Pong inventor's Feb. 9 talk to cover early history of Atari, video games

"While the video game industry is now larger than the movie and music businesses combined, it began with a simple game created as a training project. Al Alcorn, Atari's first engineer and the inventor of Pong, will talk about the early history of Atari and how Pong launched the video game industry at a Feb. 9 Speaker Night at the Sunnyvale Heritage Park Museum. Alcorn's presentation will cover Atari's rise from 1972 to 1982, including how Atari helped launch Apple Computers."

"Alcorn grew up in the Bay Area and studied electrical engineering at UC Berkeley. He later became an Apple Fellow and went on to co-found several tech companies, contributing to early innovations in gaming, digital media and interactive technology. In 2009, he was chosen by IGN Entertainment Inc., a video game entertainment website, as one of the top 100 game creators of all time."

Video gaming grew from a simple training-project game into an industry larger than the movie and music businesses combined. Al Alcorn, Atari's first engineer and Pong's inventor, will present on Feb. 9 about Atari's rise from 1972 to 1982 and how Atari helped launch Apple Computers. Alcorn studied electrical engineering at UC Berkeley, became an Apple Fellow and co-founded several tech companies. The talk is at 7 p.m. at Sunnyvale Heritage Park Museum; admission is free. Sunnyvale School District joined a Digital Promise cohort to improve outcomes for newcomer students. About 9% of district students are newcomers: English learners born outside the U.S. who have spent three years or less in U.S. schools. Educators will implement and share effective strategies with schools worldwide.

Read at The Mercury News