Another one of my collecting interests is old computers. Actually, I am more of a "keeper" of old tech than I am a collector. Most of the computers I've owned over the past 30 years are still with me, and just about every one of them remains in good working order. I know I should send them off for recycling, but I just can't do it. I have too many memories of all the good times we had together.
The owner of a local computer shop that's been in business since the early days of PCs has a similar stash of old tech, and we've talked about putting together a small museum dedicated to the early history of microcomputers. That may or may not happen, but it would be nice to have a place where folks who share our fondness for old tech could get together and reminisce about the "good ole days."
Today's contribution to my photo-a-day journey is a picture of my 1983 vintage TRS-80 Model 100. This 3.1 pound computer was one of the first of what would become known as notebook computers, and proved to be quite popular, selling more than six million units worldwide. Lots of tech-savvy reporters wrote and filed their stories with these units. Quite a few business people did, too.
The model you are looking at was "loaded" with 24K (that's kilobytes) of RAM and cost about $1,400. An 8K RAM version sold for $300 less (the unit could accomodate a total of 32K RAM.)
So what did $1,400 in 1983 dollars get you? The first thing to notice is the full-size QWERTY keyboard (a really nice one, actually). The unit also had a "generous" eight-line x 40 character (240 x 64 pixel for those counting), non-back-lit LED display. The Model 100 could run off a set of four AA batteries (which lasted for 20 days assuming one-hour a day use), or could be directly plugged in to an outlet with the included adapter. A built-in Ni-Cad battery kept your data in memory without recharging for 8 to 30 days (depending on the amount of RAM installed). If you required longer lasting storage, or simply needed more storage than what was provided by the meager RAM, a matched cassette recorder could be purchased at your local Radio Shack.
Built-in software included Microsoft BASIC, along with an Address Book, To-Do List, and Text editing software. A terminal program also was provided for going on-line (usually to CompuServe, and usually by tearing apart a nearby telephone and making the physical connection to the phone line through the use of alligator clips.)
Earlier today I fired this baby up and decided to perform the simple task of setting the date and time. After a minute of pressing keys, I realized I needed the manual. I found an entire chapter devoted to this important topic. I was first instructed to load the BASIC interpreter. Next, in order to set the time, I was told to enter: TIME$ = H:M:S. Entering the date was as "straightforward": DATE$ = M/D/Y with each element being a two-digit number. The result can be seen above (click in on the upper left portion of the image). The date reads: January 8, 1910. Since the year could only be input as a two-digit number, there was no way to tell the computer it had survived into the 21st century. And I guess nobody at Microsoft had given much thought to the problem either.
So to everyone who thought Y2K was a bust, here is living proof that the problem was real! BTW - My 1987 vintage Mac II had no problem dealing with Y2K. For that reason alone, it will probably be graced with a photo in this set later this year.
Tags: 365 Project 365 2010 2010YIP 365 Days 365 Project A Photo A Day Daily Photo Photo A Day Picture A Day One A Day P365 myoldpostcards von Liski Tandy Radio Shack TRS-80 Model 100 Technology Old Vintage Obsolete Computers Notebooks Retro Old Technology Old Tech Early PCs Early Microcomputers
Note: The entire six-page advertisement from which this photo has been abstracted can be seen in my "Personal Computing in the 1970s & 80s" (Set).
The day before last, I uploaded a picture of the Blue Screen of Death, which is a screen that is all too familiar to users of the Microsoft Windows Operating System. I mentioned in my narrative that the 25th anniversary of Windows will be observed later this year. Which got me to thinking about Windows 1.0.
I made a visit to my basement archives looking for examples of some of the early advertising Microsoft did for Windows. What I found was a six-page, glossy advertisement for Windows that appeared in the January, 1986 issue of Byte Magazine which, at that time, was the pre-eminent microcomputer publication.
Microsoft was a heavy advertiser in Byte, and this is the first Windows advertisement to appear in that magazine. I don't know whether this is the very first Microsoft Windows advertisement, but it is certainly one of the first. I've left the images full size so all six pages can be clear read when enlarged to full size.
The release of Microsoft Windows 1.0 did not receive the kind of attention associated with later Window's releases. I haven't found any flashy cover stories in the PC rags that immediately followed the release of Windows 1.0 in November, 1985. With the exception of Mac users, not everyone was sold yet on the benefits of a graphical user interface. And, on the Windows side of things, there weren't any killer apps. Actually, there were barely any Window's application other than those included by Microsoft with the installation disks (it came on floppy's).
The other thing to keep in mind is that the early versions of Windows were really nothing more than a graphical shell on top of the MS-DOS operating system. Look at the screen shots and you can see how primitive it all looked, especially when compared to the Macintosh which had nearly a two year head start. The windows could only be tiled against one another. There was no overlapping at all, and multitasking was available but limited.
I hope you enjoy this trip down old technology memory lane.
Tags: Project 365 2010YIP 365 Days 365 Project A Photo A Day Daily Photo Photo A Day Picture A Day One A Day P365 myoldpostcards von Liski Computer Computers Technology Software Microsoft Windows Windows 1.0 Advertisement Advertising Old Vintage Early MS-DOS GUI Graphical User Interface Old Technology Old Tech Early PCs Early Microcomputers
The day before last, I uploaded a picture of the Blue Screen of Death, which is a screen that is all too familiar to users of the Microsoft Windows Operating System. I mentioned in my narrative that the 25th anniversary of Windows will be observed later this year. Which got me to thinking about Windows 1.0.
I made a visit to my basement archives looking for examples of some of the early advertising Microsoft did for Windows. What I found was a six-page, glossy advertisement for Windows that appeared in the January, 1986 issue of Byte Magazine which, at that time, was the pre-eminent microcomputer publication.
Microsoft was a heavy advertiser in Byte, and this is the first Windows advertisement to appear in that magazine. I don't know whether this is the very first Microsoft Windows advertisement, but it is certainly one of the first. I've left the images full size so all six pages can be clear read when enlarged to full size.
The release of Microsoft Windows 1.0 did not receive the kind of attention associated with later Window's releases. I haven't found any flashy cover stories in the PC rags that immediately followed the release of Windows 1.0 in November, 1985. With the exception of Mac users, not everyone was sold yet on the benefits of a graphical user interface. And, on the Windows side of things, there weren't any killer apps. Actually, there were barely any Window's application other than those included by Microsoft with the installation disks (it came on floppy's).
The other thing to keep in mind is that the early versions of Windows were really nothing more than a graphical shell on top of the MS-DOS operating system. Look at the screen shots and you can see how primitive it all looked, especially when compared to the Macintosh which had nearly a two year head start. The windows could only be tiled against one another. There was no overlapping at all, and multitasking was available but limited.
I hope you enjoy this trip down old technology memory lane.
For more photographs of vintage technology from the early years of personal computing, visit my "Personal Computing in the 1970s & 80s" (Set).
Tags: myoldpostcards von Liski Computer Computers Technology Software Microsoft Windows Windows 1.0 Advertisement Advertising Old Vintage Early MS-DOS GUI Graphical User Interface Old Technology Old Tech Early PCs Early Microcomputers
The day before last, I uploaded a picture of the Blue Screen of Death, which is a screen that is all too familiar to users of the Microsoft Windows Operating System. I mentioned in my narrative that the 25th anniversary of Windows will be observed later this year. Which got me to thinking about Windows 1.0.
I made a visit to my basement archives looking for examples of some of the early advertising Microsoft did for Windows. What I found was a six-page, glossy advertisement for Windows that appeared in the January, 1986 issue of Byte Magazine which, at that time, was the pre-eminent microcomputer publication.
Microsoft was a heavy advertiser in Byte, and this is the first Windows advertisement to appear in that magazine. I don't know whether this is the very first Microsoft Windows advertisement, but it is certainly one of the first. I've left the images full size so all six pages can be clear read when enlarged to full size.
The release of Microsoft Windows 1.0 did not receive the kind of attention associated with later Window's releases. I haven't found any flashy cover stories in the PC rags that immediately followed the release of Windows 1.0 in November, 1985. With the exception of Mac users, not everyone was sold yet on the benefits of a graphical user interface. And, on the Windows side of things, there weren't any killer apps. Actually, there were barely any Window's application other than those included by Microsoft with the installation disks (it came on floppy's).
The other thing to keep in mind is that the early versions of Windows were really nothing more than a graphical shell on top of the MS-DOS operating system. Look at the screen shots and you can see how primitive it all looked, especially when compared to the Macintosh which had nearly a two year head start. The windows could only be tiled against one another. There was no overlapping at all, and multitasking was available but limited.
I hope you enjoy this trip down old technology memory lane.
For more photographs of vintage technology from the early years of personal computing, visit my "Personal Computing in the 1970s & 80s" (Set).
Tags: myoldpostcards von Liski Computer Computers Technology Software Microsoft Windows Windows 1.0 Advertisement Advertising Old Vintage Early MS-DOS GUI Graphical User Interface Old Technology Old Tech Early PCs Early Microcomputers
The day before last, I uploaded a picture of the Blue Screen of Death, which is a screen that is all too familiar to users of the Microsoft Windows Operating System. I mentioned in my narrative that the 25th anniversary of Windows will be observed later this year. Which got me to thinking about Windows 1.0.
I made a visit to my basement archives looking for examples of some of the early advertising Microsoft did for Windows. What I found was a six-page, glossy advertisement for Windows that appeared in the January, 1986 issue of Byte Magazine which, at that time, was the pre-eminent microcomputer publication.
Microsoft was a heavy advertiser in Byte, and this is the first Windows advertisement to appear in that magazine. I don't know whether this is the very first Microsoft Windows advertisement, but it is certainly one of the first. I've left the images full size so all six pages can be clear read when enlarged to full size.
The release of Microsoft Windows 1.0 did not receive the kind of attention associated with later Window's releases. I haven't found any flashy cover stories in the PC rags that immediately followed the release of Windows 1.0 in November, 1985. With the exception of Mac users, not everyone was sold yet on the benefits of a graphical user interface. And, on the Windows side of things, there weren't any killer apps. Actually, there were barely any Window's application other than those included by Microsoft with the installation disks (it came on floppy's).
The other thing to keep in mind is that the early versions of Windows were really nothing more than a graphical shell on top of the MS-DOS operating system. Look at the screen shots and you can see how primitive it all looked, especially when compared to the Macintosh which had nearly a two year head start. The windows could only be tiled against one another. There was no overlapping at all, and multitasking was available but limited.
I hope you enjoy this trip down old technology memory lane.
For more photographs of vintage technology from the early years of personal computing, visit my "Personal Computing in the 1970s & 80s" (Set).
Tags: myoldpostcards von Liski Computer Computers Technology Software Microsoft Windows Windows 1.0 Advertisement Advertising Old Vintage Early MS-DOS GUI Graphical User Interface Old Technology Old Tech Early PCs Early Microcomputers