Comments on: Looking Back On Tomorrow

By: Boni Peluso

Boni Peluso — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 06:47:25 +0000

Thanks Charlie,
I’m stunned it’s been posted…

By: Charlie

Charlie — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 06:40:08 +0000

Hey Boni, that’s awesome you found it, I really liked the ad.

By: Boni Peluso

Boni Peluso — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 06:33:44 +0000

I was amazed to see that you posted an ad I wrote back in 1976. I’m so pleased that you liked it. I really enjoyed writing it. And it is kind of fun to look back on it and see what I predicted for the future…I loved the iphone comment.

By: Rogelio

Rogelio — Sat, 03 May 2008 14:30:12 +0000

Fairchild… the name brings me back to my first encounters with electronics, I was only 10 years old when the SA article above came out, but already found it more interesting to flip through the pages of Popular Electronics than other usually kiddie-oriented stuff – thanks for the memories!

By: zale

zale — Sat, 03 May 2008 03:28:56 +0000

“some smart cookie of a scientist combined the TV, telephone and computerâ€”shoved them into an old cigar box, stuck a holoscope on top and voila! The first VideoCom unit.”

isn’t that an iPhone?

By: Nefarious Wheel

Nefarious Wheel — Sat, 03 May 2008 02:42:52 +0000

I worked for an early mainframe company, Xerox Data Systems. At the time I was there, they sold off their support business, iirc to a consortium of two firms, Fairchild Camera & Instrument and Honeywell Data Systems.

Natually, we plebs referred to it as “Farewell Honeychild”.

XDS El Segundo, California — Aviation Blvd

By: Gregly

Gregly — Fri, 02 May 2008 16:23:39 +0000

Poor Fairchild. They became essentially a historical footnote as companies like Intel, Motorola, Zilog, and MOS Technologies tore them to shreds. Sure, they still exist now, but their primary business is as a manufacturer of ICs that handle system power regulation — a far cry from their dream of domination the microprocessor industry.

By: Michael Patrick

Michael Patrick — Thu, 01 May 2008 15:22:26 +0000

Is that Jerry Garcia?

By: Terry_Jim

Terry_Jim — Thu, 01 May 2008 05:57:09 +0000

“but resources were running out fast. Not to mention the environment.”
The same old story.
We’ve only had a few years of oil left for the last 70 years!
Rather prescient about the internet in the VideoCom units, though.

Must not have invented flying cars in THIS future though,
otherwise Bobby wouldn’t have cared so much about Grampy Android’s
Fairchild chips.

By: rsterling78

rsterling78 — Thu, 01 May 2008 05:10:30 +0000

“Donâ€™t fret sonâ€ he said,â€youâ€™ll be programmed with Alpha waves soon enough.”

Ah, yes, the age-old science fiction dream of being programmed with Alpha waves.