compusoft.com domænet
The Journey of the “compusoft.com” Domain
A true story about how an American-Born Domain Found Its Future with CompuSoft in Denmark
From Portland Great Pacific Northwest America to Denmark
We would like to share with you the story of how the compusoft.com domain was born and evolved in the United States - only to be united years later with our company CompuSoft in Denmark.
Our path to Dr. David A. Lien began quite unexpectedly in 2014. While searching for the compusoft.com domain, we discovered the remarkable history of its longtime owner, Dr. Lien - author of an extensive series of influential publications on early BASIC programming and the formative years of personal computing.
What followed was an extraordinary coincidence: our founder, Thomas Traberg-Larsen, had taken his very first steps into programming on a Tandy TRS-80 purchased for him by his father, and as a young enthusiast he had been an avid reader of Dr. Lien’s books.
This serendipitous connection led to many inspiring and deeply engaging conversations with Dr. Lien, through which we learned about his fascinating journey during the pioneering era of the personal computer - as well as his close ties to Scandinavia.
We remain sincerely grateful to Dr. David Lien, Portland, America - for entrusting us with the compusoft.com domain and for sharing his unique perspective on a remarkable chapter in computing history.
The Tandy TRS-80: one of the first mass-market home computers
The Tandy TRS-80 played a central role in the early history of personal computing and the widespread adoption of BASIC programming in the late 1970s and early 1980s. As one of the first mass-market home computers equipped with Microsoft BASIC, it became a foundational platform for hobbyists, educators, and early software developers.
Its prominence also made it an important reference point in contemporary literature on BASIC dialects. Among the most influential contributions in this field were the comparative works of Dr. David A. Lien, whose publications — including The BASIC Handbook — systematically analyzed differences between BASIC implementations across machines such as the TRS-80, Apple II, and Commodore systems. Lien’s work supported programmers in navigating and translating between dialects at a time when hardware diversity defined the microcomputer landscape.
A call form Texas
Copyright (C) 2023 by D.A. Lien. All rights reserved.
It started with a phone call to my office.
The caller said "There is a ticket waiting for you at the airport. I would like you to come to Texas this Saturday. No, I can't tell you what this is about. It's secret."
That's a strange way to begin a relationship.
....
The caller said he was a graduate of the College where I was a Dean, but I didn't recognize his name. He said he was with Tandy Corp in Ft. Worth, Texas. I certainly recognized that huge American retailer with thousands of Radio Shack stores. So being curious I took the bait and went.
After signing a non-disclosure agreement they showed me a remarkable new device. A hand wire-wrapped prototype of a Personal Computer! This was in 1975 and long before the days of mass produced and mass marketed "Personal Computers"! Only tekkies were experimenting with such things. As a member of the prestigious San Diego Computer Society I guess I was one of them.
"Take the fear away” - The First of Many Tech Guides That Empowered a Generation
I had been recommended by a mutual acquaintance, a computer magazine editor, as the author to write an entirely new type of computer 'documentation'. Perhaps a tutorial, with the ambitious goal "To take away the fear". This for the huge untapped general public market.
They quickly produced the ground breaking Tandy TRS-80 Personal Computer, and I wrote a 232 page illustrated "take the fear away" tutorial to accompany it. It met it's goal. The tutorial was praised by Computer Magazines and reviewers around the world and translated by Tandy into German, French and Spanish. I was suddenly famous! And the popular Tutorial was helping drive computer sales around the world.
The Birth of COMPUSOFT: A Vision That Became a Global Publishing Force
OK. Now what to do for an encore? I had several other computer books in mind and decided to form my own publishing house to market them. I titled the company COMPUSOFT, with a nod to CompuServe® and Microsoft®. COMPUSOFT was born!
COMPUSOFT® grew very quickly as book after book followed, produced and marketed by the CompuSoft Publishing® division.
I left my College Dean job to devote full time to writing and never looked back.
Over the years dozens of computer books were written and released, with translations in up to 10 foreign languages. COMPUSOFT books were used in schools and colleges on every continent and by computer programmers everywhere. Several sold over a million copies. A new CompuSoft Peripherals Division was formed to handle development and sales of hardware products and new products in planning.
Then one day I got the word from my Doctor that I had to slow down, or else... So I slowed down, scrapping plans for future expansion. And retired early.
Passing the COMPUSOFT.COM domain to a New Generation
Years later a Danish company approached, wanting to acquire the COMPUSOFT.COM domain name and other rights. Ironically it's owner, Thomas Traberg-Larsen got his start in computers as a youth with a TRS-80 Computer and my original Tutorial. (That makes him 'family' 😁.)
I am very pleased the near 50 year COMPUSOFT heritage of innovation and quality will continue to prosper and grow here with Thomas and Lene Traberg-Larsen.
/Dr. David A. Lien, President
COMPUSOFT
Vancouver, Washington 98686 USA