For one element of this Tutor Group Activity, we were asked to describe the achievements of five personalities from the history of computing (Bob Noyce, Paul Allen, Dan Bricklin, Bob Metcalfe and Don Estridge), offering links to biographies and other interesting web sites.

BOB NOYCE

At Fairchild Semiconductor in 1959, Bob Noyce developed the integrated circuit. Noyce and Gordon Moore left Fairchild in 1968 and founded Intel where, in 1971, the first computer microprocessor, the Intel 4004, was developed by Ted Hoff and Federico Faggin. In 1981, IBM's Personal Computer made its debut using the 8 bit Intel 8088 microprocessor, which gave the company its big break. Robert Noyce profile - from the Computer Pioneers section of Pixart's web site. "He changed our lives - Bob Noyce: Inventor, entrepreneur, statesman". an article by Michael S. Malone. Mercury News 1990 The History of the Computer Microprocessor - About.com web site

PAUL ALLEN

Paul Allen and Bill Gates founded a company called Microsoft in 1975. Initially, they wrote a version of the BASIC computer programming language for the Altair 8800. Then they developed MS DOS for the IBM PC introduced in 1981 and produced the Windows operating system with its graphical user interface in 1985. Microsoft went on to become the biggest computer software company in the world providing both operating systems and applications. Paul Allen - from The Motley Fool web site. Paul Allen Biography - on his own web site. Gates and Allen - Philanthropists - an article from Philanthropy News Online

DAN BRICKLIN

Dan Bricklin invented VisiCalc, the first spreadsheet program, which went on sale in the autumn of 1979 for users of the Apple II computer. Bricklin imaginatively used the metaphor of a blackboard to create the layout of his spreadsheet. It was a success because business schools were producing the first generation of businessmen who were capable of actually making use of its features. As the first 'compelling application', it justified the considerable financial outlay for an Apple II computer. Biography of Dan Bricklin - Jones Multimedia & Telecommunications Encyclopedia. Dan Bricklin's own excellent web site. www.danbricklin.com. "A Silicon Valley Hero no-one's ever heard of" - an article from U.S. News Online.

BOB METCALFE

Bob Metcalfe worked at the Xerox Corporation's famous Palo Alto facility, Xerox PARC, during the early 1970s and it was here, in 1973, that he developed Ethernet, the local area networking protocol, that allowed multiple computers and printers to be linked together for the exchange of information. With the popularity of networks and the Internet, one of his observations became known as Metcalfe's Law. It states that a network's value grows proportionately with its number of users. Biography of Bob Metcalfe - Jones Multimedia & Telecommunications Encyclopedia. Robert M. Metcalfe - from Inventing the Enterprise, CIO Magazine Jan 2000. The Legend of Bob Metcalfe - an article from Wired Magazine November 1998.

DON ESTRIDGE

Don Estridge was in charge of the development of the IBM Personal Computer. He created a close-knit team of specialists that operated independently of IBM and was thus able to bring the PC to market in barely over a year. He outsourced hardware and software components, using companies like Intel and Microsoft, which gave both companies their big breaks. The IBM PC appeared in 1981 and had orders for 200,000 units in the first few months. Estridge and his wife were killed in a plane crash in 1985. Teaching the Elephant to Tap Dance - the full story of the IBM PC, from the EE TIMES web site. First Impressions of the IBM Personal Computer - October 1981, Phil Lemmons, Byte Magazine. Philip 'Don' Estridge - Father of the PC Revolution - article from CIO magazine Dec 1999/Jan 2000.

Photo of Bob Noyce courtesy of pcbiography.net Photo of Paul Allen courtesy of The Wired World of Paul Allen Photo of Dan Bricklin courtesy of www.danbricklin.com Photo of Bob Metcalfe courtesy of The Tech Museum of Innovation and San Jose Mercury News Photo of Don Estridge courtesy of CIO Magazine