E-mail in 1984 with Tandy's DeskMate -
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ต.ค. 2024
- Exploring the e-mail and remote access features of the Tandy 1000's original DeskMate software from 1984 -- possibly the first home computer to ever come with e-mail?
See also TJBChris's video about Tandy's Workgroup Companion, an optional package which replaced the Host and Mail features in DeskMate 3.x: • Exploring Tandy DeskMa...
1984 Tandy 1000 brochure:
www.amstereo.or...
Download DeskMate here:
winworldpc.com...
Tip: You can change the colors in DeskMate 1.x and II by pressing Ctrl-F1 through Ctrl-F4.
#vintage #tandy #deskmate
I just realized that nearly all of the DeskMate 1 & II files beginning with "TW" suggests Tandy may have originally planned to call it something different -- perhaps "TandyWorks"? See also TJBChris's video about Tandy's Workgroup Companion, an optional package which replaced the Host and Mail features in DeskMate 3.x: th-cam.com/video/FswQqBoYt0Y/w-d-xo.html
thats very interesting
Seems VERY likely.
Nice form of Y2K compliancy: the decade counter just keeps counting after '9'. '
Nice use of your eagle eye!!!
@@BilisNegra I was browsing through the comments if someone beat me to it, and Jaap did! Nice y2k bug, fortunately it didn't crash things, just messed the date up.
Neat, I had no idea about this text based version of Deskmate. Performance must be pretty nice as well when compared to the later graphical one. (Especially for scrolling in the word processor.)
I wonder if they could put out a modern linux that is text based but still useful today and built on a similar model for use with older x86 hardware think pentium3 etc for communications or imbedded aplications and whatnot
I remember Deskmate on the TRS-80 Model 4D. :)
The D in 4D stood for Deskmate.
@@DerekWitt Deskmate also came out on the Color Computer 3 and even the Color Computer 2. And interestingly it was always graphical on those systems even when the nominally much more powerful Tandy 1000 started with a text-based version.
At 11:41 "tage" is actually "stage", the "s" appears after you exit out of the email briefly.
I think the cursor was covering it because the "s" showed up for a split second as he exited READ MAIL.
@@defaultuserid1559 Likely just a glitch in the modem communication. Happens often on modern VoIP phone lines.
Jeff slipped into gratuitous German for one word
I love how many people in the comments thought you were serious about not knowing "tage" was "stage." Your dry humor seems to go over people's heads and it just makes it funnier. I feel like this isn't the first time I've seen that in your comments sections either.
Guess lots of international viewers with mother tongues other than English have something to do with that, maybe... Although even in that case that should become clear when Kevin carries on with it in the spoof mail reply.
Could have fooled me (and in fact it did...it sure doesn't *sound* humorous, not even dryly so, in the video...).
See, again, I’m not usually interested in older computers but I not only watched intensely for 16 and a half minutes, I found it very interesting and informative. I’ve come to the realization that I’ll watch anything Kevin posts. And, the Tandy commercial with Bill Bixby at the end was fantastic!
In your TH-cam comment you used the word "Kevin". What does this mean? Did you mean Kevn?
I worked at a Radio Shack store from 1986-1988/9 and actually sold these computers. I even had my own Tandy 1000 at home. It worked until about 1993, mostly word processing biz correspondence.
1987 I was moving office furniture around working for a temp employment agency at the time while in school. I saw a computer running EGA graphics. I was in awe of the higher resolution and color monitor. Back then it was CGA graphics for me.
Back in 1987 my father had an Atari 1040ST, whose graphics and sound hopelessly outmoded any PC at the time. Friends of mine had an Amiga, which was even more awesome. Sadly those two systems couldn't stand the competition of cheap PC clones.
There was a time when a new computer on display would always have a group of people gather around it. Each company had their own way of doing things back then, and for most of us it was all new intriguing.
Re: the Y2K bug that's simply incrementing the ASCII code for the decade past the numbers, the original driver Tandy included with the "Smartwatch" clock chip had a similarly amusing flaw: when you go past 1999 it increments the decade digit to "A", IE, Hexadecimal 10, and so on. So here in 2021 when it reads the clock it'll display it's the year "19C1". (DOS itself will actually set the time correctly.) Presumably something genuinely terrible will happen in the year 2060.
I remember back at New Years Eve 1999, leaving my Tandy 1000HX on, just to see what would happen.
15:08 The "
Perfect logic really,
Tandy, brought to you by Bruce Banner, and remember kids, dont make him angry, you wouldnt like him when hes angry.
I wonder if the screen would change from colour to a green phosphorescence one? And who would clean up the mess he made when he was angry! Perhaps that's why the keys needed to be pressed slowly, so he didn't get angry that it kept mssing ot lettrs. Er, mising; Um, MISSING out letters. (LOL).
You know by the time the "L" series Tandy 1000s came out, I believe Compuserve (as a popular service), and maybe even Prodigy existed. I'm wondering if Tandy removed those capabilites either in anticipation, or because of compensation from the walled garden providers. When I worked for Gateway 2000 we were forced to pay a premium for Windows and Office because we would not remove Netscape from our standard load.
True -- Tandy did offer PC Link in DeskMate 3.x, which was one of the predecessors of AOL. (It was a spinoff of Quantum Link, which was exclusively for C64 users.)
@@vwestlife Q-Link was not exclusive to the C64, there was also a C128 version included with GEOS 128, and ran in C128 mode, but it was basically the same as the C64 version just made ti run in C128 mode. However GEOS 128 did take advantage of the C128 with faster load times, and a bit more fluid interface over GEOS for the C64.
everyone back then felt like they had to race to get graphical UIs ala the Mac but until 80386 and VGA graphics were mainstream, text mode was really the way to go on PCs
Another Brilliant Video VWestlife 😊👍
Jeff will be wondering who the hell is Kevin, since he sent that mail to Laura? :D
He'll also be wondering why it took so many years to get a reply; and he'll probably have forgotten what the project was by now.
Super interesting! I am always fascinated by old tech that can do things we take for granted nowadays, back when it was considered groundbreaking
Back then most computer companies focused on business customers more so than home users, so I could see this feature being used as a marketing tool to gain large unit sales to businesses and their employees that could afford to have one at home as well. Call it email or instant messaging, this probably sold quite a few units to the business market. Being able to call into work with their "portable word processor" was also probably a big selling point for those business deals on the go.
I read an article by a Journalist saying that the Tandy Model 100 portable (similar to the Portable Kevin was using) completely changed the way they worked. Before then the journalists would have to call their office when a secretary was available and dictate their latest article to them, hoping they got it right. My mother once spotted a hilarious advert for a "Porpoise built apartment".
@@MrDuncl Suits Small Victoria Mouse ?
I had the best teenage years working at Tandy's back in 1983 to 1986 and remember selling these computers. I used to get 10% commission on every sale so was a great money making job.
14:00 - Wait, wait, wait... Tandy misspelled "Calendar" in the remote interface? BWAHAHAHAHAHA!
And so did Commodore with "Kernal".
@@vwestlife That was at least not a common word among the general public, and they used it to trademark their version. "Calender" is just the word calendar misspelled. They spelled it right other places in the interface, so it wasn't like they were trying to brand "DeskMate® Calender® for all your calendar needs!"™
@@AnonymousFreakYT Kernel, as in a kernel of corn, is a common word among the general public.
No, they were just way ahead of the time. You see, when you activate that feature, all your printouts come out wavy :P
Early example of a poor translation error?
The 80s were just an amazing period for home computers. So many different platforms, each with their own unique features…computing nowadays is mostly just a huge yawn inducing bore…look…Windows 11… we moved the start menu to the middle of the task bar….d’you like it??
The Tandy 1000 line of computers are pretty awesome. I've been enjoying my 1000 TX and HX machines a lot. As for the Tandy mail service, the Commodore 64 had Q-Link (QuantumLink) back in the day that also offered a mail service similar to the Tandy Deskmate mail service.
I never used this functionality in the Telecom module on my Tandy 1000a, but then again at the time I only had the one computer. I did use it for CompuServe though. I had even found a program published in some computer magazine of the time that was supposed to add Kermit functionality to Telecom (never worked though, it essentially was just hex code with a header to patch the executable).
The Filer was awfully SLOW though. Every time you added/changed a record, it would rewrite the entire file (it apparently didn't have a separate index). I tried to use it to build a database of our whole 32mm film inventory at all the film depots around the US. The more I put in, the slower it got.
In German the word "Tage" means "days" but I definitely don't think that the one who wrote it meant it to be German.
wow this is so cool and impressive for 1984!
My generation is so spoiled. Just the fact that I have a computer in front of me right now and can type this comment. I always try not to take the tech we have for granted, everything had to start somewhere and thats why I love exploring the archiology of computers and technology I always learn something new.
Great video! I had DeskMate on my Color Computer II 64 K of RAM, but it didn't have e-mail. But the Tandy 1000 is very superior to the humble CoCo I had. ;-)
My dad bought a Tandy 1000 in February of 1985. I wrote a ton of papers in DeskMate while I was in high school.
Mom and Laura were very high tech for 1984 :-)
0:01 for a second or so, I thought that background test card is a part of this brochure. "Pretty cool, but why? Did ot have an optional TV tuner?"
Urban dictionary definition of tage:
1)something extremely sexy.
2)a dangerous fall during a mountain biking accident.
3)the perfect guy every girl is looking for ;sporty, funny, gorgeous, remembers to call, sexy, not afraid of commitement, has the softest lips, great kisser, super cute, easy to talk to, supportive, completely irresistable, and thoughtful.
4)the prince in a fairytale.
😅
But yeah, the word was stage.
1984 Deskmate: Cut, Copy and Paste...
2007 iPhone: No Cut, no Copy and no Paste. 😂😂😂😂
kai os doesn't even have copy paste and this is 2021. Take That!
I just couldn't believe this was true, and then I found this 2009 Engadget article... "iPhone finally gets copy and paste!"
Hilarious haha.
The message at 10:47 had a character missing at the same exact spot as the "(s)tage" message. But it was an apostrophe so it was less noticeable.
DeskMate 0.0 (I guess) was pretty sweet on the TRS-80 Model 4. I didn't really use it, as most of my software library was Model III. Instead, I would just load it up to behold the power and utility that 80 columns could bring. Also, the Model 100 operating system looks like DeskMate--no Mail option, though.
Oops, apparently my memory of DeskMate on the Model 4 is faulty. It apparently does have some sort of Mail function: th-cam.com/video/iFg0S0gjnEM/w-d-xo.html
First of all, it's always great to start my day with a VWestlife video from Kevn. Great video! Wait, it's not completely Y2K compliant?? What on earth will you do? Quick, look for the sticker on the case saying it's Y2K ready lol
obviously I'm kidding but I do remember computers back in 1998-99 having those silly Y2K Ready stickers. They were 3rd party builds that usually were a frankenstein of old and really old parts.
Lol. Y2K was mostly much ado about nothing. Sure, the clocks didn't roll over to the year 2000, but all one had to do on most computers was to simply manually change the year in the system setup (BIOS) screen. We sure sold a lot of new computers in 1999!
My dad had a freaking *KVM switch* back in 1999 that was "Y2K compliant". It was just some ports, a button and some lights! Of course it was Y2K compliant!
Perhaps it was the forerunner to abbreviating the words; then it wouldn't seem to have missed any letters? Just a thought.
I loved DeskMate! I used the '90s version (particularly the audio software) throughout that decade, until I finally found drivers to make things work with the proprietary Tandy 1000 sound chip.
Thanks for the video, Kevin.
Fun video! I really enjoy these videos on old computers. Computing was a lot of fun for me back then, even though it was a lot of work at times. I got my biggest kicks out of using the modem, whether it be logging onto CompuServe or Prodigy, or even setting up a basic BBS with the com software that came with modems back then.
You techied-out yet from specifying all the modem and connection settings? Communication standards back then were a bit...uncoordinated.
Nice! Funny how the program shows many key commands on screen, but then requires you to hit CTRL-C with no on-screen prompt. User friendly when it wants to be.
And I like how Bill Bixby just walks away mid-sentence at 16:13. Maybe he was feeling angry... you wouldn't like him when he's angry.
Those phone numbers might have been Radio Shack stores
I noticed ‘tage' become 'stage', after you closed the email
Any video from Mr. VWestlife could and will serve as a historical checkpoint for those Humans of the Future. Even for us who were or too poor or too young to had one of those Amazing Gizmos!
From the time before security was invented.
I sense greatest mystery of computing history of all times here...
Did Frederick actually pay for that outstanding bill before 28 Feb of 1985?
(Yeah, $217.33 is like $540 today, great dinner indeed!)
I had a Tandy 1000EX but I did not have an HD. So when I used Deskmate it was a very long-winded experience. But I loved the concept all in 640K. On a side note, I had a word processor on a floppy disk that had a spell checker the program was called "PCTYPE". Thanks for the video. Although I am a year late.
My first computet was a TRS-80 ColorComputer.. My second was a 1000 SX. This video recalled fond memories!
e-mail in 1984 and here in 2021 i cant get my Outlook to work half of the time on my company intel i5 laptop.
Outlook goes down company goes into chaos…
S I actually owned a Tanday 1100FD laptop from around 1990 that features a single 720K Floppy drive and DOS and a monochrome CGA screen. It included a Deskmate shell built into ROM on the machine with the Deskmate productivity software provided on floppy disks included in the box. This provided a very basic GUI/desktop enviroment for the laptop which while not up to par with Mac System software of the time or the soon to be released Windows 3, it wasn’t bad for the late 80’s. Some Home Micro PC’s of the era used (or could use) a similar simplified desktop environment from Digital Research called GEM which was similar to Deskmate. The Atari ST was one such example and I believe the Commodore 64 has a version of GEM available for it. GEOS was another similar desktop environment/GUI that was made available on a number of home micro computer such as the Commodore 64.
The Tandy 1000 EX is the first computer my family ever owned, and my first exposure ever to computers or video games. I have such incredible Nostalgia it. my first Sierra adventure games, and jingle disk!
I pondered "tage" for rather longer than I should have, before realizing that it might well be bits dropped by the modem.
It just occurred to me that I have something which might well be worthy of a "SepTandy" video!
Considering that the Tandy 1000 was introduced in October 1984, an Octandy video wouldn't be too late!
The Apricot PC, released in 1983, by ACT of the UK could be upgraded with a modem card that allowed it to connect to email services. I don't think the modem was available immediately, so I suspect 1984 would have been the probably year. At very least contemporary with Tandy.
way cool, I wonder how many people bought those 80s PCs but never had a clue how to configure stuff like deskmate email- FWIW I had the Tandy Sensation in the early 90s which had something similar called WinMate but by that time it had Prodigy & AOL preinstalled for email
I was the customer services manager for Tandy Australia in 1986 till 2000 when we got bought out by Woolworhs, we used Deskmate all the time around the office and in the retail stores to report the days sales figures from the store and back to head office, Deskmate was used with a 3rd party reporting tool that used with a 300baud modem.This was 1986 until 1991, I left Tandy in 2010, I worked there for 24 1/2 years.
I was there in 1984. I would often hang around in any of the 2 local RadioShack stores and would purchase mainly stereo stuff like RCA cables, AudioTechnica stylus, cassette tape head cleaner and blank cassettes, etc etc. I bought a pair of Minimus 11's speakers which sounded pretty good. I also started collecting their yearly catalog ( 1980 to later ) and sales flyers. I still have them lol. Those were my youth years...great memories technology wise...
Don't make him angry! The 'tage' is actually STAGE, by the way; but I'm guessing you knew that. It did show the 'S' when it scrolled upwards. So it was possibly a quirk which happened by chance? Just a thought!
I can only imagine having to teach my family how to use this back in the early ‘80s.
So the first thing I Remember and never used was deskmate for TRS-80. I noticed it still had the mail function. But early computer systems need a menu system / group of software programs. When I first started into computers. People was lost and would show up at the shop I worked at. I installed a shareware program called power menu. Then a shareware programs like a database and such. I remember one person who purchased a computer. They brought it in and said it didn't do anything. Found nothing wrong with it. Just booted to a c prompt. So yes having deskmate via Tandy was nice. My first experience with a mail program was on the local University hp 3000 system. It had a built in mail program. I think It was just called mail. LOL
I sent my first email around 1984. Maybe even as early as 1982. But not on a Tandy. Also, I don't think the modem speed had anything to do with your typing lag. Probably the memory buffer. Because I was using 2400 baud modems on early 486s some years later with no issues of that sort.
BBS's had E-Mail & Quantum Link for the Commodore 64 had it also & CompuServe in the 1980's.
Exciting. Like watching retro futuristic pre-internet visionary, showing why mail become obsolete.
the subject of emails that old Is always interesting to me.
that portable keyboard computer is cool, i sat there for a minute imagining what a modern version could be (as useless as it might be). i know that macbooks have a bar above the keyboard, someone ought to make an application that mimics the appearance and utility of these gadgets, after all i can't imagine what else you'd do with a 2,000 dollar laptop
perhaps a computer marketed to students with ADHD
On kickstarter there was something out very similar to what you speak of!
The idea was to manufacture a computer aimed at journalists and students with focus problems, and it had an E-ink display and could run some kind of apps
The one in the video also reminded me of an alphasmart or something similar
Really impressive feature. But I wonder how many people thought, meh, who would ever want to use THAT feature- I just want to play hangman on this thing.
Nice video, didn't know email was popular that far back. Do you subscribe to two landlines just for things like this or what? That's dedication.
So this is just like BBS. Very neat. Having one Tandy as a server and remote workers dropping reports from overseas deals must have been great sales pitch.
We had Tandy shops in the U.K. so that could have happened. Fun fact. When Tandy designed the TRS80 they made one for each shop, on the basis that if there weren't any buyers they could still use the machines for stock control e.t.c.
I think this was 'Comment-bait' and you know that Jeff meant 'stage' the whole time. Still it got a comment out of me so touche.
Re 5:54 and the addresses question: I'm a lifelong resident of the DFW area, so your curiosity is something I also share. Googling the address as entered appears to indicate that it does not exist, but there *is* a 2209 N. Riverdale Drive in Fort Worth. So, my guess is that the addresses in the sample data are fake, but based on or inspired by real ones. Not sure about the phone numbers isue, however.
That model 100 looks very similar to what I remember using in school but without email capability. The Alphasmart that i remember doing book reports on when I didnt have a computer. I remember when my dad used to have a Tandy 1000 SL looked exactly like yours but it was from the 1990s I believe. I remember he used to use it to play Solitaire or something on it but then for some reason it stopped working or the memory went bad or I think the floppy disc got corrupted because it had no hard drive neat machine.
October 1984 TANDY 1000... Clearly Superior (TM)
i really like this old type of software
Am I correct in understanding that this was really more of a way of leaving messages on a central PC, and not sending email in the traditional sense?
But, isn't that how modern email works? Only with more than one "central" PC. Anyone can host a mail server nowadays.
@@goeland4585 yeah, this heavily reminded me of contemporary Unix mail systems used within universities and stuff, plus BBS mail of course.
I was wondering if it had any capability to link up with a modern mail server, but I guess a business buying one of those to handle mail for all 20 people in the office had no desire to hook up to some other one miles away. It was only larger businesses that cared about that kind of integration, and, well, they would’ve likely had access to Unix mail if they cared enough. (With that email address format about forwarding through lots of well-known hosts, I bet.)
Ah...When Tandy (Radio Shack) still innovated, before they became a cellphone store that sold small electronic parts on the side!
Reminds me of logging onto a BBS and checking my messages. Albeit in this case can impersonate anyone and there is no authentication :D Holy cow was that really Bill Bixby in the commercial!
the "tage" just misses the initial s.
Oh, this is super cool! And to think that this was pretty much available from the beginning. Well done, TandyWorks.. erm... I mean Deskmate :-)
I looked up some of those addresses on Google maps and none of them match up to any street names in those towns.
Yes, they appear to be fictitious, but made to look like real addresses and phone numbers. DeskMate II changed them all to 555 numbers, I guess because some people were concerned about the numbers possibly being real.
That’s really cool! Thanks for sharing!
They spelt calendar wrongly as well. With er it’s a machine for pressing cloth or paper!
Amazing functionality for 1984. I wonder how many people actually used it back then.
A WP-2! I had one I got from my uncle that I gave to Tech Tangents. My uncle was a music journalist and when he was travelling, or working from home, he would use the WP-2 to send what he typed up to his office so the publisher and editor could look at it. Nice to see one being used that looks to be in good condition.
I just commented that the portable computers changed the way Journalists worked.
Love those bright and happy colors of those old cga tandy 1000s.
very cool haven't an email program this old since I was a kid in the 80's. Neat.
I think "Jeff" had the same typing to fast problem.
This is the kind of thing that will make Radio Shack a powerhouse into the new millenium.
My Tandy 1000sl was bought in 87 I still want to get another one.
Oh wow thanks for the memories! I used Deskmate so much with my first gen Tandy 1000. Never used the mail (or even knew what it was for), but lots of high school homework was done with the word processor and my epson LX80 printer :)
At first I thought the 's' in stage had been lost, then I saw it only appears when scrolling
I remember using that computer in high school and learning to write basic .
I never even knew there was a text-based version of DeskMate until earlier this year :)
Finally, a video of an old system that does more than just 8 bits games.
I was so disheartened when the 2000 and 1000 came out. It immediately signaled that Tandy had given up on the TRS-80 and was just going to become another Compaq, an IBM clone-maker. It was only a matter of time. Oh there would be several more years of dragging out the transition, putting a brave face on it, and misleading reassurances and statements of confidence, but even for me as a kid it was obvious, and a punch in the gut.
And it was so unnecessary. Tandy had dominated the computer industry with the original TRS-80. Had they paid more early attention to reliability, standardized on CP/M, been open to third-parties rather than trying to monopolize, avoided fragmentation by using the Z-80 in the Color Computer, aggressively pursued (rather than passively awaited) a Z-80 successor, etc., they could still be in a dominant position today.
LITERALLY 1984
imagine if Jeff actually answered you! 🤣
Thank you so much for sharing this, pretty amazing that you could send and receive emails back in 1984. Love videos like this.
Oh, wow! I never knew DeskMate was so robust!!!
Fun. I still own a model 100. Still works.
Love watching these since I lived through all of it. I owned a Xerox 820-II CP/M at that time since I worked for them and got in 1981, but remember the Tandy well. By 1984, I was working on an IBM Desktop computer and was excited when we finally added a 10 gig hard drive (they usually came with two floppy drives). Your surprise at having to type the caret for a control symbol made me chuckle. Yes, one had to use the caret with reference to control characters in a number of of these software programs.
You mean 10 MB, not 10 GB! I know ^ is a common abbreviation for Ctrl, but I was surprised that you actually have to type the ^ symbol to enter Ctrl commands in the modem setup, instead of just pressing the Ctrl key directly.
Yay! New VWestlife video, life is good.
I couldn’t help but wonder if Jeff still has the same email address today.
There are no e-mail addresses in this system, just names.
@@vwestlife But isn’t there emails behind those names? How else would the computer know where to send messages?
@@7JANEWAY It just goes by the name you type in.
Nice a new video as always I'm here Kevin have a nice week really interesting
that is so cool !! i really enjoyed that!!i love 1984 and the tandy was and is a great computer!!incredible!!
This is so cool I was born in October 1985