The West Coast Computer Faire was an annual meeting of the emerging computer industry in San Francisco, organized by Jim Warren and Bob Reiling . By that time it was the biggest computer show in the world, intended to bring computers to the people. The first faire was held in 1977, the 8th and last one in 1983. In that year Warren sold the rights to the Faire for $3 million to Sheldon Adelson of Prentice Hall who transformed the Faire into the COMDEX and located it in Las Vegas.

The 1st West Coast Computer Faire

Some people refer to this faire as the birth of the personal computer industry. It took place on April 16 and 17, 1977 in Brooks Civic Auditorium and saw the debut of the Apple II, presented by then 21-year-old Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. On the first day of exhibition, Jobs introduced Apple II to a Japanese textile technician named 水島敏雄 who became the first authorized Apple dealer in Japan.[1]

Furthermore, the Commodore PET was introduced to the public. About 180 exhibitors took part in that event among them Intel, MITS and Digital Research. More than 12,000 people visited the faire.

The 2nd West Coast Computer Faire

Held at March 3-5, 1978 at San Jose Convention Center.

The 3rd West Coast Computer Faire

Held at November 3-5, 1978 at Los Angeles Convention Center.

The 4th West Coast Computer Faire

Held in May 1979. Dan Bricklin demonstrates VisiCalc, the first spreadsheet program for personal computers.

The 5th West Coast Computer Faire

The first hardware product of Microsoft is announced, the Z-80 SoftCard that gives the Apple II CP/M capabilities.

The 6th West Coast Computer Faire

Held in April 1981. Adam Osborne introduces the Osborne 1.

The 7th West Coast Computer Faire

The Faire, held on March 19-21, 1982, saw the introduction of the 5MB Winchester Disk Drive for IBM PCs by Davong Systems .

The 8th West Coast Computer Faire

Held March 18 to 20, 1983.

External links

• Original article about the first faire by David H. Ahl in The Best of Creative Computing Volume 3 (1980)