Lee Felsenstein
Designer of the first mass-produced portable computer and influential early personal computing engineer.
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Marcin Wichary from San Francisco, U.S.A., cropped by Gorinin · CC BY 2.0
Lee Felsenstein (born April 27, 1945) is an American computer engineer whose work helped shape the early personal computer industry. He was an original member of the Homebrew Computer Club and created the Osborne 1, the first portable computer to be mass-produced. Before that, he designed the Sol-20 computer (based on the Intel 8080 processor) for Processor Technology, the PennyWhistle modem, and other early S-100 bus systems. His Processor Technology VDM-1 video display board, which used shared memory for alphanumeric output, was heavily copied and set the standard for how personal computers displayed text.
Felsenstein’s designs often aimed to lower the cost of computing so it could reach a wider audience. His work reflected a deep concern for technology’s social effects, shaped by the philosophy of Ivan Illich, especially the book Tools for Conviviality. He was the engineer behind the Community Memory project, an early effort to put networked computer terminals in public places—like Berkeley supermarkets—so that ordinary people could interact socially through them, long before the commercial internet existed.
Felsenstein grew up in Philadelphia and graduated from Central High School as part of class 219. As a young man, he was a New Left radical. In late 1964, he took part in the Free Speech Movement at UC Berkeley and was among the 768 people arrested during the Sproul Hall sit-in on December 2–3.
He also wrote for the Berkeley Barb, a prominent underground newspaper. He first entered UC Berkeley in 1963, joined the Cooperative Work-Study Program in Engineering in 1964, and dropped out at the end of 1967. From 1968 to 1971, he worked as a junior engineer at Ampex Corporation, then re-enrolled at Berkeley and earned a B.S. in electrical engineering and computer science in 1972.
From 1981 to 1983, Felsenstein worked at Osborne Computer Corporation, where he designed the Osborne 1. After that, he returned to freelance consulting.
In 1992, he joined Interval Research Corporation, staying until 2000. He then worked for Pemstar Pacific Consultants (later acquired by Benchmark Electronics) until 2005. Throughout his career, he also took on occasional freelance design work or ran his own firm.
The Community Memory project began in 1972 under Resource One, Inc.
Background
Felsenstein was one of the original members of the Homebrew Computer Club, which formed in 1975 in response to the appearance of the Altair 8800 computer kit. With a handy yardstick, he moderated meetings at the SLAC Auditorium, described as less a chair than a keeper of chaos. Before the Osborne, Felsenstein designed the Intel 8080 based Sol-20 computer from Processor Technology, the PennyWhistle modem, and other early S-100 bus era designs. These existed in a market space with early generation hobbyist microcomputers from Altair, IMSAI, Morrow Designs, Cromemco, and other vendors.
Felsenstein was the engineer for the Community Memory project, one of the earliest attempts to place networked computer terminals in public places to facilitate social interactions among individuals, in the era before the commercial Internet. The project began as a project of Resource One, Inc. in 1972 and later incorporated in 1977 by Felsenstein with Efrem Lipkin, Ken Colstad, Jude Milhon, and Mark Szpakowski. It placed terminals in such places as Berkeley supermarkets to attract casual use by persons from all walks of life.
His work featured a concern for the social impact of technology and was influenced by the philosophy of Ivan Illich, particularly the book Tools for Conviviality, which advocated a convivial approach to design allowing users to learn about technology by encouraging exploration, tinkering, and modification. Felsenstein summarized his conclusions in several aphorisms: 'In order to survive in a public-access environment, a computer must grow a computer club around itself,' 'To change the rules, change the tools,' and 'If work is to become play, then tools must become toys.'
Did You Know?
- His older brother is evolutionary biologist Joseph Felsenstein, a National Academy of Sciences member whose PHYLIP system was one of the earliest examples of bioinformatics.
- Felsenstein founded the Free Speech Movement Archives in 1998 as an online repository of historical information.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Lee Felsenstein?
Lee Felsenstein is an American computer engineer, born in 1945, best known for designing the Osborne 1, the first mass-produced portable computer. He earned his degree in electrical engineering and computer science from UC Berkeley and went on to shape the early personal-computer industry through several landmark hardware projects.
Why is the Osborne 1 considered a milestone in PC history?
The Osborne 1, created by Felsenstein at Osborne Computer Corporation, was the first computer small enough to carry and sold in sufficient volume to prove that portable computing was a viable market. It essentially established the concept of the laptop years before the term became common.
What did Felsenstein build at Processor Technology and why did it matter?
At Processor Technology he designed the Sol-20, an Intel 8080-based personal computer, the PennyWhistle modem, and the VDM-1 video display module. The VDM-1 was especially influential because its shared-memory scheme for alphanumeric output was copied so widely that it became the de facto standard for early PC video hardware.
What major honors has Felsenstein received for his work in computing?
In 1994 he was named a Pioneer of the Electronic Frontier, a recognition of his foundational contributions to consumer-facing computer hardware. His broader career also includes work at Interval Research Corporation and ongoing involvement with the Jhai Foundation and Hacker Dojo.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Lee Felsenstein (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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