The Hot Iron

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Remembering The Boston Computer Society

In my never ending quest to rid myself of as much unnecessary paper as possible and replace it with PDFs, I ran across the final newsletter for the Boston Computer Society from October 1996.  Of course I pulled it apart and scanned it, and I am offering it to the public here.

The Society, or BCS, is how it was in the “old days” - large computer clubs that had many special interest groups, or SIGs, on a variety of topics.  I don’t recall membership being all that much, maybe $30, and some meetings had a fee and others were sponsored or free.  I was only a member for a few years and attended a few meetings and presentations.  I recall seeing Dilbert’s Scott Adams at one annual meeting.

Comparing organizations like the BCS to today is like comparing corporate America to a commune.  Where things were much more organized, there was also more structure.  Today there are a plethora of forums, chat rooms, blogs and Web sites on all aspects of computers and technology, but the only way they are organized are with search engines.

Even if you are not from the Boston area you may still find this last BCS Journal interesting to read, if not for the articles then for the advertisements.