[Air-l] timeline: TRS 80

[Alex Halavais]

Barry,

Given the "few lines" I think you are probably thinking of the
Tandy/TRS-80 Model 100. (There was later a model 200.) A
largish-book-sized computer with an 8 line LCD display and a full
keyboard. It was very popular with journalists: ran on 8 AA batteries,
built-in modem, and word-processing, spreadsheet, and BASIC in
firmware.

It still stands up as a great machine. I have one on my shelf that I
show to students once in a while as an example of a design that
actually works. Can't run Doom, and (besides the form factor) is
outstripped by any modern mobile phone, but it is still a cool little
machine. At least Tandy left the computer business (mostly) on a high
note.

Alex


On 10/14/06, Barry Wellman <wellman at chass.utoronto.ca> wrote:
> Jeremy DePauw says he is really interested in Journalists' use over time.
>
> Am I the only one old enuf to remember the TRS-80 from Radio Shack, known
> as the Trash-80. It had a screen of only a few lines, but a full keyboard,
> and was small and lite to carry. Smaller than a current ultra-portable.
>
> All 4 of my journalist friends of those days (mid-1990s?) carried them.
>
> I'm sure a little surfing will find more.
>
>  Barry Wellman
>  _____________________________________________________________________
>
>   Barry Wellman   S.D. Clark Professor of Sociology   NetLab Director
>   Centre for Urban & Community Studies          University of Toronto
>   455 Spadina Avenue    Toronto Canada M5S 2G8    fax:+1-416-978-7162
>   wellman at chass.utoronto.ca  http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~wellman
>         for fun: http://chass.utoronto.ca/oldnew/cybertimes.php
>  _____________________________________________________________________
>
>
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