Best Computer Shows

Of late, it seems many trade shows are more about chachkis than products or technologies. But that wasn't always the way

The Faire Queen

The West Coast Computer Faire earns top honors from those who remember it. One year, it filled (and we mean filled) Brooks Convention Center in San Francisco, with booths in the halls and in the chair storage room--and even in the garbage collection area! It was where the first 68000 was shown, where the Lilith was shown, and where little computers got seen by a lot of people who had never paid any attention to them before. So what if its name is spelled funny?

CD Chance

Bill Gates isn't just the head of the largest software company in the world -- he's also the father of the CD-ROM Conference. At the time, it seemed a financial r isk for him (the richest man in the world), but looking back, it was clearly right.

On the First Comdex

It was a small show. Contributing editor Jerry Pournelle went to it because he could drive to it. He says, "Wasn't much, but it sure kicked things off." By the third Comdex, things were really happening. Now it cripples Las Vegas every fall.

Wescon

Trolley cars, the Golden Gate Bridge, and fog aren't the only things to come out of San Francisco. In the mid-1970s, it was also the place to hear about the latest chips. Among other things, the MOS Technology 6502 (to become the brains of Steve Wozniak's Apple II) was introduced there.

Tell All

The microprocessor field is highly competitive and very secretive. The Microprocessor Forum is a kind of you-show-me-yours-and-I'll-show-you-mine show. If you keep your ears and eyes open, you'll see what every major processor company is planning for the nex t three to five years. Well, maybe not everything.

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From the Few Grew the Many

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