24 Apr
2008
24 Apr
'08
4:32 p.m.
On Apr 23, 2008, at 12:04 AM, Jim Battle wrote:
;)
Well for Christmas, she showed up here with an Osborne-1 with
manuals, software, an external (green-screen) monitor, and an Epson
RX-80, including all cables, all in near-perfect condition!
Apparently she scored that system at a thrift store for something
like ten bucks. One can't argue with that.
I just
remembered that I'd wanted to mention this, but things
have been busy and I forgot. My mother knows of my fondness for
antique computers, and she keeps her eyes open at thrift stores
and related places. She picked up a Texas Instruments Compact
Computer 40 for me and presented it to me for my birthday a month
ago.
I had never heard of this machine, but now I've done some
reading and I've played with it a bit. It's pretty neat! Has
anyone else here messed with one?
They are pretty common on ebay -- in fact, they often show up NIB,
often for under $50. Tell your mom to try harder next year. :-) Actually, it is quite impressive that she identified
it as
something interesting.
She has a good eye for stuff like that.
If you like the CC40, keep your eyes peeled for the
TI-74. It is
basically a CC40 with a few enhancements stuffed into a largish
calculator format, instead of a miniature laptop.
Hmm, interesting, I'll look for one.
One thing that is charming about it is TI's BASIC.
Microsoft so
dominated the 8 bit micro world with its BASIC that most such
machines kind of bore me because they are all so similar. The CC40
and TI-74 BASIC are highly similar to the advance BASIC of the TI
94/A, so I'm told (I've never used one) even though they have
different uPs.
What is cool about the BASIC? Long variable names, proper
subroutines with local variables, good extensability. There is a
lot more, but I don't have the manual at hand to refresh my memory.
Subroutine-local variables in a BASIC interpreter?? Wow, that's
something I'll need to try. That's cool.
I agree with your take on Microsoft BASIC. I think it is a good
BASIC, but it's just so common, on so many different types of
systems, that it has become "old hat". I have been working (off-and-
on, very sporadically) on extending the BASIC used in Intel's 8051AH-
BASIC chip with some new functionality; I'm interested in studying
unusual BASIC features.
The hexbus interface is pretty cool too, really well
thought out.
Recently I scored a rare wafertape drive for the CC40, although I
haven't tried it out yet ... too much work to address first.
Are there specs available for hexbus?
Going a bit further down the line, some European TI
employees
formed a company to make a microcomputer, called the Exelvision
EXL100. It contained two 70C20 (or similar) microprocessors, from
the same family as the CC40 and TI-74. It has an enhanced version
of the same BASIC. This is a real micro, with a color PAL output,
IR keyboard and joysticks. I have a EXL100 and a number of games,
but no floppy subsystem (yet). Perhaps in the distant future I'll
write an emulator for it if someone doesn't beat me to it. It seems
like an interesting machine.
Neat!
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire
Port Charlotte, FL