Blowing Up Old Computers

From: Fred Cisin <cisin_at_xenosoft.com>
Date: Wed Aug 7 15:04:01 2002

On Wed, 7 Aug 2002, Roger Merchberger wrote:
> > > I'd even say that the [not previously mentioned] Tandy 600 wouldn't be
> > > Wintel... It runs an 8088 & uses an MS operating system called HH/OS (short
> > > for HandHeld OS - which is a serious misnomer due to the weight of the
> > > thing...) It had a flip-up 80x16 screen, and was the first laptop with a
> > > built-in floppy drive. It was a Zenith OEM but shared a few characteristics
> >Really? What year did this come out?
> My brain wants to say '86 or '87, but having just moved, it's packed
> somewhere... I'll see if I can find it in the next day or two & find out...
> Found one timeline that places it at Nov. '85... According to the Tandy 600
> FAQ, it was announced on 28 Oct. '85, so my memory was close... but I've
> always been a bit off... [ ba-da-bum. Splat.]

If it was, indeed '86 or '87, or even '85, then it was absolutely NOT the
first to have a built-in floppy drive! No matter what Radio Shack might
claim. They also have, at various times, claimed to have invented the
"clamshell" design, RS-232, modems, and microcomputers.

Think Gavilan and Grid!

And, should we consider the "built-in" tape drive of the Epson HC-20
followed by the HX-20 in that?, or just those using a floppy disk?
Received on Wed Aug 07 2002 - 15:04:01 BST