I had a few hands on experiences with PC's in the workplace that pre-date the IBM PC. While in high school (1979-81 timeframe) I had two part time after school and weekend computer programming jobs, one at a lumbar yard, and the other at a small specialty auto parts store. (Shelby Cobra parts.) At the lumbar yard I worked on a TRS-80 Model 1 they had, refining and extending custom programs written in BASIC that calculated load bearing capacities for different types and lengths of roof trusses, which that company then assembled and delivered as pre-built units. At the auto parts store I developed a custom database for managing the parts inventory using VisiFile, another product from VisiCalc creator VisiCorp, on an Apple ][+. Not a "consumer" micro, but right out of high school (1981) I went to work for a local CADO Systems reseller. CADO Systems was a company located in Torrance California, that had been producing a successful micro (8080/8085) based business system since 1976 capable of supporting up to 4 users in a fully multitasking environment, running various accounting packages similar to what IBM was selling on their System/36, but running on a single 808x CPU with 16K of RAM, for 1/10th the cost. I ended up working at that company for the next 11 years, moving from hardware to programming, and still have quite a bit of CADO memorabilia. (But am always looking for more!) -Corey Little
-----Original Message----- From: vcf-midatlantic [mailto:vcf-midatlantic- bounces@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org] On Behalf Of Jeffrey Jonas via vcf-midatlantic Sent: Friday, November 24, 2017 9:18 PM To: vcf-midatlantic@lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org Cc: Jeffrey Jonas Subject: [vcf-midatlantic] micros in business (was early recollections, apple /// cobol)
A friend who is a CPA bought an Apple ][+ to run his business from home. He used VisiCalc (the first "killer app"). It was a lot more versatile than the huge Burroughs that was on display for a long time.
In 1982, I worked for a small company that specialized in dental office automation using a TRS80 model 2 with extension floppy drives and daisy wheel printer to print insurance forms. It also handled appointments, reminder cards, etc.
Around 1984, I noticed an unused Apple Lisa 1 (with Twiggy drive!) at a client. That was my first word processor! I used it for my documentation. No manual or training needed! Just poke around and things were quite natural!
Dow Jones Telerate explored using single board computers and touch-screen terminals for their newswire service.
Newswire services were not afraid to make custom hardware such as ISA interface cards. This was before ALL hardware became "just a commodity". Not just COTS but downright disposible :-(
A friend who worked at a large scale printer remembers Syquest drives using Apple/iMac formats were the primary media/format for submission. The artistic community still favors Apple platforms.
I attended a trade show for broadcasters. Apple notebooks/tablets are now used in lieu of cameras and for video editing in the field.
-- jeff jonas