Computer History Museum

Crews, Liz oral history

Liz Bond Crews grew up in McAllen, TX. She attended Bradford College in Haverhill, MA, and the University of Texas at Austin, where she obtained a bachelor’s degree with a double major in mathematics and computer science. Her first job was as a systems analyst in Los Angeles for RCA’s computer business, with customers including Signal Oil & Gas, and Glendale Hospital. After RCA shut down its computer business, she joined the Xerox Electro-Optical Division in Pasadena, CA, where she led a group building special systems for customers including National Geographic magazine, Ginn & Company, and University Microfilm. She also set up a user group for the Alto personal computer from Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Center. Her next assignment was the Xerox Corporate Font Center, in the Printing System Division, where among other things she negotiated a licensing deal with Mergenthaler Linotype for high-quality typefaces for use with Xerox’s 9700 electronic printer. John Warnock recruited her to Adobe Systems, where she became employee number 15 and once again licensed high-quality typeface designs from Merganthaler Linotype and others, this time to be rendered as Adobe Type 1 fonts usable on every PostScript printer. While at Adobe, she ran corporate marketing, hired graphics designers, created the Colophon newsletter, and more. After Adobe, she helped found Electronics for Imaging, did some consulting, and then retired. In retirement she has done technology work for the Museum of New Mexico Foundation.

Item Details

Date
2017-05-24 (Made)
Type
Moving Image
Catalogue number
102738272
Organization
Computer History Museum (Publisher)
People
Liz Crews (Interviewee)
Paul McJones (Interviewer)
Category
Oral History
Format
MOV
Credit line
Computer History Museum
Extent
01:35:45
Place of publication
North America/USA/CA/Mountain View
Language
English
Acquisition number
X8213.2017
Archive collection
CHM Oral History Collection
Archive hierarchy
Oral History collection