Man, I haven’t seen a 99/4A in a reallllly long time.
I didn’t have one at home, but I remember playing with one for a while, probably at school, or possibly at computer camp.
@RL_Dane@fosstodon.org until I got this one and repaired it, I’d never seen or used one before. I’m not even sure I knew it existed at the time. It’s an unusual design internally, ahead of its time in some ways. I’m now trying to find all the fun stuff for it!
I’ve heard it’s actually a 16-bit machine, but limited in very peculiar ways.
I live in (and grew up in) Texas, which is probably why I saw them growing up. I don’t think they were nearly as popular as Commodore or Apple, or even Tandy (another Texas company!)
@RL_Dane@fosstodon.org yeah it’s 16-bit but using 8-bit interfacing chips most likely for cost reasons, similiar to what Sinclair would later do with the QL - and with similar speed tradeoffs.
I think of TI as a reliable chip company so it’s curious to me they couldn’t make this system more successful. A bunch of strangely insular decisions on software seems to be the main issue, and why it probably didn’t come close to the others in popularity.
@retrotechtive@retrochat.online
Man, I haven’t seen a 99/4A in a reallllly long time.
I didn’t have one at home, but I remember playing with one for a while, probably at school, or possibly at computer camp.
@RL_Dane@fosstodon.org until I got this one and repaired it, I’d never seen or used one before. I’m not even sure I knew it existed at the time. It’s an unusual design internally, ahead of its time in some ways. I’m now trying to find all the fun stuff for it!
@retrotechtive@retrochat.online
I’ve heard it’s actually a 16-bit machine, but limited in very peculiar ways.
I live in (and grew up in) Texas, which is probably why I saw them growing up. I don’t think they were nearly as popular as Commodore or Apple, or even Tandy (another Texas company!)
@RL_Dane@fosstodon.org yeah it’s 16-bit but using 8-bit interfacing chips most likely for cost reasons, similiar to what Sinclair would later do with the QL - and with similar speed tradeoffs.
I think of TI as a reliable chip company so it’s curious to me they couldn’t make this system more successful. A bunch of strangely insular decisions on software seems to be the main issue, and why it probably didn’t come close to the others in popularity.