AST Computer - Tales from Tech Support
The 8-Bit Guy・50 minutes read
The Let's Play Gaming Expo in Las Colinas, Texas showcases vintage computers, consoles, and arcade machines, featuring rare items like the Tandy Color Computer 2 and Apple II systems. AST Research, once a major computer company, faced challenges leading to its acquisition by Samsung and eventual closure, impacting its tech support team and customer interactions.
Insights
- The Let's Play Gaming Expo in Las Colinas, Texas, hosts vintage computer enthusiasts who set up a museum showcasing systems like the Tandy Color Computer 2, VIC-20, and Atari 400, alongside eMacs running network games and a unique Chimera Laboratorium room, highlighting the popularity of rare vintage computers among attendees and the significance of cosplay at the expo.
- AST Research, once the third-largest computer company in the 1990s, faced challenges like declining quality and production costs, eventually leading to its acquisition by Samsung, which aimed to integrate Samsung products under the AST label but had to close down AST due to financial struggles post the Asian stock market crash of 1997, revealing the complexities and risks involved in the tech industry's corporate landscape.
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What is the Let's Play Gaming Expo?
An annual event in Texas for vintage computer enthusiasts.
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Summary
00:00
Let's Play Gaming Expo: Vintage Computer Enthusiasts
- The Let's Play Gaming Expo in Las Colinas, Texas is a yearly event where vintage computer enthusiasts gather.
- Participants set up a vintage computer museum the night before the expo, bringing systems from their collections.
- The expo features rooms for vintage consoles, arcade machines, and vendor areas.
- Specific vintage computers brought to the expo include the Tandy Color Computer 2, VIC-20, Atari 400, and Commodore PET.
- The expo includes a room with eMacs running network games of Duke Nukem 3D and a unique room called the Chimera Laboratorium.
- Cosplay is a prominent feature at the expo.
- The vintage computers, including rare items like the Macintosh anniversary edition and Apple II systems, are popular among attendees.
- AST Research, founded by Albert Wong, Safi Qureshey, and Thomas Yuen, was the third-largest computer company in the 1990s.
- AST initially produced expansion cards for early PCs and clones before transitioning to building their own PCs.
- AST faced challenges like declining quality, domestic production costs, and sales channel issues, leading to their eventual decline.
12:41
Samsung's Acquisition and Closure of AST Company
- Salesperson offered a deal to buy a million computers with a price cut if unsold within a certain time frame.
- Despite initial success with Walmart deal, it led to losses of $200 per computer sold.
- Samsung acquired the struggling company AST to leverage its brand recognition in the USA.
- Samsung rebranded Samsung computers as AST, with support provided by AST employees.
- Samsung's plan aimed to gradually integrate Samsung products under the AST label.
- Samsung's commitment to support AST was impacted by the Asian stock market crash of 1997.
- Samsung eventually decided to close down AST due to financial challenges.
- AST had a large tech support team of around 500 employees, divided into different departments.
- Tech support employees at AST played games like Duke Nukem 3D and Starcraft during long customer calls.
- AST had a thorough vetting process for hiring tech support employees and provided extensive training on supported products and networking.
24:54
Training and challenges in tech support calls.
- Employees learned how to detect issues on customers' computers through behaviors and tests.
- After training, they shadowed experienced employees for a week and could ask questions after calls.
- They then handled calls independently, assisting customers with various tech problems.
- In the past, tech support involved guiding IT professionals through networking issues.
- Modern call centers are crowded, pay minimum wage, and rely on scripted responses.
- Customers in the 90s often had no computer knowledge, requiring basic explanations.
- Customers struggled with typing and identifying computer components like monitors and mice.
- Tech support faced challenges in guiding customers through commands and keyboard functions.
- Customers often lacked necessary information like part and serial numbers, causing delays.
- Tech support had to rely on listening skills to guide customers through tech issues, like typing commands correctly.
36:15
"Troublesome modem software plagued desktop customers"
- Consumer desktops were shipped with a special modem that doubled as an answering machine and speakerphone.
- Leaving the computer on 24/7 allowed the modem to answer calls, record messages, and display a list of messages.
- Despite being a selling point, the software for the modem was glitchy, crashed often, and corrupted itself.
- Customers frequently called in to uninstall and reinstall the software, spending 30-45 minutes each time.
- Some customers spent $3,000 on computers for the speakerphone feature that never worked properly.
- Benchmarking programs often misidentified newer CPUs, causing customer complaints.
- A technician at AST would advise customers to run ScanDisk and defrag to avoid lengthy troubleshooting.
- The technician's focus on call quantity led to ineffective solutions and customer callbacks.
- Another employee had a habit of muting calls to insult customers, causing awkward situations.
- The speaker offered vinyl records and boxed sets of the Planet X3 soundtrack as giveaways.
46:57
Speaker redirects customers to tech support, discusses game.
- The speaker discussed encountering customers seeking help with software or hardware issues, redirecting them to the respective company's tech support. Despite some customers calling back for assistance, the speaker emphasized the limitations in providing help without a clear physical issue with the computer. Additionally, the speaker mentioned a game called Planet X3 that they developed and sold for $40, compatible with IBM PCs running on 4.77 megahertz XT with CGA or later machines with VGA, described as a real-time strategy game.
