Sorry for the less than perfect image; this is another one off a contact sheet. We do have the negative, though, so when there’s more time I can get a clearer picture. A little blurriness, however, can’t disguise the glory of all those mismatched stripes:
More important, of course, is that I don’t know what it means. What was this computer and where was the picture taken? I know someone out there knows.
Bonus:
There’s going to be people who read this blog who will know exactly what it is, and who they are. The face plate doesn’t map to any of the Digital PDP flavors that I can find online. The bottom device appears to be a paper tape reader.
IIRC it’s a PDP-11/20. http://www.retrotechnology.com/pdp11/11_panel_2.jpg
Can we just revel for a moment in the glory of a bolo tie?
Yes, indeed. I found this picture incredibly heartwarming.
I believe the bolo tie is on Prof. Ed Feustel. I’m having trouble remembering what he looked like without a beard.
The students are Randy Neff, Scott Warren, Gene Mutschler, and Mike Donegan.
Scott has confirmed that the person on the right end is Ed.
This photo made me realize that I had never seen Scott without a beard!
Destruction of the quad is well underway. The main axis of the Cram plan was damaged by the unfortunate placement and massing of the library in the 40’s. The cross axis from Main Street to the engineering quad was maintained, although Leebron demolished the gates in favor of a turning lane for autos from the awful garage. The dominant orthogonal characteristic of the campus and its main quad was a defining feature of one of the great, campus plans. But a third-rate landscape architect has turned the quad into a stage set with a ridiculous curving sidewalk.
I think this is the R2. Melissa, you posted somwething back in 2012 on this
https://ricehistorycorner.com/2012/01/31/new-info-on-the-rice-computers/
I never got a chance to work on it. At that time I had not even touched a computer.
Specifically, the “front-end” of the R-2. This was to have been the portal through which users interacted with the R-2.
Location was in the Abercrombie “computer room” of the time on the first floor in the corner of the original building closest to where Duncan Hall would be built later.
The fellow second from left could be me.
1. Pros:
a. I was with Charles Tapley Assoc. in ’70s and designed the Seeley G. Mudd Computer Science Lab. Could be scoping out the hardware to go there?
b. Wore “wheat” jeans and stripped shirts.
c. Hair was long after getting out of Army.
d. Location could be top floor of Ryon Lab (just east of Mudd). Looks like strip windows and roof beams on north side of Ryon.
2. Cons:
a. Looks like more hair on top than I had.
Have a photo of long hair and stripped shirt but can’t seem to attach it here.
This picture is 7-9 years before the Mudd project design started.
Definitely AbLab although the R2 was just a bit before my time (1974-1979). I agree it looks like Ed Fuestel.
Stripes and bolo ties. What can I say? It was a time of innocence, when the (computer) world was new.
Ed Feustel and Mike Donegan have written comments in email, but they don’t show up here. Hopefully, they will transfer them, since there is a lot of information in them.
The picture was taken in Abercrombie Lab, where we were developing the R2 computer. The equipment was to be the front end of the R2. The item just below the sign was a PDP-11, but I’ve forgotten what the item between it and the paper tape reader was.
The people were, from left, Randy Neff, Scott Warren, myself (Gene Mutschler), Mike Donegan and Prof. Ed Feustel.
Perhaps a scan of the negative would prove sharper than the picture here.
Gene Mutschler got the names right about 9 hours ago, but … even before that, someone going by “effegee” got all of the names right .. even sooner (about 12 hours ago).
I was almost going to comment that the guy with the long hair was Scott Warren, but others have beat me to it.
I also kinda thought that the guy with the Bolo tie was Ed Feustel … even though [in this photo at least] he does look kinda young for a faculty member.
I probably should make a “note” (mental or otherwise … or BOTH) to read the comments that precede mine … before commenting!
* * * even more “TMI” * * * trivia factoids
While at Rice I did take at least one “non-credit” (and very informal) course that was taught by Scott Warren; it was on Algol 68.
I had been — [at least sometimes] — in the same math class with him in HS, (a so-called “major works” class) … at Bellaire HS in the Houston area; and [at least once] I was even in the same math class with him in junior HS (Pershing … on Braes Blvd., just S of Bellaire Blvd.).
Once at Pershing JHS, … when we were in 8th grade … I sat right behind Scott W in a math class where the teacher was named Mrs. Sears.
I don’t know where was the picture🥺