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From: cramer@infoswx.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sys.tandy
Subject: Re: Tandy 2000 Question
Message-ID: <126200003@infoswx>
Date: Fri, 24-Apr-87 08:44:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: infoswx.126200003
Posted: Fri Apr 24 08:44:00 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 26-Apr-87 23:09:12 EDT
References: <259@rruxa.UUCP>
Lines: 36
Nf-ID: #R:rruxa.UUCP:259:infoswx:126200003:000:1782
Nf-From: infoswx.UUCP!cramer    Apr 24 07:44:00 1987




When introduced, the Tandy 2000, architecturally speaking, was (and
really still is) a *very* good machine.  Faster than IBM (at the time),
better graphics than IBM (at the time), and a nicer bus interface for
add-on boards (still).  

In software terms, most of the major vendors sell versions of their 
packages for the 2000; however, you cannot run many IBM versions in a 
2000, and vice versa.  I have Wordstar, Multiplan, and Softerm versions 
for my 2000 which both run nicely;  the difference between the two 
machines must be trivial -- the Multiplan product came on a single 
diskette with options (at installation) for about any MSDOS system 
around (IBM, Tandy2000, TIPC, dumb terminals attached to MSDOS machines, 
etc).  I tried, by the way, using an IBM version of each of these
packages, both of which failed.  I tried an IBM version of DBaseII,
however, which worked just fine on the 2000.  

As stated above, the 2000 is quite different in the hardware end
(which leads to the software incompatibilities -- most screen-oriented
programs write directly to the video RAM, which on the 2000 is somewhere
other than where it is on the IBM).  Since it is so different, you 
cannot buy off the shelf enhancement cards (like serial ports, memory 
cards, hard disk cards, graphics cards, and the like).  You must go to 
the Tandy store for these, where they are more expensive than say, a mail 
order house selling IBM cards.

Bottom line:  The 2000 is a good machine; it is fast, reliable, and now
quite cheap, and you have the convenience of Tandy stores everywhere.
My only warning is that you buy everything you think you may ever want 
for it now, since it is being discontinued and new parts/software may 
become hard to come by.

Bill Cramer
ihnp4!infoswx!cramer