The TRS-80 Journey Continues

[Fred Cisin]

>> Sorry, to pester with irrelevant details, . . . 
On Mon, 9 May 2022, Bill Gunshannon via cctalk wrote:
> Not pestering.  I appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions.

I'm enjoying "going back to those days".  But,  I got out of TRS80 whenthe 
PC was introduced.  When the model4 came out, the college paid 
Radio Shack to upgrade the model3s into model4s, for the same price for 
which thay could buy bare model 4s, and let the student "lab techs" 
transfer over the extras from the Model 3s, which would have given model 
4s PLUS bare model3s, instead of model 4s that were upgraded beaten up 
model3s.

>> not "troubleshoot", so much as understanding a feature and/or confirming 
>> what is "known"
>> If it will do it with a blank disk, then the statements that it "doesn't 
>> have ROMs" are more faulty. It obviously has SOME ROMs, to start up enough 
>> to try to boot.  But, this would tend towards disproving the statements 
>> that it doesn't have BASIC in ROM.
>> And, if it has the "POKE" command, then all sorts of wondrous things become 
>> more easily available.


> > OR, will it do it with a BLANK or PC disk?
> Didn't try either of those.  Not sure I even have any.
a Formatted "data" disk without system?
a Coco disk?


On Mon, 9 May 2022, Bill Gunshannon via cctalk wrote:
> Good point.  I'm going to have to go look at the 4P Tech Ref Manual
> again.  Maybe I am wrong it has Model III ROMS that can be switched out
> for 64K Ram mode.  But then, what is the purpose of MODELA/III.

Well, the ROMs could be the minimal/cassette BASIC, and the disk program 
is the enhanced BASIC, just like IBM 5150 does.

PC-DOS comes with BASICA.COM (.EXE?), which adds the enhancements to the 
ROM BASIC.
Many/MOST OEM MS-DOS came with GW-BASIC, which was the enhanced BASIC, 
that did not need the ROMs.  SOME OEMs, renamed GWBASIC into BASICA, 
so that instructions that called for BASICA would not need revision.
At the time, "GW-BASIC" stood for "GeeWhiz BASIC", but later, Microsoft 
"forgot" what it stood for, and now Backronym it to "Graphics and Windows 
Beginner's All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code", "Greg Whitten BASIC", 
or "Gates/Whitten BASIC"
https://www.quora.com/Why-is-the-origin-of-the-name-of-GW-BASIC-still-unclear-when-someone-could-just-ask-Bill-Gates