A working LINC (Laboratory Instrument Computer) — first developed in 1962 at Lincoln Labs at MIT — will be on display at the Vintage Computer Festival on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 3 and 4, from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Computer History Museum, 1401 North Shoreline Blvd. in Mountain View.
Many regard the LINC as the world’s first personal computer.
Retired computer scientist Severo Ornstein of Skyline will moderate a panel on the early history and importance of the LINC on Sunday, Nov. 3, at 1:30 p.m.
Several of the original LINC team, including principal designer Wes Clark, will talk about “The LINC: A Paradigm Shift.” They will discuss how a small group of enthusiasts developed the LINC as a “programmable computer for real-time, on-line biomedical research,” Mr. Ornstein wrote.
At one time, more than 20 LINCs were in use in biomedical laboratories around the country. Built with transistors, the LINC was about the size of a coffin. It could be stuffed in a station wagon, Mr. Ornstein said.
For information, check the Digibarn Computer Museum at digibarn.com; or the Vintage Computer Festival at vintage.org.
Or look up Mr. Ornstein’s book, “Computing in the Middle Ages: A View from the Trenches 1955-1983.
