• (cs)

    Uhhh.. the Osborne was a joke, sure. But those little Tandys weren't all bad. Look at the price, FCOL, and remember what era you're talking about. It was good enough for someone just getting started in computers to teach themselves BASIC programming, and it was fairly popular. So I call it not a WTF.

    (Am I still frist?) (EDIT: Yep!)

  • (cs)

    re writing assembly on trs-80; I did for a couple of months, but then I may not necessarily be in my right-mind (ask my wife)

  • Montoya (unregistered)

    Someone care to explain the "Midget Duplex Unit" in the top left?

  • Robert (unregistered)

    This comment was inevitable.

  • Kuli (unregistered)

    Whew! The Osborne had two (hold your breath!) 100k floppy drives!

    That's incredible! I mean, even the lousy Commodore 1541 with its single-sided disks and only 35 tracks stored 171k. And the old CP/M machines in my school could handle 360k per disk.

    This really is unbelievable.

  • (cs)
    ad:
    The guy on the left doesn't stand a chance
    Well, not in a briefcase fight, anyways. Unless he's super-quick off the draw and gets in the first shot. Otherwise, he's got 23 pounds of 'fully functional computer' coming down on him.

    And even if guy-on-the-left manages to beat the Osborne guy, it's only a matter of time before he's back, dressed in green, flying a jetboard and chucking explosives and his son's girlfriend.

    How do I know that's the outcome?

    evil-voiced ad:
    IT'S INEVITABLE
    Frog-dang, that's creepy.
  • IT Girl (unregistered)

    Aw Wordstar. I remember it well. Although I believe we "needed" keyboards with gold keys (they were literally yellow coloured) to make the various functions available. They were in the same spot as the Ctrl keys are on a current keyboard. I remember having to press <gold><F1> and the like, to do things like centre text, print, etc.

    capcha oppeto, reminiscing about a long lost puppy

  • (cs)

    The guy on the right doesn't stand a chance. He has no sandwich!

  • JonC (unregistered)

    I used to own one of those TRS-80s. One of the standard type in this BASIC code programs that was the manual was a hore racing game where you could bet on a horse (represented by different icons) and then 4 of the icons would 'race' from one end of the screen to the other. It was actually surprisingly fun and was a good way of wasting time during boring school lessons.

  • SteveS (unregistered)

    The guy on the left doesn't stand a chance...of getting a matching hernia.

  • (cs)

    A friend of mine had a TRS-80 that he'd been given by an affluent relative who'd bought one and discovered that he didn't have a clue what to do with it except use it as a calculator.

    My friend promptly wrote a dice-rolling program, and - if I recall correctly - a bunch of other little apps to help him run his home-grown pen and paper RPG system. He said that he didn't mind the screen too much, although the keyboard took a little getting used to after the ZX Spectrum (known as the Timex Sinclair 2068 in the US). It served him faithfully for several years - and through several iterations of the RPG system - and for all I know languishes in his attic to this day.

    In fact, now I think about it, I seem to recall he found it very useful in his exams as well since none of his teachers had a clue that it was anything other than a calculator...

  • Clinton (unregistered)

    The Osborne I didn't fail because it was large and bulky. It failed because the company had a much better Osborne II in the production queue that was taking too long.

    Why spend $1800 on a computer whose replacement (for a similar price!) is just around the corner?!?

    The operating capital for Osborne Computers dried up and manufacturing on the II failed for lack of money.

    The Osborne WTF is announcing model II at the same price point before you've got enough profit from model I to completely it.

  • lanmind (unregistered)

    I still have a working IBM "luggable" in my garage. In the infancy of the Net I wrote HTML pages on it.

  • Kris (unregistered)

    I had a TRS-80 - they were brilliant. If memory serves the manual came with a listing for a ski-jumping game that whiled away many a history lesson.

  • Some guy (unregistered)
    Displays full 64-character ASCII set

    Wow, they even scaled down the ASCII set without making it less full!

  • (cs)
    OSBORNE 1:
    ...IEEE 488 and RS232 interfaces for printers and other things that get connected to computers...

    I love this line. Advertising at its finest.

  • (cs) in reply to Some guy
    Some guy:
    Displays full 64-character ASCII set
    Wow, they even scaled down the ASCII set without making it less full!
    And it tasted great too!
  • anonym (unregistered)

    could you move it to another folder, proxy over here is killing the screenshot :-(

  • (cs)

    Ahhh, the Osborne was my first introduction to both computing and programming... and I wasn't born until 1984!

  • luctus (unregistered)

    Whats the WTF? Most of us have laptops now.

    So the WTF is "20 years ago computers were bigger and slower than they are now"?

  • (cs)
    ... change constants, ...
    pi := 4;
  • (cs)

    I had one of the TSR-80 handhelds.

    It was a darn fun coding machine. I even taught it how to multiple very large numbers (30, 40, 50 etc digits) for some math I was working on.

    Then someone went and stole it - I was heart broken. Worse, whoever took it probably had no clue how to use it.

  • Chemical Ali (unregistered)

    The guy with the Osbourne would get beaten to a pulp by the guy with the SX-64 ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_SX-64 ).

    Mobile computing nowadays just isn't as fun. Easier on the spine, though.

  • Satipo (unregistered) in reply to JonC
    JonC:
    I used to own one of those TRS-80s. One of the standard type in this BASIC code programs that was the manual was a hore racing game where you could bet on a horse (represented by different icons) and then 4 of the icons would 'race' from one end of the screen to the other. It was actually surprisingly fun and was a good way of wasting time during boring school lessons.

    I think it is spelled whore, and yes, that does sound like fun.

  • Jordan Klassen (unregistered)

    I'm pretty sure that my uncle told me a story where he used an Osborne computer that his boss bought and then only kept in the trunk of his car.

  • Dugeen (unregistered)

    You wouldn't want to program the TRS-80 pocket computer in assembly language?

    You, sir, are no trouper.

  • mike (unregistered)

    5" != 10cm

  • (cs)
    Aw heck, if a single line of text is all you need, why not release your inner-geek and go with the Pocket ASCII Terminal with its "Man-Sized" capabilities.

    Funny, we've almost come full circle. One of the best selling apps for the iPhone amounts to, basically, a pocket terminal (that communicates via SSH).

  • JonC (unregistered) in reply to Satipo
    Satipo:
    JonC:
    I used to own one of those TRS-80s. One of the standard type in this BASIC code programs that was the manual was a hore racing game where you could bet on a horse (represented by different icons) and then 4 of the icons would 'race' from one end of the screen to the other. It was actually surprisingly fun and was a good way of wasting time during boring school lessons.

    I think it is spelled whore, and yes, that does sound like fun.

    I was sure I typed the s in horse :-o

  • Pocket ASCII Terminal (unregistered)

    Midget? How dare you call me a midget! The proper term is little calculator American!

  • pauldy (unregistered)

    I have to agree with the first picture if thoe two where to go at it I say the guy on the right takes the guy on the left out with one swing. Ever in a boardroom fight I would much preffer that to some dinky little netbook anyday.

  • Gumpy Gus (unregistered)

    Ah yes, The Osborne. Tiny screen and tinier diskettes. A useless GPIB interface.

    The main selling point was not the hardware, but the excellent software package (for that era). Somehow Osborne got a great deal on WordStar and DBase II. Once that package deal ended the Os was a whole lot less interesting.

    I think this was the machine that blew air OUT of the case, which sucked dusty air in through the only open apertures-- the floppy disk slots. Made for very dusty 100k diskettes.

  • (cs) in reply to Clinton
    Clinton:
    The Osborne I didn't fail because it was large and bulky. It failed because the company had a much better Osborne II in the production queue that was taking too long.

    Why spend $1800 on a computer whose replacement (for a similar price!) is just around the corner?!?

    The operating capital for Osborne Computers dried up and manufacturing on the II failed for lack of money.

    Actually, the so-called "Osborne effect" turns out to be largely myth and mis-remembering. The premature announcement did cause a dip in sales, but it quickly recovered; what really bankrupted Osborne was the combination of competition from Kaypro and poor decisions in relation to over-stocking of components from the older model.

    Refs: Robert X. Cringely, June 16, 2005 Pulpit column, "The Osborne Effect: Sometimes What Everyone Remembers Is Wrong": http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/2005/pulpit_20050616_000856.html and El Reg, 20th June 2005, "Taking Osborne out of the Osborne Effect": http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/06/20/no_osborne_effect_at_osborne/

  • (cs) in reply to pauldy
    pauldy:
    I have to agree with the first picture if thoe two where to go at it I say the guy on the right takes the guy on the left out with one swing. Ever in a boardroom fight I would much preffer that to some dinky little netbook anyday.
    Pah! By the time that bloke's even managed to pull back that incredibly heavy inertial mass to take a swing, the other guy will be all over him.

    Anyway, just then, a ninja sneaked up and decapitated them both with a handful of razor-edged throwing briefcases, so the fight was technically a draw anyway.

  • (cs) in reply to DaveK
    DaveK:
    pauldy:
    I have to agree with the first picture if thoe two where to go at it I say the guy on the right takes the guy on the left out with one swing. Ever in a boardroom fight I would much preffer that to some dinky little netbook anyday.
    Pah! By the time that bloke's even managed to pull back that incredibly heavy inertial mass to take a swing, the other guy will be all over him.

    Anyway, just then, a ninja sneaked up and decapitated them both with a handful of razor-edged throwing briefcases, so the fight was technically a draw anyway.

    No, wait a minute, that's not what I mean. What I really meant to say was
    The Osborne 1.... Not as clumsy or random as a briefcase; an elegant weapon for a more civilized age.
    FTFM!
  • Gus (unregistered)

    Luggables were awesome :) especially since it was my dad who was lugging it home from the office every night, and all I had to do was play dig-dug on it :).

  • (cs) in reply to GCU Arbitrary
    GCU Arbitrary:
    In fact, now I think about it, I seem to recall he found it very useful in his exams as well since none of his teachers had a clue that it was anything other than a calculator...

    I'm sure his English Lit teacher found its usage during the exam rather odd...

  • Anon (unregistered) in reply to DaveK
    the weight of a single Osborne 1 is equivalent to 122 hot dogs (buns + ketchup included)

    You know some hot dog purist is going to complain that you should never put ketchup on a hot dog. It's mustard or nothing.

  • (cs) in reply to GCU Arbitrary

    In fact, now I think about it, I seem to recall he found it very useful in his exams as well since none of his teachers had a clue that it was anything other than a calculator...

    I had one of those little TRS-80s in high school and used it in the math class where "calculators" were allowed as well. I remember programming in a way to solve quadratic equations that would show the work so I could copy that down and complete the assignment and tests. The hardest part was waiting around while everyone else finished.

    Aside from making "calculator math" very easy, it had another bonus. It made noise. The noise sounded exactly like the ballast on a fluorescent light that was about to go. You know, that annoying buzz. I forget exactly how it was triggered, but I think you could start and stop it by trying to save to the cassette player (which I didn't bring to school with me). I had a lot of fun with that, and the teachers were remarkably clueless in their amazement of my ability to pinpoint which light it was and solve the problem by throwing something at it.

  • Nick (unregistered)

    Ahh, the TRS-80 Pocket computer. I owned one in high school. Great distraction from calculus class.

  • Morry (unregistered)

    Hotdogs? Hotdogs? Is this some hitherto unknown imperial measurement? Like Drachm?

  • Anon (unregistered) in reply to Morry
    Morry:
    Hotdogs? Hotdogs? Is this some hitherto unknown imperial measurement? Like Drachm?

    Yes, but be warned the the Imperial Standard Hotdog (ISD) weighs slightly more than the metric Hotdog (D). 1 ISD is approx. 1044 mD IIRC. Also, there is no metric equivalent to the "foot long".

  • Julian (unregistered)

    I still have a Sharp PC1211 pocket computer (same as the Tandy one) in working order. Since mercury cells are no longer available I had to modify it to use alkaline batteries.

    Of course, the later PC1500(A) was an even nicer device - it had 6 times as much memory (8K versus 1.4K), and a fancy four colour pen plotter (using ballpoint pen refills).

  • K (unregistered) in reply to mike
    mike:
    5" != 10cm

    5" = 10cm American

  • Nodody (unregistered)

    The real WTF is that this is also the TRS-80: [image]

    and so is this: [image]

    and this: [image]

    Couldn't they think of more than one name?

  • FrenchAnon (unregistered)

    Adblock plus blocks those old ads from the 1980's! WTF?

  • Bob K. (unregistered)

    Man I'm old. I still instinctively pronounce "TRS-80" as "Trash 80"

  • Frost (unregistered) in reply to Anon
    Anon:
    the weight of a single Osborne 1 is equivalent to 122 hot dogs (buns + ketchup included)

    You know some hot dog purist is going to complain that you should never put ketchup on a hot dog. It's mustard or nothing.

    Right, like Wikipedia says, that could overpower the taste of the 'dog.

  • FrenchAnon (unregistered) in reply to FrenchAnon
    FrenchAnon:
    Adblock plus blocks those old ads from the 1980's! WTF?
    Nevermind, they are actually in the daily wtf's ad directory, though they are not used as a mean of advertising. Weird.
  • Miles Archer (unregistered)

    Ok, I'm really dating myself, but I had the Sharp version of the TRS-80 pocket computer. It was an amazing piece of technology for the time. Other than the display, it was essentially identical to the desktop Altair that I had two years earlier.

    It was great for solving math problems by brute force.

    Oh, and the Osborne - it's problem had nothing to do with the size of the screen. It's problem was that the IBM PC came out around the same time. It couldn't run the same software. They promised a PC compatible, people stopped buying the old one while waiting and they ran out of money.

    Compaq set the world on fire with their similar portable that was PC compatible.

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