Ray Remembers When

The following text is from the home page of Ray's 2003 Data Domain website.

It was twenty years ago that the original DATA DOMAIN closed its doors and I didn't think I would ever need the name again. But, I decided to do a web-site and when I tried to think of a name for it, the only one that came to mind was the old friend, the name of my store. It opened in Feb. 1976, the twelfth or thirteenth computer store in the world, I think. It lasted until late 1983, which is longer than most of the stores that pioneered the computer retail industry. I hope that among those who visit my new Data Domain will be a few of my old friends and customers.

The goal for this Data Domain is to collect information. I want to fill its pages with memories, stories, ideas, opinions and some pictures. Tell me your favorite anecdotes, yarns, experiences and hopes, dreams, successes and failures from the personal computer industry or from the real old days of the '50s, '60s and early '70s.

In order to stimulate your interest in contributing to this endeavor, I will tell you one of my memories every week or so. Read the the offerings of others and if your memories of the same event are different, by all means start a debate. If a debate can be ended to the satisfaction of all, and it clears up a little bit of history, it will aid me and a lot of others in our goal of writing a true and accurate history of the computer industry.

I am a charter member of The Computer History Club. Members have been chosen from all over the world with diverse backgrounds, occupations and educations but whose common interest is to capture the knowledge (of the industry) that will begin to disappear more and more rapidly as we all take the long walk. You will find a link to the Computer History Club in the LINKS list.

COME, look around my Data Domain and have some fun. If you don't have anything else to contribute, sign the Guest Book anyway, and check out the rest. There is even a suggestion box for ways to improve things or perhaps tell me the things you wanted to tell me years ago but were too polite to do so.