from the Addendum

[+jedimatt42]

So I fetched myself an set of the docs that come with a beige TI-99/4A.

 

I suppose I've never seen the ADDENDUM before It is interesting...

 

First gem:

 

Available Memory

 

If you are developing programs to run on both computers, keep in mind that the TI-99/4A Computer has 256 fewer bytes of available Random-Access Memory (RAM) than the TI-99/4 Home Computer.

I've never heard this before. Was this scratchpad CPU SRAM?

 

Wired Remote Controllers

 

If the ALPHA LOCK key is pressed down, the Wired Remote Controllers may not operate properly.

This one, I just find funny... I guess if the only game you have is TI Invaders, "may not operate" is not too much of a stretch.

 

They say a little more later, but still don't describe the exact problem.

 

Since I'm working on a file system implementation, this next one surprised me:

 

System Lockup with TI BASIC Files

 

If you have a TI BASIC program that opens and closes more than one file and the filenames differ by exactly one character in length, the program may appear to "lock up" while it is running. If this happens, pressing QUIT is the only way to stop the program. Note, however, that when you press QUIT, the program in memory is lost.

 

You can correct this situation by taking care that the lengths of the filenames in the program do not differ by exactly one character. An easy way to do this is to make all of your filenames the same length.

Ok, that just seems a little crazy... Anyone here ever trip up on this one?

 

-M@

[kl99]

Available Memory

 

If you are developing programs to run on both computers, keep in mind that the TI-99/4A Computer has 256 fewer bytes of available Random-Access Memory (RAM) than the TI-99/4 Home Computer.

 

from the TI-99/4 and 99/4A Personal Computer System Software Comprehensive Specification Document:

( ftp://ftp.whtech.com/datasheets%20and%20manuals/Specifications/TI-99_4%20and%2099_4A%20Personal%20Computer%20System%20Software%20Comprehensive%20Specification%20V1.0%2002-25-1983.pdf )

 

Both upper and lower case character definitions are initialized. Since Basic uses dynamic allocation for the "graphics" characters, this means that 99/4A Basic powers up with 256 fewer bytes of free memory than 99/4 Basic does.

 

This means we talk about VDP Ram.