The Boston Computer Society (BCS) was an organization of personal computer users, based in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., that ran from 1977 to 1996. At one point, it was the largest such group in the world, with regular user group meetings, many publications, permanent offices in Boston, and hosting major product announcements, including the East Coast release of the Apple Macintosh in 1984. History 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 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, 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. Milestones 1977: Founded in February by then 13-year-old Jonathan Rotenberg to be 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 the Commodore PET computer. First BCS book published; a directory of local stores, consultants, and services. Membership: 300. VisiCalc introduced at BCS meeting