Can Timex maintain its image of clocklike efficiency?

OVER THE YEARS, Timex came to be viewed as a company that knew how to develop and market modern technology at affordable prices. We saw a smooth-running, dependable, always-come-up-ticking operation. It came as a surprise — no, a shock — for us to realize that Timex too is fallible. It is run by people and it is run for profit. Neither of these things is bad, it’s just that we forgot them. Timex’s clock-like business belied the facts beneath the organization.

As in all organizations that are on top for so long, small mistakes can be glossed over. The corporation can absorb many knocks, especially those delivered from within by well-meaning executives. No one decision, no one person, no one step suddenly causes the giant to falter, but a series of misjudgments, unavoidable problems and technical difficulties seem to come together at one juncture, Timex Computer Corporation appeared at one of those junctures. That the company and the computer weathered the crossroads is solid testimony to the health of both. Still, we at Timex Sinclair User, who wish nothing but health and success for Timex, feel the company should take a collective breath, regain its cool and take up where it left off … at the top! Build on its past success formula; modern technology at consumer price levels.

The new T/S15O0 and T/S2068 are excellent machines. So much so that there is talk in the U.K. of importing them (the parent outstripped by its offspring). We hope that Timex presents these machines in a light that allows the public to see just how great they are.

Timex is a strong company! The T/S1500 and T/S2068 are strong computers! Let’s have a show of strength from Timex Computer Corporation!

Inside this month

Many early enthusiasts of the T/Sl000,ZX81 set up active and exciting user groups. From these groups have emerged many small companies. This is a superb example of the strength of the North American entrepreneurial system. Henry April of the Boston Computer Society is now the owner of E-Z Key, a company that designs and produces addons for Timex computers. In this issue, the Pennsylvania User Group is featured. Bill Russell, who develops and markets many products for the Timex line, including the Winky Board 2, was one of the founders of this group. We would like to feature more people who have moved from enthusiast to entrepreneur. Write to us about your experiences or those of someone you know.

Color on your T/S1000, 1500, ZX81? Yes sir! Our feature project this month shows you how to build just such a colorboard. You can use this device to generate color from your black and white computer. Of course, you will need a color television, but as the saying goes, in order to see through rose-colored glasses, you need to have rose-colored lenses!