7 ms·

I never knew that TI's DS-990[1] series of minicomputers was created for Ramada Inns. It was one of the first computers I used intensively and I thought it was

by jes 4y ago

I never knew that TI's DS-990[1] series of minicomputers was created for Ramada Inns. It was one of the first computers I used intensively and I thought it was great. I think I wrote code in almost every language they supported. Good times, and the TI documentation was quite good, in my view. Hit me with your WP (Workspace Pointer) register, baby! [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TI-990 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TI-990

blep_ 4y ago
As a person from The Future, making a whole new computer model specifically for one specific hotel chain is really weird to me.
- AdamH12113 4y ago
  This was only a few years past the era where every computer was a full custom installation that took up a large part of a room.
- foobarian 4y ago
  Many other things happened that way. My favorite were all these systems research efforts where entire operating systems, network file systems, directory services, etc were developed within individual companies or CS departments and unleashed upon the staff :). MIT Athena, anyone?
- tomcam 4y ago
  Just wait until you learn about the Hilton offset:segment addressing mode and Marriott memory mapping
- shrubble 4y ago
  Look up the Singer System 10...
  - retrocryptid 4y ago
    Slightly related... I heard someone at Tandy say that when they were pitching the TRS-80, they said "hey, if the computers aren't popular, we can give them to each store to use for inventory tracking." -- That was probably around '75 / '76 when they were pitching the idea. Same time frame.
- jes 4y ago
  My former mentor-at-a-distance Eli Goldratt used to say "Yesterday's solutions are today's historical curiosities." I think he might have gotten that from a better-known aphorism: "Yesterday's solutions are today's problems." Thanks for your comment. It was fun and inspired other fun comments.
  - discretion22 4y ago
    Wow, I've not heard Eli Goldratt (z'l) mentioned in such a long time. In my very first job ('80s), the company owner handed me a copy of The Goal and said it was the most essential book I would need. I know now after many years dealing with manufacturing, that he was correct! Anyway, I'm very curious about that mentor-at-a-distance? Can you share more?
    - jes 4y ago
      I have been a student of TOC since the early 90s. I used to attend the various conferences that groups like APICS put on in the early years. I just got back a few weeks ago from the TOCICO conference in Orlando. Eli really dug into the subjects that interested him. He always came up with interesting insights. At the conferences, from time to time, I'd join Eli with a few others for dinner or lunch. We didn't go out for beers, though, and I wasn't really in his inner circle. He has published many good books, and usually, they are Socratic novels. They are fun to read, and I get something new out of them every time I read them. His last book, "The Choice," was written with his daughter, Efrat Goldratt-Ashlag. In that book, Eli really lays out his general approach. I recommend it. Eli passed away in June of 2011.
- retrocryptid 4y ago
  Ramada may have been the first / most important customer. But growing up in North Texas where TI sales-people were thick on the ground, I noticed that just about EVERY police department within 30 miles of Dallas had a 990 in the back and 770 terminals up front. I remember writing a check to cover traffic tickets in Cedar Hill and Arlington. Both had 770's and a friend from high school got a job in Arlington running their 990.
  - jes 4y ago
    Interesting. I sometimes look for a 990/10 or /12 on eBay but I haven't seen any in years. I think bitsavers.org has some software for the 990 series, like DX-10 and some language systems.
    - 13of40 4y ago
      I found one in a thrift shop in the early 90s, with no storage or other peripherals. Never got it to do anything by itself, but 17-year-old me successfully soldered the (white ceramic and gold) CPU into the TI-99/4a my dad bought in about 1981. I passed that computer on to a younger kid who learned to code assembly on it.
- thombat 4y ago
  Check out the LEO from 1951, the first business computer line, built not just for but by a chain of tea shops (cafés) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/LEO_(computer) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/LEO_(computer)
- somat 4y ago
  It was at a period when computers, especially small computers. were new enough that it made sense. Sort of like custom fleet vans. or when people had to make their own electrical systems.

by jes 4y ago

blep_ 4y ago

As a person from The Future, making a whole new computer model specifically for one specific hotel chain is really weird to me.

AdamH12113 4y ago
This was only a few years past the era where every computer was a full custom installation that took up a large part of a room.
foobarian 4y ago
Many other things happened that way. My favorite were all these systems research efforts where entire operating systems, network file systems, directory services, etc were developed within individual companies or CS departments and unleashed upon the staff :). MIT Athena, anyone?
tomcam 4y ago
Just wait until you learn about the Hilton offset:segment addressing mode and Marriott memory mapping
shrubble 4y ago
Look up the Singer System 10...
- retrocryptid 4y ago
  Slightly related... I heard someone at Tandy say that when they were pitching the TRS-80, they said "hey, if the computers aren't popular, we can give them to each store to use for inventory tracking." -- That was probably around '75 / '76 when they were pitching the idea. Same time frame.
jes 4y ago
My former mentor-at-a-distance Eli Goldratt used to say "Yesterday's solutions are today's historical curiosities." I think he might have gotten that from a better-known aphorism: "Yesterday's solutions are today's problems." Thanks for your comment. It was fun and inspired other fun comments.
- discretion22 4y ago
  Wow, I've not heard Eli Goldratt (z'l) mentioned in such a long time. In my very first job ('80s), the company owner handed me a copy of The Goal and said it was the most essential book I would need. I know now after many years dealing with manufacturing, that he was correct! Anyway, I'm very curious about that mentor-at-a-distance? Can you share more?
  - jes 4y ago
    I have been a student of TOC since the early 90s. I used to attend the various conferences that groups like APICS put on in the early years. I just got back a few weeks ago from the TOCICO conference in Orlando. Eli really dug into the subjects that interested him. He always came up with interesting insights. At the conferences, from time to time, I'd join Eli with a few others for dinner or lunch. We didn't go out for beers, though, and I wasn't really in his inner circle. He has published many good books, and usually, they are Socratic novels. They are fun to read, and I get something new out of them every time I read them. His last book, "The Choice," was written with his daughter, Efrat Goldratt-Ashlag. In that book, Eli really lays out his general approach. I recommend it. Eli passed away in June of 2011.
retrocryptid 4y ago
Ramada may have been the first / most important customer. But growing up in North Texas where TI sales-people were thick on the ground, I noticed that just about EVERY police department within 30 miles of Dallas had a 990 in the back and 770 terminals up front. I remember writing a check to cover traffic tickets in Cedar Hill and Arlington. Both had 770's and a friend from high school got a job in Arlington running their 990.
- jes 4y ago
  Interesting. I sometimes look for a 990/10 or /12 on eBay but I haven't seen any in years. I think bitsavers.org has some software for the 990 series, like DX-10 and some language systems.
  - 13of40 4y ago
    I found one in a thrift shop in the early 90s, with no storage or other peripherals. Never got it to do anything by itself, but 17-year-old me successfully soldered the (white ceramic and gold) CPU into the TI-99/4a my dad bought in about 1981. I passed that computer on to a younger kid who learned to code assembly on it.
thombat 4y ago
Check out the LEO from 1951, the first business computer line, built not just for but by a chain of tea shops (cafés) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/LEO_(computer) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/LEO_(computer)
somat 4y ago
It was at a period when computers, especially small computers. were new enough that it made sense. Sort of like custom fleet vans. or when people had to make their own electrical systems.