PCWs 25 worst tech products of all time

[Chris M]

> Surely the whole point of having a Tandy 2000 is
> that it runs Tandy 2000 
> software. 

 Eh there isn't too much stuph that runs on it that's
2000 specific. There was Lumena, but I'm sure that was
offered for a real peecee (no doubt with a hi-res
aftermarket card though, like a Sigma 400). I just got
Lumena and a few other softwarez and hardwarez for the
MindSet the other day.
 For the uninitiated, Lumena was basically just Paint.
I used to have the 2000 version. I was thoroughly
unimpressed lol.
 Some of us collect this stuph cuz it's what we owned
back in the day. Again, do you think someone wouldn't
want to run Starflight on their Tandy 2000? T2K
specific versions aside (which are so hard to find), a
2000 with the equivalent of a Software Library
Expander card that was offered for the NEC APC III
(GOT IT!) would greatly increase it's interest and
collectibility. The dude in Chicago who sent me a few
T2Ks was a developer (or tried to be one) and in fact
was working on a software mod that would give the 2000
full compatibility. Never finished it sadly, and
seemingly none of the docs were included with the
acquisition. Involved "spying" on chips and NMIing to
replacement routines for the stuph in io.sys IIRC.
Something strange like that. Very groovy too.

> If you want a PC-incompatible that has a
> 7220 as the graphics 
> controller, get a Rainbow :-) [Yes, I know there are
> custom chips in the 
> 'bow, but IIRC, they're also used in the VT100, so
> they're not that rare]

 Just one of the more common hi-res crtc's that came
to mind. The NEC APC has them, 2 in fact (methinks). I
do have a Rainbow, but it doesn't have the color
option (or color graphics option?). The 7220 IS a
worthy candidate for an FPGA recreation IMHO.
 
> Juat be glad it's not an HP150-II. That thing has 5
> gate arrays in it, 
> and IIRC thate's not that much documentation on them
> in the technical 
> manual (which I do have). Come to think of it, the
> plain HP150 uses some 
> SMC chip for the video, I can look up to see which
> it is if you like.

 Curious. I haven't focused on the HP 150* stuph to
date. Don't know why. I used to use a number of their
machines years ago. One day the bug'll byte me I
suppose...
 
> > oh 25 or 30 programs. They did like the advanced
> 
> Actually, I would like one, but Tandy 2000s are not
> at all common in the 
> UK, and I can't afford the shipping on one from the
> States.

 yeah, and I want an RM Nimbus. If you don't have one,
I really need to ask why not? As cool as the 2000, and
from what I gather better made too. What do you figure
it would cost to ship an average puter from shore to
shore? I could live with ~$150 on some occasions, but
more then that...

> -tony


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