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By Jim Trageser
Andrew Kay is still around, still making computers in Solana Beach. Kay was the founder of Kaypro computers – the sewing-machine-sized portables from 15 years ago that helped put San Diego on the high-tech map. Kaypro didn't convert from CP/M to DOS quickly enough, though, and the company died in the late '80s.
But not before making the portable computer a large, viable part of the overall computer market. Like other computer pioneers, Kay's drive and vision helped change the way we use computers.
Today, Kay's new company makes PC clones. The current Kay logo is the same as the old Kaypro logo, minus only the "pro." But since the company's new line of computers is the "Pro Series," the old Kaypro logo is still on the Web site, only split in half.
The Web site is pretty low-key. There are descriptions of the PCs the company makes, a history of the company, biographies of Kay and his vice president, Joseph Marcello. There are no graphics outside of the logos, and no online ordering.
Still and all, it just seems right somehow to have Andy Kay here in town making computers.
CMEA is a private continuing education school that provides courses for physicians as well as offering medical texts (and some classes) on CD-ROM. It's a San Diego-based company, with classes held at various local resort hotels (Loews Coronado Bay, Hyatt Regency La Jolla) as well as in Orlando and Las Vegas. (Hey, you can't expect doctors to schlepp to La Mesa just to stay current!)
The company's Web site is well organized and informative. There are course lists, course descriptions, and order forms for course brochures.
The CD-ROM menu is a nice image-mapped graphic that gets you to whatever info you might want on the various packages.
But given the fact that the CD-ROM medical texts are pretty darned pricey -- although probably still less than their printed counterparts – this site is likely to be of interest only to medical professionals or students.
If you're curious about the history of the Internet since it first went public in 1985, the above site is worth a visit. Starting with the first registered domain name on March 15, 1985 (symbolics.com) to the present controversy of having the federal government take over domain name registry, this page presents a concise timeline on the growth of the Internet.