Before there were computers, MP3 players or search engines, Shakespeare wrote “What is past is prologue.” Clearly, we can envision much about our future if we understand the past-and that’s why we love computer industry historical trivia. Here are a few brainteasers to help you appreciate just how far we’ve come in the past few decades.
- When Al Shugart and Finis Conner launched Seagate Technologies in 1980, what was the capacity of their first 5.25-inch Winchester hard drive?
- What technology trailblazing company owned not one, but two market-leading subsidiaries in the computer peripherals market in the early 1980s?
- Which executive left Radio Shack in 1983 to become president of Microsoft, replacing a very young Bill Gates?
- What computer services industry legend once satisfied his full year’s sales quota on January 2nd?
- What storage industry executive was elected a U.S. congressman in the late 1980s?
- What PC company introduced a system in 1984 that it claimed was “nearly IBM compatible?” (Hint: The company was founded by one of the engineering icons of the PC industry.)
- Which two engineers jointly hold the patent for integrated circuits?
- What “maverick” IBM executive died tragically in a 1985 plane crash?
- What was the first magazine to have a PC on the cover?
- Which two distributors merged to form the company later known as Merisel?
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## Answers
- When Al Shugart and Finis Conner launched Seagate Technologies in 1980, what was the capacity of their first 5.25-inch Winchester hard drive?
A: 5 megabytes. No, not gigabytes…megabytes.
- What technology trailblazing company owned not one, but two market-leading subsidiaries in the computer peripherals market in the early 1980s?
A: Xerox, the inventor of the mouse and the GUI, was the parent company of Diablo Systems (daisywheel printers) and Shugart Associates (disk drives).
- Which executive left Radio Shack in 1983 to become president of Microsoft, replacing a very young Bill Gates?
A: Jon Shirley (although he only lasted a few years).
- What computer services industry legend once satisfied his full year’s sales quota on January 2nd?
A: Ross Perot (before he ran for President or tangled with General Motors).
- What storage industry executive was elected a U.S. congressman in the late 1980s?
A: Ed Zschau co-founded System Industries, then later became high-tech’s leading voice in Congress.
- What PC company introduced a system in 1984 that it claimed was “nearly IBM compatible?” (Hint: The company was founded by one of the engineering icons of the PC industry.)
A: Victor Technologies was led by Chuck Peddle, inventor of the Commodore PET.
- Which two engineers jointly hold the patent for integrated circuits?
A: Robert Noyce (Intel) and Jack Kilby (Texas Instruments).
- What “maverick” IBM executive died tragically in a 1985 plane crash?
A: Don Estridge had recently been moved into a new position when the Delta Airlines L-1011 he was traveling in crashed on approach to Dallas-Fort Worth Airport.
- What was the first magazine to have a PC on the cover?
A: Popular Electronics came out with a cover article on the now-famous Altair computer in 1975.
- Which two distributors merged to form the company later known as Merisel?
A: Microamerica (Massachusetts) and Softsel (Southern California) merged to form Merisel. Talk about culture shock-imagine the Red Sox merging with the Dodgers.
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