2-Bit Software

Owner(s): Sandra Hutchins, Jan Zimmerman

Del Mar, CA 92014

2-Bit Software specialized in programs that ran in 2K of RAM.

Sandra Hutchins, one of the principals, was a computer scientist whose area of expertise was speech recognition. Jan Zimmerman, the other principal, was a business and marketing executive who wrote several books on internet marketing.

Hutchins and Zimmerman went on to Emerson & Stern Associates, where Hutchins’ work in speech recognition gained the company numerous SBIR awards.

Two of their cassette tapes are in the Smithsonian Museum’s collections.

Products

Name	Description	Computers
1, 2, 3, Go 2-Bit Software	Exercise skills in counting (Cats and Dragons), knowing left from right (Trace Course), and spelling (Scrambled Eggs; Alphabeasts). Can be played alone or with a friend.	Timex/Sinclair 1000
Basic Basic 2-Bit Software	Learn to write your own computer games. Screen display, keyboard input, moving graphics, loops, editing and other programming techniques. Includes program tape, workbook and blank tape. 2K.	Timex/Sinclair 1000, Downloadable
Crazey Mazey 2-Bit Software	4 games. Byte Bite:can you avoid the doggy’s chomping jaws? Slalom: ski your way through this ever-changing snowy scene. Labyrinth: scatter a few bits along the trail to find your way through 3 mazes. Cat & Mouse: catch your dinner before the cat catches you in this invisible maze.	Timex/Sinclair 1000
Games Sampler 2-Bit Software	Four games. Kamikaze Fly: A dexterity game in which Freda the Frog tries to eat dinner. Sketchpad: An easy to use screen drawing program. Navajo Rugs: Generates kaleidoscopic patterns randomly. Biorhythm: Plots your mental, physical, and emotional states on any given day. 2K.	Timex/Sinclair 1000, Downloadable
Gridlock 2-Bit Software	Four programs. Tow Truck: tell the driver where to find your stalled car. Foggy Sea: Cartesian coordinates help you rescue a missing ship. Robot: program the robot arms to repack two cartons in the smallest number of moves. Easy Plot: displays plot of equations for Y as a function of X.	Timex/Sinclair 1000
Keystroke Management 2-Bit Software	Four games: Musical Desks, Corner Office, Automation and Go to the Top. Musical Desks: it’s more luck than skill to keep your desk when all about you are losing theirs). Corner Office: find your way through the invisible corporate maze to the comer office. Office Automation: will you survive in the brave new electronic workplace?	Timex/Sinclair 1000
Making Treks 2-Bit Software	See the world with variations on adventure games that take you from the calm Pacific to the frosty Himalayas. You may find yourself riding a camel, floating on a hot air balloon, or steaming along on a slow boat to China. The object is to return home before your vacation is over and to have	Timex/Sinclair 1000
Mind Bogglers 2-Bit Software	Four brain-testing, brain-twisting trials and triumphs. How good are you at left-brain (analytical) and right-brain (spatial) mental gymnastics. Figure out: Sinclair Towers, Eye-Q, Dots and Spots, Seven Bridges. 2K.	Timex/Sinclair 1000
Mind vs. Machine 2-Bit Software	Four opportunities to beat the computer. Tic Tac Toe I and II: Basic and advanced variations of the classic game of strategy. Chocolate Truffles: Makes you plan ahead to “take away” the last luscious truffle. Superspy: Gives you a chance to decode secret messages smuggled out from behind the “silicon” curtain.	Timex/Sinclair 1000, Downloadable
Snake Eyes 2-Bit Software	Odds On: see just how random the random number generator really is. Roulette: place your bets; you can win this two-player game by chance. Loaded Dice: the “house” has fixed this game, figure out how. Blackjack: figure the changing odds to beat the computer at 21.	Timex/Sinclair 1000
Square 2-Bit Software	This program could replace the cube. It can be played as a solitaire game or contest with your friends. Many levels of play. You can rerun the move using the right answer to see how it would turn out. Scores are printed at the end. 2K.	Timex/Sinclair 1000
Turning the Truth Tables 2-Bit Software	First in a series on the principles of programming. Have fun as you find out what “and,” “either,” “or,” “if,” and “then” mean to a computer. Some things may not be so logically impossible as you might think. Ages 12 and up. 2K.	Timex/Sinclair 1000
Working Mother's Dilemma 2-Bit Software	Package of 4 games. Designed as a fun way for women to learn about computers. Mad Dash: Tests your ability to race through the house when you have not had a break all day. Carfool: Figure out how to use the least amount of gas while running errands all over town. Harried Housewife: Adventure game	Timex/Sinclair 1000

Books

Periodicals

Documents

2-Bit Software brochure

Downloads

Name	Description	Computers
Basic BASIC 2-Bit Software		Timex/Sinclair 1000
Games Sampler 2-Bit Software		Timex/Sinclair 1000
Mind vs Machine 2-Bit Software		Timex/Sinclair 1000

Articles

Title	Description	Computers
Bulletins: Software satirizes suburbanites	Games from 2-Bit Software, keyboard from Pegasus Micro Systems, motherboard from Syntech, programs from Orbyte Software, E-Z Key 60 recommended, programs from ZX-Panding Ltd and announcement of the Timex-Sinclair 1983 Directory from E. Arthur Brown Company.	Timex/Sinclair 1000
Editor Ramblings	Magazine printed with daisy wheel printer. Spectrum micro drives not disk. Sinclair and Timex sales figures. Amateur radio users. Educational software from 2-Bit Software. Program of the month club. Winky Board 2.
Large Scale Fun for Small Scale Computers	Reviews of Keystroke Management (2-Bit), TS Destroyer and Space Raid (SoftSync), Millepede (Axis Software), Meteorites (SoftSync) and Merchant of Venus (Timex/Crystal Computing).	Timex/Sinclair 1000
Mini-Reviews: Timex Sinclair User, Nightgunner, more	Reviews of Timex Sinclair User magazine, Multi-Program tape from SyncWare, Nightgunner from Softsync, Key Stroke Management and Truth Tables from 2-Bit Software, Inventory Control and Manufacturing Control from Timex.	Timex/Sinclair 1000
Mini-Reviews: XFORTH, Synchro-sette, more	Short reviews of XFORTH by Hawg Wild Software, Synchro-sette magazine, direct video interface from AERCO, 123 Go and Making Treks by 2-Bit Software.	Timex/Sinclair 1000
New Products and Services (Syntax v4 n11)	New products from Hawg Wild, Z-West, 2-Bit Software, Phoenix Enterprises, Warren Imports Group, Russell Brewer, Goldwater Manufacturing, John Carson, Labsoft, Occam Research, Golden Stair, E. H. Enterprises.
New Products and Services (Syntax v4 n5)	New products from Timex, J.V. Kane, Silicon Valley North, ZX-Panding, Computer Engineering Services, M-Ware, W.D. Maples, Kaltek Calculator Technology, J.J. Castillos, Florida Creations, Stuart Software, Laserscan Electronics, International Publishing & Software, 2-Bit Software, LINC.
New Products and Services (Syntax v4 n7)	New products from Tom Woods, Kopak, L. Harmon, f/22 Press, 2-Bit Software, Barlog Software, Celestial Software, SyncMaster, CRC Software, Timeworks, K.D.V.H.E. Publishers, Starburst Software, Intercomputer, Hawg Wild, D. Lipinski Software, Polymath, Russell Brewer, Bob Fingerle.
Resources (Sync v4 n1)	Listing of new user groups, books and other resources.	Timex/Sinclair 1000
Resources (Sync v4 n2)	Listing of new user groups, books and other resources.
Software Review: Snake Eyes and Truth Tables	Review of the programs from 2-Bit Software.	Timex/Sinclair 1000
To Buy or Not to Buy?	Reviews of Frogger from Timex, Games Sampler and Mind vs Machine by 2-BIT Software.

Image Gallery

People

Jan Zimmerman, Sandra Hutchins