Death and Rebirth

Rod Smith says that he does want one of my VDP80s and sent a 4.6K check and that’s nice. But it feels a little like everything we do is correct and right but nothing produces the result.

–Bill Lohse, in a telex from IMSAI Europe to IMSAI San Leandro

When Millard arrived in San Leandro, he found IMSAI in terrible financial shape while stuck with a computer on the market that was blackening the company’s reputation. To turn things around, he first authorized the redesign of the VDP 80. Millard and the engineering people agreed that it was basically sound and would sell well if it worked—that is, if its reputation had not already been irreversibly damaged.

Looking for a Miracle

Another project that held some promise for ...

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