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R/D COMPUTING NEWSLETTER:
Альманах, разработанный Брюсом Рюаном (Bruce Ryan) newsletter was designed for the hardware gurus of
the TI Community and appears to have failed from the lack of an
adequate subscriber base. As far as I know, there were 23 issues of the
newsletter produced, which started in late 1985 and ran through
mid-1987. He may have left a few people holding the bag when he shut
Ryte Data operations down, but he did at least do us the courtesy of
warning readers before-hand. At one point in the life of his
newsletter, Mr. Ryan made an offer to User Groups that was designed to
benefit the UGs, while bolstering the subscriber base for the
newsletter. I'm sorry to say, there is every indication that the offer
didn't work.
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RAINES, VICTOR:
Graphic artist who did all the graphics design work for the TI-99/4A
Disney software; Peter Pan's Space Odyssey, Pinocchio's Great Escape
and von Drake's Molecular Mission. (source: John Phillips, Aug 1999)
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RAMCHARGED COMPUTERS:
see Address Book
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RANA
SYSTEMS: 21300 Superior St Chatsworth, CA 91311. Manufactured
stand alone disk drives for Apple II (Elite Series) computers and for
Atari 8-Bit (Rana 1000) computers.
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READING
ADVENTURES: SF 30117 - Released 3Q/1982 - MSRP $54.95 --
User Comments (provided by John E. Taylor and other members of the Shoals 99er Uer Group in 1985): This module, by Scott, Foresman and Company, is one in a series of programs designed to provide basic reading skills. Reading Adventures deals with main and supporting details, drawing conclusions, and recognizing sequence relationships. Each section is divided into two parts, first a "Study it" section where the particular skill is taught, then a "Try it out" section for practice. Study it first explains what the section is about and has a short story to read. The story is presented in pages, and there are questions to answer before going on to the next page. In Try it Out a longer story is provided, again with questions along the way. An additional "All Skills" category has a story that helps the student with all three skills together. The module comes with a reader that has additional stories to read. According to the manual, Reading Adventures is designed for children in grades 2-4. I believe that the program is best suited for children in the upper range of that age group. Reading Adventures makes very good use of graphics, and rewards the student with animated scenes for correct answers. |
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READING
CHEERS: SF 30115 - Released 3Q/1982 - MSRP $54.95 --
User Comments (provided by John E. Taylor and other members
of the Shoals 99er Uer Group in 1985): The module introduces the
following word identification skills: recognizing root words with
spelling changes before endings and suffixes, recognizing contractions,
and recognizing compounds. You can work on just one skill at a time or
on all three at once. If for example you are working on root words,
you'll be shown a story, complete with graphics, and you'll be asked to
underline the root words in the sentence. The module comes complete
with a very nice colorful reader.
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READING
FLIGHT: PHM 3082 / SF 30122 - Released 3Q/1982 - MSRP $39.95 /
$54.95 -- According to the documentation, the program improves your
child's ability to classify, summarize and outline information.
To do this the program offers
User Comments (provided by John E. Taylor and other members
of the Shoals 99er Uer Group in 1985): The reading flight module
contains four colorfully depicted stories and three practice drills.
Three of the four stories concentrate on one reading skill each, in a
format entitled "Study it". This module is not to teach children how to
read, it is to improve the reading skills of children who are already
reading. This module is best suited for children in grades 4 and 5. The
module has good activities, graphics, and speech capabilities.
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READING
FUN: PHM 3043 / SF 30114 - Released 1Q/1982 - MSRP $39.95 /
$54.95 --
User Comments (provided by John E. Taylor and other members
of the Shoals 99er Uer Group in 1985): Reading Fun contains four
colorfully depicted stories and three practice drills. Speech
Synthesizer is optional, but a very nice addition to this module. After
the title screen you are given a menu screen to choose your activity
from. The activities are PROBLEMS IN STORIES, WHY THINGS HAPPEN and HOW
CHARACTERS FEEL. It is suggested that your child start with activity
one. After one of the skills is selected, the following options appear:
Press 1 for STUDY IT or Press 2 for TRY IT OUT.
* STUDY IT -- allows your child to study
the skill by reading the story and participating in several activities.
* TRY IT OUT -- lets your child practice
the reading skills previously selected, in a set of five short stories
with questions and answers.
* PROBLEMS IN STORIES- After making this
selection your child will read a story called ALMOST TOO LATE. In this
story, a girl is often late for school. This causes her problems which
your child is asked to help her solve. Three new vocabulary words are
introduced: Promised, Excited, and Striking.
* WHY THINGS HAPPEN- another story is
given called "WHY BATS FLY AT NIGHT. This story explains why there is
darkness and why bats fly at night. your child is then asked why these
two situations occurred. Three more words are also introduced: Africa,
floated, and continued.
* HOW CHARACTERS FEEL- gives you the story
THE LION AND THE MOUSE. In this story a lion and mouse change how they
feel about each other. The reader is then questioned about the changes.
Three new words are introduced: frightened, tighter, and gnawing.
The subject matter of this module corresponds to material
covered in grades 1 through 3.
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READING
ON: PHM 3046 / SF 30116 - Released 3Q/1982 - MSRP $39.95 /
$54.95 --
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READING
POWER: SF 30121 - Released 3Q/1982 - MSRP $54.95 --
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READING
RAINBOWS: SF30113 - Released 3Q/1982 - MSRP $54.95 --
User Comments (provided by John E. Taylor and other members
of the Shoals 99er Uer Group in 1985): This module offers seven
activities in three comprehension skills generally taught in grades 1
and 2. They are recognizing part-whole, size, and class relationships.
Children may study a skill, practice it, or apply what they have
studied and practiced as they read an interactive story aboyt Clyde the
Dragon's search for a Rainbow. Speech is optional with this module.
There are four activities to choose from the main menu.
* HOW THINGS ARE ALIKE -- you will be
shown a group of things on the screen and asked how they are alive.
Example (shown) CAP, MITTEN and SHOE. you will be asked if they are
CLOTHES, FOOD, or have WHEELS.
* TRY OUT THE SKILL -- lets you practice
the skill you learned above. You are given a word and asked which group
it belongs in. Example car. Groups will be ANIMAL, A COLOR, or
SOMETHING ON WHEELS. A juggling clown keeps score by adding a ball to
the ones he is juggling when a right answer is given.
* PARTS AND WHOLE -- Gives you pictures of
objects on the screen. You are asked if they are the same thing or not.
If they are you are asked to pick out the object they belong to. SIZES-
here you are shown pictures of the same object but different sizes. You
are asked which one is largest or smallest.
* THE RAINBOW ADVENTURE -- uses the skills
learned from the above activities. You will be asked questions about
objects on the screen an helk Clyde find the rainbow.
This module also comes with a reader you and your child can
read together. This module uses a lot of color and sound to keep the
interest of the child.
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READING
RALLY: PHM 3048 / SF 30120 - Released 3Q/1982 - MSRP $39.95 /
$54.95 --
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READING
ROUNDUP: PHM 3047 / SF 3018 – Released 2Q/1982 – MSRP $39.95 /
$54.95 – According to the Scott, Foresman documentation, “Reading
Roundup motivates the child to focus on the intricacies and nuances of
our language with tall tales, a look at cattle raising in the 1800s,
and a story about a very peculiar rock. The module offers activities
that will help children understand comprehension skills usually taught
in grade four. These skills are: understanding figures of speech, using
context to recognize appropriate word meanings and unfamiliar words,
and understanding idioms. Children may choose an activity to study a
skill, practice it, or apply what they have studied or practiced as
they determine the unique location of “The Hideout.” Here are some
features your child will enjoy when using Reading Roundup.”
* Personalization of activities
* Treasure-hunt simulation
* Sound educational activities based on
interests appropriate to children
* Choice-making from activity lists
Instant feedback to answers
* Practice activities that are scored
visually
* Numbered responses whose order is
randomized to encourage thoughtfulness
* Durable hardware and software components
with useful keyboard functions programmed into the module.
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READING
TRAIL: SF 30119 -- Released 2Q/1982 -- MSRP $54.95 --
User Comments (provided by John E. Taylor and other members
of the Shoals 99er Uer Group in 1985): This module, by Scott, Foresman
and company, is one in a series of programs designed to provide basic
reading skills. Reading Trail deals with recognizing characters,
setting, and point of view. Each section is divided into two parts,
first a STUDY IT session where the particular skill is taught, then a
TRY IT OUT section for practice. STUDY IT first explains what the
section is about, and presents a paragraph to read. A multiple choice
question is asked after each paragraph. In TRY IT OUT, a wizard tells
eight short stories and the student must answer a question that deals
with the particular skill being used. An additional ALL SKILLS category
tells a story that the student helps make up along the way. Again,
questions are asked about the characters in the story. The module comes
with a reader that has aditional stories to read. According to the
manual, Reading Trail is designed for children in grades 3-5. Reading
Trail makes very good use of graphics and music, and has some excellent
animated sequences.
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READING
WONDERS:
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READING
SKILLS COURSEWARE SERIES: A series of educational cartridge
programs written by Thomas P. Hartsig for Scott, Foresman and Company
between 1979 and 1983.
The Reading Skills Courseware Series (according to a listing
found on the back of each box) consists of:
* Grade 1 Early Reading - Word
Identification (1A), Reading Rainbows - Comprehension (1B),
* Grade 2 Reading Fun - Comprehension
(2A), Reading Cheers - Word Identification (2B),
* Grade 3 Reading On - Study and Research
(3A), Reading Adventures - Comprehension (4A),
* Grade 4 Reading Roundup - Comprehension
(4A) Reading Trail - Literary Understanding and Appreciation (4B)
* Grade 5 Reading Rally - Comprehension
(5A), Reading Power - Study and Research (5B),
* Grade 6 Reading Flight - Study and
Research (6A), Reading Wonders - Literary Understanding and
Appreciation (6B)
Title
Box
Module
Guide Reader
Early Reading
30100
30112 30124
30148
Reading Rainbows 30101
30113 30125
30149
Reading Fun
30102
30114
30126
30150
Reading Cheers
30103
30115
30127
30151
Reading On
30104
30116
30128
30152
Reading Adventures
30105
30117
30129
30153
Reading Roundup
30106
30118
30130
30154
Reading Trail
30107
30119
30131
30155
Reading Rally
30108
30120
30132
30156
Reading Power
30109
30121
30133
30157
Reading Flight
30110
30122
30134
30158
Reading Wonders
30111
30123
30135
30159
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REGENA:
See Whitelaw, Cheryl Regena.
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RENKO,
HAL: Co-author of the book Terrific Games for the TI-99/4A with
Sam Edwards, published in 1983 by Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.
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REYNOLDS,
ROBIN: General Manager of TI Retailer Unisource Electronics in
1986, located in Lubbock, Texas.
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RIDGE
SERVICES: 170 Broadway #201 New York, NY 10038 (718) 833-6335
firm that produced the Lotto Picker program for the TI-99/4A in 1985.
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RITCHIE,
DENNIS: Born September 9, 1941, in Mount Vernon, New York,
developed the operating system Unix at Bell Telephone Laboratories with
Ken Thompson. With Richard Kernighan, he developed the programming
language C. Ritchie and Thompson received the IEEE Computer Society
Pioneer Award in 1994 for their work on Unix. (J.A.N. Lee Dept. of
Computer Science Virginia Tech. Blacksburg, VA 24061-0106)
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RLE:
An acronym for Run Length Encoded, a graphics format brought to the TI
Community via CompuServe's TI Forum, and the programming expertise of
Paul Gray and Travis Watford. (Computer Shopper, Mar87, p.119)
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ROBINETT,
WARREN: The author of Adventure for the Atari VCS in 1980.
Robinett became known as the first programmer for Atari to credit
himself for writing the game by secretly coding his name in the
program. If a player entered a certain room during game play Robinett's
name was displayed on the screen. Because Atari considered all programs
their property, programmers were not allowed to claim credit for their
creations, a policy which frustrated most of them. Fearing the loss of
his job, Robinett decided to covertly give himself credit through this
technique. The secret was uncovered by a 12 year old boy in Salt Lake
City, Utah, but Atari received favorable publicity from the so-called
"Easter Egg", so Robinett was never reprimanded.
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ROBO-DROIDS: see
Shamus
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ROCK RUNNER: Asgard Software #E05 (1990 catalog), #E9107
(1992 catalog) - Released 1990 - MSRP $12.95 -- A game by Eric
LaFortune that boasts of great graphics and excellent game play. I
would agree with this. I am not a game player as a rule, but Rock
Runner is simply a terrific game to play, that also happens to be very
visually appealing, not to mention the music and sound effects that it
also takes advantage of in making your gaming experience enjoyable. The
game is 100% assembly language coded, and will only run out of the
Editor/Assembler option #5 mode. Because it accesses a little used or
little known graphics mode in the TMS9918A video chip, it cannot be
launched from Extended BASIC, and it will not run on the Myarc Geneve
9640. The object of the game is to collect diamonds and points by
taking the game's on-screen character all over the scrolling screen
with your joystick, while avoiding falling rocks. See a Harry Brashear
MICROreview of Rock Runner in the May 1990 issue of MICROpendium on
page 41.
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ROCKETMAN:
A checkbook balancing program produced in Disk ($39.95) and Tape
($24.95) versions by a California dentist who sold the program under
the business name Rocketman (1983-84) and California Programs (1985 and
later). The firm was headquartered at 4102 San Pablo Dam Rd in El
Sobrante, CA 94803 and could be reached at 415-222-1625.
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ROM
CARTRIDGES: The concept of ROM cartridge use on a home
computer, that is "burning" a program onto a Read Only Memory chip, and
then placing the chip(s) in a quick connect/disconnect casing, did not
originate with the introduction of the TI-99, nor for that matter did
it originate with the introduction of the TI-99's greatest enemy, the
Commodore VIC-20. In August 1976 Fairchild Camera and Instruments, a
Palo Alto, California semiconductor firm, released its Video
Entertainment System, later renamed Channel F to avoid being confused
with Atari's Video Computer System, which was the first full-color
video game machine to use replaceable cartridges.
Channel F came with hockey and tennis games built in and a
port to accept new game cartridges as they were developed. On the heals
of Channel F was Atari's Video Computer System (VCS) which also debuted
in 1977. In June 1978, the $895 Exidy Sorcerer personal computer was
released with 8K of Ram, a 64 column by 30 row screen and the ability
to use plug in modules which were the size of 8-track tapes. The
Sorcerer appears to be the first "home computer" on the market to use
ROM cartridges, though it was never to be a major player in the home
computer cartridge software market.
The last computer built for ROM cartridge use was the Atari
XE Video Game System, which was a reconfigured Atari 65XE that could be
purchased as a game machine, but upgraded to a personal computer if
desired. It was introduced at the Winter Consumer Electronics Show in
January 1987. The major players in the "computers that use cartridges"
market were the Atari 400/800 computers, which were announced in
December 1978, the TI-99/4 which was announced in June 1979, and the
Commodore VIC-20, which appeared in June 1980. Other computers by these
same companies also existed in the computers-that-use-cartridges
market. These were computers like the Commodore 64, the Commodore
264/364, the TI-99/2 and the Atari XL line which included the 600, 800,
1200, and 1400XLs, as well as the 1450XLD and finally the Atari 65XE.
Of course there were other "computers" that used cartridge
software such as the video game computers like the Atari VCS 2600 (VCS
stands for Video Computer System), the Atari 5200, the ColecoVision
Game System, Mattel's Intellivision and Intellivision II Systems, the
Vectrex Arcade System and others. There were still other home or
low-end computers that offered a ROM cartridge slot, but I have found
it very difficult to locate much information on the existence of
cartridge software written for these machines. Some of the computers I
am referring to are the NEC PC-6001, the Spectra Video SV-318, and the
Mattel Aquarius, all of which were announced or introduced in January
1983. Also, there are the late entries into the home
computers-that-used-cartridges market like IBM's PC Jr., which appeared
in November 1983, and the Coleco Adam, which appeared in October 1983.
With the exception of the Atari 65XE, the introduction of home
computers that used ROM cartridge software all but ceased by January
1985. There may be several reasons why cartridge slots were eliminated
on newly introduced computers, but the most obvious one to me is the
fact that the newer machines had more memory, which meant that
cartridges simply weren't needed.
Cartridges may have been designed by some manufacturers to
prevent duplication of software (TI comes to mind), but the biggest
advantage they offered was their ability to bank-switch program code.
This meant that large programs could (if written correctly) run in
small memory machines. This was especially true of the VIC-20, which
had only 5K RAM, but a ton of cartridge-based programs written for it.
But cartridges cost much more to produce than a disk or cassette
version of a program. When Commodore introduced the Amiga 500 and Atari
the 520ST, it was the beginning of the end for cartridge using home
computers. The final blow seemed to be IBM's loss of the copyright and
patent on their PC's BIOS, which opened up the PC clone market in 1986.
Once the flood of low-priced, high memory, PC compatible machines hit
the market, there was no looking back.
Now before you get too excited and holler that the MSX
machines from Japan (that were supposed to take over the low-end
computer market in the U.S.) had cartridge slots, a look back at the
home computer time line shows that the first generation of MSX
computers made their debut in Japan in November 1983. The supposed
invasion of MSX computers was to have occurred beginning with the
January 1985 Consumer Electronics Show, but it never happened. So, I'm
going to stick with my assertion. As an aside, you might find it
interesting to know that the MSX concept, though usually credited to
the Japanese because they pushed it the most, was actually owned by
Microsoft (MSX stands for Microsoft Extended) and it was based on the
American made Zilog Z80A microprocessor used with TI's TMS9918A video
chip.
Between the years 1979 and 1990 there were over 360
cartridges released or announced for the TI-99/4 and 4A. Of that
number, about 275 are verifiable titles thus far. Honors for being the
first cartridge produced for the TI-99 must be shared between several
programs which were all ready for release when the TI-99/4 was first
announced in June 1979 (Diagnostic, Demonstration, Beginning Grammar et
cetera). Honors for being the first third-party cartridge for the TI-99
actually goes to four titles produced by Milton Bradley Company and
released in December 1979. These were Connect Four, Hangman, Yahtzee
and ZeroZap, all sold under the Gamevision banner. News of their
impending release actually leaked out in August 1979 when Interface Age
magazine reported their upcoming arrival. As far as I can tell, Yahtzee
did not actually appear until the first quarter of 1981, despite the
announcement, and despite the fact that Milton Bradley Company included
it in an 8.5" x 11" color glossy Gamevision flyer. The reason may have
been attributable to the fact that Connect Four, Hangman and Zero Zap
were all existing programs Milton Bradley had created for their
ill-fated Microvision hand-held games playing machine (a prehistoric
version of today's Nintendo Game-Boy), while Yahtzee was something new,
and thus had to be created from scratch.
So far, honors for being the last cartridge to be produced
for the TI-99 goes to Asgard's Extended Basic 3, which was released in
the 4th Quarter of 1992. By my calculations, if a person had started
their collection in 1979 and purchased every cartridge ever produced
for the TI-99 up to the 4th quarter of 1990, at manufacturer's
suggested retail price, that person would have spent over $11,000 on
their collection.
Almost 50 companies were involved in producing cartridges for
the TI-99 at one time or another, some of whom never actually kicked a
cartridge out the door (like Walt Disney), despite having finished the
code for the cartridge. The most prolific producer of cartridges for
the TI-99 was Texas Instruments, next came the Scott, Foresman Company,
followed by DataBiotics, Milton Bradley, Atarisoft, Exceltec or Sunware
as they were also known, Milliken Publishing, and Funware. A list of
cartridges released by company appears below.
CARTRIDGES ANNOUNCED or RELEASED FOR THE TI-99, BY
MANUFACTURER:
* Addison-Wesley 7
* Artios 1
* Asgard 6
* Atarisoft 16
* Broderbund 2
* CBS Toys 1
* CSI Design Group 1
* Control Data Corp. 1
* CorComp 4
* Data East 3
* DaTaBioTics 28
* DataSoft 1
* DLM 9
* Exceltec/Sunware 15
* Fox Video 1
* Funware 13
* Futuresoft 3
* Imagic 7
* IUG 1
* John Phillips 10
* Kantronics 1
* Looking Glass 3
* Mechatronics GmbH 2
* Micropal 2
* Milliken Publishing 14
* Milton Bradley 22
* Myarc 1
* Navarone 20
* Norton Software 1
* Not-Polyoptics 1
* Parker Brothers 5
* Personal Peripherals 1
* Pilgrim's Pride 1
* Romox 7
* SNK Electronics 1
* Scholastic Inc. 4
* Scott Adams 2
* Sega 3
* Sierra On-Line 3
* Sofmachine 5
* Software Specialties 3
* Spinnaker Software 2
* Synapse 2
* Tex Micro 1
* Thorn-EMI 3
* Tigervision 10
* Triton 4
* Ultracomp 1
* Walt Disney 4
Not all of the companies listed actually produced the
programs or the cartridges they are given credit for in the above list.
For example, the Walt Disney programs that were to be produced for the
TI-99/4A were actually written by programmers at DLM in Allen, Texas,
not programmers at Walt Disney Studios.
In another example, the Face Maker and Story Machine programs
that belonged to Spinnaker Software were not written for the 99/4A by
programmers at Spinnaker. They were simply licensed to Texas
Instruments by Spinnaker Software and then TI either used in-house or
contract programmers to do the porting of the code to the TMS9900 chip.
For example, Jerry Spacek, owner of Intersoft (the firm that produced
Defend the Cities), and John Phillips ported the Face Maker code to the
TI-99. In the case of Story Machine, it was Bill Mann who did the
programming that brought it over to the 99/4A computer.
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ROMANO,
DR. GUY-STEFFEN: Dr. Romano died on August 15, 1989. He was a
linguistic genius, the author of several pieces of advanced software in
the early 80's and the original librarian for the IUG. He founded the
Amnion Helpline in the latter part of the 80's to provide assistance to
any 99er in need. A scholar, a gentleman and a TI-99er in the very
highest sense. Dr. Romano was 57 years old.
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ROMANO,
JILL: Owner of Symbiotech, the vendors of Doom of Mondular and
other TI-99 programs.
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ROMEO: Extended Software -
Released 1982 - MSRP $15.00 -- Romeo must traverse a desert, a stream
infested with alligators and sharks, and must find his way through a
cavern to obtain a fitting reward. Available in disk and tape format.
Joysticks are required.
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ROMOX
ECPCs and SOFTWARE CENTERS:
Romox was a Campbell, CA firm, with manufacturing facilities in the
Phillipines, that specialized in manufacturing cartridges for home
computers like the TI-99/4A and others in the same or lower price
range. The company was founded in 1982 by a management team of pioneers
in the computer and semiconductor industries. In 1983 Romox, with noted
industry pioneer Paul Terrell as company president, announced a new
idea in marketing computer game programs that would allow the user to
buy their new reusable Edge Connector Programmable Cartridge (ECPC)
only once, and have it reprogrammed each time a new game program was
desired. Initial purchase price for the ECPC was around $25 and a new
game could be "burned in" for less than $10.
The Romox Plan for the ECPC was to put Romox "Software
Centers" in retail outlets like 7-11 stores, at a $160 per month lease
charge to the retailer, which would allow easy access to new programs
by computer users. The user had only to bring their ECPC to any outlet
with a Romox Software Center, place the ECPC in the correct cartridge
slot, choose the game they wanted, pay the new game fee and the clerk
would activate the Software Center.
The Software Center was an off-white colored plastic cabinet
and monitor which looked alot like a computer. It was approximately 18"
wide by 6" high with a color monitor approximately 12" wide by 8" high.
There were ten slots on the front panel of the cabinet for different
types of computer cartridge connectors and a membrane covered keypad
for typing in the catalog number of the program to burn in to the
ECPC's reprogrammable chip.
The user pressed any key to start the Software Center,
selected a program from the screen or the Romox Catalog, paid for the
new program and the clerk would activate the Software Center. The
machine would notify the user when the new game was ready to go. That
was all there was to it.
Only 5 of the 10 slots in the Software Center front panel
were used, probably because Romox already had the major players in the
cartridge software business covered, but they built the machine for the
possibility of new computers in the future. I know the Spectravideo
SV-318 and the Coleco Adam both came with a cartridge port and there
might have been a couple of others, but the "big guns" were already on
the panel.
Going from left to right while facing the Software Center,
the slots were dedicated to:
* Slot #1: TI-99/4A Home Computer
* Slot #2: Commodore VIC 20
* Slot #3: Commodore 64
* Slot #4: Atari 2600 VCS
* Slot #5: Atari 400/800, Atari 600/800XL,
and the Atari 1200XL
The TI-99 games housed in the Software Centers were
Ambulance, Anteater, Cave Creatures, Data Base Sort Utility, Driving
Demon, Henhouse, Hen Pecked, Princess and the Frog, Rabbit Trail, Rotor
Raiders, Schnoz-ola, St. Nick, Topper, Typo II and Video Vegas. Other
machines has more titles available. Atari 2600-49 titles, Atari (all
others)-39 titles, VIC 20-51 titles, Commodore 64-26 titles and the
TI-99/4A-16 titles.
I have never seen an actual Romox Software Center anywhere,
but Kyle Crighton of Milbrae, CA, who is a software engineer in the San
Jose area, has verified their existence, at least in convenience stores
in the northern California area. Byte Magazine, in their February 1985
issue on page 10, reported that Romox ceased operations mainly because
of poor dealer response and the general collapse of the cartridge
video-game market, so it appears that the Software Center concept lived
a short life.
ECPC CARTRIDGE PROGRAMMER: Romox also offered a complete ECPC
Cartridge Programmer tool kit that was not related to the Software
Center marketing concept. The tool kit consisted of:
WD-03 Cartridge Programmer $300.00 WD-04 Cartridge (EPROM)
Eraser 39.95 Blank ECPC cartridges were also offered: TI-01 Blank 8K
ECPC Cartridges 19.95 An illustration/photo of this system may be seen
in the July 1983 issue of Enthusiast 99 magazine on page 40.
During the second quarter of 1984 Navarone Industries took
over the Cartridge Programmer business from Romox and added an IBM
PCjr. cartridge making tool kit to their product line. At the same
time, Navarone announced a licensing agreement with Romox that allowed
Navarone to produce and distribute Romox's entire line of cartridge
software for both the 99/4A and the Commodore 64. Byte Magazine, in
their February 1985 issue on page 10 reported that Romox ceased
operations mainly because of poor dealer response and the general
collapse of the cartridge video-game market. Perhaps the licensing
agreement with Navarone was the beginning of the end for Romox?
(Charles LaFara writing in Enthusiast 99, Nov83, p.40 -- Romox Software
Catalog -- Jerry Price, former owner of Tex*Comp User's Supply in
Granda Hills, CA) ROPER, PAT: See Games By Apollo. RYTE DATA: 99/4A
support company formed by Bruce Ryan, running out of 210 Mountain
Street Haliburton Ontario Canada K0M 1S0 (705) 457-2774. Company
produced the R/D Computing Newsletter and distributed several products,
especially those produced by the German firm Mechatronics GmbH.
From Video Games Player, Oct/Nov 83, page 17: CARTS CAN BE
REPROGRAMMED!
Even the best games get
boring, so Romox is marketing a cartridge that can be reprogrammed with
the new game of your choice. This is
possible only with their
patent-pending "ECPC" (Edge Connector Programmable Cartridge). Regular
games use ROM cartridges that can't
be reprogrammed. All you'll
have to do will be to visit the local shop, trade your old Romox
cartridge for a blank one and pop the cart into
one of nine slots on the Romox
terminal. In less than a minute, you've got a new game, for only $10.
In addition to lower prices, Romox will
be electronically transmitting
new games to the 1300 "Programming Terminals" around the country, so
you won't have to wait months for
new games. Games for Atari VCS
and all Atari computers, Commodore's 64 and VIC-20, and the TI 99/4A
will be available in September.
Plans are being made to
provide cartridges for Mattel, Oddysey [sic] and other formats upon
agreements with game publishers. Romox
anticipates each terminal to
eventually offer 500 games. (compliments of Bruce Tomlin)
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RYTE
DATA SOUTH: Short-lived American arm of Bruce Ryan’s Ryte Data
company. Staffed by Henri Schlereth and Judi Beckett. Formed in May
1987 and closed in October 1987.
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