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Title: Kenneth Einstein papers
Identifier/Call Number: X8138.2017
Contributing Institution:
Computer History Museum
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
8.25 Linear feet,
6 record cartons and 1 periodical box
Date (bulk): Bulk, 1984-1999
Date (inclusive): 1975-2001
Abstract: The Kenneth Einstein papers, which range in date from 1975 to 2001, hold materials related to Einstein's career at Ansa Software
and Borland International, as well as records from his consulting work. The collection can be divided into four parts: professional
files, conference materials, mixed reference materials, and software. The professional work files are from companies such
as Ansa Software, Borland Interactive, Upshot Corporation, and Diffusion, Inc. They include initial product concepts, product
planning documents and timelines, internal company materials, presentation materials, marketing materials, newspaper and magazine
clippings, and product documentation. The second quarter of the collection consists of materials from industry conferences,
partner meetings, and trade shows. The third quarter of the collection consists of mixed printed materials, such as reference
books, technical reports, published research papers, market forecasts, printouts of online discussion threads, and periodicals.
The final fourth of the collection is made up of packaged software and loose disks. Software formats include 5 1/4 inch floppy
disks, 3 1/2 inch floppy disks, and CDs.
Collection surveyed by Sydney Gulbronson Olson, 2018.
The collection is open for research.
The Computer History Museum (CHM) can only claim physical ownership of the collection. Users are responsible for satisfying
any claims of the copyright holder. Requests for copying and permission to publish, quote, or reproduce any portion of the
Computer History Museum's collection must be obtained jointly from both the copyright holder (if applicable) and the Computer
History Museum.
[Identification of Item], [Date], Kenneth Einstein papers, Lot X8138.2017, Box [#], Computer History Museum.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Kenneth Einstein, 2017.
Kenneth (Ken) Einstein has been a software designer in the field of user interface design and user experience for over thirty
years. In the early 1980s, Einstein attended the Interactive Telecommunications Program at NYU. In 1985, he joined Ansa Software,
where he worked as manager of user interface design and documentation. After Ansa was acquired by Borland International in
1987, Einstein became director of application strategy. In this position he worked on the design and development of many of
Borland's products in the late 80s and early 90s. Einstein left Borland in 1993, becoming an independent consultant specializing
in user experience (UX). A notable project that he worked on was leading the UX design and implementation effort for MCI Friends
and Family Mail (FFM). The goal of the product was to create a mass market service that anyone who could make a phone call
could use to send and receive emails. The project was scrapped in 1995 when the World Wide Web grew increasingly powerful,
thus making MCI's project no longer viable. After the FFM project, Einstein worked in the design and development of products
at a number of startups, including Diffusion, Inc. and Upshot Corporation. As of 2018, Einstein still works as a consultant
in Silicon Valley.
Scope and Content of the Collection
The Kenneth Einstein papers, ranging in date from 1975 to 2001, contain materials related to Einstein's career at Ansa Software
and Borland International, as well as records from his consulting work, conference materials, technical reports, books, periodicals,
and software. The collection can be divided into four parts: professional files, conference materials, mixed reference materials,
and software.
The first quarter of the collection consists of professional work files from companies such as Ansa Software, Borland Interactive,
Upshot Corporation, and Diffusion, Inc. These files range in date from 1984 to 1999 and include initial product concepts,
product planning documents and timelines, internal company materials, presentation materials, marketing materials, newspaper
and magazine clippings, and both internal and published product documentation. Topics of note include the development and
release of the Paradox desktop database program, Borland general product line planning, and Borland Paradox for Windows planning.
Also of note are design and testing documents related to Borland Interactive's 1800 Project, which was done in collaboration
with MCI with the aim of using MCI's Friends & Family marketing platform to create an email client. There are also folders
with marketing materials from various other companies, such as IBM, Apple, and NeXT.
The second quarter of the collection consists of materials from industry conferences, partner meetings, and trade shows. Examples
of events represented in this portion of the collection include the Software Publishers Association Conference, Network Systems
Forum, Platforms for Communication Forum, and Borland Database Conference. There are also materials from numerous other conferences
focused on databases and multimedia as well as documents from partner meetings, such as an IDAPI (Integrated Database Application
Programming Interface) meeting in 1992.
The third quarter of the collection consists of mixed printed materials, such as reference books, technical reports, published
research papers, market forecasts, printouts of online discussion threads, and periodicals. Most of the periodicals are from
the 1990s and are related to Multimedia. Some of the titles represented include Multimedia World, The Red Herring, NewMedia,
Desktop Video World, CD-ROM World, and PC World. There is also a small amount of manuals and standards.
The final fourth of the collection is made up of packaged software and loose disks. Software formats include 5 1/4 inch floppy
disks, 3 1/2 inch floppy disks, and CDs. The software includes programs such as Studio PCTV, Net-TV 98, and Upshot Sales,
as well as multiple versions of Paradox. Additionally, there are early programs for Macs, such as Hypercard 10, MS Word 1.0
for Mac, MacWrite/MacPaint, and MacType. The Kenneth Einstein papers also hold the only extant digital copy of a prototype
version of MCI Friends & Family Mail.
Ephemera and hardware were separated from the main collection. To view catalog records for separated material, search the
CHM catalog at
http://www.computerhistory.org/collections/search/ .
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Ansa Software.
Borland Software Corporation.
MCI Communications Corporation.
MCI Mail