Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Lore Harp McGovern built a microcomputer empire from her suburban home

every.to

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 159 posts

Re: Lore Harp McGovern built a microcomputer empire from her suburban home

#11

Post by Stratoscope »

rsynnott wrote: post #6
KingOfCoders wrote: post #2

Also see “Steve" Shirley, she build a company of coders, women only [0], from the '60s on with remote first :-) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Shirley [0] She hired all the female IBM coders who couldn't make a career at IBM

Wait, how did remote first work in the 60s? Did they post in punchcards? TTYs weren't really much of a thing at that stage, were they?

I don't know what methodology Shirley's company used. But yes, Teletype machines were very common in the mid-1960s.

For example, Tymshare, where I worked for several years, was founded in 1964. Their customers used Teletype machines at their own locations, dialing into a Tymshare mainframe and paying by the hour.

There were a number of similar timesharing companies in that era. Call Computer and Dial Data come to mind, along with Transdata where I worked in Phoenix before moving to the Bay Area.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time-sharing

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tymshare

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teleprinter

I had an office at Tymshare's Cupertino headquarters, and a Teletype at home to work remotely.

This proved handy one year when the company was doing some final acceptance tests on the Xerox Data Systems (XDS) Sigma 7. The problem was that all of us preferred the competing DEC PDP-10. So the company really wanted those tests to fail.

My manager called me into his office one day and said, "This conversation is strictly between you and me. You are our best Sigma 7 expert [I'd worked on the similar Sigma 5 at Transdata] and even you like the PDP-10 more. But at this point the only way we can get out of the Xerox deal is if the acceptance tests fail."

I took the hint, and the acceptance tests mysteriously started going haywire!

Eventually I failed to cover my tracks well enough, and Xerox spotted my username in a core dump.

Back to my manager's office. "Xerox figured out what you were doing, and we had to tell them we would fire you. So, you're fired. But you still have your Teletype at home? And you have plenty of other work to do on the PDP-10, right? Can you work from home unofficially and keep track of your hours? Just stay away from the Sigma 7. After this all blows over, we will re-hire you and pay you that back pay."

So I did, and they did!

Re: Lore Harp McGovern built a microcomputer empire from her suburban home

#12

Post by sriram_sun »

rsynnott wrote: post #6
KingOfCoders wrote: post #2

Also see “Steve" Shirley, she build a company of coders, women only [0], from the '60s on with remote first :-) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Shirley [0] She hired all the female IBM coders who couldn't make a career at IBM

Wait, how did remote first work in the 60s? Did they post in punchcards? TTYs weren't really much of a thing at that stage, were they?

I guess everything was "remote". My dad had to mail his code (punch cards) from (IIT) Madras to (IISc) Bangalore. He did say it was a pain though.

* IISc - Indian Institute of Science

* Madras, now Chennai was probably an overnight drive in the late 60s.

Re: Lore Harp McGovern built a microcomputer empire from her suburban home

#14

Post by flockonus »

gary_0 wrote: post #4

This story of Carole Ely and Lore Harp reminded me a little of the (fictional) women in Halt and Catch Fire . Fantastic show. I wonder if Vector Graphic was an inspiration for the writers.

I was trying to remember this exact show to comment on... fantastic show, exciting and fairly accurate (to fiction terms) depiction of rise of PC & internet.

Re: Lore Harp McGovern built a microcomputer empire from her suburban home

#15

Post by xyst »

rsynnott wrote: post #6
KingOfCoders wrote: post #2

Also see “Steve" Shirley, she build a company of coders, women only [0], from the '60s on with remote first :-) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Shirley [0] She hired all the female IBM coders who couldn't make a career at IBM

Wait, how did remote first work in the 60s? Did they post in punchcards? TTYs weren't really much of a thing at that stage, were they?

I tried finding a source on the work environment at the time. But nothing describing the work setup.

Might be hidden in some biography though.

Speculation: maybe they mailed in their punch cards to main office.

Or called it in over the phone.

Re: Lore Harp McGovern built a microcomputer empire from her suburban home

#16

Post by xyst »

Stratoscope wrote: post #11
rsynnott wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wait, how did remote first work in the 60s? Did they post in punchcards? TTYs weren't really much of a thing at that stage, were they?

I don't know what methodology Shirley's company used. But yes, Teletype machines were very common in the mid-1960s. For example, Tymshare, where I worked for several years, was founded in 1964. Their customers used Teletype machines at their own locations, dialing into a Tymshare mainframe and paying by the hour. There were a number of similar timesharing companies in that era. Call Computer and Dial Data come to min…

Back when the word of your boss or manager actually meant something.

Today, have to get that in writing otherwise risk getting hung out to dry in court or worse.

Re: Lore Harp McGovern built a microcomputer empire from her suburban home

#17

Post by KingOfCoders »

xyst wrote: post #15
rsynnott wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wait, how did remote first work in the 60s? Did they post in punchcards? TTYs weren't really much of a thing at that stage, were they?

I tried finding a source on the work environment at the time. But nothing describing the work setup. Might be hidden in some biography though. Speculation: maybe they mailed in their punch cards to main office. Or called it in over the phone.

I found something in German which has a little bit in it, but sadly interviewers where not tech managers and didn't ask the right questions in several interviews I've read.

https://www.manager-magazin.de/hbm/eine-firma-ohne-bueros-a-...

Re: Lore Harp McGovern built a microcomputer empire from her suburban home

#18

Post by delichon »

gary_0 wrote: post #4

This story of Carole Ely and Lore Harp reminded me a little of the (fictional) women in Halt and Catch Fire . Fantastic show. I wonder if Vector Graphic was an inspiration for the writers.

This is further afield, but it reminded me of the novel A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute. The protagonist is an Englishwoman who inherits a legacy and uses it to open businesses that employ the women of an Australian outpost.

Re: Lore Harp McGovern built a microcomputer empire from her suburban home

#20

Post by zer00eyz »

xyst wrote: post #16
Stratoscope wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know what methodology Shirley's company used. But yes, Teletype machines were very common in the mid-1960s. For example, Tymshare, where I worked for several years, was founded in 1964. Their customers used Teletype machines at their own locations, dialing into a Tymshare mainframe and paying by the hour. There were a number of similar timesharing companies in that era. Call Computer and Dial Data come to min…

Back when the word of your boss or manager actually meant something. Today, have to get that in writing otherwise risk getting hung out to dry in court or worse.

No, you just need a boss you can trust. You need to not be a clock puncher of an employee. You need to be present (in an office) for these conversations to happen.

This sort of thing still goes on all the time. If your not part of it your either in "Giant Corp" or the wrong company, or you have the wrong boss, or you are the wrong person.

Post reply on HN