Timex wants to talk to us
28 messages · 2009-04-22 → 2009-04-28 · Yahoo Group era · View archive on archive.org
Participants: zxbruno, cheveron, Glen Goodwin, Timex, Peter Hoffman, Philip Kendall, pogi, Hernán Pablo Alvarez, Oscar Arthur Koepke, Adam Trionfo, Jack Boatwright, frenchcanadianflyfishing, Bill Loguidice
Preserved from the Timex/Sinclair 2068 Yahoo Group (2001–2019), which is no longer online. Text reproduced from the archive.org archive; email addresses masked.
Messages
1. Timex wants to talk to us
zxbruno · Wed, 22 Apr 2009 10:26
I usually find people from the old days and know what do to (some of them will soon visit us), but this time I think it's too important to keep it to myself. I'm going to share part of an e-mail I received yesterday from someone who still works at Timex and has given us an opportunity of a lifetime. Please read, share your opinion on how we should do this, and please, do not try to contact this gentleman until we can figure something out. I don't want him to be overwhelmed or change his mind.
"Bruno,
(...)
I'm the Senior Vice President Technology of the Timex Group. Your e-mail about Timex-Sinclair computers was forwarded to me
(...)
I joined Timex in 1982 from the Burroughs Corporation to become the Director of Engineering for The Timex Computer Corporation. I was intimately involved with the design and development of all of the Timex-Sinclair computers except the original black-and-white version. I led the team of Timex hardware and software engineers and participated in detailed design meetings in Cambridge England with Clive and his small team.
I will be happy to discuss those days with you and your fellow collectors at your convenience. Perhaps we can set up a conference call to involve as many people as are interested.
Let me know how you would like to proceed next."
So, there you go. I don't think we have the means to setup a conference call (or do we?) and if that would be the best way. My first idea was to have each one of us prepare a list of questions, we then would go through the list and try to make sure the same questions isn't made more than once, and I would then submit the list (more like an interview) to him. What do you think?
This is our chance to know everything we always wanted to know about Timex, a chance to find an answer to all those unanswered questions, and to listen to the memories and experiences of this gentleman.
Let's think about this for a second and see what would be best for him and for us. I'm really happy about this and I hope we'll do it the right way. I could've exchanged e-mails with him and be done with it, but that would've been selfish. That's why I come to you today and ask for your input.
Thanks.
2. Re: [ts2068] Timex wants to talk to us
pogi · Wed, 22 Apr 2009 18:37
WOW!
I've read this group ever since it started. Haven't said much, I'm not a
teckie, I just like to play the old games and try different stuff in basic
to see what happens. I have a TS2068, still working, I liked it over the
Commodore, Atari, Coleco, and TRS80 because all you need is printed on the
keyboard. I didn't have to worry much about spelling, just get the
punctuation right. I also liked it because I thought it looked better than
the rest.
I heard (I don't know if it is true) that there was a new version of the
TS2068 in the works before they quit making it. I'd like to ask if it was
true and if so, would it be possible to get the documents for it (after all
we have the TS2068 service manual on the net somewhere...WOS I think).
Another question is why didn't Timex make it more compatible with the
Spectrum, like they did with the TS1000 which was 100% compatible with the
ZX81 (I also put the TS1000 before all the others).
Thats about it from me, I'll keep reading the group. ... And thanks to all
the folks here, I'm beginning to understand it better.
Ken Harbit
[email]
On Wed, Apr 22, 2009 at 6:26 AM, zxbruno <[email]> wrote:
>
>
> I usually find people from the old days and know what do to (some of them
> will soon visit us), but this time I think it's too important to keep it to
> myself. I'm going to share part of an e-mail I received yesterday from
> someone who still works at Timex and has given us an opportunity of a
> lifetime. Please read, share your opinion on how we should do this, and
> please, do not try to contact this gentleman until we can figure something
> out. I don't want him to be overwhelmed or change his mind.
>
> "Bruno,
>
> (...)
>
> I'm the Senior Vice President – Technology of the Timex Group. Your e-mail
> about Timex-Sinclair computers was forwarded to me
>
> (...)
>
> I joined Timex in 1982 from the Burroughs Corporation to become the
> Director of Engineering for The Timex Computer Corporation. I was intimately
> involved with the design and development of all of the Timex-Sinclair
> computers except the original black-and-white version. I led the team of
> Timex hardware and software engineers and participated in detailed design
> meetings in Cambridge England with Clive and his small team.
>
> I will be happy to discuss those days with you and your fellow collectors
> at your convenience. Perhaps we can set up a conference call to involve as
> many people as are interested.
>
> Let me know how you would like to proceed next."
>
> So, there you go. I don't think we have the means to setup a conference
> call (or do we?) and if that would be the best way. My first idea was to
> have each one of us prepare a list of questions, we then would go through
> the list and try to make sure the same questions isn't made more than once,
> and I would then submit the list (more like an interview) to him. What do
> you think?
>
> This is our chance to know everything we always wanted to know about Timex,
> a chance to find an answer to all those unanswered questions, and to listen
> to the memories and experiences of this gentleman.
>
> Let's think about this for a second and see what would be best for him and
> for us. I'm really happy about this and I hope we'll do it the right way. I
> could've exchanged e-mails with him and be done with it, but that would've
> been selfish. That's why I come to you today and ask for your input.
>
> Thanks.
>
>
>
3. Re: [ts2068] Re: Timex wants to talk to us
Hernán Pablo Alvarez · Wed, 22 Apr 2009 19:54
Ask him about if it's true that Timex dumped all unsold stock here in
Argentina... IIRC the comp.sys.sinclair FAQ mentions it.
--
Hernán Alvarez
[email]
2009/4/22 [email] <[email]>
>
>
> Vodafone ate my original reply. To summarize, conference calls are possible
> on Skype but the time-zone difference might be a bit of a bind. An emailed
> list of questions is probably the most convenient for all.
>
> Things to ask about: BEU, Unipolbrit, who wrote the Timex ROMs, who owns
> the ROMs now, distribution permission, legality of TMX Portugal clones, SCLD
> fabbing (and what was provided to Sinclair for Pandora), names of the
> engineers and programmers at Timex, relationship of TS2048 to TS2068,
> reasons for folding, involvement of Steven Vickers (since he's credited in
> the manual but had already left Nine Tiles -- think he was only working
> there under contract). Hopefully that will inspire a few more questions.
>
>
>
4. Re: Timex wants to talk to us
cheveron · Wed, 22 Apr 2009 22:40
Vodafone ate my original reply. To summarize, conference calls are possible on Skype but the time-zone difference might be a bit of a bind. An emailed list of questions is probably the most convenient for all.
Things to ask about: BEU, Unipolbrit, who wrote the Timex ROMs, who owns the ROMs now, distribution permission, legality of TMX Portugal clones, SCLD fabbing (and what was provided to Sinclair for Pandora), names of the engineers and programmers at Timex, relationship of TS2048 to TS2068, reasons for folding, involvement of Steven Vickers (since he's credited in the manual but had already left Nine Tiles -- think he was only working there under contract). Hopefully that will inspire a few more questions.
5. Re: [ts2068] Re: Timex wants to talk to us
Timex · Thu, 23 Apr 2009 07:51
On Apr 22, 2009, at 11:40 PM, [email] wrote:
> relationship of TS2048 to TS2068,
Anyone tryed to boot a TS2068 with just 16K RAM? A TC2068 with 16K
RAM crashes! I think 2068 system is not prepared for 16K RAM as it
uses top ram.
Encarnado
6. Re: Timex wants to talk to us
cheveron · Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:26
The TS2068 ROM requires 48K as it stores various things in high RAM. The disassembly is online somewhere.
7. Re: Timex wants to talk to us
zxbruno · Fri, 24 Apr 2009 06:34
I hope that many TS users will visit the group or receive this message by e-mail, so that we can take advantage of this opportunity.
So, for now we have two ideas:
1-List of questions for Mr Lou (Current Vice President of Timex Group), which would be submitted to him by e-mail. I would then share the complete interview with everyone. I'm pretty sure Mr Lou is a busy gentleman and I don't think we'll be able to contact him all the time with more and more questions. We should use this opportunity wisely because we might not have another one.
2-Voice conference using Skype. I'm not familiar with this. Does it work well? Is there a maximum of people? Doesn't it get confusing? Does it lag? If it's done this way, would everyone be responsible to let Mr Lou speak and each one take a turn to ask questions?
I thought of asking Mr Lou if he could provide an interview for a small group of people who would like to visit him in person, but I'm not sure if this would be a good thing to ask. I'm assuming he's in Middlebury, CT. If this was possible and such interview was granted I know I wouldn't be able to go. But to know that someone could go, sit down and talk, hear stories, take some pictures and ask some questions... that would be enough to make me happy.
It's been almost two days since he contacted me. I sent him another e-mail saying that the group is excited about this and I'm waiting for input from my fellow TS users. I told him I will be contacting him again in a few days.
Waiting for your suggestions.
Thanks.
8. Re: [ts2068] Re: Timex wants to talk to us
Oscar Arthur Koepke · Fri, 24 Apr 2009 06:06
We can ask him, if its possible, to get a copy to us all of the contents of the ULA from both TS2068 and TS2048(if not the same)...or even the ULA from ZXSpectrum itself(if he has that possibility)...That will be great!!
All over the internet we have people(serious) searching for these exact contents ...(PAL[portugal,Polish] and NTSC[USA] versions if possible).
Thanks.
OSCAR
--- On Fri, 4/24/09, zxbruno <[email]> wrote:
From: zxbruno <[email]>
Subject: [ts2068] Re: Timex wants to talk to us
To: [email]
Date: Friday, April 24, 2009, 3:34 AM
I hope that many TS users will visit the group or receive this message by e-mail, so that we can take advantage of this opportunity.
So, for now we have two ideas:
1-List of questions for Mr Lou (Current Vice President of Timex Group), which would be submitted to him by e-mail. I would then share the complete interview with everyone. I'm pretty sure Mr Lou is a busy gentleman and I don't think we'll be able to contact him all the time with more and more questions. We should use this opportunity wisely because we might not have another one.
2-Voice conference using Skype. I'm not familiar with this. Does it work well? Is there a maximum of people? Doesn't it get confusing? Does it lag? If it's done this way, would everyone be responsible to let Mr Lou speak and each one take a turn to ask questions?
I thought of asking Mr Lou if he could provide an interview for a small group of people who would like to visit him in person, but I'm not sure if this would be a good thing to ask. I'm assuming he's in Middlebury, CT. If this was possible and such interview was granted I know I wouldn't be able to go. But to know that someone could go, sit down and talk, hear stories, take some pictures and ask some questions... that would be enough to make me happy.
It's been almost two days since he contacted me. I sent him another e-mail saying that the group is excited about this and I'm waiting for input from my fellow TS users. I told him I will be contacting him again in a few days.
Waiting for your suggestions.
Thanks.
9. RE: [ts2068] Re: Timex wants to talk to us
Adam Trionfo · Fri, 24 Apr 2009 06:14
Perhaps asking what the state of the cartridges and software made by Timex is? Can the ROM be made freely distributable? The software too? I mean, if he is the VICE-PRESIDENT, he could have that kind of power.
Adam
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10. Re: [ts2068] Timex wants to talk to us
Jack Boatwright · Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:50
Some things I'd be interested in are:
a.. The number of each unit produced, i.e., how many TS1510 units, cartridges, etc., were produced.
b.. A full list of software that was released and another of what was planned for each computer.
c.. The BEU - was it really going to access 16MB RAM?
d.. information about the TS3068 that was in development.
I doubt if he would have information regarding the items from TMX Portugal, I believe there was independent development going on. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to ask, though.
----- Original Message -----
From: zxbruno
To: [email]
Sent: Wednesday, April 22, 2009 3:26 AM
Subject: [ts2068] Timex wants to talk to us
I usually find people from the old days and know what do to (some of them will soon visit us), but this time I think it's too important to keep it to myself. I'm going to share part of an e-mail I received yesterday from someone who still works at Timex and has given us an opportunity of a lifetime. Please read, share your opinion on how we should do this, and please, do not try to contact this gentleman until we can figure something out. I don't want him to be overwhelmed or change his mind.
"Bruno,
(...)
I'm the Senior Vice President - Technology of the Timex Group. Your e-mail about Timex-Sinclair computers was forwarded to me
(...)
I joined Timex in 1982 from the Burroughs Corporation to become the Director of Engineering for The Timex Computer Corporation. I was intimately involved with the design and development of all of the Timex-Sinclair computers except the original black-and-white version. I led the team of Timex hardware and software engineers and participated in detailed design meetings in Cambridge England with Clive and his small team.
I will be happy to discuss those days with you and your fellow collectors at your convenience. Perhaps we can set up a conference call to involve as many people as are interested.
Let me know how you would like to proceed next."
So, there you go. I don't think we have the means to setup a conference call (or do we?) and if that would be the best way. My first idea was to have each one of us prepare a list of questions, we then would go through the list and try to make sure the same questions isn't made more than once, and I would then submit the list (more like an interview) to him. What do you think?
This is our chance to know everything we always wanted to know about Timex, a chance to find an answer to all those unanswered questions, and to listen to the memories and experiences of this gentleman.
Let's think about this for a second and see what would be best for him and for us. I'm really happy about this and I hope we'll do it the right way. I could've exchanged e-mails with him and be done with it, but that would've been selfish. That's why I come to you today and ask for your input.
Thanks.
11. Re: Timex wants to talk to us
Glen Goodwin · Fri, 24 Apr 2009 12:17
Okay, this conversation finally brought me out of the
woodwork again . . .
[Jack, sorry for the absence -- I'll be in touch with you soon.]
I discussed many of these issues with George Grimm ten years
ago, so I thought I'd share a couple of bits of correspondence
here.
> We can ask him, if its possible, to get a copy to us all of
> the contents of the ULA
A quote from Mr. Grimm:
There are only two of us left here now .... me and him.
We shared a laugh over the Argentina dumping ground
story. Also the "Rom purchase request" from one of your
"users-group" people. Not to be disrespectful but .... you
would have to be here.
The joke was that if we couldn't find it if we tried.
We had two Z-80 development machines that i am sure
held the rom-source. We threw them out shortly after the
rom-writers(4) were "dismissed".
[end quote]
> Can the ROM be made freely distributable?
Here's another quote from Mr. Grimm:
If it popped up at boot-up saying anything like Timex or
Sinclair espically [sic] at the bottom of the screen .....
well I think they could go after you.
Other than that unless I saw someone making $ off of my old
software and it became a cult classic worth big bucks ... hey i
might go get them too.
FAT CHANCE.
[end quote]
Glen
0/0
Oscar Arthur Koepke wrote:
> We can ask him, if its possible, to get a copy to us all of the contents of the ULA from both TS2068 and TS2048(if not the same)...or even the ULA from ZXSpectrum itself(if he has that possibility)...That will be great!!
> All over the internet we have people(serious) searching for these exact contents ...(PAL[portugal,Polish] and NTSC[USA] versions if possible).
>
> Thanks.
>
> OSCAR
>
> --- On Fri, 4/24/09, zxbruno <[email]> wrote:
>
> From: zxbruno <[email]>
> Subject: [ts2068] Re: Timex wants to talk to us
> To: [email]
> Date: Friday, April 24, 2009, 3:34 AM
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> I hope that many TS users will visit the group or receive this message by e-mail, so that we can take advantage of this opportunity.
>
>
>
> So, for now we have two ideas:
>
>
>
> 1-List of questions for Mr Lou (Current Vice President of Timex Group), which would be submitted to him by e-mail. I would then share the complete interview with everyone. I'm pretty sure Mr Lou is a busy gentleman and I don't think we'll be able to contact him all the time with more and more questions. We should use this opportunity wisely because we might not have another one.
>
>
>
> 2-Voice conference using Skype. I'm not familiar with this. Does it work well? Is there a maximum of people? Doesn't it get confusing? Does it lag? If it's done this way, would everyone be responsible to let Mr Lou speak and each one take a turn to ask questions?
>
>
>
> I thought of asking Mr Lou if he could provide an interview for a small group of people who would like to visit him in person, but I'm not sure if this would be a good thing to ask. I'm assuming he's in Middlebury, CT. If this was possible and such interview was granted I know I wouldn't be able to go. But to know that someone could go, sit down and talk, hear stories, take some pictures and ask some questions... that would be enough to make me happy.
>
>
>
> It's been almost two days since he contacted me. I sent him another e-mail saying that the group is excited about this and I'm waiting for input from my fellow TS users. I told him I will be contacting him again in a few days.
>
>
>
> Waiting for your suggestions.
>
>
>
> Thanks.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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>
>
12. Re: [ts2068] Timex wants to talk to us
Peter Hoffman · Fri, 24 Apr 2009 12:19
It might be helpful to ask if he knows of any resources to help keep the
Timex-Sinclair line of machines going that are not already known to the
group. For example, does he know how to contact any of the engineers
involved or does he know of any obscure technical data that might be
available somewhere such as diaries or development logs?
I would really like a book along the lines of "Soul of a New Machine" that
describes the global history of the entire Sinclair family of systems so any
questions along those lines would be good as well.
If there's a conference call it seems like it would be a good idea, with his
permission of course, to record it for posterity. Such a recording should
be posted to the web.
Maybe one of the things that could be done would be to update him on what
the community has been doing to keep things going and how much we love the
machines they produced.
Of course, the best thing would be if he knows where there's a huge
warehouse full of unopened original equipment! :-)
-- Peter.
On Fri, Apr 24, 2009 at 10:50 AM, Jack Boatwright <[email]>wrote:
>
>
> Some things I'd be interested in are:
>
> - The number of each unit produced, i.e., how many TS1510 units,
> cartridges, etc., were produced.
> - A full list of software that was released and another of what was
> planned for each computer.
> - The BEU - was it really going to access 16MB RAM?
> - information about the TS3068 that was in development.
>
> I doubt if he would have information regarding the items from TMX
> Portugal, I believe there was independent development going on. I suppose
> it wouldn't hurt to ask, though.
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* zxbruno <[email]>
> *To:* [email]
> *Sent:* Wednesday, April 22, 2009 3:26 AM
> *Subject:* [ts2068] Timex wants to talk to us
>
> I usually find people from the old days and know what do to (some of them
> will soon visit us), but this time I think it's too important to keep it to
> myself. I'm going to share part of an e-mail I received yesterday from
> someone who still works at Timex and has given us an opportunity of a
> lifetime. Please read, share your opinion on how we should do this, and
> please, do not try to contact this gentleman until we can figure something
> out. I don't want him to be overwhelmed or change his mind.
>
> "Bruno,
>
> (...)
>
> I'm the Senior Vice President – Technology of the Timex Group. Your e-mail
> about Timex-Sinclair computers was forwarded to me
>
> (...)
>
> I joined Timex in 1982 from the Burroughs Corporation to become the
> Director of Engineering for The Timex Computer Corporation. I was intimately
> involved with the design and development of all of the Timex-Sinclair
> computers except the original black-and-white version. I led the team of
> Timex hardware and software engineers and participated in detailed design
> meetings in Cambridge England with Clive and his small team.
>
> I will be happy to discuss those days with you and your fellow collectors
> at your convenience. Perhaps we can set up a conference call to involve as
> many people as are interested.
>
> Let me know how you would like to proceed next."
>
> So, there you go. I don't think we have the means to setup a conference
> call (or do we?) and if that would be the best way. My first idea was to
> have each one of us prepare a list of questions, we then would go through
> the list and try to make sure the same questions isn't made more than once,
> and I would then submit the list (more like an interview) to him. What do
> you think?
>
> This is our chance to know everything we always wanted to know about Timex,
> a chance to find an answer to all those unanswered questions, and to listen
> to the memories and experiences of this gentleman.
>
> Let's think about this for a second and see what would be best for him and
> for us. I'm really happy about this and I hope we'll do it the right way. I
> could've exchanged e-mails with him and be done with it, but that would've
> been selfish. That's why I come to you today and ask for your input.
>
> Thanks.
>
>
>
13. Re: [ts2068] Timex wants to talk to us
Timex · Fri, 24 Apr 2009 17:54
On Apr 24, 2009, at 3:50 PM, Jack Boatwright wrote:
> I doubt if he would have information regarding the items from TMX
> Portugal, I believe there was independent development going on. I
> suppose it wouldn't hurt to ask, though.
Some projects of Timex of Portugal had the help of Timex Computer
Corp. The FDD/FDD3000 hardware and software was one of them.
There was some cooperation as Timex of Portugal didn't acquired all
info from it's own.
Timex Computer Corp might not know all details about some projects
like TS1500 because it was a development of Timex of Portugal to
solve the TS1000 problems (keyboard/RAM/ULA).
Another question I would like to propose complementing the one about
SCLD, is the TS1500 ULA. Was it developed based on TS2068 SCLD?
Encarnado, Portugal
14. Re: [ts2068] Re: Timex wants to talk to us
Philip Kendall · Fri, 24 Apr 2009 18:53
On Fri, Apr 24, 2009 at 12:17:47PM -0400, Glen Goodwin wrote:
>
> > Can the ROM be made freely distributable?
>
> Here's another quote from Mr. Grimm:
>
> If it popped up at boot-up saying anything like Timex or
> Sinclair espically [sic] at the bottom of the screen .....
> well I think they could go after you.
It is worth noting here that one of the very few conditions Amstrad have
placed on the reuse of the original ROMs is that the copyright message
must remain. You can distribute them (for no charge), you can modify them,
but don't change the copyright message (or embed them in hardware).
Cheers,
Phil
--
Philip Kendall <[email]>
http://www.shadowmagic.org.uk/
15. Re: Timex wants to talk to us
Glen Goodwin · Fri, 24 Apr 2009 15:15
Johnny --
My understanding from George Grimm is that the TS1500 was
developed in the USA because TCC was late getting the TS2068
to market. Sales of the TS1000 had dropped, and the hope was
that the TS1500 would bring in some cash until the release of
the TS2068.
> Another question I would like to propose complementing the one about
> SCLD, is the TS1500 ULA. Was it developed based on TS2068 SCLD?
No. The TS1500 was released before the TS2068.
Glen
0/0
Johnny Red (Timex) wrote:
> On Apr 24, 2009, at 3:50 PM, Jack Boatwright wrote:
>
>> I doubt if he would have information regarding the items from TMX
>> Portugal, I believe there was independent development going on. I
>> suppose it wouldn't hurt to ask, though.
>
> Some projects of Timex of Portugal had the help of Timex Computer
> Corp. The FDD/FDD3000 hardware and software was one of them.
> There was some cooperation as Timex of Portugal didn't acquired all
> info from it's own.
> Timex Computer Corp might not know all details about some projects
> like TS1500 because it was a development of Timex of Portugal to
> solve the TS1000 problems (keyboard/RAM/ULA).
>
> Another question I would like to propose complementing the one about
> SCLD, is the TS1500 ULA. Was it developed based on TS2068 SCLD?
>
> Encarnado, Portugal
>
16. Re: Timex wants to talk to us
Glen Goodwin · Fri, 24 Apr 2009 15:24
Philip --
Please re-read my original post -- I believe that the
"FAT CHANCE" at the end of the quote applies here as well.
Glen
0/0
Philip Kendall wrote:
> On Fri, Apr 24, 2009 at 12:17:47PM -0400, Glen Goodwin wrote:
>> > Can the ROM be made freely distributable?
>>
>> Here's another quote from Mr. Grimm:
>>
>> If it popped up at boot-up saying anything like Timex or
>> Sinclair espically [sic] at the bottom of the screen .....
>> well I think they could go after you.
>
> It is worth noting here that one of the very few conditions Amstrad have
> placed on the reuse of the original ROMs is that the copyright message
> must remain. You can distribute them (for no charge), you can modify them,
> but don't change the copyright message (or embed them in hardware).
>
> Cheers,
>
> Phil
>
17. Re: [ts2068] Re: Timex wants to talk to us
Timex · Fri, 24 Apr 2009 21:47
People from TMX Portugal told some years ago on an interview that
TS1500 was developed in Portugal.
The Portuguese Team designed it to solve the TS1000 problems. They
said they used ZX81 hardware, 16K RAM and a rubber keyboard like ZX
Spectrum. Maybe it was a prototype and not the TS1500 we know.
But I don't know TCC side, so it may be a project done on one side
and finished on the other side.
It would be interesting to know if TS1500 ULA have some secrets not
documented...
Johnny Red
On Apr 24, 2009, at 8:15 PM, Glen Goodwin wrote:
> Johnny --
>
> My understanding from George Grimm is that the TS1500 was
> developed in the USA because TCC was late getting the TS2068
> to market. Sales of the TS1000 had dropped, and the hope was
> that the TS1500 would bring in some cash until the release of
> the TS2068.
>
>> Another question I would like to propose complementing the one about
>> SCLD, is the TS1500 ULA. Was it developed based on TS2068 SCLD?
>
> No. The TS1500 was released before the TS2068.
>
> Glen
> 0/0
>
> Johnny Red (Timex) wrote:
>> On Apr 24, 2009, at 3:50 PM, Jack Boatwright wrote:
>>
>>> I doubt if he would have information regarding the items from TMX
>>> Portugal, I believe there was independent development going on. I
>>> suppose it wouldn't hurt to ask, though.
>>
>> Some projects of Timex of Portugal had the help of Timex Computer
>> Corp. The FDD/FDD3000 hardware and software was one of them.
>> There was some cooperation as Timex of Portugal didn't acquired all
>> info from it's own.
>> Timex Computer Corp might not know all details about some projects
>> like TS1500 because it was a development of Timex of Portugal to
>> solve the TS1000 problems (keyboard/RAM/ULA).
>>
>> Another question I would like to propose complementing the one about
>> SCLD, is the TS1500 ULA. Was it developed based on TS2068 SCLD?
>>
>> Encarnado, Portugal
>>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
18. Re: Timex wants to talk to us
frenchcanadianflyfishing · Fri, 24 Apr 2009 20:00
One thing I'd like to tell him is "Thank you!", as I truly enjoyed my TS2068 in those days. I remember receiving it and creating instant desire in the heart of my buddies, eheheh! (The color and the resolution and the ease and speed of use/programming). Just a quick note as I have to go back to my crappy PC and XP...
19. Re: [ts2068] Re: Timex wants to talk to us
Philip Kendall · Sat, 25 Apr 2009 08:57
On Fri, Apr 24, 2009 at 03:24:10PM -0400, Glen Goodwin wrote:
>
> Please re-read my original post -- I believe that the
> "FAT CHANCE" at the end of the quote applies here as well.
Hopefully the passage of ten years will have changed things a bit. The
ROMs are being distributed day in, day out. No-one's making any money
off them, no-one's going to. Amstrad allow distribution of their IP.
Why shouldn't Timex do the same?
Cheers,
Phil
--
Philip Kendall <[email]>
http://www.shadowmagic.org.uk/
20. RE: [ts2068] Re: Timex wants to talk to us
Bill Loguidice · Sat, 25 Apr 2009 11:19
Well, just to play devil's advocate, why should Timex care about giving
permission? I'm sure they may unofficially look the other way, but there's
far more hassle in giving an official blessing, particularly for something
from such a relatively short and disastrous period of the company.
====================================================
Bill Loguidice, Managing Director
Armchair Arcade, Inc.
<http://www.armchairarcade.com/> http://www.armchairarcade.com
A PC Magazine Top 100 Website
====================================================
Authored Books: <http://www.armchairarcade.com/books>
http://www.armchairarcade.com/books
====================================================
LinkedIn: <http://www.linkedin.com/in/billloguidice>
http://www.linkedin.com/in/billloguidice
====================================================
From: [email] [mailto:[email]] On Behalf Of
Philip Kendall
Sent: Saturday, April 25, 2009 3:58 AM
To: [email]
Subject: Re: [ts2068] Re: Timex wants to talk to us
On Fri, Apr 24, 2009 at 03:24:10PM -0400, Glen Goodwin wrote:
>
> Please re-read my original post -- I believe that the
> "FAT CHANCE" at the end of the quote applies here as well.
Hopefully the passage of ten years will have changed things a bit. The
ROMs are being distributed day in, day out. No-one's making any money
off them, no-one's going to. Amstrad allow distribution of their IP.
Why shouldn't Timex do the same?
Cheers,
Phil
--
Philip Kendall <[email]
<mailto:philip%40shadowmagic.org.uk> >
http://www.shadowmagic.org.uk/
21. Re: Timex wants to talk to us
cheveron · Sat, 25 Apr 2009 11:52
--- In [email], Philip Kendall <philip-ts2068@...> wrote:
>
> On Fri, Apr 24, 2009 at 03:24:10PM -0400, Glen Goodwin wrote:
> >
> > Please re-read my original post -- I believe that the
> > "FAT CHANCE" at the end of the quote applies here as well.
>
> Hopefully the passage of ten years will have changed things a bit. The
> ROMs are being distributed day in, day out. No-one's making any money
> off them, no-one's going to. Amstrad allow distribution of their IP.
> Why shouldn't Timex do the same?
I've been in touch with TImex about this in the past and their message to me at the time was "we don't know if we own any copyright in the ROMs but if we do we're happy for it to be distributed". I never delete any emails so I have it archived somewhere but I'd have to search through 10 years of archived emails to find it.
I'm more interested in how the Timex ROMs were created as there's a lot of interesting unfinished code in there, including stuff that I believe is tapped into by some of the software I'll be uploading to the WoS Timex archive that does some interesting windowing stuff. For instance, there's support for shifting the BASIC area around when using the hi-res and hi-colour modes, even though I don't think anything actually used it.
22. Re: Timex wants to talk to us
cheveron · Sat, 25 Apr 2009 18:10
Why do I feel like I'm talking to myself? Alright! Next time I'm in Wales I'll go and dig out the email. But just for those who missed it the first time:
TIMEX ALREADY GAVE PERMISSION.
23. Re: Timex wants to talk to us
zxbruno · Sat, 25 Apr 2009 20:16
Hmmm, lots of mixed responses. I'll post an e-mail sent to me my Rod H. later today.
We want to make sure we do this the right way. The gentleman was very kind to offer his time. Whatever we do must be done the right way. We might not have another chance.
24. Re: Timex wants to talk to us
zxbruno · Sun, 26 Apr 2009 14:46
--- In [email], "zxbruno" <zxspectrum128@...> wrote:
>
> Hmmm, lots of mixed responses. I'll post an e-mail sent to me my Rod H. later today.
>
> We want to make sure we do this the right way. The gentleman was very kind to offer his time. Whatever we do must be done the right way. We might not have another chance.
>
An e-mail I received from Rod Humphreys (A TS2068 group member like us):
"Bruno,
I've been following, with great interest, the postings. A Skype, or by any other means, group call would, I think, prove to be unstructured and unwieldy. Skype also has the annoying habit of connections failing unexpectedly. The best approach is the question and answer interview with everyone contributing questions beforehand. I'm not terribly technical in my knowledge of these machines so wouldn't be able to ask pertinent questions along that line. The other postings have suggested technical questions but have been a bit wide ranging and unfocused. This man could prove to be a wonderful fount of information about the technical development and information that has not been available to the TS user community before now. Timex has always been very closed-mouth about the technical aspects and development history of their machines. We don't know how much time this man is willing to give us or how often so I think the question list will have to be carefully considered and structured so as to gain a full feel for not only the technical content of the machines themselves but also the history of the development and the various decisions that affected the rise and fall of Timex computers. Group members have suggested questions about game carts! Those type of questions would be silly when he has so much more information to pass to us. This is a big picture opportunity and his time should not be wasted with "little picture" questions. Those type of things can be addressed down the road if there are additional opportunities. The best, and easiest, method could perhaps be an actual one-on-one Q&A recorded interview and the resulting record (mp3 or some such) could be attached to a posting to the group.
Of course, the very best would be to have a Users Convention as in the old days and invite this man to give a presentation. I went to three conventions: Indianapolis, Washington,DC and Portland, OR. All lots of fun and lots of wonderful and interesting speakers. Those were the days, my friend."
25. Re: Timex wants to talk to us
Glen Goodwin · Mon, 27 Apr 2009 10:31
Just to clarify:
What Mr. Grimm was saying was: FAT CHANCE that he, TCC, or anyone
else would hassle anyone about using or distributing any code.
It's been nearly 30 years and Timex has other things to do then
spend money on (what they perceive to be) an old, failed division.
Glen
0/0
Philip Kendall wrote:
> On Fri, Apr 24, 2009 at 03:24:10PM -0400, Glen Goodwin wrote:
>> Please re-read my original post -- I believe that the
>> "FAT CHANCE" at the end of the quote applies here as well.
>
> Hopefully the passage of ten years will have changed things a bit. The
> ROMs are being distributed day in, day out. No-one's making any money
> off them, no-one's going to. Amstrad allow distribution of their IP.
> Why shouldn't Timex do the same?
>
> Cheers,
>
> Phil
>
26. Re: Timex wants to talk to us
cheveron · Mon, 27 Apr 2009 21:29
--- In [email], Glen Goodwin <acme_ent@...> wrote:
>
> Just to clarify:
You know what they say about two nations divided by a common language. :)
27. Re: [ts2068] Re: Timex wants to talk to us
Peter Hoffman · Mon, 27 Apr 2009 22:58
There is a free (except for the LD charges) teleconference system advertised
at http://www.freeteleconference.com/. If a person has a cellphone or land
line with unlimited LD then there's no additional cost.
The number to use is 712-580-7706 and the passcode is whatever you like.
The web site will give you one but the reality is that the first person to
dial in creates the conference call by entering a passcode (6 to 8 digits
then the # key) and then anyone who uses the same passcode gets connected to
that call.
I've used it many times over the past several years. I don't recommend
using 314159 as an access code as I used to use it and one day I called in
at the same time as someone else who was also using it!
-- Peter.
On Mon, Apr 27, 2009 at 9:59 PM, zxbruno <[email]> wrote:
>
>
> If no one has anything else to add I'm going to assume that a small
> interview is the way to go. I'll come up with something and post it here
> before sending him an e-mail.
>
> I know there are ways to have nice conference calls over the phone using a
> toll-free number, but someone would have to pay for it. That's why I didn't
> suggest that option.
>
> Anyway, if someone else would like to add something, please do it a.s.a.p.
> You know what they say.. Opportunities come and go. I don't want to miss
> this one.
>
>
>
28. Re: Timex wants to talk to us
zxbruno · Tue, 28 Apr 2009 01:59
If no one has anything else to add I'm going to assume that a small interview is the way to go. I'll come up with something and post it here before sending him an e-mail.
I know there are ways to have nice conference calls over the phone using a toll-free number, but someone would have to pay for it. That's why I didn't suggest that option.
Anyway, if someone else would like to add something, please do it a.s.a.p. You know what they say.. Opportunities come and go. I don't want to miss this one.