One of the most prominent early hacker Bulletin boards is seized and two of the founders of the Mac leave Apple. All on today’s On This Day from TEST Huddle.
1985 – A Bulletin Board System is seized
The official bulletin board system (BBS) of 2600 Magazine; Private Sector BBS is seized by police in a raid for alleged “complicity in computer theft” under a new, untested New Jersey law. The New Jersey police seize the server, along those of at least six of boards, after Middlesex County police uncovered a credit card ring on another, completely unrelated BBS. Following the seizure, the board’s operators alerted the media and bombarded the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office with requests for information until the prosecutor’s office hosted a press conference on July 16. At the press conference, the prosecutor’s alleged that the board’s sysop, along with six others, had repositioned satellites and done “strange things” to the defence department. The case however came to nothing and the equipment was returned with all charges dropped, except a single fourth-degree misdemeanor.
1990 – Bill Atkinson & Andy Hertzfeld leave Apple
Two pivotal members of Apple computers leave the company to work on their own projects. Bill Atkinson, developer of HyperCard software, and Andy Hertzfeld (co-inventor of the Apple Macintosh). Along with Marc Porat they establish General Magic with the goal of developing a “personal intelligent communicator”. This product would become a precursor to the personal digital assistant (PDA).
Images: Wikipedia
