wrote on 4. May 2018 at 16:29:
I started working at SPSS in 1984, just as SPSS/PC was being released. Over the next 25 years I had the pleasure of working with so many bright and talented people who became my lifelong friends.
I arrived after the move to 444 North Michigan Ave. I remember the big green bar printer on our floor. If you wanted to print on a real sheet of paper, there was the pruoc command, which would route your output to a printer at the University of Chicago (print uoc). The next day it would show up in your mail slot like magic! Yes, we had physical mail slots and we used to get paper memos delivered there as well as those deliveries from UofC.
I remember conducting training seminars for SPSS/PC in which the first half day was devoted to teaching basic DOS commands because so many of the attendees had purchased a PC solely for the purpose of running SPSS on their own computer.
I remember long Friday parties with food trays and lots of beer. I remember the lock on the beer fridge. I remember an incident involving a big papier-mâché apple which belonged to a downstairs restaurant that mysteriously ended up in the elevator during one of those Friday parties. I remember a memo about footprints on the wall in Norman's office that also mysteriously appeared after a Friday party.
I remember how excited I was when Starbucks moved into 444 and how quickly I became hooked on my morning latte. Then I moved to Woking for 6 months to work on Clementine and Woking didn't have a Starbucks. But I quickly became re-addicted when I came back to Chicago.
I remember so many releases and working around the clock to get them finished on time. While it was exhausting it was also fun and exciting. I remember Tex remarking during one release that this must be just like being retired - Saturday and Sunday are just like every other day!
SPSS was my second home (at times it felt a bit more like my first home) and the the wonderful talented people I worked with are still my second family.
I arrived after the move to 444 North Michigan Ave. I remember the big green bar printer on our floor. If you wanted to print on a real sheet of paper, there was the pruoc command, which would route your output to a printer at the University of Chicago (print uoc). The next day it would show up in your mail slot like magic! Yes, we had physical mail slots and we used to get paper memos delivered there as well as those deliveries from UofC.
I remember conducting training seminars for SPSS/PC in which the first half day was devoted to teaching basic DOS commands because so many of the attendees had purchased a PC solely for the purpose of running SPSS on their own computer.
I remember long Friday parties with food trays and lots of beer. I remember the lock on the beer fridge. I remember an incident involving a big papier-mâché apple which belonged to a downstairs restaurant that mysteriously ended up in the elevator during one of those Friday parties. I remember a memo about footprints on the wall in Norman's office that also mysteriously appeared after a Friday party.
I remember how excited I was when Starbucks moved into 444 and how quickly I became hooked on my morning latte. Then I moved to Woking for 6 months to work on Clementine and Woking didn't have a Starbucks. But I quickly became re-addicted when I came back to Chicago.
I remember so many releases and working around the clock to get them finished on time. While it was exhausting it was also fun and exciting. I remember Tex remarking during one release that this must be just like being retired - Saturday and Sunday are just like every other day!
SPSS was my second home (at times it felt a bit more like my first home) and the the wonderful talented people I worked with are still my second family.