9/05/2011

Apple II in Saudia Arabia





Way back in the dark ages my two partners, Bill Whited and Chuck Eckenstahler and I purchased our first microcomputer, and Apple II.   We were cutting edge.  It had 48K of ram and two 160K drives. We were high tech.


Bill was the guru. He took the Apple to Saudia Arabia on a consulting gig working for the architectural firm Perkins and Will.  He worked on pro formas for the construction of 5 mega airport terminals / Mosques where pilgrims to Mecca could arrive and rest in the terminal before completing their journey to Mecca.


Perkins and Will had terrific drawings and models of the buildings, which were designed to look like huge tents.  The Saudis arrived in their Bentleys and Rolls Royces for a briefing.


Bill said they showed little interest in the models and renderings. But they were fascinated by the Apple II. They all had their photos taken with the Apple.



No comments: