Al Alcorn at TNMOC: from employee No. 3 to Atari’s Pong king

The National Museum of Computing (TNMOC) is home to the world's largest collection of working historic computers.Follow the development of computing: from the Turing-Welchman Bombe and Colossus of the 1940s through the large systems and mainframes of the 1950s, 60s and 70s, to the rise of personal computing and the rise of mobile computing and the internet.Recognised as one of England’s top 100 ‘irreplaceable places’, we welcome corporate and group visits, schools and individuals from all over the world.We are normally open Tuesday to Friday 10:30 -17:00, Saturday & Sunday 10:30 – 17:00. Please check tickets for actual opening days and times.TNMOC operates independently of Bletchley Park Trust, although we are located on the Bletchley Park Estate.To visit us, go through the main Bletchley Park entrance, through the barrier, walk or drive bearing left beyond the main car parks, to our separate entrance located at the top of the Park.Visit their website here for more information.https://www.tnmoc.org/Sat Nav users: please use the postcode for the railway station MK3 6DS on Sherwood Drive and then follow signs. The postcode for Bletchley Park will actually take you to an old entrance which is closed.

tnmoc

Atari’s legendary R&D chief discusses creating the games we still love - and a technology legend.

You’ve heard of Atari’s Nolan Bushnell but it was computer scientist Allan “Al” Alcorn who made his dream a reality – and laid the foundations of the video-game industry. Atari employee number three, Al was challenged by boss Bushnell to design a computer version of Ping-Pong. His response was Pong - something so addictive it took everybody by surprise and set Atari on the road to becoming the world&#x27;s largest computer games company.Join us on October 20 as Al drops into The National Museum of Computing from California to talk about his journey from employee No. 3 to leading R&amp;D and shaping some of history’s best loved games.You&#x27;ll get the chance to hear some incredible stories from the early days of the video game industry - a time when Silicon Valley &#x27;s young tech founders didn&#x27;t keep secrets from each other and when Al hired a scruffy hippie-looking kid called Steve Jobs for his team.Al will discuss:<ul><li>The inspired engineering decisions he took to deliver the game play we still love - in an era pre-dating today’s fast chips and sophisticated software.</li><li>Games design in a world where market research was gut feel and development required some fast-and-dirty knowledge of electrical engineering.</li><li>Bushnell’s peddle-to-the-metal management style that landed Atari’s historically significant business deals and kick-started the video-games industry you know today.</li></ul>This is a live event - you can join Al in person at our museum or online. Al will take the stage at 18:15 with time to take your questions.

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Al Alcorn at TNMOC: from employee No. 3 to Atari’s Pong king

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Al Alcorn at TNMOC: from employee No. 3 to Atari’s Pong king

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