Lee Felsenstein

By catherine747
  • Born

    Born

    Lee was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
  • Period: to

    Participant in the Free Speech Movement

  • Period: to

    Was one of 768 arrested in the climactic "Sproul Hall Sit-In" of December 2–3, 1964.

  • Received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley.

    Received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley.

  • The Community Memory Project

    Felsenstein developed the Community Memory Project with Efrem Lipkin, Mark Szpakowski, and others. http://www.computerhistory.org/atchm/community-memory-precedents-in-social-media-and-movements/
  • Video Display Module, or VDM-1.

    Video Display Module, or VDM-1.

    Shortly after the joining the Homebrew Computer Club, Felsenstein joined the fledgling Processor Technology Corporation as a design consultant. He developed a terminal system for use with the Altair 8800 microcomputer - the Video Display Module, or VDM-1. The VDM-1 circuit board attached to a television was far less expensive than the “glass teletype” terminals used by many hobbyists.
  • Member of Homebrew Computer Club

    Member of Homebrew Computer Club

    Felsenstein was one of the original members of the Homebrew Computer Club, which formed in response to the appearance of the Altair 8800 computer kit.
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    SOL-20 Computer

    Along with Homebrew members Gordon French and Bob Marsh, Felsenstein developed the SOL-20 computer, one of the first microcomputers to be sold complete with case and keyboard. The SOL-20 sold more than 10,000 units between 1977 and 1979.
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    Employed at the Osborne Computer Corporation.

    Lee was the designer of the Osborne 1, the first mass-produced portable computer. http://oldcomputers.net/osborne-1.html
  • Free Speech Movement Archives

    Free Speech Movement Archives

    Lee founded the Free Speech Movement Archives, an online record of the movement that was so formative for him and thousands of others in the 1960s. http://www.fsm-a.org/
  • Life Event

    Life Event

    Felsenstein was named a "Pioneer of the Electronic Frontier" in 1994 by the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

  • Designed an open-source telecommunications and computer system for installation in remote villages.

    While working with the Jhai Foundation of San Francisco, Lee designed an open-source telecommunications and computer system for installation in remote villages in the developing world. This system was dubbed "the Pedal-Powered Internet" by The New York Times Magazine due to its reliance on pedal power generation.

  • Life Event

    Lee was given the Editor's Choice Award for Creative Excellence by EE Times (online electronics industry magazine).
  • Founded HackerDojo

    Founded HackerDojo

    Felsenstein is the Founding Sensei of the HackerDojo in Mountain View, California, and was featured on a Fox News segment in late 2009 covering the non-profit facility. https://hackerdojo.com/
  • Life Event

    Life Event

    Lee was made a fellow at the Computer History Museum. (Picture is of SOL-20)