In the early 80’s, MOSTEK was the largest memory manufacturer in the world.
I found a shelf of MOSTEK mementos on my parents’ bookshelf, as my Dad ran the MOSTEK DRAM fab… and it brought back memories of my childhood.
I inserted banks of chips like the predecessor to this one into my Apple ][ to upgrade it from 16k to 48K.
At work, my Dad took me on fab tours of magical halls filled with exotic equipment and machines of all types, with a massive network of pipes feeding them. It was like the Hogwarts in a clean room, and I wanted to work there.
But I was only 17, and they had a strict policy against hiring anyone under 18. No way to do it, said Dad. So I went to work for a temp agency that summer. On the first day, they asked me if I would like to work at… MOSTEK. My eyes popped. The back door! Literally, in a way, as I worked in the “back end” of the fab, where we did final quality control tests on fully packaged chips (like the one above, but encased in black plastic instead of clear). After a few days on the job, proudly sporting my company badge, I strolled into his office to surprise him with my presence.
From my earliest memories, my father instilled a sense of scientific curiosity in me, and a love of learning about technology. He would often ask me how things work, from tape recorders to rainbows, and talk through a logical decomposition, invoking physics instead of fairies.
On this Thanksgiving, I want to give a special thanks to my father.
Leave a Reply