4 ms·

> I never had a TRS 80, but I had the UK equivalent, a Dragon 32. Not at all an equivalent - 6809 chip versus Z80 - completely different architecture, very dif

> I never had a TRS 80, but I had the UK equivalent, a Dragon 32. Not at all an equivalent - 6809 chip versus Z80 - completely different architecture, very different BASIC (Dragon had pixel graphics). The Dragon was a (better) clone of the Tandy Color Computer, not the TRS-80,

gadders 5y ago
That's not what wikipedia thinks: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_32/64 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_32/64
- anthk 5y ago
  Dragon had a 6809, the same CPU as the Vectrex or the CoCo. https://www.6809.org.uk/dragon/ https://www.6809.org.uk/dragon/ http://www.nitros9.org/battle.html http://www.nitros9.org/battle.html Emulator and the modern OS. The emu is from the guy from EvilWM, the WM which inspired CWM under OpenBSD.
tssva 5y ago
From 1979 on, when the TRS-80 Model II was introduced, TRS-80 referred to a line of computers which included models with differing CPUs, operating systems and form factors. Although it is mostly associated with the Z80 line the TRS-80 line included systems which used the Z80, Motorola 6800 series, Motorola 68000, Intel 80C85 and the Intel 80186. Some of the machines ran proprietary OSs while others ran UNIX or MS-DOS. The Tandy Color Computer was actually originally the TRS-80 Color Computer.
- HeyLaughingBoy 5y ago
  Nitpick: the Tandy Color Computer was the TRS-80 Color Computer 3. Prior to the CoCo3, it was just called the TRS-80 Color Computer
- glhaynes 5y ago
  Huh, all those chips had an "80" in their name somewhere.
lproven 5y ago
> The Dragon was a (better) clone of the Tandy Color Computer, not the TRS-80, The CoCo was a model of TRS-80. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRS-80_Color_Computer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRS-80_Color_Computer So, yes, saying that the Dragon 32 was a version of the TRS-80 is fair and valid IMHO. Over here in Europe, we had dozens of makes and models of home computer that were either very obscure or completely unknown in North America -- mostly because computers from the USA were very expensive by European standards. (Ever heard of... Sinclair, Acorn, Oric, Enterprise, Memotech, Camputers, Tatung, Jupiter Cantab, HH Tiger, Grundy, Amstrad/Schneider, Philips, Thomson, MGT, Apricot, Compukit, CST, or Research Machines?) I used microcomputers from 1981 and got the first one of my own the next year. I have been working with them for 40 years now. When they were current, I did not know a single person with an Apple ][ or a TRS-80. They were simply too expensive here. So I think it's 100% understandable that, when the article here didn't specify any particular model of TRS-80, a Brit might not know that there were multiple incompatible model lines of the things. I only learned of the complexity of the TRS-80 range in the last year or two -- that is, in my 50s. They were not a huge international success.
- eesmith 5y ago
  > when the article here didn't specify any particular model of TRS-80 Even better, the linked-to article includes recollections from people who started with a CoCo, like "I got a CoCo2 on Christmas 1982".
  - lproven 5y ago
    :-D I have to admit, I didn't get that far. It's a bit hard for me to connect since I've never used a TRS-80 AFAICR. I think I played around with an early Tandy PC (maybe a Tandry 1000?) in the sole Tandy shop on the Isle of Man, and I did support work on one or two in the very late 1980s. (Anyone else remember Deskmate?)

gadders 5y ago

That's not what wikipedia thinks: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_32/64 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_32/64

anthk 5y ago
Dragon had a 6809, the same CPU as the Vectrex or the CoCo. https://www.6809.org.uk/dragon/ https://www.6809.org.uk/dragon/ http://www.nitros9.org/battle.html http://www.nitros9.org/battle.html Emulator and the modern OS. The emu is from the guy from EvilWM, the WM which inspired CWM under OpenBSD.

tssva 5y ago

From 1979 on, when the TRS-80 Model II was introduced, TRS-80 referred to a line of computers which included models with differing CPUs, operating systems and form factors. Although it is mostly associated with the Z80 line the TRS-80 line included systems which used the Z80, Motorola 6800 series, Motorola 68000, Intel 80C85 and the Intel 80186. Some of the machines ran proprietary OSs while others ran UNIX or MS-DOS. The Tandy Color Computer was actually originally the TRS-80 Color Computer.

HeyLaughingBoy 5y ago
Nitpick: the Tandy Color Computer was the TRS-80 Color Computer 3. Prior to the CoCo3, it was just called the TRS-80 Color Computer
glhaynes 5y ago
Huh, all those chips had an "80" in their name somewhere.

lproven 5y ago

> The Dragon was a (better) clone of the Tandy Color Computer, not the TRS-80, The CoCo was a model of TRS-80. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRS-80_Color_Computer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRS-80_Color_Computer So, yes, saying that the Dragon 32 was a version of the TRS-80 is fair and valid IMHO. Over here in Europe, we had dozens of makes and models of home computer that were either very obscure or completely unknown in North America -- mostly because computers from the USA were very expensive by European standards. (Ever heard of... Sinclair, Acorn, Oric, Enterprise, Memotech, Camputers, Tatung, Jupiter Cantab, HH Tiger, Grundy, Amstrad/Schneider, Philips, Thomson, MGT, Apricot, Compukit, CST, or Research Machines?) I used microcomputers from 1981 and got the first one of my own the next year. I have been working with them for 40 years now. When they were current, I did not know a single person with an Apple ][ or a TRS-80. They were simply too expensive here. So I think it's 100% understandable that, when the article here didn't specify any particular model of TRS-80, a Brit might not know that there were multiple incompatible model lines of the things. I only learned of the complexity of the TRS-80 range in the last year or two -- that is, in my 50s. They were not a huge international success.

eesmith 5y ago
> when the article here didn't specify any particular model of TRS-80 Even better, the linked-to article includes recollections from people who started with a CoCo, like "I got a CoCo2 on Christmas 1982".
- lproven 5y ago
  :-D I have to admit, I didn't get that far. It's a bit hard for me to connect since I've never used a TRS-80 AFAICR. I think I played around with an early Tandy PC (maybe a Tandry 1000?) in the sole Tandy shop on the Isle of Man, and I did support work on one or two in the very late 1980s. (Anyone else remember Deskmate?)