Re: For the fun of it

[Mitchell Spector <mitch2gs@hotmail.com>]

et472@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Michael Black) wrote:

>That "kiosk" reminds me of the fall of 1977 (I think it had to be then),
>when suddenly there were ads on the radio for a place called "Compucentre".
>They were having a grand opening, so I rushed right down there, right then.
>It turned out to be mostly calculators, with a few game consoles, and
>maybe something like the Apple II or Atari.  It sure wasn't the computer
>store I was reading about in the magazines, it was a disappointment.
>
>I always assumed they had picked the name because it would be useful
>in the future, but at the moment calculators were things people were
>buying, so they focused on those.

    Ah, Compucentre! I remember in the _very_ early 80's they had 
this enormous (hands-on) counter display of LCD calculators, dozens 
of them. I was particularly interested in the gimmick ones that offered
built-in games. I watched them evolve from selling calculators to 
dedicated LCD pocket games (e.g. Nintendo Game & Watch) to 
TV game consoles to finally desktop computers. 

>Eventually, of course, they did get computers, until eventually they
>only had computers (or if they still had calculators, they were well
>hidden).  And of course, it was a chain that got quite big.  But
>thinking about it now, I'm not sure they still exist, the stores
>I remember aren't there anymore, so it's in the past decade that
>they disappeared.

    They were around up until quite recently, even had a webpage.
It looks like they were bought up by Compusmart. Which is also
the same company that bought up Crazy Irvings (who incidentally
began as a local Apple II vendor).

>I think it was that first outlet here in Montreal that once
>had a really good deal on an Apple II.  The downtown mall it
>was in had some promotion where the stores would offer items
>at a discount, a bigger discount the next day, and a really
>great discount the third day.  The Compucenter had one Apple II
>for that deal (they must have still been a kiosk, rather than
>an actual store), and I remember thinking maybe I could scrape
>up enough money if I could get it on that final day.  But I
>suspect it was irrelevant, I'm sure someone snapped it up earlier.

    Compucentre in Montreal (specifically the one that was formerly
in the Carrefour Laval shopping mall) holds significance for me. It's
where I first saw the Apple IIgs! I do remember they used to have
a nice display of Apple II machines and software, even up to the 
late 80's. I never experienced them as a kiosk, they were already
a full fledged store by then.

    I was also fond of the Compucentre downtown at the Alexis-
Nihon Plaza. They used to often have a IIgs on display with
demos running--they even had the Sword of Sodan demo 
playing in their store window once!

>But that store actually lasted a long time, moving a few doors down
>to a bigger location, and if I recall they eventually had a second
>store somewhere.
>
>But eventually it disappeared, though I can't recall exactly when.  Late
>eighties or early nineties, significantly on in the small computer
>time line.  

    Remember the name, or where it was located? I wonder if
I didn't visit it at one time or another.

>None of the early stores here still exist.

    Crazy Irvings sort of lives on as a Compusmart outlet, although 
I would agree it's not even remotely the same now other than the
physical location and that it sells computer products. I wonder if
House of Semiconductors is still around. That's where I would
pick up my Apple II supplies back in the day. :) I still have many
Apple II newsletters with the ads for those early stores.

Mitchell Spector