JAN
1986: The Southwest 99ers Newsletter
- Early 99/4A hardware products pioneer
Foundation
Computing, of Tiburon, CA leaves the TI-99/4A market. Company owners
Bill
and Kathy Hunter place partial blame for the decision on John Koloen of
MICROpendium, for a poor review of their CP/M system that resulted in a
severe drop in sales.
- Information
is published in the Net99ers Newsletter of Northeast Tarrant County,
Texas that Unisource Electronics in Lubbock,
Texas is going out of business.
-
Robert
Jones of the Dallas, TX TI Home Computer Users Group releases an all
assembly
language coded version of the Axel F music program originally released
by college student Robert J. Gagle in 1985, doing business as
Spectrographic Software.
(NET99ers TIBBS message base 01/16/1986)
-
Little
known GG Software of Plainfield, NJ releases a catalog listing programs
on cassette tape for the
TI-99/4A including Backgammon, Blackjack, Checkers, Chess, Keyboard,
Logic,
Patterns and Poker. The company also provides anti-static accessories
and
shielding materials.
-
Michael
Swiridenko releases SARGON I, a TI-99/4A assembly language adaptation
of the
original computer Chess game SARGON by Dan and Kate Spracklen, written
for the
Jupiter III computer.
-
Pilgrim's
Pride of Hatboro, PA moves to a new store in Hatboro, and begins
offering
TI-99/4A customers a toll-free order line.
- The DM1000 controversy heats up as TexComp's Jerry Price
writes a blazing
response on January 27th to accusations made by Ron Albright (about
TexComp)
at the January 5th Houston Users Group meeting.
- Mechatronics GmbH, announces plans to produce an 80 column
display
card for the TI-99/4A.
- MICROpendium announces intentions of starting a TI BASIC
column as
a regular monthly feature.
- Myarc Inc. is openly criticized in a letter to MICROpendium
for the
many failings it has in reference to the NEW computer, its departure
from
TI standards and for its poor customer support.
- In a somewhat perverse sense of timing, Myarc announces a
third delay
in the shipping of XB II for its 128K card, again despite
previous
announcements that the product was being delivered.
- CorComp's Jackirae Sagouspe warns CorComp customers that
Cleland Controls
of Irvine, CA is not an authorized repair center for CorComp products.
- T and T Software of Salem, Virginia releases Space
Station Pheta
v2.0.
- Datax becomes an authorized dealer for Graphx, and
the Super
Extended BASIC programmers utility written by Jim Hollender of
J&
KH Software.
- Controversy between Jerry Price of TexComp and
Craig Miller of Millers
Graphics surfaces on the pages of MICROpendium over use of the name "The
Explorer" for different products that each company sells. It is
only the beginning of a months-long "war" between the two firms
that will ultimately end with no winner.
As one user group editor writes, “It
seems that a small war is going on between TEX-COMP
and a number of other individuals. First,
the Canadian Users Group that distributes DM-1000
was upset that
TEX-COMP was giving away a copy of their fairware program with each
copy of a
program that TEX-COMP was marketing called EXPLORER. (Guess who else
has a
program out called EXPLORER?) The Canadian group felt that someone who
already
spent $20.00 to get a program (Explorer) would be less likely to send
in the
$10.00 that the Canadian group was asking 'for DM-1000. The Canadian
group
wrote a letter to TEX-COMP (and sent copies to some users groups)
asking
TEX-COMP to discontinue the distribution of DM-1000. TEX-COMP stated
that the
author placed DM-1000 into public domain and therefore no copyright or
other
proprietary right can legally be made nor can the program be reclaimed
from
public domain at a later date. However I haven't seen in the TEX-COMP
ads
lately the offer,of DM-1000. Also, Dr. Albright (author of the Orphan
Chronicles) has accused TEX-COMP of stealing the name EXPLORER from
Craig
Miller to use on a product of their own. TEX-COMP replyed that in Dec.
1984
they have cancelled checks showing payment to the author of their
"explorer" and that that TEX-COMP notified Craig Miller before
introduction
of his "Explorer" that he should change the name. (Confused yet?)
TEX-COMP shot back at Dr. Albright, saying that if he was so concerned
about
the TI community then why didn't he distribute the
book that he wrote (originally on disk) as fairware. And
today
when I logged on Compuserve there was a REBUTTAL to the EXPLORER issue
by Craig
Miller. In the open letter, Craig Miller states that in June 1985 both
he
(Craig Miller) and Jerry Price of TEX-COMP attended the same users
group
meeting in L.A. where Craig demoed his soon to be released
"EXPLORER". At the end of the meeting Price told Miller that EXPLORER
was the best piece of software he'd ever seen for the 4A but never said
a word
about any trademark infringement. After Craig Miller released his
"EXPLORER" he received a letter from Price stating that Miller change
the name of his EXPLORER. Miller states that enclosed in the letter he
received
from Price was an Application for TRADEMARK and not a completed and
accepted
trademark registration but just an application. Miller also states that
a
customer of theirs has a copy of "DISK EDITOR" that was purchased in
January 1985 and it was called DISK EDITOR (not EXPLORER) as Price
states.
Miller also states that Price sent a copy of the (TEX-COMP EXPOLRER)
along with
the letter he sent. In the manual all the references are to DISK EDITOR
and not
EXPLORER. (Example: insert the DISK EDITOR in drive
1 and the DISK EDITOR may be invoked by selecting
Extended Basic
and typing DSK1.EDITOR (NOT DSK1.EXPLORER))". Craig Miller goes on to
state several more examples like the ones I just listed. I will have
the copies
of the letters from each party at the meeting if anyone cares to read them. Normally, I would not put
anything negative in the newsletter but lately I have been seeing and
reading
so much about it, that I felt I should
present all sides and lot each parson
draw his/her own conclusions. I hope all of this will be worked out
soon.”
- Quality 99 Software announces the release of QS-Ramdisk
for
the Foundation 128K card and Banner Maker, Softkeys, Screen
Dump II and Disk Manager IV.
- Ryte Data of Haliburton, Canada releases a GPL Assembler
for
the TI-99/4A, authored by Monty Schmidt.
- CompuServe announces the creation of the TI NEWS section in
the TI
Forum. It is the creation of Sysop Jim Horn and assistant Sysop, 16
year
old Jonathan Zittrain of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
- COMMODORE -- Nigel Shepherd takes over as General
Manager of
Commodore North America.
- MISC -- 1985 InfoWorld Product of the Year Awards
go
to:
- for software -- Javelin Corp.'s eponymously titled
Javelin, which,
if you don't remember, was a spreadsheet. Some people called Javelin
the
next-generation spreadsheet and argued that it was what Lotus 1-2-3
should
become. We said Javelin stood to change the way people looked at and
worked
with numbers. "It can do things that spreadsheets, even the best
designed
spreadsheets, cannot," we wrote, adding that Javelin was a mark of
innovation from "remarkably young people and from a new company --
the stuff from which this industry has always drawn its
strength."
Unfortunately, none of that was enough to keep the young company afloat
for long in the face of strong competition from the likes of Lotus
Development
Corp. and (soon enough) Microsoft Corp. Possibly due to poor marketing,
or young management, Javelin faded from the forefront and its assets
were
acquired several years ago.
- For hardware -- Apple Computer Inc.'s LaserWriter. It
heralded "an
exciting new type of personal computing" -- desktop publishing. For
Value -- Atari 520 ST, for providing "the power of a 68000
microprocessor,
the ease of an icon-based graphic user interface, and the ability to do
serious work," all for less than $1,000. In software, we presented
it to Dac Software Inc.'s Dac Easy Accounting, which provided
"professional-level
bookkeeping for well below $100." (Peggy
Wallace, InfoWorld, January 29, 1996 Vol. 18, Issue 5)
FEB 1986: The
Southwest 99ers Newsletter
- The
beginning of the end of COMPUTE! support for the TI-99/4A seems
apparent
as the normal monthly article by REGENA and one other TI-99/4A entry
are
all the coverage that appears.
- Tony McGovern and his son Will release Funlwriter v3.1
on
February 22nd.
- Three members of the Front Range 99ers User Group in
Colorado Springs,
Colorado develop an interface card named "Speech-In-The-Box"
that will allow the speech synthesizer chip to be placed on a card that
can then be installed inside the Peripheral Expansion Box. The card is
supposed to be available in the first quarter 1986, at a price around
thirty
dollars. RMJ Home Computer Sales (Joe Nuvolini owner) is scheduled to
market
the product but it never appears. Although only supposition, the idea
may
have been sold to CorComp to become their Triple Tech Card.
- Lee Wilkerson is named as the BASIC/Extended BASIC
columnist for MICROpendium.
- Unisource Electronics (Craig Reitan) of Lubbock, TX
places its
last ad in MICROpendium (or any other major publication) before going
out
of business.
- Teacher's Aide is released by JSTI Software North
Attleboro,
Massachusetts.
- Asgard Software releases Artist Companion, Recipe Writer
and Quick
Dialer.
- The Horizon RAMdisk, developed by Ron Gries, John
Clulow and
David Romer makes its official debut after having been beta tested at
several
User Groups across the country.
- The first 99/4 or 4A programming proofreader ever published
in a commercial
magazine appears on page 28 of the February 1986 MICROpendium.
- Jim Hollendar announces AAAA Laser Services,
offering Apple
LaserWriter printing of TI-Writer files.
- Myarc Inc. puts its name on a little known (and ultimately
largely
ignored) 300/1200 baud modem.
- An ill-fated User Group Network is born with a letter of
annoucement
sent to all known 99/4A User Groups. Spear-headed by Terrie Masters of
the LA 99ers, along with six other loyal 99ers across the country, the
effort never comes to anything due to lack of sufficient response from
the over 500 User Groups in the U.S. and abroad.
- Donald Thomson, former partner in M&T Utilityware, now
doing business
as Thomson Software, releases version 3.0 of his flagship product Disk+Aid,
a sector editing and exploring utility.
- Asgard Software releases Tunnels of Doom Editor v2.0,
authored
by Chicago Police Officer John Behnke.
- Jerome Trinkl releases SORGAN II through the
Freeware distribution
network. The same program would be "put in a can" and released
as a commercially available cartridge by DaTaBioTics during the 3rd
Quarter
of 1988.
- Myarc begins shipping XBII when Triton Products gets
the first
batch on February 2nd.
- Datax issues a news release stating they are considering
the development
of a new programming language for the 99/4A. It never comes to anything
however, and Datax eventually disappears from the TI-99/4A market after
moving from New York to Florida.
- DaTaBioTics begins selling the Super Space
cartridge that was
announced in late December 1985.
- Paul Coleman's Nameloc software company makes its first
appearance
in MICROpendium with an ad for Time Travel.
- SIM:WIN Computer software appears with an ad in
MICROpendium for Treasure
Dive and other XB games.
MAR 1986:
The Southwest 99ers
Newsletter
- Thomson
Software, a Michigan based supporter and vendor of 99/4A software,
announces
the impending closure of his business on April 15th. Thomson accepts a
new job that will reportedly conflict with his TI business.
- The first annual FEST-WEST takes place at the Shrine
Auditorium in
downtown Los Angeles on March 1-2. It is sponsored by the LA 99ers.
- T.I.C.O.F.F, the TI Computer Owners Fun Fest, takes place
in Roselle
Park, New Jersey on March 15th.
- Mark Beck of Jacksonville, Arkansas releases the Creative
Filing
System data base.
- Thomas Spillane, doing business as DIJIT Systems in San
Diego, California,
releases an RGB conversion kit for the TI-99/4A.
- Art Gibson and Bill Crowell of Utilitee Software release Von
Graph
99.
- CorComp releases the X-10 Home Sentry System.
- Randy Holcomb leaves his post as TI-99 columnist for
Computer Shopper,
having elected to move on to the Atari 520ST computer. Orphan
Chronicles
author Ron Albright takes over as the TI-99 columnist.
- On March 19 Richard Mitchell purchases the rights to The
Smart Programmer
and merges his Super 99 Monthly publication under the new name.
Mitchell
announces the merger in the March 86 issue of Super 99 Monthly, which
appears
in June 86.
- Millers Graphics announces a new card for the PE box that
interfaces
with IBM keyboards. It is never produced.
- Myarc demonstrates XB II at Fest-West in Los
Angeles.
- John Keown releases the poorly received Program Manager.
It
is designed to allow any TI module to be downloaded to disk and then
run
from that disk. A separate menu program is also designed for the module
to run assembly programs much like the Super Space cartridge. Keown's
creation
is to be marketed by Pilgrim's Pride of Hatboro, Pennsylvania.
- Texas Instruments officially closes all Exchange Centers on
March 18th.
Effective March 19th, all warranty claims, repairs and exchanges will
be
conducted through TI's Lubbock, TX facility. The final nail is driven
in
to the TI-99/4A coffin.
- Chicago Users Group becomes the first Users Group to
advertise nationally
for outside members.
- Home Computer Magazine subscribers and supporters receive
notification
by mail that HCM has gone out of business, and that the balance of
their
subscription is considered "filled" by the one issue of Home
Computer Journal that is sent with the notice of HCM's demise. The
notice,
signed by HCJ Subscription Director Robert T. Karau, informs
subscribers
that Home Computer Magazine ceased publication with the Volume 5,
Number
6 issue.
- Gadego Software of Lubbock, Texas releases the TINet BBS.
The
program is authored by 14 year old Erik Olson of the Lubbock Users
Group,
and it wins notoriety as that group's first BBS.
- Navarone Industries offers a complete cartridge programming
system
to the general public for $249.
- Following an unresolved dispute with DaTaBioTics, Vaughn
Software chooses
TexComp to be the authorized dealer for their BITMAC drawing
program.
- Quality 99 Software releases the Data Base 99 Sampler,
a full
featured version of their DATA BASE 99 program, except limited to five
records.
- GEnie, the General Electric on-line information service,
becomes the
first major TI-SIG to offer free on-line time for uploading.
- After a brief stint in Dallas, Texas, Navarone Industries
moves back
to California.
- Sunn Publishing of Lubbock, Texas releases Golf Profile.
- The Villa-TI BBS starts up in Colorado Springs,
Colorado with
Joe Nuvolini as Sysop.
- The Datax TI 1-2-3 program receives a devastatingly
critical
review in the Lima 99ers Bits, Bytes & Pixels newsletter.
- Glen Groves, dba Software Specialties, moves from
Evergreen, CO to
Ocala, FL.
- E.M. Smith of Knoxville, Tennessee offers "I'm a 99/4A
booster.
I love my TI-99/4A. We eat Apples for lunch" sticker for $1.50
each, or three for $4.00.
- The San Fernando Valley 99ers User Group is born when they
are apparently
"cast out" of the parent LA 99ers User Group. First president
of the new SFV 99ers is Ken Gilliland.
- Franz Wagenbach of Technical Applications Product
Engineering (T.A.P.E)
shows off Mechatronics' 80-Column card, XBII+ cartridge,
512K card, 128K Gram Karte and the Mechatronics
Mouse
at the Southern California Computer Group (SCCG) meeting in San Diego.
- COMMODORE -- Thomas J. Rattigan replaces Marshall F.
Smith as
Commodore's CEO.
APR 1986:
The Southwest 99ers
Newsletter
- Unisource
Electronics, Lubbock, Texas, a major 99/4A supplier since March 1983
goes
out of business on April 14th.
- The Houston Users Group (HUG) publishes a 3-page letter
from TexComp's
Jerry Price listing the compay's responses to accusations made against
his company by Dr. Ron Albright at athe January 5, 1986 HUG meeting. (HUG
Newsletter, Apr 1986, pages 2-6)
- Ralph Fowler releases TIBBS v5.0, which includes
XMODEM file
transfer capabilities as well as the existing support for Terminal
Emulator
II file transfers.
- Mike Dodd releases Disk Manager 99 into the
Freeware distribution
network.
- Funlwriter v3.2 is released in the United States.
- CorComp Inc. announces a 256/512K "Memory Plus" Ram Disk
for the Peripheral Expansion Box, along with a commitment to develop a
word processor, data base and spreadsheet capable of taking advantage
of
the new Ram Disk's capacity.
- Myarc Inc. abandons the casing for the new upgrade computer
and decides
upon a computer on a card. The idea is met with mixed reviews since it
will require the 99/4A's Peripheral Expansion Box to use it, yet will
still
cost $495. The new computer makes its debut at the Boston TI Fayuh.
- Andy Desoff of FairSoft in Fairfield, Connecticut releases BasicSort.
- Old Dark Caves v2.0 is released by Donn R. Granros.
- Arcade Hardware of Manchester, England releases Computer
War, River Rescue and Submarine Commander games on
disk that British
entertainment giant Thorn EMI announced they would release as modules
back
in 1983. Tenex Computer Express in South Bend, Indiana becomes the
initial
distributor.
- Tenex Computer Express begins selling IBM compatibles in
its TI-99/4A
products catalog.
- PILOT 99 author Thomas Weithofer dies at age
22, suffering
from Cystic Fibrosis.
- Boyd Cone, of AmeriSoft, a Georgia based supplier of TI
products from
the early days of the Home computer, announces that his company is
leaving
the TI-99/4A market.
- Texaments releases Artist Companion #2.
- Quality 99 Software releases EZ-Loader II and Chartmaker
II.
- Jerry Kielser is named as the contact person for the newly
formed Paris,
Texas TI Users Group.
- c99 release 2 is announced by Clint Pulley.
- Mechatronics GmbH officially releases their 128/512K
GRAM KARTE
in the United States.
MAY 1986: The
Southwest 99ers Newsletter
- In
the United Kingdom, TI*MES magazine sponsors a national show
in
Leeds. Along with the many UK users that participate, attendance
includes
a 99er from as far away as Ottawa, Canada and another 99er from across
the channel in Holland.
-
Ed
Butcher, writing in the May
1986 Vol 2, Number 11 issue of the TI Riverside, CA newsletter, reports
that he
received a catalog from Control Data addressed to TI-99/4A User Group
Presidents, offering a 25% discount on Plato products for the TI-99 if
purchased in quantity.
- J& KH Software releases Video titles II Accelerator.
- The final edition of the SXBRief Newsletter is put to
press, bringing
to a close the Super Extended BASIC tutorial that Jim Hollendar
started when his SXB programmer's utility was first released. The last
issue is #30.
- Britain Harry Pridmore, owner of New Day Computing,
announces
the release of 4/FRONT magazine on disk or cassette.
- In a letter to User Groups, Ralph Fowler announces the
release of his
TIBBS bulletin board software into the Freeware distribution channel
effective
June 1st. His decision apparently comes as a result of declining sales
and interest in the product.
- Julian Achim of Datax releases The Brain, a math
routines library
of programs that is designed to be everybody's everything when it comes
to number crunching.
- Mike Dodd releases Disk Copy 99.
- Walter Tietjen Jr. of Raleigh, North Carolina releases a
word processor
for the 99/4A that runs without the TI-Writer module.
- Edgar Dohmann releases Superbug II v2.0 assembly
language debugger.
- Bruce Ryan of Ryte Data in Haliburton, Canada, announces
the release
of a Super Clock program for the Corcomp Triple Tech
Card,
plus a $20 BASIC Compiler that is supposed to have the ability
to
compile multiple statement lines.
- MICROpendium subscription rates go from $15 to $17, with
first class
mail delivery going from $18.50 to $20.50 per year.
- BA-Writer v3.0 is released by Paolo Bagnaresi.
- Asgard Software releases V2.1 of the Tunnels of Doom
Editor
by John Behnke.
- Ray Kazmer writes and releases changes to MG's Night
Mission
program that allows tracking of high scores.
- COMMODORE -- Production of the 'classic' brown
Commodore 64,
which had been around since 1982, ends when the white plastic cased
Commodore
64C is introduced. (www.computingmuseum.com/museum/c64.htm)
JUN 1986:
The Southwest 99ers
Newsletter
- The
March 1986 sale of Craig Miller's The Smart Programmer
newsletter
to Richard Mitchell, publisher of the Super 99 Monthly
newsletter,
shows up to subscribersas a merger of the two journals, now called The
Smart Programmer, which will be published from Sulphur, Louisiana.
- Ralph Fowler places his TIBBS bulletin board software v5.0
in the fairware
distribution network on June 1st.
- The first annual Australian TI-99/4A Users Fair takes place
on June
14th in Melbourne, Australia.
- Kent Thompson, doing business as Real Estate Projections,
out of San
Pedro, California releases a console cooling fan for the 99/4A dubbed Console
Cooler.
- Horizon RAMdisk ad makes its debut in MICROpendium.
- Larry Hughes, of Quality 99 Software, and Jerry Price of
TexComp have
an apparent falling out as Hughes runs an ad in MICROpendium announcing
the severing of all ties with TexComp. Hughes announces that Quality 99
Software will not provide support for any of its products purchased
from
TexComp after June 4, 1986.
- Texaments reaches an agreement with Dave Rose to market
Rose's Character
Sets and Graphic Designs (aka CSGD) series.
- Myarc computer-on-a-card appears at the CES in Chicago.
- Tenex Computer Express begins offering MS-DOS and Apple
clone computers
in their TI-99/4A catalog.
- Thomson Software, makers of DISK+AID and other
assembly language
products, moves to 436 LeTour Rochester, MI 48063.
- Intelpro, makers of the Companion word processor, announce
that the
firm has moved to 13 Saratoga Dr. Kirkland, Que. Can. H9H 3J9. -Mike
DeFrank
releases TI-Forth Utilities package.
- Paul Coleman releases Labelmaker and Catalope.
- Anders Wested of Aalborg, Denmark submits the TI BASIC word
processor Chicken Text to Jerry Price at TexComp with an offer
to buy the
U.S. distribution rights. Price declines the offer and Chicken Text
never surfaces in the United States as a commercial product.
- In an article entitled "The Top Five Free Programs for Your
Computer",
published in the June 1986 issue of Compute! on page 33, author Arlen
R.
Levitan lists Fast-Term, Disk Manager 1000,
Funlwriter, Mass-Copy and Neat List
as
his choices for the TI-99/4A.
JUL 1986: The
Southwest 99ers Newsletter
- Rave
99 announces the Rave 101 PC style keyboard for the TI-99/4A.
- On July 15, 1986 C. and S. Case PO Box 14130 Huntsville, AL
35815 (205-883-8348)
purchase the rights to Donald Thomson's Disk+Aid, Memory
Manipulator
and Credit Card Data Base programs.
- MICROpendium announces that it has less than 50 copies of
Volume 1,
Number 1 left, and only 20 copies of Volume 1, Number 2 left.
- In a letter to MICROpendium, John T. Dow, author of the
DOW-4 Gazelle
flight controls simulator, discusses an assembly language flight
simulator
that he has created, but does not intend to release, due to the rampant
piracy of software in the 99/4A Community.
- Steve Davis Publishing of Dallas, TX releases its last book
for the
99/4A named "THE ELECTRIC MAILBOX". It is a book on electronic
mail and not specifically aimed at the TI-99, but it is advertised in
MICROpendium
for 99/4A users benefit.
- The Pre-Scan-It! XB programmer's utility written by
J. Peter
Hoddie is released by Asgard Software.
- Asgard Software releases Graphx Pictures and Graphx
Slideshow.
- Ed Schaum of Bronx, New York releases the After Hours
BBS.
- Joyce Corker's 24-page TI-WRITER TIPS AND TRICKS
book is released
by the Boston Computer Society.
- Joy Paint Pal, a companion product to Joy Paint,
is released
by Great Lakes Software.
- Datax lowers the price of The Brain from $49.95 to
$39.95.
- Ray Kazmer of Kazco International releases Rapid Loader
for
Infocom adventure games.
- Funlwriter v3.3 is released in the United States.
- Disk Manager 1000 (aka DM1000) v3.3 is released,
containing
modifications by Ralph Romans.
- William Warren of Aurora, Colorado, releases PR-Base
v2.0.
AUG 1986:
The Southwest 99ers
Newsletter
- Danny
Michael enhancements to Extended Basic and Editor/Assembler modules for
GRAM KRACKER are released.
- Texas Instruments mails Diagnostic software for the
TI-99/4A
out to all registered User roups.
- MICROpendium announces the impending release of an index
for back issues.
- Steve Patterson releases Disk Machine 1002, an
Extended Basic
utility which will convert files of any type to files of any other type.
- A virtually unknown and previously unheard of hardware
product named Megaram is released in North America by Ryte
Data.
The product,
manufactured by Atronic (of Europe?) is a full megabyte of
bank-switched
memory in a Ram Disk. It fits in the I/O port on the right side of the
99/4A console. The product does not prove to be a commercial success in
the U.S. apparently, as it disappears from future advertisements,
despite
its seemingly reasonable $175.95 price.
- CorComp Inc. announces the impending release of a new word
processor,
data base and spreadsheet for the Memory Plus line of Ram Disks
they sell. The word processor will ultimately be released as WRITEREASE
by Galen Read. The data base manager never appears. The spreadsheet
mentioned
may have been Read's CONSOLE CALC that ultimately was released by
DataBiotics,
but the spreadsheet mentioned also never appears.
- Jim Peterson releases TIPS FROM THE TIGERCUB Volume #3.
- Steve Venable organizes the Pastor's User Group in
Mobeetie, Texas.
- MISC --
- Eagle Computer files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
- Activision, which started in 1981 producing cartridges
for the Atari
2600 VCS, continues to thrive in the computer gaming business, with the
acquisitions of Creative Software (which bought out Funware, the TI
game
cartridge maker), Infocom and Gamestar. (Compute!
Aug 1986, p.26)
SEP 1986:
The Southwest 99ers
Newsletter
- The
last REGENA or any other TI-99/4A article that will appear in COMPUTE!
magazine is published. The end of COMPUTE! support for the 99/4A has
come
quietly and uncerimoniously.
- Jeff Guide reports in the September 1986 issue of the LA
99ers newsletter
that he received a letter from Patana Ratanapreux, Customer Relations
representative
for Home Computer Journal, that in essence says HCJ is not responsible
for Home Computer Magazine refunds; this despite the fact that both are
Emerald Valley Publishing products.
- Lee Wilkerson quits as the BASIC/Extended BASIC columnist
for MICROpendium
after only four months, citing lack of time to live up to the
commitment
of writing a monthly column.
- First DIJIT Systems ad appears in MICROpendium appears, as
the company
gears up for mass production of their RGB conversion kit for
the
TI-99/4A.
- Super Forth, by Jim Wray and Edgar Dohmann is
released by DaTaBioTics.
- Heim Industries, of Clifton Park, New York, release a new Statistics
program for the TI-99/4A.
- Norberto Bettinelli forms the Buenos Aires 99ers User Group
in Argentina.
- SST Software of Cedarburg, Wisconsin releases a new version
of the
SST BASIC COMPILER.
- Jeff Guide of Disk Only Software announces that his firm
has procured
the rights to distribute a card for the P-Box called the MPB Clock
and
Analog to Digital Board. The product is manufactured by MPB of
Witchita,
Kansas and is designed for use with Bulletin Board Software.
- Impending release of Bowling League Secretary is
announced by
Pilgrim's Pride.
- TI-Artist v2.01 is released, adding the capability
of running
the program from almost any mass storage device such as ramdisks or
hard
disks.
- Projectfiles for the Personal Auditor home
accounting
system is announced by PRK DataBasics owner Bill Gaskill.
- Myarc releases an Eprom for the Foundation 128K card that
allows it
to run Myarc's XBII.
- Bits, Bytes & Pixels, the newsletter of the Lima, OH
TI-99 Users
Group, reports that Home Computer Magazine ceased accepting advertising
as part of a settlement of a lawsuit they were involved in. According
to
the article, HCM had inflated circulation figures to advertisers, and
had
failed to publish the required circulation disclosures, thus misleading
advertisers about the number of readers their ads were reaching. Dr.
Guy
Steffen Romano of the Amnion Helpline is quoted as the source. HCM
publisher
Gary Kaplan would tell his readers in an editorial that advertising was
no longer being accepted because of the troubles his magazine had in
collecting
money from firms who had already gotten their ads published in his
magazine. (BB&P,
July/August/September 1986,
p.2)
- APPLE -- Apple Computer unveils the Apple IIGS at a
presentation
at DeAnza College's Flint Center in Cupertino, CA. The computer is
aimed
at the home and educational market and based on its features and
pricing,
competes directly with the Commodore Amiga and Atari ST.
- MISC. -- Computer maker Vector Graphic of Westlake
Village,
CA goes out of business.
OCT 1986: The
Southwest 99ers Newsletter
- Myarc
announces intentions to produce a hard disk controller for the TI-99/4A.
- MG (Millers Graphics) announces a disk of utilities for the
GRAM
Kracker entitled GK Utility I.
- MICROpendium editorial announces continued support to the
TI-99/4A
computer and the community behind it.
- Asgard Software releases Graphx Companion III.
- Pesaca Soft of Mendocino, California releases Charamat
and Print
Designer.
- Rapid Copy by Barry Boone is released commercially
by Texaments.
- Disk Only Software releases a step-by-step guide to
assembly of the
HORIZON RAMDISK kit.
- Total Filer by Warren Agee, and High Gravity
by Tom Wible
are announced by Asgard Software.
- Ryte Data of Haliburton, Ontario announces the release of GPL
Linker by Monty Schmidt.
- Long time Chicago TI User Group member Gerhard "Barney"
Kugel
dies on October 24, 1986.
- Navarone Industries, headquartered at 21109 Longeway Rd
Suite C Sonora,
CA 95370, releases it's 4Q/1986 pricelist:
- Anteater $14.95
- Astrology Horoscope $39.95
- Cartridge Expander $29.95
- Chicken Coop $14.95
- Console Writer $19.95
- Data Base Management
- Disk Fixer $29.95
- Extended Graphics Disk $19.95
- Extended Graphics Tape $19.95
- Frog Stickers $14.95
- Hidden Powers of Disk Fixer $9.95
- Homework Helper + $29.95
- King of the Castle $14.95
- Paint N Print (GP-100/GP-700) $29.95
- Paint N Print (GP-500/Okidata) $29.95
- Paint N Print (IBM/Gemini) $29.95
- Speed Reading Adult $24.95
- Speed Reading Child $24.95
- Super Duper $19.95
- Topper $14.95
NOV 1986:
The Southwest 99ers
Newsletter
- MICROpendium
magazine receives an award from the Front Range 99er Computer Club of
Colorado
Springs, Colorado for its continued support of the TI Community.
- Craig Miller, dba MG (formerly Millers Graphics) mails out
a notice
which sends chills and thrills through the TI Community: "Awhile back
we were contacted by a large US company to design a piece of interface
hardware and software for the 99/4A to allow it to use both IBM
hardware
and IBM software. This unit could be thought of as an IBM Expansion
System
since it will not only allow you to use IBM softwarebut you can also
add
IBM cards to the system! That's right, now you will be able to run
things
like Lotus 123, dBase, Microsoft Flight simulator, Quick Basic,
MS-Basic
and the Basic Compilers. That is about all we can say at this time. In
January 1987 this US company will make their announcement as to price
and
availability"
- Ralph Fowler, author and Sysop of the TIBBS bulletin board
system in
Kenneshaw, GA, reports that a Trojan Horse virus program that
destroys
floppies and RAM disks was uploaded to him BBS.
- News of the existence of TI WRITER v2.0 surfaces in the
November 1986
issue of Bits, Bytes & Pixels, the newsletter of the Lima, Ohio
User
Group. TIW v2.0 was apparently released in Europe or at least in France
according to the Tony McGovern authored article. McGovern tested the
program
and reported that it included CHARA1 through CHARG1 font files for the
seven languages TI Writer would support. He also reports that the
editor
portion of v2.0 is not wholely compatible with the editor in v1.0
because
of the way the TAB line is saved. Lastly, the formatter program for
v2.0
carries a 1983 copyright date.
- The Printer's Apprentice v1.03 is released by McCann
Software
of Omaha, Nebraska.
- DM1000 V3.5 with modifications by Ralph Romans is
released.
- GRAM Packer is released at the Chicago TI Faire by
J. Peter
Hoddie, doing business as Genial Computerware.
- Sidewriter v2.1 by Mauro Tomietto is released by the
Ottawa
99ers.
- XBII v2.11 is released by Myarc Inc., for their 128K
card.
- Not-Polyoptics announces the January 1987 release of an all
assembly
language flight simulator for the 99/4A.
- Texaments releases CSGD III by Dave Rose.
- Ken Hayden of Baltimore, Maryland releases Bowling
League Manager.
- Harry Pridmore introduces his New Day Computing firm to
99ers via a
full-page ad in MICROpendium. Some months later New Day Computing
would be put on the "Watchout List" for failure to deliver paid-for
products.
- W. Irving Crowley of Pine Level, Alabama releases Checkbook
Manager.
This is version one of the much heralded Checkbook Manager III that
would
receive rave reviews in MICROpendium three years later.
- Andy Dessoff closes the doors on FairSoft Inc., but
announces that Basicsort is still available.
- TexComp announces an upgrade to Graphx, featuring a
new high
speed loader and other new features.
- Fontwriter by J. Peter Hoddie is released by Asgard
Software.
- ORPHAN SURVIVAL HANDBOOK by Ron Albright is released
through
Disk Only Software.
DEC 1986: The
Southwest 99ers Newsletter
- Word reaches the TI Community that a program named Supertrack,
masquarading as a track-copier, is a Trojan Horse program
designed
to destroy folly disks.
- The National Ninety Niner newsletter, published by
Don and Lucie
Veith out of Bakersfield, California, ceases publication. The
newsletter
began with Volume I, Number I in November 1983 and was subsequently
published
on:
- December 1983 - Volume I
- January 1984
- February 1984
- March 1984
- April 1984
- May 1984
- June 1985
- August/September 1984
- September 1984
- October 1984
- November/December 1984
- January 1985 - Volume II
- February 1985
- March 1985
- April 1985
- May 1985
- June 1985
- August 1985
- September 1985
- October 1985
- November/December 1985
- January 1986 - Volume III
- February 1986
- March 1986
- April 1986
- Craig Miller announces that the production of the GRAM
KRACKER gram
device will cease due to inability to deliver it on time.
- MG releases a new PROM set for the the CorComp
9900 disk
controller card and hints at a new IBM/TI-99/4A product coming in
1987.
- James Sleeth of El Cajon, California releases Multiplan
Tax Templates.
- Ryte Data announces their intent to build the 99AT
Peripheral
Expansion Box.
- Ozark Software of Neosho, Missouri announces plans for a
new Peripheral
Expansion Box. It never appears.
- Jim Peterson announces TIPS FROM TIGERCUB on disk
and he mails
out a letter to User Groups across the country announcing the end of
his
TIPS FROM TIGERCUB articles.
- Chicago TI Faire attendence numbers are placed at
approximately 1,000
99ers.
- The Funlwriter name is changed to Funnelweb
by program
authors Tony and Will McGovern, concurrent with the release of version
3.4 of the program. Version 3.4 contains enhancements which allow it to
run better from the Horizon Ram Disk.
- Funnelweb v3.4 arrives in the United States in the
hands of
selected distributors such as Charles Good of the Lima, Ohio 99ers, and
Woody Wilson of the Southern California Computer Group in San Diego,
California.
- Great Lakes Software releases Clip Art Disk 2 v1.1
for JoyPaint.
- The 99 BBS V7.1 is announced by Roger Davis of Whittier,
California.
- APPLE -- Apple ships some 25,000 Apple IIGS
computers with faulty
surface-mounted chips. It is estimated that the mistake will cost some
$5 million to correct.
- KAYPRO -- Kaypro signs an agreement with Amway
Corporation to
sell its PCs door-to-door.
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