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|| Jun 27 ||<-7> SAG/6: Bernie McNally now Site Manager at ROE. Local Management Committees set up. || || Jun 27 ||<-7> SAG/6: Bernie Mc``Nally now Site Manager at ROE. Local Management Committees set up. ||

Birth

Year 1980

Jan

ROE, RGO VAXs delivered.

Many sites expressed dismay at the prospect of Versatecs only, without lineprinters. It was hoped that sufficient funds would be available for a cheap printer at each site.

Order placed for SIGMA ARGS displays.

Bob Dickens joined Starlink as Head of Starlink (half time).

RAL Estimates (80/81) and Forward Look:

DMY

8

8

8

7

6

6

Staff costs/overhead

114

Recurrent

351

Capital

650

Total

1115

461

527

529

502

440

Feb 6

Outline specification of Starlink environment issued (SAG/3/80).

11

SAG/4: Most sites felt a lineprinter was needed. Site managers approved - Dave Terrett (MAN), Sid Wright (UCL), Dave King (RGO), Carol Robinson (CAM).

14

SMM/2 (RAL)

CAM, MAN VAXs delivered.

Mar 4

Dave Pearce joined Starlink at RL as assistant to Lawden.

22

Draft application programmer environmental description issued.

28

1st Starlink Software Release.

Bridget Astridge (Starlink secretary RAL) left Starlink.

31

Bob Fosbury became the first registered Starlink `User' when he signed up at RGO (6 weeks before Barry Kent - claimed as first user in Bul 3).

Apr 1

Starlink started as a standard project within Computing Division, RL.

Starlink officially began offering a service to users.

15

Dave Pearce moved to work on System Software under Walter.

28

SAG/5: All 6 VAXs delivered; not yet running at RGO and MAN.

Starlink Bulletin 1 (ENTERPRISE) issued.

Slavka Cole joined Starlink part time as Starlink Secretary RAL.

May 28

SMM/3 (ROE)

1st SIGMA ARGS image display device installed at RAL.

Jun 27

SAG/6: Bernie McNally now Site Manager at ROE. Local Management Committees set up.

Jul

Starlink Bulletin 2 issued.

VAX installation at MAN completed - last of the original 6 sites.

Sites started to communicate via DECNET at 2.4 Kbaud. Remote file access was the only facility supported.

Initial Site Managers were: CAM - Carol Robinson MAN - Dave Terrett RAL - Lorna Claringbold RGO - Dave King ROE - Bernie McNally UCL - Sid Wright

Aug

Pavelin & Wallace attended `Image Processing in Astronomy' conference at JPL, and visited Kitt Peak, VLA, NRAO (Charlottesville), DEC (Boston).

Sep 1

Patrick Wallace joined Starlink at RL as Head of Applications Software.

4

SMM/4 (CAM)

23

1st release of INTERIM software environment (first Starlink environment).

29

Meeting to discuss End-User Environment (based on draft SGP/6 produced by Lawden). Decided that command language is to be designed by Walter & Wright (monitored by Shortridge). Timescale - Nov 80: Technical proposal produced; Dec 80: Primer presented to community; Feb 81; Ready.

Office moves at RAL caused by opening of R31. People have offices in R27 and R31.

Oct 6

Paper on "The development of Starlink Applications Software" issued.

9

RAL Estimates (81/82) and Forward Look:

DMY

8

8

8

7

6

6

Staff costs/overhead

112

112

112

98

84

84

Recurrent

333

350

355

342

392

378

Total

445

463

467

440

476

462

20

SAG/7: VMS 2.0 installed on RAL VAX. Decided not to buy Eigen video system.

24

Grand Inauguration of Starlink at RAL by Mr D N MacFarlane, Parliamentary Under Secretary at the Dept of Education and Science.

Nov

Starlink Bulletin 3 issued, together with `Glossy Brochure'.

Dec 3

SMM/5 (RAL)

1981

Jan 5

Mark Banwell joined Starlink as assistant to Lawden.

21

SAG/8: SRC financial problems affected Starlink - almost impossible to spend money. Printronix printers have been delivered to all sites except RGO & CAM.

Rodney Warren-Smith (DUR) joined Starlink on 1-year contract to write 2-D Photometry programs.

Mar 1

Eric Dunford replaced Cliff Pavelin as Project Manager.

25

SMM/6 (MAN)

Jeremy Martin joined Starlink at RAL as a student working on graphics with Julian Gallop

Apr 21

SSC/1: The method of distributing software was changed from large releases at long intervals distributed on magnetic tape to small releases at frequent intervals distributed by network.

29

SAG/9

Althea Wilkinson (MAN) joined Starlink as application programmer.

Jack Giddings (UCL) joined Starlink as application programmer.

Mark Banwell (RAL) left Starlink.

Software Environment SIG set up.

May 29

Slavka Cole (RAL) left Starlink, her work was taken over by Susan Fuller.

Jun 2

Steve Yip joined Starlink at RL as assistant to Walter.

Starlink Bulletin 4 issued.

Jul 2

SMM/7 (RGO)

8

SAG/10

15

Starlink User Guide binders arrived. Distributed Starlink User Guide 1.0

20

Siu Chun Yeung joined Starlink at RL as assistant to Lawden.

S T Yee joined Starlink at RAL as a student.

Aug 1

Clive Davenhall (ROE) joined Starlink as application programmer.

Design of HDS started by Pearce. Anton joins effort in Oct.

Sep

Jeremy Martin (RAL) left Starlink.

Sue Mitchell (RAL) joined Starlink as Starlink secretary.

Dave Brownrigg (ROE) joined Starlink as application programmer.

Doug Tudhope (ROE) joined Starlink as application programmer.

Oct 8

RAL Estimates (82/83) and Forward Look:

DMY

8

7

7

7

8

Recurrent

425

455

455

480

500

13

SMM/8

31

Bob Dickens resigned as Head of Starlink. The posts of Head of Starlink and Project Scientist were merged into that of Project Scientist.

Eric Dunford moved to IRAS.

Patrick Wallace became acting Project Manager at RAL.

Nov 4

SAG/11:

Ann Sweeney joined Starlink at RAL. Worked with Julian Gallop on GKS.

Dec 9

Starlink directory structure reorganised.

Windfall of 150K pounds - Discs, Memory, Terminals.

Starlink: Birth (last edited 2009-06-19 19:11:40 by MalcolmCurrie)