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52-619: The organization was co-founded by thirteen-year-old Jonathan Rotenberg in 1977, and grew to become the largest such organization in the world, with over 30,000 members in all 50 U.S. states and 40 other countries. The other co-founder was Richard Gardner. Among the early members were many well-known names in the computer industry, including Stewart Alsop II, Daniel S. Bricklin , Philip D. Estridge , Dan Fylstra , William H. Gates , Wayne Green , Mitchell Kapor , Cary Lu , Mike Markkula , Seymour Papert , Jon Shirley , Clive Sinclair , Benjamin M. Rosen , and Nigel Searle . At its peak in

104-415: A $ 100 laptop computer. A non-profit organization, One Laptop per Child , was created to oversee the actual deployment, MIT did not manufacture or distribute the device. The Synthetic Neurobiology group created reagents and devices for the analysis of brain circuits are in use by hundreds of biology labs around the world. In 2011, Ramesh Raskar 's group published their femto-photography technique, that

156-573: A Cambridge, Massachusetts consulting firm, Monitor Group , which was founded in 1983 by six entrepreneurs with Harvard Business School ties.[3] He was with Monitor from 1991 to 1999. Jonathan became a strategy consultant with internet consulting firm Viant Inc. in 1999. He later joined Fair Isaac Corp. and was co-leader of its management consulting organization. Jonathan's work as a management consultant focuses on customer-centric enterprise transformation: Helping large companies redesign sales, marketing, e-channels, customer care, and operations around

208-422: A close relationship with the media lab. Most media lab faculty are professors of media arts and sciences. Students who earn a degree in media arts and sciences have been predominantly in residence at the media lab, taking classes and doing research. Some students from other programs at MIT, such as mechanical engineering, or electrical engineering and computer science, do their research at the media lab, working with

260-740: A dozen named professorships. A full list of media lab faculty and academic research staff, with bios and other information, is available via the media lab website. As of August 2019 , Alex Pentland is professor of media arts and sciences, Toshiba Professor and Media Lab Entrepreneurship Program Director. In August 2019, director Joi Ito said that the organization had received funding from multimillionaire convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein through foundations Epstein controlled; that Ito had visited several of Epstein's residences; and that Epstein had invested "in several of my funds which invest in tech startup companies outside of MIT". Ito later admitted to taking $ 525,000 in funding from Epstein for

312-458: A glossy 34-page magazine. 1980: April 1980 - The Apple/Boston user group becomes part of the Boston Computer society with Allen Sneider and Gary E. Haffer as the group's directors. Its first meeting was held in a hall in downtown Boston. Apple Boston created Applefest, the first conference dedicated to a single computer. Applefest eventually became known as Macworld. Allen Sneider then created

364-490: A media lab research fellow from Germany whom Epstein introduced to Ito in 2013. Bach declined to be interviewed for Goodwin Procter's fact-finding. Epstein's other donations to the media lab between 2015 and 2017, totaling $ 350,000, were made to support Professor Seth Lloyd (Professor of Mechanical Engineering, $ 225,000), and Professor Neri Oxman (associate professor of media arts and sciences, $ 125,000). Shortly after signing

416-831: A media lab/Media Arts and Sciences faculty advisor, but earn their degrees (such as MEng or an MS in EECS) from other departments. Over 1,000 students apply to the MAS program and the admission is less than 5% per year. In addition to the media lab, the combined original Wiesner building (E15) and new (E14) buildings also host the List Visual Arts Center , the School of Architecture and Planning 's Program in Art, Culture and Technology (ACT), and MIT's Program in Comparative Media Studies. In 2009,

468-408: A new flagship publication - BCS Magazine. Seventh annual MegaMeeting, CompuFest, and a Computers & Social Change Conference. President Bob Grenoble differs with BCS Activists as to BCS direction, tries to change computer platform emphasis - Mac, PC, Amiga, etc. Boston Globe quotes Grenoble as saying computers are not very useful to average person. Activists resist and call for Grenoble resignation at

520-406: A petition in support of Ito, attorney and political activist Lawrence Lessig argued that the undesirable nature of donations to academic institutions from criminals like Epstein, whose fortune does not derive from their crimes, is partially mitigated if the donations are anonymous. He argues that it was "a mistake to take this money, even if anonymous," but that "if you take them, at least don't give

572-567: A public meeting. 1994: Grenoble resigns. Eighth annual MegaMeeting has 10,000 attendees, 150 exhibitors, 150 seminars and workshops. User group support director Pam Bybell becomes president. 1995: President and Board find it difficult to cut back staff and operation to meet declining membership and revenues. 1996: Pam Bybell resigns. Board votes to close BCS. [Milestone source to 1993: BCS Activist - Special Edition 1993 Newsletter] BCS had scores of separate User Groups. As an example, in Spring 1993

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624-569: A resource for anyone to feel comfortable with computer technology, exchange information with fellow users, and learn from each other's successes and failures. 1978: Membership of 73. First mimeographed copy of BCS Update printed in November. First BCS telephone line installed - in Jonathan's bedroom. First meetings held in the Commonwealth School cafeteria. 1979: First BCS user group forums - for

676-497: A second building. The media lab came under scrutiny in 2019 due to its acceptance of donations from convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein . This led to the resignation of its director, Joi Ito , and the launch of an "immediate, thorough and independent" investigation into the "extremely serious" and "deeply disturbing allegations about the engagement between individuals at the Media Lab and Jeffrey Epstein" by L. Rafael Reif ,

728-566: A sex offense, Epstein made a $ 100,000 donation to MIT through a charitable foundation to support the research of Professor Marvin Minsky (former Toshiba Professor of media arts and sciences, media lab). Epstein's $ 100,000 donation in May 2013 was intended to be used at Joi Ito's discretion. His donations in November 2013 and in July and September 2014, totaling $ 300,000, were made to support research by Joscha Bach ,

780-745: Is 23,000 with $ 35 annual 1987: Tenth Anniversary. A special 132-page Computer Update published. IBM and Mac Group open offices. Search begins for new BCS Center. Membership at 26,000 representing all 50 states and 40 countries. 1988: Membership goes over 30,000. Computer Update changes back to BCS Update. NeXT introduces its computer at one of the largest meetings ever with almost 3,000 people lined up at Symphony Hall in Boston. Calendar lists about 140 events. Public service initiatives begin. 1989: The Massachusetts Special Access Technology Center (MASTAC, an organization assisting disabled children and their teachers and families get access to computer technology, comes under

832-491: Is a block-based programming language and community developed for children 8–16, and used by people of all ages to learn programming. Millions of people have created Scratch projects in a wide variety of settings, including homes, schools, museums, libraries, and community centers. In January 2005, the lab's chairman emeritus Nicholas Negroponte announced at the World Economic Forum a new research initiative to develop

884-697: Is a graduate of Commonwealth School , an independent high school in Boston's Back Bay. As a 13-year-old freshman, he cofounded The Boston Computer Society in the school's library. Rotenberg has an A.B. in Economics from Brown University ; an MBA from Harvard Business School ; and a Graduate Certificate in Executive Coaching from the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology . Rotenberg cofounded an organization to demystify personal computers called The Boston Computer Society , popularly known as

936-520: Is about his friendship from 1981 – 2011 with Apple founder Steve Jobs , and what Jobs taught him about idealism, spirituality and leadership. A first chapter of the book was published by High Tech History . Rotenberg was named one of the “Top 100 Young Entrepreneurs in America” by the Association of Collegiate Entrepreneurs. Computer Reseller News named him “One of the 25 Most Influential Executives in

988-689: Is introduced at a BCS meeting and the Mac Group starts. First Microsoft Windows group starts. 1985: Membership at 17,000 with 41 groups. Activist newsletter launched. The book Things the Manual Never Told You, co-written by many BCS activists, is published by Addison Wesley. Professional staff of seven employees. 1986: 50 user groups and 500 activists. First overseas affiliation with the Denmark Personal Computer Society. Calendar lists over 100 meetings and events each month. Membership

1040-961: Is made to MIT and media lab sponsors. The media lab generates approximately 20 new patents every year. Some recurring themes of work at the media lab include human adaptability, human computer interaction , education and communication, artistic creation and visualization, and designing technology for the developing world. Other research focus includes machines with common sense, sociable robots, prosthetics, sensor networks, musical devices, city design, and public health. Research programs all include iterative development of prototypes which are tested and displayed for visitors. Each of these areas of research may incorporate others. Interaction design research includes designing intelligent objects and environments. Educational research has also included integrating more computation into learning activities - including software for learning, programmable toys, and artistic or musical instruments. Examples include Lego Mindstorms ,

1092-942: The Lego Mindstorms , LEGO WeDo and the pointing stick in IBM laptop keyboards , the Benton hologram used in most credit cards, the Fisher-Price's Symphony Painter, the Nortel Wireless Mesh Network, the NTT Comware Sensetable, the Taito's Karaoke-on-Demand Machine. A 1994 device called the Sensor Chair used to control a musical orchestra was adapted by several car manufacturers into capacitive sensors to prevent dangerous airbag deployments. The MPEG-4 SA project developed at

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1144-542: The Jeffrey Epstein scandal. Dava Newman took the position in July, 2021, the first woman to do so. As of 2014 , the media lab had roughly 70 administrative and support staff members. Associate directors of the lab were Hiroshi Ishii and Andrew Lippman . Pattie Maes and Mitchel Resnick were co-heads of the program in media arts and sciences, and the lab's chief knowledge officer was Henry Holtzman. The media lab has at times had regional branches in other parts of

1196-498: The NIH , NSF , and DARPA . Also, consortia with other schools or other departments at MIT are often able to have money that does not enter into the common pool. MIT Media Lab has an approximately $ 75 million annual operating budget. Companies sponsoring the lab can share in the lab's intellectual property without paying license fees or royalties. Non-sponsors cannot make use of media lab developments for two years after technical disclosure

1248-457: The PicoCricket , and One Laptop per Child . The lab has over twenty research groups. The media arts and sciences program is a part of MIT's school of architecture and planning, and includes three levels of study: a doctoral program, a master's of science program, and a program that offers an alternative to the standard MIT freshman year as well as a set of undergraduate subjects that may form

1300-608: The "extremely serious" allegations. On January 10, 2020, the executive committee of the MIT Corporation, the institute's governing board, released the results of Goodwin Procter 's fact-finding regarding interactions between Jeffrey Epstein and the Institute. The report revealed that Epstein made 10 donations through various entities to MIT totaling $ 850,000, including nine donations, totaling $ 750,000, made after his 2008 conviction. In 2002, four years before Epstein's first arrest for

1352-799: The BCS magazine, was renamed "Computer Update" when Stewart Alsop became the publisher. ( April 1982 issue , April 1987 10th anniversary issue ) There were a myriad of user groups meeting monthly with their own paper newsletters. Much of the promotional and support role played by the organization became obsolete with the increasing sophistication of computer users and the growth of the Internet as an alternate source of information. Membership shrank to 18,000, they ran out of money, and BCS closed in October 1996. 1977: Founded in February by then 13-year-old Jonathan Rotenberg to be

1404-454: The BCS umbrella. Membership peaks in June at 31,100 with dues at $ 40 for an individual membership. Over 20 electronic bulletin boards and 700 activists. Revenues over $ 2 million. 1990 Rotenberg moves from president to chairman. Tracy Licklider named president. Declining membership and local economics force scaleback of BCS Center. Membership at 26,800. Dues reduced to $ 39. Carolyn Coughlin (McDonough)

1456-465: The BCS. He was its president from 1977 to 1990. During that period, the Society became the leading international forum where personal computer companies unveiled groundbreaking new products and technologies to the public. For example, in 1979 Dan Bricklin and Bob Frankston introduced the first spreadsheet program, VisiCalc . In 1984, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak made the first public presentation of

1508-482: The Commodore PET computer. First BCS book published; a directory of local stores, consultants, and services. Membership: 300. VisiCalc introduced at BCS meeting by Bob Frankston and Dan Bricklin . 1980: The BCS is incorporated and rents a small downtown Boston office. First part-time employee hired as Jonathan leaves for Brown University. Membership at 1000 with nine user groups. BCS Update becomes Computer Update,

1560-580: The MIT Media Lab's director of development and strategy at the time, have worked for years to solicit anonymous donations from Epstein despite Epstein being marked as Disqualified by the university as a donor. Ito has referred to Epstein as "fascinating". Ito resigned due to the scandal shortly after the New Yorker article. L. Rafael Reif, the president of MIT, announced an "immediate, thorough and independent" investigation to be led by an outside law firm into

1612-465: The Macintosh at the BCS. Mitch Kapor introduced Lotus 1-2-3. Dozens of industry leaders — from Bill Gates to Michael Dell , Nolan Bushnell to Esther Dyson , Ray Kurzweil to Sherry Turkle , Seymour Papert to Dan Bricklin — came each month to connect with BCS members. The Society developed more than a hundred user and special-interest subgroups, many of which became the largest of their kind in

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1664-688: The Media Lab made structured audio a practical reality and the Aspen Movie Map was the precursor to the ideas in Google Street View . In 2001, two research centers were spun off: Media Lab Asia and Media Lab Europe . Media Lab Asia, based in India , was a result of cooperation with the Government of India but eventually broke off in 2003 after a disagreement. Media Lab Europe, based in Dublin , Ireland ,

1716-497: The NeXT. 1992: Membership at 23,500. HP executive Bob Grenoble named president in May. Macintosh Group office moves from Somerville to Cambridge and their bulletin board logs its 500,000 call. At year-end employees numbered at 20 and activists topped 800. The Resource Center began providing daily access to members. Alliance formed with The World for Internet access. Member insurance and an unemployment service. 1993: Computer Update becomes

1768-782: The Personal Computer Industry.” And Slashdot named him one of the “Top 150 i-Technology Heroes of All Time.” MIT Media Lab The MIT Media Lab is a research laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology , growing out of MIT's Architecture Machine Group in the School of Architecture . Its research does not restrict to fixed academic disciplines, but draws from technology , media , science , art , and design . As of 2014 , Media lab's research groups include fetus , biologically inspired fabrication , socially engaging robots , emotive computing , bionics , and hyperinstruments . The media lab

1820-435: The basis for a future joint major. All graduate students are fully supported (tuition plus a stipend) from the outset, normally by appointments as research assistants at the media laboratory, where they work on research programs and faculty projects, including assisting with courses. These research activities typically take up about half of a student's time in the degree program. The media arts and sciences academic program have

1872-564: The criminal a chance to publicly launder his reputation". "Everyone seems to treat it as if the anonymity and secrecy around Epstein's gift are a measure of some kind of moral failing," Lessig wrote. "I see it as exactly the opposite." The Boston Globe reported it had seen emails indicating Bill Gates had donated $ 2.2 million to the media lab through Epstein. On March 24, 2018, Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visited MIT and prompted protests. Salman's non-profit foundation MiSK

1924-533: The early 1990s, BCS supported more than 75 different user and special interest groups and held more than 150 monthly meetings. Apple Computer Corp., Lotus Software and IBM made major product announcements at BCS meetings. For example, Apple made the East Coast introduction of the Apple Macintosh at a BCS meeting in 1984, and GO Corp. made the consumer introduction of PenPoint OS to BCS in 1991. Update ,

1976-607: The fact that approximately 1/10 members were women, the BCS was a leader in diversity, and in fact, in 1994, welcomed Pam Bybell to its presidency. 1991: BCS office moves to One Kendall Square in Cambridge. Membership shrinks to 24,400. IBM Group moves office to larger space with classrooms, still in Newton. Joint publications (BCS Tech, BCS Professionals, BCS Computers) launched. Licklider resigns; search for new president begins. Steve Jobs came back to demonstrate groundbreaking new software on

2028-460: The first Business User Group,(BUG) and later (HUG) Home User Group - education and entertainment for the family. 1981: First full-time employee hired. Official non-profit status granted. Calendar launched and cursor button logo adopted. Membership is growing rapidly. 1982: Membership grows to 3,000 with 13 user and special interest groups. Dues were $ 18. First electronic bulletin board started. IBM introduces its new personal computer in November with

2080-603: The group starting in January 1983. National media attention. 1983: Membership doubles to 6,300. Two more employees hired. 20 user and special interest groups. First regional chapter started in Providence, Rhode Island, under the auspices of the IBM Group. 1984: Office moves to larger office in same complex as membership hits 10,000. Resource Center opens. 29 user/special interest groups. First Buying Guide published. The Macintosh computer

2132-441: The lab. In 2019, media lab founder Nicholas Negroponte expressed support for Ito's decision to accept the funding from Epstein. Also in 2019, a federal court deposition was unsealed in which Virginia Giuffre stated that Epstein's associate directed her to have sex with former media lab professor Marvin Minsky . In September 2019, it was revealed by emails leaked to Ronan Farrow of The New Yorker that Ito and Peter Cohen,

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2184-425: The list included: Jonathan Rotenberg Jonathan Rotenberg (born April 29, 1963) is an executive coach , management consultant , and author. In 1977, he cofounded The Boston Computer Society , which became the world's largest personal computer user organization. He is currently writing a book about what he learned from his early mentor, Apple founder Steve Jobs . Jonathan was born in Boston, MA. He

2236-466: The media lab expanded into a new building designed by Pritzker Prize -winning Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki . The local architect of record was Leers Weinzapfel Associates, of Boston. The Maki building has predominantly glass walls, with long lines of sight through the building, making ongoing research visible and encouraging connections and collaboration. Media arts and sciences faculty and academic research staff are principal investigators/heads of

2288-415: The media lab's various research groups. They also advise media arts and sciences graduate students and mentor MIT undergraduates. "Most departments accept grad students based on their prospects for academic success; the media lab attempts to select ones that will best be able to help with some of the ongoing projects." As of 2014 , there are more than 25 faculty and academic research staff members, including

2340-413: The needs and desires of target customers. He has advised and guided senior leadership teams of several Fortune 500 companies on multi-year, enterprise-wide transformation initiatives. Since 2012, Jonathan has been an executive coach. He works with senior executives on leadership development and developing high-performance organizations. Jonathan is writing a book called My Teacher Steve Jobs . The book

2392-433: The president of MIT. In December 2020, Dava Newman , professor of aeronautics and astronautics and former deputy administrator of NASA under Obama , was named the new director of the MIT Media Lab. The founding director of the lab was Nicholas Negroponte , who directed it until 2000. Later directors were Walter Bender (2000–2006), Frank Moss (2006–2011), and Joi Ito (2011-2019) who resigned in connection with

2444-448: The world, such as Media Lab Europe and Media Lab Asia, each with their own staff and governing bodies. The lab's primary funding comes from corporate sponsorship . Rather than accepting funding on a per-project or per-group basis, the lab asks sponsors to fund general themes; sponsors can then connect with media lab research. Specific projects and researchers are also funded more traditionally through US government institutions including

2496-547: The world. It published over 20 publications and sponsored nearly a hundred educational programs each month. Before his twenty-first birthday, Rotenberg had been profiled in The Wall Street Journal (front page), PEOPLE , InfoWorld , The New York Times , BusinessWeek , The Boston Globe and TIME magazine, and on CBS Evening News . In 1990, Jonathan moved from president of the BCS to become its chairman. Jonathan began his career in management consulting at

2548-405: Was a member company of the lab until 2018. According to The New York Times , a sizable part of the annual budget of the lab comes from corporate patrons, who pay at least $ 250,000 each year. Prince Mohammed's personal foundation was among the roughly 90 members at their time of membership. Books Some media lab-developed technologies made it into products or public software packages, such as

2600-532: Was founded in 1985 by Nicholas Negroponte and former MIT President Jerome Wiesner , and is housed in the Wiesner Building (designed by I. M. Pei ), also known as Building E15. The lab has been written about in the popular press since 1988, when Stewart Brand published The Media Lab: Inventing the Future at M.I.T. , and its work was a regular feature of technology journals in the 1990s. In 2009, it expanded into

2652-537: Was founded with a similar concept in association with Irish universities and government , and closed in January 2005. Created collaboratively by the Computer Museum and the media lab, the Computer Clubhouse, a worldwide network of after-school learning centers, focuses on youth from underserved communities who would not otherwise have access to technological tools and activities. Launched in 2003, Scratch

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2704-499: Was the first woman to found and lead a special interest group, The User Interface Design Group. In the first meeting, the team welcomed Margaret Minsky of MIT Media Lab , who discussed her work with haptic interface, adding the sense of touch and movement to games, and Eric Howlett , who demonstrated a Virtual Reality headset, to a standing room only crowd of 250 in Lotus Development Corp's Kendall Square headquarters. Despite

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