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Programming the Convergent WorkSlate's spreadsheet microcassette future

51 points by ingve 2y ago

jawon 2y ago
I've never seen this before. I love the design. It's like a drum machine for spreadsheets. And it's from 1983, the same year the Tandy Model 100 was released. A good year for gadgets.
AstroJetson 2y ago
I had one of these when they came out. It truly was a marvel at the time. I used it all the time as my side machine. It was great as a spreadsheet machine, it wasn't fast but it could run very decent financial models. This article is the best I've ever seen about how the 'slate worked. It's super long, but really does a nice job on the technology.
- classichasclass 2y ago
  (author) Hey, thank you! Did you ever try any of the telecommunications features or use any of Convergent's Taskware tapes?
  - AstroJetson 2y ago
    I used the telcom features, you could "talk" to another WorkSlate and exchange files, and use it as a terminal. At the time I worked for Burroughs and we had access to the full range of Convergent products. I don't know how much was Convergent stock or had been adapted by Burroughs to fit into the Convergent workstations we used/sold.
    - rbanffy 2y ago
      Convergent was so much ahead of its time... Their modular machines were the realisation of what Apple thought about doing with their project Jonathan.
      - AstroJetson 2y ago
        Yep, they were very much on the cutting edge. There was a ton of flexibility in how the systems set up. The networking part was very well done, you could have main units with disks, printers, etc. and use the remotes on people's desks. But as all things cool, they were expensive and ran face into lower cost PC's.
        rbanffy 2y ago
        As we are all now familiar with the saying, "worse is better".
rbanffy 2y ago
There is just one question remaining: where do I get one?
- AstroJetson 2y ago
  History on Ebay has them popping up. Check with the InfoAge Science Center, 2201 Marconi Rd., Wall, New Jersey, 07719. The Burroughs plant that supported them (Flemington) gave all that stuff away when they ended that product line.
  - rbanffy 2y ago
    A lot of eBay. unfortunately, is less than accessible from Ireland, where I live, but I will doubtlessly reach out to the InfoAge Center. It sounds like an interesting place anyway.
prox 2y ago
Another computer from that time with a micro cassette is the P2000 from Philips. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philips_P2000 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philips_P2000
- jhbadger 2y ago
  And the Epson PX-8 Geneva, a 1984 CP/M laptop using micro-cassettes rather than floppies. I actually had one for a time that I got a few years later when they were discontinued and were sold for a fraction of their original price. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epson_PX-8_Geneva https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epson_PX-8_Geneva
  - prox 2y ago
    I love this since it’s a laptop! We’ve come a looong way

51 points by ingve 2y ago

I've never seen this before. I love the design. It's like a drum machine for spreadsheets. And it's from 1983, the same year the Tandy Model 100 was released. A good year for gadgets.

AstroJetson 2y ago

I had one of these when they came out. It truly was a marvel at the time. I used it all the time as my side machine. It was great as a spreadsheet machine, it wasn't fast but it could run very decent financial models. This article is the best I've ever seen about how the 'slate worked. It's super long, but really does a nice job on the technology.

classichasclass 2y ago
(author) Hey, thank you! Did you ever try any of the telecommunications features or use any of Convergent's Taskware tapes?
- AstroJetson 2y ago
  I used the telcom features, you could "talk" to another WorkSlate and exchange files, and use it as a terminal. At the time I worked for Burroughs and we had access to the full range of Convergent products. I don't know how much was Convergent stock or had been adapted by Burroughs to fit into the Convergent workstations we used/sold.
  - rbanffy 2y ago
    Convergent was so much ahead of its time... Their modular machines were the realisation of what Apple thought about doing with their project Jonathan.
    - AstroJetson 2y ago
      Yep, they were very much on the cutting edge. There was a ton of flexibility in how the systems set up. The networking part was very well done, you could have main units with disks, printers, etc. and use the remotes on people's desks. But as all things cool, they were expensive and ran face into lower cost PC's.
      - rbanffy 2y ago
        As we are all now familiar with the saying, "worse is better".

rbanffy 2y ago

There is just one question remaining: where do I get one?

AstroJetson 2y ago
History on Ebay has them popping up. Check with the InfoAge Science Center, 2201 Marconi Rd., Wall, New Jersey, 07719. The Burroughs plant that supported them (Flemington) gave all that stuff away when they ended that product line.
- rbanffy 2y ago
  A lot of eBay. unfortunately, is less than accessible from Ireland, where I live, but I will doubtlessly reach out to the InfoAge Center. It sounds like an interesting place anyway.

prox 2y ago

Another computer from that time with a micro cassette is the P2000 from Philips. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philips_P2000 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philips_P2000

jhbadger 2y ago
And the Epson PX-8 Geneva, a 1984 CP/M laptop using micro-cassettes rather than floppies. I actually had one for a time that I got a few years later when they were discontinued and were sold for a fraction of their original price. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epson_PX-8_Geneva https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epson_PX-8_Geneva
- prox 2y ago
  I love this since it’s a laptop! We’ve come a looong way