Grimm was software manager for Timex Computer Corporation, from January 1980 to March 1982.
He was one of the original six at Timex Computer Corporation, along with Billy Skyrme, Bob Behler, Carlos Dragovich, Margot Murphy, and Dan Ross.
This small group got the Timex 1000 and 1016 out to public. They changed the 1K RAM 2K and rebranded it as the Timex Sinclair 1000.
“All of these names (Grimm, Skyrme, Behler, Dragovich, Murphy and Ross) where characters in a maze game I wrote called Grimm’s Fairy Trails.”
Developed Software, Managed Software Team
“Almost immediately, we engaged SoftSync. Sue [Currier] and her team began gathering up ZX software from around the world. I wrote probably 12 titles, and the rest of the world chimed in for hundreds more.”
Grimm hired six software/hardware people to screen and test these submissions.
“It was like a dream to me. Everything was new. And it was quick. Software authors came from the world over to see me and get a machine,” Grimm said.
Hardware Issues
“It was always my contention that just because my team could keep the 16K RAM pack on, the general populace could not nor could they tune the tape recorder to the right [volume],” Grimm said about the challenges the public experienced. “The UK and other European markets were far more tolerant to Clive’s stuff and just ran with it. Americans, however, expected it to work with no effort required.”
According to Grimm, Bill Gates visited Timex, with the intent to port his BASIC to the Timex computer. “He was so young and, of course, just another player at that time. No deal,” Grimm said of the visit.
When Timex started working on the TS 2000, they “attacked it like Atari: it needs joysticks, cartridges, real keyboard. We are just going to beef it up, be ready in 2 months. We then hired engineers to rework the hardware, ROM guys to rework the ROM. QC guys. This crew was over 50 people. One year later, we were still waiting.”
“We did not make our own chips (ROM) so were totally dependent on a company in Arizona. Just one error and we would wait months for a re-burn.”
After Timex Computer Corporation
When Timex Computer Corporation shut down, Grimm stayed because he could write code that delved into deep algorithms for complex systems. He left Timex in 2000, after 30 years at the company.