Vintage Computer Federation | Tales from the Silicon Prairie: Working at Tandy / Radio Shack 1984-1994 - Valerie See @vcfederation | Uploaded August 2022 | Updated October 2024, 18 minutes ago.
0:00: Valerie shares memories of her 10 years at Tandy Radio Shack, covering software, hardware, and the evolution of Tandy computers.
5:32: Memorable experiences working with Tandy/Radio Shack tech support, including embarrassing moments and favorite tech reps.
11:00: Memories of working at Tandy / Radio Shack from 1984-1994: perks, packed agenda, and introduction to Xenix.
16:09: Working at a technology company involved fun, management challenges, and diverse publications including instructional videos and technical bulletins.
21:40: Memories of working at a technology company in the 1980s, including tools, colleagues, and inventory management.
26:38: Unique projects at Tandy/Radio Shack included custom cabinetry, virus prevention, and building point of sale systems for repair centers and retail stores.
32:00: Interference from nearby radio broadcast station causing system errors and artifacts on Tandy computers.
37:12: Valerie See discusses the restoration of old Tandy systems, acknowledging the efforts of VCF and the Tandy community, and showcasing John Elliott's designs.
43:40: Discussion of old school modem-based technology, including serial and modem connections, and limitations of baud rates.
Recapped using Tammy AI
Please link this video and subscribe to our channel!
Valerie See worked at Tandy / Radio Shack on their computer line from 1984 - 1994, starting as a field service representative in upstate New York, and ending up as the manager of Computer Support (Tech Support) at Tandy headquarters in Fort Worth. In this talk, she'll share memories of her time at Tandy / Radio Shack, running the gamut from sharing details of the publications, software, and hardware that Tech Support produced, to stories from the trenches working on Tandy line computers in the field and at Tech Support. In this 10 year period, Tandy computers moved from the Z80A-based Model I and Model II to 80386 based systems like the Model 4000, and even the first licensed non-IBM microchannel system, the Model 5000.
Speaker: Valerie See
A presentation at VCF East 2022
Valerie See has spent nearly 40 years working in high tech, starting at Tandy / Radio Shack in the 1980s and continuing to the present day, where she's worked at Microsoft for over 25 years. Her first job at Radio Shack was a short stint in a retail outlet, but she quickly moved to working as a shipping clerk, then field service engineer, in a Radio Shack computer repair center in Albany NY. While attending a training course at Tandy HQ in Fort Worth, she was hired as a Technical Support Representative and moved to Fort Worth, Texas, in 1984, and spent the next 10 years working in Computer Support (Tech Support). She became the Diagnostics Coordinator in 1989, and the Manager of Computer Support overall in 1993, where she remained until she left Tandy in 1994. While at Tandy, Valerie was responsible for support of field personnel across the entire computer product line, but specialized in the business focused systems, including the multi-user Xenix and Unix systems. After Tandy, Valerie worked at Adaptec as a Field Application Engineer and Senior System Engineer on high end storage and networking products until 1996. She joined Microsoft in 1996, where she still works as a Director of Open Source Engineering; during her time at Microsoft, she worked on many releases of Windows (from Windows NT 4.0 Server, Enterprise Edition through the Windows 7 family releases), and also on Windows Phone 7.0 - 8.1. Valerie has a B.S. in Physics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and is a registered patent agent.
0:00: Valerie shares memories of her 10 years at Tandy Radio Shack, covering software, hardware, and the evolution of Tandy computers.
5:32: Memorable experiences working with Tandy/Radio Shack tech support, including embarrassing moments and favorite tech reps.
11:00: Memories of working at Tandy / Radio Shack from 1984-1994: perks, packed agenda, and introduction to Xenix.
16:09: Working at a technology company involved fun, management challenges, and diverse publications including instructional videos and technical bulletins.
21:40: Memories of working at a technology company in the 1980s, including tools, colleagues, and inventory management.
26:38: Unique projects at Tandy/Radio Shack included custom cabinetry, virus prevention, and building point of sale systems for repair centers and retail stores.
32:00: Interference from nearby radio broadcast station causing system errors and artifacts on Tandy computers.
37:12: Valerie See discusses the restoration of old Tandy systems, acknowledging the efforts of VCF and the Tandy community, and showcasing John Elliott's designs.
43:40: Discussion of old school modem-based technology, including serial and modem connections, and limitations of baud rates.
Recapped using Tammy AI
Please link this video and subscribe to our channel!
Valerie See worked at Tandy / Radio Shack on their computer line from 1984 - 1994, starting as a field service representative in upstate New York, and ending up as the manager of Computer Support (Tech Support) at Tandy headquarters in Fort Worth. In this talk, she'll share memories of her time at Tandy / Radio Shack, running the gamut from sharing details of the publications, software, and hardware that Tech Support produced, to stories from the trenches working on Tandy line computers in the field and at Tech Support. In this 10 year period, Tandy computers moved from the Z80A-based Model I and Model II to 80386 based systems like the Model 4000, and even the first licensed non-IBM microchannel system, the Model 5000.
Speaker: Valerie See
A presentation at VCF East 2022
Valerie See has spent nearly 40 years working in high tech, starting at Tandy / Radio Shack in the 1980s and continuing to the present day, where she's worked at Microsoft for over 25 years. Her first job at Radio Shack was a short stint in a retail outlet, but she quickly moved to working as a shipping clerk, then field service engineer, in a Radio Shack computer repair center in Albany NY. While attending a training course at Tandy HQ in Fort Worth, she was hired as a Technical Support Representative and moved to Fort Worth, Texas, in 1984, and spent the next 10 years working in Computer Support (Tech Support). She became the Diagnostics Coordinator in 1989, and the Manager of Computer Support overall in 1993, where she remained until she left Tandy in 1994. While at Tandy, Valerie was responsible for support of field personnel across the entire computer product line, but specialized in the business focused systems, including the multi-user Xenix and Unix systems. After Tandy, Valerie worked at Adaptec as a Field Application Engineer and Senior System Engineer on high end storage and networking products until 1996. She joined Microsoft in 1996, where she still works as a Director of Open Source Engineering; during her time at Microsoft, she worked on many releases of Windows (from Windows NT 4.0 Server, Enterprise Edition through the Windows 7 family releases), and also on Windows Phone 7.0 - 8.1. Valerie has a B.S. in Physics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and is a registered patent agent.
