16 Mar
1997
16 Mar
'97
8:06 a.m.
In a message dated 97-03-16 14:02:04 EST, you write:
<< This CPU was thought to be very powerfull for its time. Was it 16bit,
while most of the others were 8bit? >>
Yes, the TI was the FIRST 16-Bit Computer ever manufactured. TI invented the
integrated circuit, the microprocessor, and the microcomputer, altogether.
Being first was their tradition. Who knows if it still is?
The TI-99/4A beat IBM just before IBM's PC got popular. TI had a lot of
marketing troubles throughout the 4+ years they tried to market their
machine. This is why we're not running everything on a 64-bit TI machine!
Bryan Nicalek
bnicalek(a)aol.com
16 Mar
16 Mar
2:33 p.m.
At 02:06 PM 3/16/97 -0500, BNICALEK(a)aol.com wrote:
The TI-99/4A beat IBM just before IBM's PC got
popular. TI had a lot of
marketing troubles throughout the 4+ years they tried to market their
machine. This is why we're not running everything on a 64-bit TI machine!
I think another problem with TI 99/4A is that TI did not encourage 3rd
party software development. TI sold the machines at a loss in order to
compete with the cheap 8-bit Ataris and Commodores. Naturally, TI wanted
to recoup the money with high margin software sales. However, TI didn't
understand that hardware success is intimately connected to software
availability. TI software development efforts alone could never achieve
the critical mass necessary to spark wide interest in, otherwise, an
excellent machine.
George
--
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19 Mar
19 Mar
4:56 p.m.
At 02:06 PM 3/16/97 -0500, you wrote:
In a message dated 97-03-16 14:02:04 EST, you write:
<< This CPU was thought to be very powerfull for its time. Was it 16bit,
while most of the others were 8bit? >>
Yes, the TI was the FIRST 16-Bit Computer ever manufactured. TI invented the
integrated circuit, the microprocessor, and the microcomputer, altogether.
Being first was their tradition. Who knows if it still is?
Ummm... beg to differ a bit here... While I believe that TI did indeed
invent the integrated circuit, it was Intel that invented the
microprocessor (the 4004), and the microcomputer first arose from various
construction articles in electronics hobbiest related magazines at the time
where the when the microprocessors were still relegated to controller tasks
(calculators, traffic light controllers, etc.)
-jim
---
jimw(a)agora.rdrop.com
The Computer Garage - http://www.rdrop.com/~jimw
Computer Garage Fax - (503) 646-0174
9992
days inactive
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2 comments
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BNICALEK＠aol.com -
george.lin＠documentum.com -
jimw＠agora.rdrop.com