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From: japplega@csm9a.UUCP (Joe Applegate)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Tandy 1000 TX
Message-ID: <535@csm9a.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 15-Sep-87 12:28:02 EDT
Article-I.D.: csm9a.535
Posted: Tue Sep 15 12:28:02 1987
Date-Received: Thu, 17-Sep-87 06:39:37 EDT
References: <317@auvax.UUCP>, <206900079@mirror>
Organization: Colorado School of Mines
Lines: 58

>>You can bet if it's a Tandy it is the most uncompatible machine imaginable!

>W R O N G !
>This is a generalization that does not hold true.  The Tandy 1000
>(which is subject that Joe was responding to) is more like the PC-Jr
>that IBM came up with.  So, if we were to generalize about the IBM

>Joe was responding to a question about a TANDY 1000__ and he is
>probably right about that particular model.  The original Tandy 1000's
>were not 100% IBM compat. and never claimed they were.  The newer
>models of the 1000's claim they are 100% compat. (they also have
>bigger cases to support larger boards).  I have never owned a 1000

D E F I N A T E L Y  W R O N G ! ! !
Some people obviously believe every bit of marketing hype they read!!!
First of all the 1000, be it _, A, SX, EX, TX, or HX IS NOT EVEN CLOSE
to Jr. compatibility!!!  The only thing similar to the Jr. is the
presence of 16 color graphics in the same modes as the Jr.... but these
graphics modes ARE NOT Jr. compatible since they occupy a different
memory location than IBM's Jr.... I have quite a few Jr. programs which
will not run on my 1000A and also Tandy software that will not work on
a Jr.!!! Not only is the graphics incompatible but the hardware is 
Totally incompatible.... the Jr. has NO SLOTS and has plug in Roms -
the Tandy has 3 IBM incompatible slots (Tandy compatible) and no rom
slots!  The Tandy also uses different joysticks, printer cables, ect.

Secondly, the new 1000's have most of the problems of the older models.
They have a keyboard which restricts the use of many software products
such as Framework, What's Best, Minix, ect...  They require a special
Tandy compatible printer cable, a Tandy compatible joystick, a Tandy 
compatible monitor (the new models use a slightly different scan rate),
and whats more they STILL have a 10" board limitation and require a bent
bracket.... the only way to add an IBM compatible card to a Tandy 1000
is by sawing off the tip of the bracket and bending it!!!!  If you can
find a card short enough to fit and otherwise compatible...

SX users on our BBS have reported problems with the newer Tandy's that
are supposed to take an IBM compatible hard disk (mine required cutting
traces, running jumpers, and burning a ROM), as well as problems running
any EGA other than Tandy's.  There is no reason to suspect that Tandy has
corrected these problems on the newer machines.

Tandy appears to have gone out of their way to design the 1000 to be as
IBM incompatible as humanly possible in order to force you to buy their
overpriced (and usually out of date) peripherals!  I too am an old time
Tandy customer, having bought a model 1, 3, 2 Coco's, and finnaly a 1000A.
I will NEVER buy another computer from them again!!!!  And will do
everything possible to discourage others from making the same mistake
that I did!!!

    Joe Applegate - Colorado School of Mines Computing Center
            {seismo, hplabs}!hao!isis!csm9a!japplega
                              or
 SYSOP @ M.O.M. AI BBS - (303) 273-3989 - 300/1200/2400 8-N-1 24 hrs.

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