A Tandy 1000 HX with a Tandy DMP-133 dot-matrix printer

Home-based PCs such as the Tandy 1000 allowed up to three channels of sound for the and commands.

At its introduction, the 68000 was first used in high-priced systems, including multiuser microcomputers like the WICAT 150, early Alpha Microsystems computers, Sage II / IV, Tandy TRS-80 Model 16, and Fortune 32: 16 ; single-user workstations such as Hewlett-Packard's HP 9000 Series 200 systems, the first Apollo / Domain systems, Sun Microsystems ' Sun-1, and the Corvus Concept ; and graphics terminals like Digital Equipment Corporation's VAXstation 100 and Silicon Graphics ' IRIS 1000 and 1200.

The Tandy 1000 was the first in a line of more-or-less IBM PC compatible home computer systems produced by the Tandy Corporation for sale in its Radio Shack chain of stores.

Released in November 1984, the Tandy 1000 was followed by a series of models which appended two or three letters to the name, after a space ( e. g. Tandy 1000 EX, Tandy 1000 SX, Tandy 1000 TX, Tandy 1000 RL, Tandy 1000 RLX ).

Common models of the machine included the Tandy 1000, 1000 EX, 1000 HX, 1000 SX, 1000 TX, 1000 SL, 1000 RL, and 1000 TL.

For most Tandy 1000 models other than the compact EX and HX that did not come already equipped with a hard drive, Tandy offered hard disk options in the form of " hardcards " that were installed in one of the computer's expansion slots and consisted of a controller and drive ( typically a 3. 5 " MFM or RLL unit with a Western Digital controller ) mounted together on a metal bracket.

The EX and HX would be among the most popular of the Tandy 1000 line because of their low price.

The Tandy 1000 HX was the bigger brother of the EX.

The 1000 HX did not come with a hard drive, and Tandy did not offer fixed disks for it.

There was a quirk in the DOS 4. 0 environment that prevented that version of DOS from working with Tandy 1000 HX computers.

The DMA controller chip was included on the PLUS-type memory expansion board for the EX and HX, and on regular ISA memory expansion cards sold by Tandy and other companies for the 1000, 1000A, and 1000HD.

For their 1000 EX and 1000 HX models, Tandy Computer designed the PLUS expansion interface, an adaptation of the XT-bus supporting cards of a smaller form factor.

The Aster computer could use the software written for the popular Tandy TRS-80 computer while fixing many of the problems of that computer, but it could also run CP / M software, with a big amount of free memory ( Transient Program Area, TPA ) and a full 80 × 25 display, and it could be used as a Videotext terminal.

ELO's debut concert took place on 15 April 1972 at The Fox & Hounds Pub in Croydon, U. K. with a line-up of Wood, Lynne, Bevan, Bill Hunt ( horns, keyboards ), Wilfred Gibson ( violin ), Hugh McDowell ( cello ), Mike Edwards, Andy Craig ( cello ) and Richard Tandy on bass.

Despite predictions from the music press that the band would fold without Wood, who had been the driving force behind the creation of ELO, Lynne stepped up to lead the band, with Bev Bevan remaining on drums, joined by Gibson, Richard Tandy ( now on the Moog synthesiser ), Mike de Albuquerque on bass and vocals and Mike Edwards and Colin Walker on cellos.

Lynne, Bevan and Tandy returned to the studio in 1985 as a three-piece ( with Christian Schneider playing saxophone on some tracks ) to record ELO's final album of the 20th century, Balance of Power, released early in 1986.

The 1990s, though, were a turbulent time for graphics development, as the computer industry was collapsing, with long-time computer makers such as Tandy / Radio Shack, Atari, and Commodore / Amiga disappearing, and the PC and Macintosh markets were fighting for dominance.

Few personal computers used the 80186, with some notable exceptions: the Australian Dulmont Magnum laptop, one of the first laptops ; the Wang Office Assistant, marketed as a PC-like stand-alone word processor ; the Mindset ; the Siemens PC-D ( not 100 % IBM PC-compatible but using MS-DOS 2. 11: de: Siemens PC-D ); the Compis ( a Swedish school computer ); the RM Nimbus ( a British school computer ); the Unisys ICON ( a Canadian school computer ); ORB Computer by ABS ; the HP 100LX, HP 200LX, HP 1000CX and HP OmniGo 700LX ; the Tandy 2000 desktop ( a somewhat PC-compatible workstation with sharp graphics for its day ); the Philips: YES ; the Nokia MikroMikko 2.

The leather business continued, and eventually combined with The Leather Factory in 2000 to become Tandy Leather Factory.

All Tandy 1000 computers featured built-in Tandy video hardware with color graphics ( CGA compatible with enhancements ), enhanced sound ( based on one of several variants of the Texas Instruments SN76496 sound generator ), game ports compatible with those on the TRS-80 Color Computer, an IBM-standard floppy disk controller supporting two drives, and a parallel printer port, all integrated into the motherboard.

The earlier models of the Tandy 1000 had a composite video output, and could be used with a color or monochrome composite monitor, or a TV with an RF modulator.

Tandy bundled DeskMate, a graphical suite of consumer-oriented applications, with various Tandy 1000 models.

The original Tandy 1000 was a large computer almost the size of the, though with a plastic case over a steel lower chassis to reduce weight.

King's Quest was innovative in its use of 16-color graphics on the PC, PCjr and Tandy 1000 ; even CGA owners could enjoy the 16-color graphics by using a composite color monitor or television, thanks to programmers exploiting the inaccuracies of composite NTSC chroma decoding.

On the back of the machine there was a port which allowed a user to connect an external 5. 25 " or 3. 5 " floppy disk drive unit, available from Tandy.

The Tandy 1000 TX was very similar to the Tandy 1000, having an external keyboard and similar casing.

) Therefore, the 5 XT slots of the original Tandy 1000, 1000 TX, 1000 SX, and similar models remained available for other hardware, making them equivalent or better than the 8 slots in IBM's XT and AT models ( which had 8 slots because the original PC's 5 proved inadequate.

The original Tandy 1000 came standard with one internal 5. 25 " double density floppy disk drive, with an additional exposed internal bay usable for the installation of a second 5. 25 " disk drive ( available as a kit from Radio Shack ).

It used a 7. 16 MHz 8088-2 processor, had 384k of memory ( upgradeable to on the motherboard ), came with either one or two 5. 25 " internal floppy disk drives, had the light pen port ( not a serial port ) like the original Tandy 1000, and lacked the volume control and headphone jack of the TX ( also like the original 1000 ).

The Tandy Portable Disk Drive ( TPDD ), a serial device capable of storing 100 KB of data on a 3. 5 inch diskette was also available.

* 1977 – Tandy Corporation announces the TRS-80, one of the world's first mass-produced personal computers.

After the Aster having been a few years on the Market Tandy released its own improved model, the TRS-80 Model 3 computer which solved many of the same problems that the Aster also had solved, but the model 3 still did not fully support CP / M as the Aster did.

The BASIC appears to be identical to Tandy Color Computer's Extended Basic.

By 1983 Bevan was expressing a desire to join Black Sabbath permanently and Lynne and Tandy were recording tracks for the Electric Dreams soundtrack under Jeff Lynne's name.

The album lacked actual strings, replaced once again by synthesisers, played by Tandy.

Though billed and marketed as an ELO album, the only returning member other than Lynne was Tandy, who performed on one track.

Former ELO member Tandy rejoined the band a short time afterwards for two television live performances: VH1 Storytellers and a PBS concert shot at CBS Television City, later titled Zoom Tour Live, that was released on DVD.

* Tandy, David W., and Neale, Walter C., Works and Days: a translation and commentary for the social sciences, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996.

This led to the development of NitrOS9 for the Tandy Color Computer 3.

Competitors included the Tandy VIS and Commodore CDTV.

* 15-Hume Cronyn, 91, Canadian-born American actor ; husband of Oscar-winning actress Jessica Tandy.

* Tandy, David W., and Neale, Walter C., Works and Days: a translation and commentary for the social sciences, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996.