Lee Felsenstein - ESOC 210

Birth

Apr 27, 1945

Lee Felsenstein was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Education

1963

Began attending the University of California, Berkeley where he went on to study Electrical Engineering until coming to the decision to drop out after being diagnosed his clinical depression.

Arrest

Dec 3, 1964

Arrested during the “Sproul Hall Sit-In”, a protest centered around the Free Speech Movement that Felsenstein had been an advocate of during his teenage years.

Berkeley Network Bulletin

1967

Started the “Berkeley Network Bulletin,” a short-lived news board that would be circulated to a selection of the campus’s household communities.

Ampex

1968

Began working in the Special Products Division for Ampex during his four year college hiatus

Graduation

1972

Took an educational leave from his work at Ampex, allowing him to finish his schooling at Berkeley and graduate with a degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Pennywhistle Modem

1973

He took it upon himself to design a new modem after deeming the one that was being used for Computer Memory to be overly expensive and unreliable. This produced the Pennywhistle Modem, an invention that not only brought him increased recognition, but was even able to be sold starting in 1976.

Community Memory Project

1973

Developed the Community Memory Project with some tech-savvy friends. Using hardware that he was responsible for developing, the group was able to provide locations around Berkeley with a computer-operated bulletin board that allowed the public to send out messages without censorship.

Homebrew Computer Club

1975

Helped with the formation and moderation of the Homebrew Computer Club, which was made up of fellow computer enthusiasts and engineering experts who would discuss technology that was relevant at the time of their meetings.

Processor Technology Corporation

1975

Working as a design consultant for the Processor Technology Corporation, he was able to develop an alphanumeric video display for the Altair 8800. This work was a big step over previous terminals that were attempted in the past in terms of effectiveness and price.

Community Memory Ends

1975

Community Memory was shut down, though successors that he helped influence followed soon after.

SOL-20

1976

Helped with the development of the SOL-20 personal computer, one of the first of its kind that went on to sell over 10,000 units

Osborne 1

1980

Helped with the production and quality-control of the Osborne 1. This was a personal computer produced by the Osborne Corporation, a company that he helped found alongside Adam Osborne.

Recognition

1994

Made an official Pioneer of the Electronic Frontier.

Free Speech Movement Archives

1998

Being a big advocate of free speech to this day, Felsenstein created the Free Speech Movement Archives to keep safe records of the movement that was responsible for motivating much of his work.

Pedal-Powered Internet

2002

Helped develop “Pedal-Powered Internet” through a collaboration with the Jhai foundation. This effort granted villages in third world countries with internet access that was obtained through the use of a bicycle-powered generator.