Is nobody going to mention the cute little MC-10 (the only R-S computer I ever owned, briefly, aside from the M100), purportedly the cheapest colour-capable computer at the time ?
m ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jim Brain via cctalk" <cctalk@classiccmp.org> To: <cctalk@classiccmp.org> Sent: Thursday, May 28, 2020 4:54 PM Subject: Re: Microsoft open sources GWBASIC > On 5/28/2020 12:38 PM, Liam Proven via cctalk wrote: >> >>> Yes. TRS80. >>> >>> It had a memory map that was incompatible with CP/M. BASIC in ROM at the >>> bottom, and RAM at the top. >> Which one? >> >> As they're purely a theoretical concept to me and AFAIK I've never >> actually touched one, the profusion of models is very confusing, and >> I'm not aware of an idiot's single-para overview. >> >> I vaguely know of: >> • TRS-80 Model 100 (8085), pre-laptop portable > Rebadged Kyotronic 85. Was pretty well received in US by journalists > and those who needed some computing power on the go. >> • Tandy 1000 (PC compatible) > Yep, there's a whole line (HX, LX, EX, etc.) >> • TRS-80 Model 2000 (*before* the 1000?! Also kinda-sorta PC >> compatible, nearly?) > Maybe due to other vendors having a "1000" machine, this put Tandy in > front. Or, depending on what the Tandy 6000 was introduced, maybe they > had a product lineup dreamed... >> • TRS-80 Colour, AKA CoCo -- 6809 > Started life as a farming-related Videotex terminal. Pics will show the > amazing similarity. Was a joint venture between Motorola and Tandy, and > used essentially the 6809 reference design. >> • TRS-80 Pocket (no idea) > These were all rebadged items from other manufacturers (PC-1,II,34, > etc..). Went all the way up to 8. But, folks prefer the 2, as it was > most expandable, etc. >> >> Then there seem to be about 42 different computers called TRS-80 Model >> X where X is either a Roman or Arabic number under 1000, after which >> it all changed. Except 2000 comes before 1000. Obviously. > Al PC compatibles. >> >> The TRS-80 Model I, Model II, Model III, Model 4, Model 12, Model 16, >> etc. I know nothing at all about these but I believe the III ran Xenix >> on a 68000 and had some resemblance to the Apple Lisa, which would >> seem to preclude any relation to the Model I & Model II -- and >> Wikipedia suggests that the Model II is totally different from the >> Model I. > > IN the beginning, there was the Model 1 (actually, it was called the > Micro Computer System at intro. It got back-numbered when the II came > out). It was a fat KB shell with a computer board in it (think C64, but > less aerodynamic :-) Fred's right, it should be considered a home > computer. No color, Z80 1.7MHz (half the 3.59MHz of NTSC TV signal fame). > > FOr the business crowd, TANDY designed the Model II, which is > distinctive due to the 8" drives used. In fact, I think it's the only > mainstream US computer offered with such drives straight from the > factory, though someone will correct me if not. > > Enter the FCC, and the 1981 regulations concerning EMI. The Model I > didn't pass muster, so the Model III (which was mainly an extension of > the Model I specs, but in a nicely polished case, including monitor and > drives. It's what people think of when they remember the TRS-80 > computers, I think. > > >> >> But it claims the Model III is compatible with the Model I. (Wut?) > Yep, and the 4 was a follow on from the 3. >> >> It very quickly all becomes rather surreal and I rapidly lose track >> (and interest, TBH.) > >> >> I suspect a graphic might be needed to disentangle it. > > > >> >> >> So it goes: >> >> Model I → Model III → Model 4 > 1-3-4-4p >> >> *And* >> >> ↘ >> Model 2 → Model 12 → Model 16 > > II-16A > > II-12/16B (16B had the card cage) > > I see the 16A and the 12/16B as different sublines, as the II/16A used a > passive backplane with cards, while the 12/16B/6000 had a motherboard > with the z80 on it, and the card cage was for extensions (and the 68K card). > > Both sublines merged back together with the 6000 > > Units were Z80 based, but a 68K daughtercard was sold to enable Xenix. > The 6000 has an 8MHz 68K, I think the rest are 6MHz > >> >> ... ? >> >> Where do the VideoGenie and Coco fit in? >> > VideoGenie is not a TANDY item (most folks consider it a clone of the > Model I), and the Coco was a different home computer line with color. > > > -- > Jim Brain > br...@jbrain.com > www.jbrain.com >
