It’s National Clean Out Your Computer Day! We’re marking this solemn holiday, which was started in 2000 by the Institute of Business Technology, with a can of our finest compressed air and this ca. 1975(?) draft of a children’s book by computing pioneer Joe Weisbecker (1932-1990).
Weisbecker was an engineer at RCA who invented an 8-bit microcomputer architecture that became the foundation of RCA’s microprocessor business. Weisbecker was also well versed in programming languages, and during the 1970s contributed to the development of RCA’s programmable video game and educational systems: FRED, STUDIO II, STUDIO III, and STUDIO IV, and Microtutor.
In addition to his work at RCA, Weisbecker ran his own business, Komputer Pastimes, through which he created and released computer language-based games for children and adults, children’s books, toys, and greeting cards.
Joseph Weisbecker’s papers are part of Hagley Library’s collection of David Sarnoff Research Center records (Accession 2464.09). The Weisbecker digital collection in our Digital Archive comprises digital files extracted from cassette tapes found in Weisbecker's collection as well as selected materials related to RCA's video game systems and Komputer Pastimes. The video clips of gameplay were provided by Kevin Bunch working from binaries converted from tapes by Andy Modla and Marcel van Tongeren. For more information, see the emulator developed and maintained by Marcel van Tongeren. Click here to view the digital collection online now.
