AtariAge Welcomes Ted Dabney!

[Cebus Capucinis]

I wouldn't say that we won't be interested in anything you have to say! You created a lot of amazing things and I'm sure the technical aspects of your creations is enough conversation material for a book or two at least!

[Lendorien]

Cool as heck! Welcome!

[Curt Vendel]

Thank you for stopping by again Ted and posting, I told you people would appreciate it and you. I'll reply back to your email later...

 

 

PS- on the Super Quiz... we're are kindred spirits it seems

 

 

 

Curt

 

I am humbled by the reception I've received. Thank you so much.

 

First, I want to say I am not an inovator, I'm just a very capable engineer.

Nolan Busnell had the visions and I had the way to accomplish them.

My only complaint is that he gave me no recognition for what I did.

 

He said that I had no digital skills yet I designed and manufactured the "Number Callout System" (Notalog) for Pizza Time.

I designed and manufactured the "Isaac Asimov Presents Super Quiz" for Pizza Time. He still owes me $40,000 for that one.

 

He said that I didn't have a daughter because he always pretended that he worked in HIS daughters bedroom. He told me that Paula (his first wife) would not allow it.

 

All in all, you wouldn't be interested anything I have to say except for my involvement with Nolan. And I thank him for that.

[Ransom]

All in all, you wouldn't be interested anything I have to say except for my involvement with Nolan.

 

I'm not so sure about that. If you mean personal interactions with Nolan, anyway. A lot of folks here spent their childhoods benefiting from the things you created, and a lot of us at least dabble in electronics and/or programming. I'd be interested in anything you wanted to share of your work with Atari, Pizza Time Theater, etc. For example, were there any challenges you faced in producing the Number Callout System?

 

Anything you'd care to share about the good old days or your experiences since would be most welcome, I'm sure, whether from a technical or personal level.

[Cebus Capucinis]

Mr. Dabney:

 

Forgive me if I'm asking a question that requires a very long answer, but I'm not completely familiar with Pizza Time Theater, having grown up in a rural area. How does the Number Callout System work? (Perhaps Curt or other members can clue me in to this so you don't have to spend time answering a possibly redundant question) I assume it is connected to serving the pizza itself to customers?

 

Thank you!

[desiv]

I am humbled by the reception I've received. Thank you so much.

 

It's much deserved. What you, and others like you, did was a formative influence on some of us. I know it's part of why I went into technology. So, thank you.

 

First, I want to say I am not an innovator, I'm just a very capable engineer.

Nolan Busnell had the visions and I had the way to accomplish them.

My guess is that you are more innovative than you give yourself credit for...

My only complaint is that he gave me no recognition for what I did.

All too common an occurrence unfortunately. However, many of us realize that Nolan was important, but still a businessman. (No offense Nolan. :-)

We are glad to hear more about the people who's shoulder's he rode upon. We all know you exist, but more detailed (and less PRd) history is always welcome! :-)

 

All in all, you wouldn't be interested anything I have to say except for my involvement with Nolan. And I thank him for that.

 

We might.. We tend to be interested in many different things... :-)

I meant technology wise!!! You people! Sheeeshh!!

 

desiv

[potatohead]

I am humbled by the reception I've received. Thank you so much.

 

First, I want to say I am not an inovator, I'm just a very capable engineer.

Nolan Busnell had the visions and I had the way to accomplish them.

My only complaint is that he gave me no recognition for what I did.

 

He said that I had no digital skills yet I designed and manufactured the "Number Callout System" (Notalog) for Pizza Time.

I designed and manufactured the "Isaac Asimov Presents Super Quiz" for Pizza Time. He still owes me $40,000 for that one.

 

He said that I didn't have a daughter because he always pretended that he worked in HIS daughters bedroom. He told me that Paula (his first wife) would not allow it.

 

All in all, you wouldn't be interested anything I have to say except for my involvement with Nolan. And I thank him for that.

 

Welcome to AA (Atarians Anonymous)

 

Have fun!

[mos6507]

All in all, you wouldn't be interested anything I have to say except for my involvement with Nolan. And I thank him for that.

 

I for one would be interested in knowing what you did after leaving the industry, and why.

[iwan-iwanowitsch-goratschin]

Welcome to AA Mr.Dabney!

[frogstar_robot]

 

First, I want to say I am not an inovator, I'm just a very capable engineer.

.

.

.

All in all, you wouldn't be interested anything I have to say except for my involvement with Nolan. And I thank him for that.

 

Capable engineers are aces in my book and a lot of other people's here. We'd be delighted to hear just how some of the donuts were made.

 

Having you stop by is big treat for us.

[Ted Dabney]

When Nolan first started Pizza Time, he asked me to join him. I said that I would rather be his friend then his partner. He was honest enough to tell that he would probable to the same thing to me that he did at Atari.

 

Instead, he asked me to, at least, check out his place. When I went there, I found the place dirty, the pizza was not very good and the place was so noisy that I couldn't tell when my pizza was ready.

 

I told him all this. He said that he would take care of the dirtiness but that the noise was essential to the operation. He also said that his standard for the pizza had to no better than mediocre. I told him that that was a very dangerous standard because anything less is unacceptable. He didn't agree.

 

As far as not knowing when my pizza was ready, he said I had to come up with a way to fix that. So I did. I came up with a TV monitor that hung high on a wall and console that sat on the counter. The employee would enter the customers number on the console and that number would flash several times, full screen, on the monitor. After that, the flashing would stop and the number would go to the end of a list of numbers on the monitor. The employee would remove the number after the customer picked up their pizza.

 

I called this thing "Notalog".

[Chickybaby]

We definitely welcome you here Ted and I'd also like to invite you to join one of the Monday Night Chats from 8-10pm Eastern in the chatroom here if you are able.

If it's not a good time for you, I would definitely love to set something up as I am fairly certain the community would enjoy talking with you in "real time" and would have plenty of questions to submit before hand so you're not overwhelmed.

Very much hope you would do us the honour! Bienvenue again and Thanks.

[Nall3k]

Ted, just out of curiosity - are you and Nolan on good terms now, have you 'reconciled?'

[Jess Ragan]

Perhaps I'm naive, but any business strategy which sets mediocrity as its absolute highest standard is a pretty lousy way to do business. You were wise not to get involved with it. Of course, pizza wasn't the reason anyone ever went to Showbiz, but that doesn't mean it's all right to half-ass it.

[Ransom]

I called this thing "Notalog".

 

Nice, hackerish name.

[atari181]

Ted,

Before going into business with Nolan what was your relationship with him? Friends? Associates, or you both just had skills that went together well for business? How long had you known Him? Nolan definately is very charasmatic, and I could understand anyone being drawn to him.

Was what happened a suprise? or did you see it coming? How long did you have the arcade route after you left, or did you tell them F-off after you found out you had to "Rent" them? Did you immeadiately leave the technology industry?

 

Sorry for all the questions at once, I have so many I would like to ask.

 

Thanks much,

Dave

[jaybird3rd]

I came up with a TV monitor that hung high on a wall and console that sat on the counter. The employee would enter the customers number on the console and that number would flash several times, full screen, on the monitor. After that, the flashing would stop and the number would go to the end of a list of numbers on the monitor. The employee would remove the number after the customer picked up their pizza.

 

I called this thing "Notalog".

Very interesting. My parents owned an Italian restaurant, and I was working on a very similar system for them at one point. Mine was all networked software running on PCs, of course, but very similar in principle to what you've described for "Notalog."

 

I'd love to hear more about the process of building the first coin-operated video game. You must have faced some unique design problems, given how novel Computer Space was at the time. I've only seen pictures of the Computer Space logic boards, but I own an original Atari Pong arcade machine, and I'm very impressed by the economy and efficiency of these early designs. Many of us have played the game, either in simulation or in person, but what can you tell us about Computer Space from an engineering perspective? And, to echo Glenn's earlier question, what kind of projects have you been involved in during your post-Atari years outside of your work for Pizza Time?

[ComputerSpaceFan]

I would like to join the crowd and say hello to Mr. Dabney. I'm sure you have been flooded with questions and comments but I would like to add another request / question to your expanding list.

I run a website devoted to Computer Space and would love to get any insights or comments from you, if and when you have any spare time.

My site is www.computerspacefan.com

 

Here's looking forward to many postings from you, Mr. Dabney, welcome to the family.

[Goochman]

Perhaps I'm naive, but any business strategy which sets mediocrity as its absolute highest standard is a pretty lousy way to do business. You were wise not to get involved with it. Of course, pizza wasn't the reason anyone ever went to Showbiz, but that doesn't mean it's all right to half-ass it.

 

Actually it was the best thing to do. CEC wasn't looking for business men to bring clients to - it was looking to bring kids in to play video games and eat. Chef Boyardee wont be found in any top restaurants but kids dont seem to mind. If Spaghettios could play space invaders while you ate it, well jackpot!

 

As long as it didnt make you ill, kids would beg their parents to go - and they still do today though its marketed to a much younger crowd.

 

Ted - great simple solution to a problem none seemed wanting to address!

[Ted Dabney]

Perhaps I'm naive, but any business strategy which sets mediocrity as its absolute highest standard is a pretty lousy way to do business. You were wise not to get involved with it. Of course, pizza wasn't the reason anyone ever went to Showbiz, but that doesn't mean it's all right to half-ass it.

 

Actually it was the best thing to do. CEC wasn't looking for business men to bring clients to - it was looking to bring kids in to play video games and eat. Chef Boyardee wont be found in any top restaurants but kids dont seem to mind. If Spaghettios could play space invaders while you ate it, well jackpot!

 

As long as it didnt make you ill, kids would beg their parents to go - and they still do today though its marketed to a much younger crowd.

 

Ted - great simple solution to a problem none seemed wanting to address!

 

Dear Mr. Goochman,

 

My father was an auditor for several hotels during my youth. The food business was the most difficult. The cost of food and preperation was the big problem.

 

Kids don't buy food, parents do. They would take the kids to play the games but, afterwords, go to Jack-in-the-Box for pizza. I know this is true from my own experience.

 

Selling plays on games cannot make for the losses in the food business.

Edited April 28, 2010 by Ted Dabney

[Ted Dabney]

All in all, you wouldn't be interested anything I have to say except for my involvement with Nolan. And I thank him for that.

 

I for one would be interested in knowing what you did after leaving the industry, and why.

 

I wanted to learn more about semiconductors so I went to work as an applications engineer at Ratheon.

[kool kitty89]

Actually it was the best thing to do. CEC wasn't looking for business men to bring clients to - it was looking to bring kids in to play video games and eat. Chef Boyardee wont be found in any top restaurants but kids dont seem to mind. If Spaghettios could play space invaders while you ate it, well jackpot!

 

As long as it didnt make you ill, kids would beg their parents to go - and they still do today though its marketed to a much younger crowd.

 

Ted - great simple solution to a problem none seemed wanting to address!

 

I disagree, from being a kid myself, along with my younger brother and spending plenty of time with my friends (and his) as kids, bad food can ruin things, be it at a bowling alley, movie theater, or places like Chuck E Cheese (or the defunct Discovery Zone). Some kids may get so upset over it or refuse to eat the food that it ruins the whole experience, Pizza is a major case in point as that's been the area of contention in several personal experiences. Also, inclusive of getting sick would be getting indigestion or worse. (excessively greasy food can be a big issue, especially for some kids -myself included)

That's where mediocre being a dangerous standard comes in: mediocre is OK, but you need to set a higher standard to prevent things from falling below the absolute minimum acceptable.

 

That said, I never actually had this problem at Chuck E. Cheese, again this was mostly in the 90s (I think I was there 1 or maybe 2 times this decade), the pizza ranged from average to just above average. (my most positive memories are of a supreme pizza iirc)

Of course, this is all long after Show Biz pizza merged/took over (and only for the 2 local San Jose locations iirc, so I have absolutely no idea what it was like back in the early 80s -or at other locations).

 

 

 

Oh.... and: welcome Ted, it's really neat to have you join.

Edited April 28, 2010 by kool kitty89

[Goochman]

Perhaps I'm naive, but any business strategy which sets mediocrity as its absolute highest standard is a pretty lousy way to do business. You were wise not to get involved with it. Of course, pizza wasn't the reason anyone ever went to Showbiz, but that doesn't mean it's all right to half-ass it.

 

Actually it was the best thing to do. CEC wasn't looking for business men to bring clients to - it was looking to bring kids in to play video games and eat. Chef Boyardee wont be found in any top restaurants but kids dont seem to mind. If Spaghettios could play space invaders while you ate it, well jackpot!

 

As long as it didnt make you ill, kids would beg their parents to go - and they still do today though its marketed to a much younger crowd.

 

Ted - great simple solution to a problem none seemed wanting to address!

 

Dear Mr. Goochman,

 

My father was an auditor for several hotels during my youth. The food business was the most difficult. The cost of food and preperation was the big problem.

 

Kids don't buy food, parents do. They would take the kids to play the games but, afterwords, go to Jack-in-the-Box for pizza. I know this is true from my own experience.

 

Selling plays on games cannot make for the losses in the food business.

 

Dont want to turn this into a food thread - however a restaurant at a Hotel is a much different entity than CEC/Pizza Time. In fact alot of my early memories were parents getting pitchers of beer to drink and hang out while the kids ran around and played games. The pizza def qualified as 'average'. Heck - Pizza Hut and Dominos are still in business all these years. Average is about the best grade you could give them.

 

CEC had other problems that eventually lead to their problems - pizza quality was the least of them!

[Ted Dabney]

Ted,

Before going into business with Nolan what was your relationship with him? Friends? Associates, or you both just had skills that went together well for business? How long had you known Him? Nolan definately is very charasmatic, and I could understand anyone being drawn to him.

Was what happened a suprise? or did you see it coming? How long did you have the arcade route after you left, or did you tell them F-off after you found out you had to "Rent" them? Did you immeadiately leave the technology industry?

 

Sorry for all the questions at once, I have so many I would like to ask.

 

Thanks much,

Dave

 

We both worked for Ampex in Sunnyvale. We shared an office and he taught me how to play "GO". He was a great friend when he had more debt than money.

 

The arcade route never suited me. I finally had to give it up.

 

We had outgrown the roller rink and were looking for a new place. We found the Cadre Building in Los Gatos which we both liked. Nolan said that it would be hard to justify moving out so far. I reminded him that we didn't have to justify anything to anybody.

That's when I felt some changes coming over him.

[+Allan]

When I take my son to Chuck E. Cheese, we go eat somewhere else. The food is pretty bad there. It's just too easy to go and play the games and then go eat somewhere else. Basicly they cater to the McDonalds loving crowd. Plus there is a McDonalds in the same parking lot where we go. I don't know how that place makes any money.

 

Allan