Some Things Just Keep Going.

In 1981 I became a member of the Silicon Valley S-100 Bus Computer User Group and was a member for about one year. During 1993 I was cleaning out the garage and came upon my IMSAI S-100 Computer. I wanted to donate it to someone who could use it and found the old User Group still met at the same place. So I went off with all that Blue Iron (why was it blue – shades of IBM?) tucked into the trunk of my car convinced I was going to make someone happy, complete with Ampex D-80 Amber display and LA-20 Printer!

When I got to the meeting I saw a bunch of men and women sitting around a room doing little or nothing. The chairs were arranged like you might have at home and in no particular order. One person was knitting and another was reading the newspaper. No one was talking. I asked the lady who was knitting if this was the S-100 User Group and she said, “Yes”. I asked if anyone would like an IMSAI S-100 computer with monitor and printer. I was told, “No, we quit using the S-100 years ago”! I asked why they still had meetings for the S-100 User Group and was told, “We like each others company”!

This is perhaps a view of Visual FoxPro User Groups in the years to come. Bring your newspapers and knitting needles folks and prepare to sit around and say nothing. Gee, the fun we had with that Fox!

By the way I junked the equipment. At a penny a pound I sure enjoyed that soft drink! :)

Tom