|  Post Your Message | |
| |
| | Previous Messages | Posted By
Patrick
on 2016-03-07
10:10:34
|  Re: Trilogy: missing software?
funny to read that Jack made the plus4 but also had a share in his dead!
i wonder what happened with the plus4 if jack stayed at CBM...
|
|
Posted By
SVS
on 2016-03-07
07:52:53
 | Re: Trilogy: missing software?
Very interesting and nice to hear D. Johnson himself.
Thank indi for contacting!
If it is not too annoying, it would be very cool if he will write a reply regarding the original (not cut down version) of the 3+1 spreadsheet, and...  perhaps other software/develop materials.
Anyhow pls. let us to thank him for his 30 years ago work.
|
|
Posted By
indi
on 2016-03-07
02:54:57
| Re: Trilogy: missing software?
David has kindly responded to your questions - here it is....
The Plus-4 was based on my Trilogy programs which at the time was
a best selling disk program for the CBM-64, which is why Commodore
came to my small company, Pacific-Tri-Micro. I had other products
out at the time including a graphics drawing program.
I spend about 8 1/2 months doing the CBM version.
Yes, I was under a lot of stress to finish the program and cut it
down to size. I was back and forth to CBM headquarters, finally
staying the last months in a near by motel. In fact the day I left
the Corporate Building after delivering the final eproms I had
an accident in the snow, not hurt seriously, but because at the
stop sign I was still preoccupied , you know running the code through
my head.
I also did a version of Trilogy for the Atari 800.
My inspiration for Trilogy was two parts. Lotus 123 on IBM-pcs
and my own experience using some IBM modelling software
when I worked at IBM , some years before.
It was a demanding project, but really cool, to save space when I
had to crunch down, I interfaced into the system math-drivers
that had been written by no less than Bill Gates himself and
apparently under a contract a couple of years earlier.
I loved the PLUS-4 There were 600,000 made. 300,000 for the
States and 300,000 for Europe.
I also did a French, and German version.
And in my small company in Californian, PTM. we continued to
support it for some years, with a news letter.
At the time many people were real fans of the effort, especially
in Europe.
The problem was that Jack had moved to take over Atari and
Mr. Smith the COB was not happy with Jack, and the PLus4
was Jack's last project at CBM, so there was not a lot of good will.
Many of the executives I dealt with during my time there, ended up
at Atari. Thus the Plus-4 was lucky to even get out the door.
PTM was a creation of my wife and myself. At one point (few years)
we had 4 of our 50, or so titles, in the top 10, nationally.
We had about 20 people at PTM
PTM ended in 1989 with me having a heart attack.
In the 90's I worked for AOL in Core Technology Group.
|
|
Posted By
SVS
on 2016-02-23
15:26:23
| Re: Trilogy: missing software?
Time ago (well maybe years ago) I wrote an email to D. Johnson. I'd found his address on the net, but I had no luck. I don't exclude that that address was unattended, anyway I did not receive an error mail message.
James or Indi can you help? 
|
|
Posted By
Chicken
on 2016-02-23
14:14:00
 | Re: Trilogy: missing software?
SVS: If I remember correctly "Trilogy" (on which 3-plus-1 was somehow "based") was available for a different platform (C64) only. Also, it (or parts of it) got renamed later on to "YOUR HOME OFFICE". A while ago I looked into this and found some pieces/articles on this topic but it's probably nothing you haven't already seen.
I agree with George … Asking the man himself is a thousand times better than all these speculations. indi should have his e-mail address and maybe he's kind enough to forward your question.
|
|
Posted By
George
on 2016-02-23
12:45:55
 | Re: Trilogy: missing software?
Isn't it possible to ask Johnson himself?
|
|
Posted By
SVS
on 2016-02-23
11:58:49
| Re: Trilogy: missing software?
David Johnson himself said that he had by Commodore only 30 days to compress the 4 programs in just one 32K ROM. He cut off some commands and the Graphics (substituted by GR command), but making them linked. Respectable work!
@MMS: Thank you for your words about SVS-Calc.
I consider the Spreadsheet of 3+1 the best of the 3 programs (way better than Calc-Plus). And I don't know how it can manage a so large number of cells. Then I'm curious to see how good was the unreduced original version.
|
|
Posted By
Chicken
on 2016-02-22
17:24:55
| Re: Trilogy: missing software?
A bit off-topic …
MMS: According to most sources, Jack Tramiel wanted a low cost entry-level computer (i. e. the C116). Only later on, when it was clear that what the engineers came up with was something more powerful (enough for the SO/HO market), the concept changed. I'm not sure if Jack Tramiel had much to do with that decision. The sources on that topic are very limited.
Though, the plus/4 (and even the 364) concept is more or less what Michael Tomczyk had in mind with the "Max Machine" (which is NOT the reduced Japanese C64 which has the same name).
Anyway, then it was planned to have a choice of built-in software (and additional cartridges). Adding the built-in software was not a last minute decision – just giving the user no choice but always include 3-plus-1 was. (Yes, most likely because resellers didn't want to stock many different versions of the machine – even with just cartridges it's problematic).
Keep in mind not every software can run from or (or in this case rather in) ROM. In some cases, the content of the (EP)ROMs just gets copied to RAM. So the advantage is just that it's instantly there – not that you have more RAM to use.
|
|
Posted By
MMS
on 2016-02-22
15:09:25
 | Re: Trilogy: missing software?
Ok, it is a great idea to update them all, but you already have the fantastic SVS-Calc.
Why not use that, making it somehow more compatible with the rest?
BTW it would be just GREAT to have a ROM Cartride with all those upgraded stuff, even upgraded Spreadsheet. I would even buy one.
It was just recently told, that 64K is possible, maybe even bigger? How far is the full package from that?
Running from ROM, and have most of all the RAM below them for all the data. It will be almost the same Mr.Traimler planned, to get the cartridge you need, but this idea was dropped due to supply chain issues (noone wanted to keep soooo many cartridges on stock, made the concept confusing, so they decided to go integrated, but reduced ROM version)
|
|
Posted By
SVS
on 2016-02-22
11:06:37
| Trilogy: missing software?
As you may known, I like (yes!) the 3+1 software. So that I've fixed and improved Plus4Extra and PlusGraph. (I hope you too, now, like them a bit more
I've read somewhere that there was a Tri-Micro production named Trilogy, from which was taken the "reduced" version called 3+1.
Some years ago, thank to JamesC and gc841 (Gary) I finally had the Wordprocessor, dBmanager, and Graphics. They are the programs I've fixed and improved.
Supposing all those were included in "Trilogy", the lone missing is the Spreadsheet.
To find a copy of it would complete the collection, and perhaps my fixings
|
|
| |
Copyright © Plus/4 World Team, 2001-2024. Support Plus/4 World on Patreon |
