27 Dec
1998
27 Dec
'98
12:04 p.m.
-----Original Message-----
From: David Wollmann <dwollmann(a)ibmhelp.com>
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
Date: Sunday, December 27, 1998 2:49 PM
Subject: Re: OT, but info needed: RAM uprade
On Sun, 27 Dec 1998, Jason Willgruber wrote:
When IBM ELS were designing the original 5150, 16-bit cards would have
driven
the cost out of their US$4,000.00 retail target range,
so they went with
the
crippled 8088. A decision that, in hindsight, makes
about as much sense as
including a cassette drive and (what was it???) 16K RAM on the first model.
The tape drive was actually a useful idea, which should have been continued
all the way throughout the PS/2 line. It allowed whoever was using the
computer to actually make use of the ROM BASIC. The floppies aren't
available in ROM BASIC, and once a program is typed in, there's no way to
save it. The cassette drive worked in the same way that the cassette drive
in TRS-80's did. It acted as the storage device in ROM BASIC. In fact, I
don't even think the PC came with a cable to connect it to a tape deck. You
had to run down to RadioShack and pick up a TRS-80 cassette cable.
I think I actually have an entire 60-minute tape full of PC-BASIC programs
(somewhere). I think one of the not-so-smart things that IBM did was to
remove the cassette interface and to keep the now-useless ROM-BASIC in
there.
--
-Jason Willgruber
(roblwill(a)usaor.net)
ICQ#: 1730318
<http://members.tripod.com/general_1>