650 million. I knew they would do well.  By 1997, Schwan Foods sales reached $2.9 billion.

https://www.referenceforbusiness.com/history2/97/Schwan-s-Sales-Enterprises-Inc.html#google_vignette

The first cell phone I ever saw was in 1975. Pete Sias had a Motorola DynaTAC 8000X, the first handheld cellular phone that allowed people to make longer distance calls than just a landline phone. It did not require any lines or cords to be attached to make a call. Pete made the phone call from our airplane. The first ever cellular phone call was made in 1973, using this phone, by Dr. Martin Cooper.

In 1979 I joined Rickel Manufacturing and we used the IBM 360 to manage our working capital through high inflation. We sold Rickel to Ag Chem in 1979, because the Japanese were entering the US market with Ag and Construction equipment.

In 1983, I joined Hayes Microcomputer Products to supply modems to the growing PC market. The first off-the-shelf PC I ever saw was in 1983 and was a TRS-80 from Radio Shack. We were at the mercy of Intel to produce semiconductor chips that would allow us to increase the baud rate on our modems. Hayes bought IBM PC and I wrote the HRIS system for Hayes that I used at Monsanto and Washington U.  I used Lotus123 to create spreadsheets.

The first PC I had at home was a DEC Rainbow given to me by Western Behavioral Science Institute in 1984 to use for my Fellowship in Strategic Studies to send emails to my 30 classmates and 10 faculty. It was modem available to the Internet via phone number at the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

I ran into the DEC Rainbow again when I joined Electromagnetic Sciences Inc. They had bought them for $50 each to use as a dumb terminal to their mainframe.

The first PC I bought was a Gateway in 1993. It didn’t have internet, but was a great computer to use for my Consulting Practice I operated from my basement office. I also bought an HP Printer, Fax, Scanner.

I used floppy discs to deliver my work to customers and was available 24-7 by phone and internet. I visited customer sites to conduct interviews and for meetings.

When the internet became available in 1995, I upgraded my PC and joined Mindspring as my internet provider and used emails to send my work to customers as attachments. When I was recruiting, I used my internet to post recruiting ads and receive resumes to my email address and then forwarded the best fits to customers. I continued to use customer sites to conduct interviews and for meetings.

https://www.pcmag.com/news/inside-computer-stores-of-the-1970s-and-1980s#:~:text=Once%20there%2C%20customers%20typically%20encountered,Sinclair%2C%20Panasonic%2C%20and%20more.

Comments

My career tracked the development of computers and I was not surprised that I would move to work in electronics companies and end up as consultant to electronics companies.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader