Fred the Computer
Encyclopedia
Fred the Computer was launched in 1987 by the Middlesex News
MetroWest Daily News
The MetroWest Daily News is a morning and afternoon daily newspaper in Framingham, Massachusetts, USA, serving the MetroWest region of suburban Boston...
in Framingham, Massachusetts
Framingham, Massachusetts
Framingham is a New England town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 68,318 as of the United States 2010 Census. -History:...
. A single-line BBS
Bulletin board system
A Bulletin Board System, or BBS, is a computer system running software that allows users to connect and log in to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, a user can perform functions such as uploading and downloading software and data, reading news and bulletins, and exchanging...
system, it was used to preview the next day's edition with news headlines and weather information. It was sometimes called Fred the Middlesex News Computer.
The original sysop for the system was Sharon Machlis, now an online editor at Computerworld
Computerworld
Computerworld is an IT magazine that provides information for senior IT leaders. It is published in many countries around the world under the same or similar names. Its publisher is International Data Group. Computerworld serves the needs of IT management via print and online...
, who built the system out of TBBS and a dual-floppy Leading Edge PC. Adam Gaffin (later editor of universalhub.com), took over after Machlis left and upgraded the system to a 286. Subscriptions from readers enabled him to purchase a 19.2k modem and a second phone line for the system. Later, Fred was used to organize and display the newspaper's archive of film reviews.
Along with 10 other members of the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, the Middlesex News in 1980 offered a digital text edition to CompuServe
CompuServe
CompuServe was the first major commercial online service in the United States. It dominated the field during the 1980s and remained a major player through the mid-1990s, when it was sidelined by the rise of services such as AOL with monthly subscriptions rather than hourly rates...
. The bulletin board service's subscribers could then, via dial-up, access News stories on their personal computers.
Dial-up newspapers
In 1987, when the Middlesex News debuted its own BBS, subscribers could dial into Fred and see the next day's headlines, submit press releases and write letters to the editor. This was one of the earliest online transmissions of news directly from a newspaper to its readers. Karen McKelvey's 1991 guide to dial-up libraries and newspapers lists only five: Fred the Computer, NewsdayNewsday
Newsday is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area...
s Newsday Online, StarText
StarText
StarText was an online ASCII-based computer service officially launched May 3, 1982 by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and the Tandy Corporation...
(Fort Worth Star-Telegram), Omaha CityNet (Omaha World-Telegram) and the Electric Newspaper (Long Beach Press-Telegram).
In 1993, the Middlesex News set up a Gopher site, making it the first general-circulation United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
newspaper on the Internet, offering daily headlines, movie reviews and restaurant reports. In 1998, the Middlesex News became the MetroWest Daily News
MetroWest Daily News
The MetroWest Daily News is a morning and afternoon daily newspaper in Framingham, Massachusetts, USA, serving the MetroWest region of suburban Boston...
which launched its online edition September 2001.