Some very supportive enthusiasts have provided generous donations to
get the IMSAI Series Two project "back on the rails". This has resulted
in renewed effort on my part to redesign some of the more cumbersome
elements of the first design. More on the progress will be updated on
the IMSAI Series Two update page
as we go along.
Note: The "WarGames IMSAI" and associated props are being
prepared for an upcoming sale. More detail is provided on the
WarGames IMSAI page
A surprise donation-
A joyous e-mail and donation for the Series Two project from our good
friend, 90-year old
Stan Veit
has made my day.
As a pioneer computer store owner (Computer Mart of New York),
technical writer, and later as Computer Editor for Popular
Electronics magazine and other Ziff-Davis publications, Stan has
long been a steady and strong supporter of Fischer-Freitas Company since
our first days in 1978.
I was amazed to hear from Stan again, maybe 7 years after he had
first informed me of the death of another early computer history legend,
Les Solomon who was
sometimes referred to as "the father of personal computing".
I am greatly encouraged by the donations and words of support I've
received, and especially by Stan's words in his e-mail:
"As for me at 90-years old I still have
all my marbles and actively publish "Web
2.0 The Magazine" (http://www.web2themag.com).
If you ever get the project to market I will buy one even for old times
sake.
"Right now I am learning my new IPad
WI-FI 3G. Lots of fun.
By the way, a documentary producer from Turin Italy is coming to my
house to interview me for his documentary of the old 8-bit machines.
Never Quit"
How can I, Stan, when folks like
you have kept me motivated me all these years?
(February 25, 2006)
On the set for the 2006 filming of
a commercial shoot for A.T.&T.'s "Voices" campaign. Robbie's shown
whipping up a batch of strawberry daiquiri's for us. A couple of
hundred gallons goes a long way!
Last One Standing?
The IMSAI 8080 Microcomputer System came into being in 1975, some 35
years ago. Created from the mind and talent of IMSAI co-founder and
Chief Engineer Joe Killian, it remains an icon with strong heritage and
a legacy of classic elegance that also lays claim to perhaps being an
incubator for some of the earliest and most successful enterprises
formed by former principals and employees, unrivaled by any of its
contemporaries of the time. IMSAI was the first company to commercially
license the CP/M operating system from its creator Gary Kildall,
once the most popular operating system in the world for microcomputers
until eventually eclipsed by Microsoft's DOS in the early 1980's.
IMSAI's founder Bill Millard went on to form Computerland,
once the largest and most successful computer retailer franchises of the
1970's and '80's. A major infusion of capital and urgency came with the
support of former IMSAI client and early investor Phil Reed, who
eventually went on to form Computerland's rival,
Businessland, and later bought into a kit aircraft firm in
Idaho. When last heard from, he was involved in venture capital and
business development.
IMSAI's former Marketing Manager Seymour Rubinstein went on to found
MicroPro International, along with former IMSAI Chief
Programmer Rob Barnaby to eventually create and market, among a number
of early and successful software applications, WordStar, once the
most popular word processing program in the world.
They were later joined by Bruce Van Natta (former IMS Associates
co-founder and visionary, along with Bill Lose and Joe Killian (Van
Natta's counterpart and designer of the IMSAI 8080), Dianne Hajicek
(former IMSAI Chief Programmer who succeeded Rob Barnaby), and Glen
Ewing (former IMSAI Chief Engineer and former fellow instructor along
with CP/M creator Gary Kildall at the Naval Postgraduate School
in Monterey, California), all part of the "Inner Circle" of talent that
envisioned and implemented IMSAI's earlier offerings.
Other notable talent from IMSAI went on into wildly successful
enterprises such as venture capital investment, computer retailing,
software development, etc. Some former employees faired lesser
achievements, but all certainly hold some indebtedness to a degree from
their early association with IMS Associates, later to become IMSAI
Manufacturing Corporation.
Which leads me to the point of the "Last One Standing". When my wife
Nancy and I, as former employees, took over the IMSAI product line in
1978, little did we envision what life would be like in 35 years. I
believe that we as Fischer-Freitas Company can legitimately claim title
as being the oldest remaining hardware firm from the dawn of the
personal computer era. We continue to support the IMSAI name and legacy
products to the best of our ability, and have provided parts and support
over these many years to enthusiasts and users who keep the legacy and
hardware alive.
This dedication and continuation of a true classic comes from a
personal obsession and pride that will eventually ebb with time. One
night in 1980, after a successful showing of our product line at San
Francisco's West Coast Computer Faire, my wife and I met with former
co-worker Seymour Rubinstein and several of his staff for dinner at
Scoma's on Fisherman's Wharf. During dinner and talk of our prospective
ideas and goals he offered one million dollars for my company and the
IMSAI trademarks as he was planning a new hardware venture. I turned
the offer down, citing my passion for what I was doing as being stronger
than a need for money.
I never regretted that decision, as Seymour's hardware venture was
essentially dead two years later. Two other offers to buy us out came
later from companies who bought our hardware and re-branded it for
proprietary applications. I failed to see any permanence in either of
these offers and so, like Rubinstein's offer, I declined. In reflection
I believe that had I relinquished ownership of the IMSAI product line we
would have seen its demise long ago.
While major computer and software companies are swooning and folding
with the current economy, I can safely say that my firm remains
unaffected due to being very small and not dependent upon a workforce or
significant cash requirements. Such has been the case since the
mid-1980's when my wife and I decided to de-camp from the Bay Area to
the Sacramento region of California.
I made a major move to create a new embodiment of the classic IMSAI
8080 in 2002 when I chanced to meet a talented and eager hardware and
software engineer. Together we created the IMSAI Series Two which
promised to embody legacy elements of the original IMSAI 8080 system
along with modern PC architecture to create a hardware platform that
would provide the best of the old and new worlds of personal computing.
Additionally, we had an offer of help with software and applications
development from a fellow in Mississippi who was following our progress
with great interest and valuable input. We sent him a prototype system
in 2004 and never heard from him again, and neither did anyone else on
the comp.os.cpm newsgroup. We thought that he might have been a victim
of a major hurricane, but this was only speculation.
Prototypes and proof-of-concept platforms were built, tested,
modified, and evaluated to a point where we were almost ready to go to
market, provided we could raise capital for the initial run. Several
supposedly capable individuals approached with offers to fund us, but
nothing of substance was realized.
In early 2003 I was diagnosed with a malignant pancreatic tumor.
After my first operation and being bedridden for 2 months, I got the
news that I needed a second, even more dangerous operation that had a
20% survival rate. I could write a book about how this affected my
thinking and values, and what a life means in the end. Apple's Steve
Jobs is possibly in a similar position as I write this, and I wish him
the strength and determination to hang on and look ahead.
While many of my peers are either dead, retired, or just plain tired,
I haven't lost my hopes and vision for continuing the IMSAI name. I
also manage to keep active in my spare time working a gold mining
operation in the mountains with my faithful dog Gir when weather and
finances permit. I don't know how many good years I have left, but each
day that I can walk and breathe is a blessing I'll never take for
granted.
January - 2009
- Thomas "Todd" Fischer
The Apple®
Connection
(iMSAI ?)
Yes, this is another forgotten anecdote from the early days of IMSAI,
then known as IMS Associates, Inc. There was a time many years ago when
IMSAI might have been the birthing place for a grand idea of the
two Steve's; that is, Jobs and Wozniak who would go on to found Apple
Computer®.
The two approached Bill Millard and Joe Killian, founder and Chief
Engineer respectively of IMSAI, in the late summer of 1976 with their
pitch, vision, and plan of supplying a 6502 processor-based computer to
the masses. This was at the first Wicks Blvd. building in Hayward, CA
that we had recently occupied.
I had been working for IMS Associates for a few months previous
(which would become IMSAI a few months later), and was not present when
Jobs and Wozniak gave their spiel. Joe Killian stated in later
reminiscences that he told the pair that IMSAI was too constrained in
its own projects to consider taking on another product line.
At the time I had recently moved to the engineering department and
recall one of the early programmers, Al Levy, stating at that time that
he felt that the 6502 held great promise for graphical interface support
and that it would be a processor worth exploring further. This might
have been just after Jobs and Wozniak were shown the door. Al was gone
not too many months later.
Nothing further developed, save for this remembrance. Had IMSAI
prevailed in early support, perhaps we'd have IPHONES
rather than iPhones; IPADS rather than iPads,
IMSMacs rather than Macs, ad infinitum!
Ironically, Millard later went on to found the Computerland (nee
Computer Shack) sales
franchise and company stores. He was declared the first computer
billionaire in 1979 by
Fortune Magazine, largely from profits made from sales of Apple
Computers!
Ed Roberts, creator of early PC, dies (Credit: DigiBarn Computer Museum)
An e-mail from Bob "the weasel" Weatherford alerted me to this sad
note. Ed Roberts and his company MITS created the ALTAIR 8800, first
publicized in the January
1975 and February 1975
issues of Popular Electronics magazine. I am proud to state that
the e-mail communications I had with Roberts in 2004 started on a
contentious note, but ended with a cordial and mutually respectful tone
despite his past bitterness and claims of IMSAI as being a "thief of
intellectual property".
The Air Force Connection:
Though it's been many years ago, I believe Ed was one of my instructors
when I went through Cryptographic Equipment Repair School at Lackland
Air Force Base in 1964. I was able to bypass six weeks of Basic
Electronics instruction due to my previous knowledge of the subject. I
had an admittedly weak understanding of vacuum tube theory, and I
believe it was Ed who made me aware that the grid element of a tube
could be made "more negative than ground" than the power supply by tying
it to ground through a large resistance. This added knowledge allowed
me to skip week six of the training and immediately get into the eight
month instruction program for Crypto equipment repair.
As an aside, when I joined the Air Force I wanted to go into the
Motor Pool as a mechanic. Guess I tested too high, though in these
times with the degree of technology that vehicles possess, that might
not be the case anymore!
I've kept these e-mails private between Ed Roberts, myself, and Joe
Killian (creator of the IMSAI 8080) until now because I felt that Ed
might have somehow been offended. I believe that now he is gone the
e-mails show an understanding and compassionate side to a quirky and at
times, petulant personality.
This may seem an unusual entry to have on a site
dedicated to early personal computing history, but Rock 'n Roll is what
got me into the formulative currents that would evolve into the
beginning of the personal computer revolution. My chance meeting with
Buddy, and later events got me to where I am today:
Buddy Miles and Carlos Santana at the Sunshine '71 Crater Festival in
Diamond Head Crater, Honolulu, Hawaii"
The IMSAI Series Two Project
Personally, I've never considered donations as a means of raising
capital for a cause I believe in, and I expect to get some degree of
criticism and flack for trying. But an e-mail suggesting this approach
from a "true believer" in the Series Two project has prompted me to try
this method to gather the modest capital needed to once again provide a
modern platform that replicates the look and feel of an original
pioneering vintage computer, while retaining capability of a modern PC
architecture to be housed within.
Donate what you can, whether $1, $10, or a few pesos, euros, lire,
francs, pence, DM's, kroner, yuan, etc.; it all adds up. Funds donated
will only be used to pay for such goods and services needed to
complete the IMSAI Series Two project first envisioned and described in
our initial 2002 effort. Such expenses might include hardware and
software development and support services to update and replace those
left vacant in the previous effort.
Your donation will be met in-kind with a discount equal to or greater
than your contribution in purchase of goods or services from us, whether
or not related to the IMSAI Series Two project. It is my strongest wish
to fulfill the goals of this project within my means and abilities to
finally deliver and support a true legacy of excellence and performance
in the legendary IMSAI name.
®
Personally, I've never considered donations as a means of raising
capital for a cause I believe in, and I expect to get some degree of
criticism and flack for trying. But an e-mail suggesting this approach
from a "true believer" in the Series Two project has prompted me to try
this method to gather the modest capital needed to once again provide a
modern platform that replicates the look and feel of an original
pioneering vintage computer, while retaining capability of a modern PC
architecture to be housed within.