Happy 44th Birthday TRS-80
- BackInTex
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Happy 44th Birthday TRS-80
On this day in 1977 Radio Shack introduced the TRS-80.
Who bought one? I didn't.
My first computer purchase was a Texas Instruments "Portable", aka luggable, Professional Computer (color screen and all) purchased in 1985.
What was the first computer you personally purchased?
Not sure why the image is not displaying....
Who bought one? I didn't.
My first computer purchase was a Texas Instruments "Portable", aka luggable, Professional Computer (color screen and all) purchased in 1985.
What was the first computer you personally purchased?
Not sure why the image is not displaying....
..what country can preserve it’s liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? let them take arms.
~~ Thomas Jefferson
War is where the government tells you who the bad guy is.
Revolution is when you decide that for yourself.
-- Benjamin Franklin (maybe)
~~ Thomas Jefferson
War is where the government tells you who the bad guy is.
Revolution is when you decide that for yourself.
-- Benjamin Franklin (maybe)
- SpacemanSpiff
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Re: Happy 44th Birthday TRS-80
I actually got my boss to buy the model III version (with two external floppy drives) for the office; IIRC, that along with the software and printer was about $5000 in 1981. Wasn't a luggable per se, but I often took it home over the weekends for "programming" (OK, games mostly, but...)
Totally programmed the company payroll in BASIC (we only had 25 employees), used other accounting packages and Visicalc. Obviously I've used its descendants since.
Totally programmed the company payroll in BASIC (we only had 25 employees), used other accounting packages and Visicalc. Obviously I've used its descendants since.
"If you're dead, you don't have any freedoms at all." - Jason Isbell
- BackInTex
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Re: Happy 44th Birthday TRS-80
IIRC, I paid about $3,200 for the TIPPC. In today's money that would be about $8,080. That would buy a pretty darn nice computer. Of course, back in the day, it was.SpacemanSpiff wrote: ↑Tue Aug 03, 2021 9:31 amI actually got my boss to buy the model III version (with two external floppy drives) for the office; IIRC, that along with the software and printer was about $5000 in 1981. Wasn't a luggable per se, but I often took it home over the weekends for "programming" (OK, games mostly, but...)
Totally programmed the company payroll in BASIC (we only had 25 employees), used other accounting packages and Visicalc. Obviously I've used its descendants since.
If I had foregone the purchase but instead purchased $3,200 of Apple stock (and never sold) it would be worth about $5.9 million. It was not that nice of a computer. I really shouldn't do that type of analysis....
If I had bought Texas Instrument stock it would be worth $329,000 today.
..what country can preserve it’s liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? let them take arms.
~~ Thomas Jefferson
War is where the government tells you who the bad guy is.
Revolution is when you decide that for yourself.
-- Benjamin Franklin (maybe)
~~ Thomas Jefferson
War is where the government tells you who the bad guy is.
Revolution is when you decide that for yourself.
-- Benjamin Franklin (maybe)
- tlynn78
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Re: Happy 44th Birthday TRS-80
BackInTex wrote: ↑Tue Aug 03, 2021 10:37 amIIRC, I paid about $3,200 for the TIPPC. In today's money that would be about $8,080. That would buy a pretty darn nice computer. Of course, back in the day, it was.SpacemanSpiff wrote: ↑Tue Aug 03, 2021 9:31 amI actually got my boss to buy the model III version (with two external floppy drives) for the office; IIRC, that along with the software and printer was about $5000 in 1981. Wasn't a luggable per se, but I often took it home over the weekends for "programming" (OK, games mostly, but...)
Totally programmed the company payroll in BASIC (we only had 25 employees), used other accounting packages and Visicalc. Obviously I've used its descendants since.
If I had foregone the purchase but instead purchased $3,200 of Apple stock (and never sold) it would be worth about $5.9 million. It was not that nice of a computer. I really shouldn't do that type of analysis....
If I had bought Texas Instrument stock it would be worth $329,000 today.
My f-i-l had an early Apple (my memory is fuzzy, but prolly late 70's, very early 80's) as well as some Apple stock. Dumped the stock after a short time because he didn't think it was going anywhere. Bless his heart.
To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead. -Thomas Paine
You can ignore reality, but you can't ignore the consequences of ignoring reality. -Ayn Rand
Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities. -Voltaire
You can ignore reality, but you can't ignore the consequences of ignoring reality. -Ayn Rand
Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities. -Voltaire
- triviawayne
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Re: Happy 44th Birthday TRS-80
Between age and other aspects of my life, I didn't personally buy a computer until 1998, which was an eMachines at either Best Buy or Circuit City.
First computer I touched was at Computerland (anyone else remember that store?), and it was an Apple II.
First computer I used regularly was my Commodore 64, but I had opportunities to play with the trash 80, and Atari 400 & 800.
My high school had IBM's in their computer lab, with McGaw-Hill integrated software, which was my introduction to modern computers.
My first smart phone was a Huawei of some kind with a slide out keyboard (I still miss that feature); and I had an iPhone 5, now a 7.
Between work and home, I have 3 surface tablets (love those), a dell tower, a Lenovo Yoga and a Lenovo Thinkpad.
First computer I touched was at Computerland (anyone else remember that store?), and it was an Apple II.
First computer I used regularly was my Commodore 64, but I had opportunities to play with the trash 80, and Atari 400 & 800.
My high school had IBM's in their computer lab, with McGaw-Hill integrated software, which was my introduction to modern computers.
My first smart phone was a Huawei of some kind with a slide out keyboard (I still miss that feature); and I had an iPhone 5, now a 7.
Between work and home, I have 3 surface tablets (love those), a dell tower, a Lenovo Yoga and a Lenovo Thinkpad.
- Vandal
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Re: Happy 44th Birthday TRS-80
There were several Commodores (not the Lionel Richie kind) around for public use when I was at U of Idaho in the early 80s. Eventually, we got a Macintosh Plus that lasted for many years. We still have it under wraps in our attic (still works). MacDraw was a great app.
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Available now:
The Secret At Haney Field: A Baseball Mystery
The Right Hand Rule
Center Point
Dizzy Miss Lizzie
Running On Empty
The Tick Tock Man
The Dragon's Song by Binh Pham and R. M. Clark
Devin Drake and The Family Secret
Visit my website: http://www.rmclarkauthor.com
Ready: Devin Drake and The RollerGhoster
- Bob Juch
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Re: Happy 44th Birthday TRS-80
My first computer was an Altair 8800. I put it together which entailed soldering the chips on the motherboard.BackInTex wrote: ↑Tue Aug 03, 2021 9:23 amOn this day in 1977 Radio Shack introduced the TRS-80.
Who bought one? I didn't.
My first computer purchase was a Texas Instruments "Portable", aka luggable, Professional Computer (color screen and all) purchased in 1985.
What was the first computer you personally purchased?
Not sure why the image is not displaying....
In June 1977 I bought an Apple ][ at the Byte Shop, the world's first computer store.
I taught people how to use Visicalc on a Trash-80 but never bought one.
I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.
- Douglas Adams (1952 - 2001)
Si fractum non sit, noli id reficere.
Teach a child to be polite and courteous in the home and, when he grows up, he'll never be able to drive in New Jersey.
- Douglas Adams (1952 - 2001)
Si fractum non sit, noli id reficere.
Teach a child to be polite and courteous in the home and, when he grows up, he'll never be able to drive in New Jersey.
- earendel
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Re: Happy 44th Birthday TRS-80
My first computer was a TRS-80 Model 4 that cost around $2,500 (including printer) in the 1970s. I used it primarily for word processing - typing papers not just for myself but for others at the seminary. It had two 5-1/4" floppy drives stacked atop each other, which proved to be a problem because it didn't have a cooling fan. I burned out the computer working on a fellow student's Ph.D. dissertation. I replaced it with a Packard-Bell PC.
"Elen sila lumenn omentielvo...A star shines on the hour of our meeting."