[Info-vax] OT: Computing Experience, What brought you to VMS?

[Buz Powers]

I am a lurker in this group.

I wrote my first program on a PDP-11 running RSTS/E in 1978 when
I was in High School.  From that point I knew I wanted to work for
Digital.  I started at a college which used a Univac 1100 as
their main machine.  I hated the school, and went to a school
which had a VAX running VMS.  When I graduated I went to work for
a small electronics company, I worked there for a year.

In 1987 I got my chance, and I was hired by Digital.  I started out
at the HLO site, then I went to OGO, then I finished my career at
ZKO in the languages group.  I left shortly after Compaq took over.
I only worked on a couple of things that the public saw.  I was on
the Netview team for about 6 months, and I worked on Digitals
Java implementation for Digital Unix for 3 years.  Just before
leaving, I also worked with Steve Lionel of the Fortran group to
try and get our compilers released on Alpha Linux.  I don't know
whether that ever happened or not. All in all I worked for
Digital/Compaq for 12+ years.

I now work at MIT Lincoln Laboratory where Ken Olsen started when
he graduated from MIT.  We have the TX-0 computer in our Library
that Ken built here at the lab in 1956 before he left to create
Digital.  The computer was showcased in the book "Hackers" by
S. Levy. The MIT Model Railroad club started hacking on it when
the lab loaned it to MIT.  I tell myself, that in a sense I've
come home.

Bill "Buz" Powers
--
MIT Lincoln Laboratory
Advanced SatCom Systems and Operations