[COFF] [TUHS] Fwd: How did Bell Labs start to work on Project MAC?

[Noel Chiappa]

    > I have yet to look at the oral history things from Corby, etc which may
    > answer this in passing.

This page:

  https://multicians.org/project-mac.html

links to oral history transcripts from Fano, Corby and Dennis. Only Corby:

  https://conservancy.umn.edu/handle/11299/107230
  http://archive.computerhistory.org/resources/access/text/2013/05/102658041-05-01-acc.pdf

was involved when Bell Labs came on board; he says:

  "Also Bell Labs was interested in acquiring a new computer system. They were
  quite intrigued and sympathetic to the notions of what we were doing. Ed
  David down there was a key figure and an old friend of Fano. They decided to
  become partners (pg. 16, CHM interview)

  "Simultaneously, Bell Labs had been looking for a new computer acquisition
  for their laboratories, and they had been scouting out GE. There was some
  synergism: because they knew we were interested they got interested. I think
  they first began to look independently of us. But they saw the possibility
  of our developing a new operating system together." (pg. 43, CBI interview)

So it sounds like it was kind of a mutual thing, aided by the connection
between Fano and David (who left Bell after Bell bailed on multics).

	Noel