Lore Harp McGovern built a microcomputer empire from her suburban home

Early remote work & Steve Shirley

• Commenters highlight “Steve” Shirley’s 1960s all-women, remote-first software company as an important parallel.
• Discussion on how “remote” worked then: coding on paper, mailing or keypunching cards, long turnaround times encouraging careful coding.
• Others recall teletypes and time-sharing systems from the mid-1960s onward, enabling genuine remote access via terminals.
• Some nostalgia for punch cards, optical card systems, and early terminals used in schools and dorms.

Media, nostalgia, and user anecdotes

• Several compare the story to the TV show “Halt and Catch Fire” and a business-focused novel; some wonder if Vector Graphic inspired the show.
• Desire for a film adaptation “in the vein of BlackBerry,” alongside reminders that such movies heavily fictionalize events.
• Many share memories of seeing Vector machines in stores, learning Z80 from Vector manuals, or doing repairs as teenagers.

Vector Graphic’s business and technology

• References to another long-form feature on the founding and growth of Vector Graphic.
• Technical corrections: confusion in the article between “8K processing” and 8-bit CPUs vs RAM sizes; clarification that the Vector 3 was an 8-bit Z80 machine with substantial RAM.
• Discussion of the Vector 4: spec leaks, mis-timed announcements likened to the “Osborne effect,” late shifts from CP/M to MS-DOS, and the impact of IBM PC compatibility.
• Note that the IBM PC arrival was effectively an extinction event for many CP/M/Z80-based business micros.
• Mentions of S-100 ecosystem complexity and an early twisted-pair networking product that seems to have had little impact.

Debate on “major manufacturer” and narrative framing

• Some argue calling Vector a “major manufacturer” is overstated given sales far below Apple, Commodore, etc.
• Others counter that in the late 1970s its revenues were in the same general ballpark as some larger names, making “major” reasonable in absolute terms.
• This leads to broader skepticism about possible puffery in the article versus others seeing it as normal contextual emphasis.

Gender, inclusivity, and women in tech

• Strong disagreement over how hard it is/was to be a woman in tech.
• One side claims tech is among the most inclusive industries, focused on talent; others rebut this as ignoring history and current experiences.
• Stats cited: ~20% of CS grads vs ~23% of software engineers being women; some interpret this as good odds for women who choose CS, others see it as evidence of underrepresentation.
• Extended debate on:
  • Whether representation stats alone say anything about discrimination.
  • The role of culture (sexist “locker room” talk, hostile environments).
  • Systemic bias vs individual responsibility (e.g., negotiation skills, asking for raises).
  • Importance (or not) of allyship and explicitly addressing bias.
• Some women in the thread report few personal issues, suggesting experiences may be location- or context-specific.

Perceptions of Lore Harp McGovern and leadership

• Commenters praise the story as inspiring and emphasize how unusual it was in the 1970s.
• Particular admiration for her values: e.g., Vector reportedly extended credit and support to dealers during a recession, possibly hurting its own finances but building loyalty.
• Others note that media has long been eager for “housewife-turned-CEO” narratives and that contemporary coverage already framed her that way.
• Discussion that after a key technical co-founder/husband left over leadership disputes, Vector declined, suggesting the earlier success relied heavily on a specific partnership.