The IBM 1550 was introduced on August 12, 1981. It was a cream colored giant, boasting 16K of memory. It cost $1565 and had no disk drive (they hadn’t yet been invented), but relied on storage of data on cassette tape. Larger IBM computers of the era cost millions and required an air conditioned quarter-acre of space and 50 to 60 people to operate.

What about Bill Gates. Well, IBM looked to other companies while working on the 1550, and one of them was a start-up known as Microsoft. IBM asked them to develop the operating system. By using outside vendors for parts and the operating system, IBM was able to introduce the PC in less than a year after conception.

IBM did not require Microsoft to give it exclusive rights, so Microsoft began developing operating systems for other manufacturers. They produced PCDOS for IBM and MSDOS for everyone else.

The rest is history. Microsoft became the premier producer of operating system and software, making Bill Gates and hundreds of other people millionaires. Continued growth and Bill Gate becme the weathiest person in the world, worth more than 40 billion dollars (USD)

Small enough to put on a keychain, the Nukalert is a 24/7 Radiation Monitor and Alarm. With terrorists and rogue nations now threatening to unleash nuclear devestation on an almost daily basis, it seems an appropriate time to take some precautions.

The Nukalert detects Gamma and X-ray radiation 40keV to 2 MeV, and indicates repeating groups of rapid countable chips. A faint clicking indicates all is OK. An audible alarm approximating 61dBA (speaking volume) sounds when radiation is detected. The unit is powered by a battery which lasts 10-15 years (non-alarming), or as little as 3 months when alarming continiously at highest alarm level. I’m just guessing, but I assume this 3 month period would be sufficient to outlive the unlucky owner in such a situation.

The Nukalert is priced at $160.00 USD each or $145.00 each for 2 or more, and is available from their website