TRS-80 description in "Origin" book?

[eegad]

Hello all. While I’ve always been a diehard Atari guy, I do have a soft spot for the trs-80 since it was the first computer I ever used - in my 1980-82 high school “intro to computers 1 & 2” classes.

I was just reading Dan Brown’s latest book, Origin. In it a billionaire computer genius uses his very first computer from his childhood to trigger the streaming of an earth-shattering message about the future of humankind. His first computer? A TRS-80, which he got at age 8. It is described like this :


“…an ungainly, mushroom-colored box with a floppy-disk slot, a 1,200-baud telephone modem, and a bulbous twelve-inch convex monitor sitting on top…”

the keyboard unit is attached with a “…tightly coiled cable stretching out like an old rotary phone cord.”

After entering an “incorrect password” on the machine and panicking, it is pointed out that : “Professor,” she whispered, pointing to his keyboard. “Your caps lock is on.”


In school we used a mix of Model 1’s and a couple of Model 3’s. The teacher had a big Model 2. I would call them “silver and black”, NOT “mushroom colored”, though I agree with the “bulbous monitor sitting on top” of the expansion unit that the model 1’s all had. From what I recall, the main keyboard unit has a straight (NOT coiled) cable going to the monitor, and a RIBBON cable going to the expansion unit. But the main thing is, I don’t think it’s even possible to “have the caps lock on”, because I don’t think those models had a caps lock key on the keyboard, did they???

Any true TRS-80 fans care to comment? Is there another model TRS-80 besides these 3 that fit the description in the book? Just curious….I love it when I notice that a writer got a computer/videogame type of detail wrong.

[+arcadeshopper]

Hello all. While I’ve always been a diehard Atari guy, I do have a soft spot for the trs-80 since it was the first computer I ever used - in my 1980-82 high school “intro to computers 1 & 2” classes.

 

I was just reading Dan Brown’s latest book, Origin. In it a billionaire computer genius uses his very first computer from his childhood to trigger the streaming of an earth-shattering message about the future of humankind. His first computer? A TRS-80, which he got at age 8. It is described like this :

 

 

“…an ungainly, mushroom-colored box with a floppy-disk slot, a 1,200-baud telephone modem, and a bulbous twelve-inch convex monitor sitting on top…”

 

the keyboard unit is attached with a “…tightly coiled cable stretching out like an old rotary phone cord.”

 

After entering an “incorrect password” on the machine and panicking, it is pointed out that : “Professor,” she whispered, pointing to his keyboard. “Your caps lock is on.”

 

 

In school we used a mix of Model 1’s and a couple of Model 3’s. The teacher had a big Model 2. I would call them “silver and black”, NOT “mushroom colored”, though I agree with the “bulbous monitor sitting on top” of the expansion unit that the model 1’s all had. From what I recall, the main keyboard unit has a straight (NOT coiled) cable going to the monitor, and a RIBBON cable going to the expansion unit. But the main thing is, I don’t think it’s even possible to “have the caps lock on”, because I don’t think those models had a caps lock key on the keyboard, did they???

 

Any true TRS-80 fans care to comment? Is there another model TRS-80 besides these 3 that fit the description in the book? Just curious….I love it when I notice that a writer got a computer/videogame type of detail wrong.

 

 

Sounds like a Tandy 1000 to me https://g.co/kgs/yka2vE

 

Sent from my LG-H830 using Tapatalk

[+OLD CS1]

"Origin" you say? Hallowed are the Ori!

[+sm3]

No caps lock key on a Model 1 either, but it's cool the TRS-80 was mentioned. Looks like what arcadeshopper linked fits the bill but not a TRS-80 obviously.

[simbalion]

Sounds a bit more like a TRS-80 Model 2000.

[Turbo-Torch]

I hate it when people refer to mushroom as a color. Is it white, tan, brown, gray, black, mauve?

 

Model 1 didn't have a "disk slot" as the drives were external. Most likely would not have been using a 1200 baud modem either.

 

Except for the EX/HX, it could be any of Tandy's PC compatibles. I've never seen a Tandy monitor that would be considered bulbous.

 

Although there is this weird ass, cool looking version of the Model 1 monitor which I believe was for the UK market.

 

[eegad]

Sounds a bit more like a TRS-80 Model 2000.

 

Thanks for that - after googling images of the 2000, I'm sure you are correct. I vaguely recall Radio Shack making some pc clones in the 80s, but I never thought they would have put a "trs-80" label on the case...I would have thought an "-80" designation would be reserved for z80 based machines. Thanks for clearing up the mystery...I guess Dan Brown was correct with his description after all.

[Turbo-Torch]

I would have thought an "-80" designation would be reserved for z80 based machines.

 

It did for the Model I and then just became a name after that. You also have the TRS-80 Model 100, CoCo, PC-x and MC10 series along with every peripheral made down to the cassette deck.

I think the only reason they ditched TRS-80 for Tandy was because of the Trash-80 nickname.