Vintage Computer

This weekend I picked up a 1985 vintage Tandy Model 200 computer from WierdStuff Warehouse in Sunnyvale. This baby features a 80C85 microprocessor running 2.4Mhz (that's megahertz... with an "m"), 48K of static RAM, and a 40x16 LCD display.

This thing is simple computing. Built-in "applications" include a text editor for creating documents and an early spreadsheet that is surprisingly functional, if not a little odd. There's a 300 baud modem for dialing information services that no longer exist. Also, a terminal program that uses the RS-232 port to communicate with other computers, the only trouble is that fewer and fewer modern computers even support this old standard.

If you want to code up your own apps, go right ahead, there is a MS Basic built in. In fact much of the system administration is done through the basic interpreter.

The computer will run for 20 hours on a set of 4 "AA" batteries, try that with your 15" HD screen, Quad Core, 16GB RAM, Windows laptop!

Amazingly, this thing cost $1000 when it came to market in 1984. I paid $4.50 for it in 2011.

It's said that Bill Gates of Microsoft is nostalgic for this platform - Tandy model 100, 102, and 200, because it's the last product in which he personally wrote the majority of the code.

If you want to try one of these out with out actually getting one, then check out the VirtualT emulator available on SourceForge. But, be warned, using this thing is nothing like using a modern PC. It's takes a little getting used to how simple this computer really is.

Three Ways To Keep Computing Simple

1. Run Linux - Linux is the only modern operating system that lets you operate your computer simply. DOS is pretty much a dead end, although it's okay for running on period hardware and to support some ancient programs. Linux affords you the opportunity to really get into computing rather than being just another technology consumer. Linux offers many ways to get involved in your personal computing. From desktop OSs to embedded systems, you have the power to get under the hood.
   
   
2. Use Command Line Tools - Does everything have to have a graphical UI? Is it possible to be productive in a non-graphical environment. Get down with the command line and see how much you can do. A world of productivity awaits when you get your hands off the dad-blamed mouse and don't have put your work on hold while closing the too-many windows you have open. I remember pining for graphics capability when all that was available was simple command driven systems, now we have more graphics than we can handle. Eat lobster every night and it starts to taste like soap.
   
   
3. Program Your Computer - We cast our information problems in terms of applications others have written to solve other problems. For the sake of expediency we modify the vision of our data into inputs for existing applications, like forcing a square peg into a round hole. Spend your energy programming your computer to solve your problems, create a round hole for your round pegs. Data processing needs haven't changed that much over time. We still need to add, subtract, multiply, and divide. We still need to process text in so many forms - email is the number one form of communication on the internet. And look at what people spend their time doing now - tweeting 140 chars at a time and "texting" like crazy. How about we view our computers as tools rather than just endpoints for communication that inundates us with noise?