Airshack

Certainly an interesting question. I would like to track down the family to find the answer. Maybe Zach, that fellow who purchased the store lot knows?

CC-40 NOS Just marked down $20! https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F133219283472

True. Search “iBook Guy” to see his early stuff. He was a phone tech support guy then moved on to selling used iBooks. That led to being “The iBook Guy” which led to 8-bit guy. https://youtu.be/fA6DP7wTY7U He’d probably do a few TI-99/4 episodes if one of you geezers in Texas helped him out — knowledge wise. David Murray (8-bit Guy) lives in Kennedale which is in DFW, south-East of Fort Worth.

Maybe this can help you get the word out: https://www.meetup.com

I'd be willing to trade a CC-40 for something else...

While working on my first Assembly game on the TI-99/4A (TMS9900) I figured I'd try something on the ST next. What's a modern workflow look like using a PC? I travel for a living so I'm looking for some tools I can load up onto a cheap Windows10 machine. Any ideas? Trying to avoid online tools. Need to do much of my work in a no wi-fi area. I can do it all on a Mac if there's tools for Mac. I've always been interested in the 68000. Feeling spoiled with my sixteen 16-bit relocatable registers on the TI. Current workflow includes: All Windows10 stuff... Magellan Graphics Editor for Maps, Sprites, and Character drawing Coding in IntelliJ IDEA with some TMS9900 specific plug-ins to help catch typos, etc. A TI-99/4A specific Assembler (ASM994A) Emulation via Classic99 Assuming I'll need similar tools for the ST? Where to begin? -James

Shameless self-promotion. My ad. I have no idea what they're worth. Testing the waters.

They may be talking about the Transformer. The transformer is the small black box which plugs in between the computer and the electrical outlet. The power supply is inside the console. The transformer is sealed and external(the brick), while the power supply is inside the computer and easily accessible.

Some clown is selling NOS CC-40s. What the heck is this guy thinking? https://www.ebay.com/itm/Texas-Instruments-Compact-Computer-40-NEW-OLD-STOCK/133212601846

It would be cool to listen to an audio panel version of this newsletter. Maybe a round table type deal where TI AtariAgers get together to talk about these past stories and then branch off into the current TI scene. Wondering aloud if anyone here would be interested in trying to create such a program? Not trying to hijack the thread but Yesterday’s News seems the perfect conversation starter for some sort of TI podcast. Also noting we’re probably the last active retro community without a dedicated podcast.

Ralph - Thank you for giving us this superb issue with lots of history on the TI-99/4. My favorite issue so far! Keep it up Sparkster. Ever wondered about the origins and demise of the TI-99/4? Download this issue.

I purchased my TI-99/4 back in 1980 from a Sanger-Harris store in Arlington Texas. The display kiosk for the TI computer system was curiously sandwiched between the men’s and women’s clothing departments. Nowhere near the electronics/TV department. I first spotted the 99/4 while shopping for clothes with my Mom. Weird. I’ve always felt the the storefront mosaic looked the part: https://youtu.be/2ro-COj2OzM

Which arcade machines are you bringing?

Uh....it’s not that bad once you get it down. The main dig against XB is speed. What good are fast moving sprites without accurate collision detection? The compiler addresses this main issue. Benefits I discovered with this workflow include: modern coding style w labels, no line numbering, readable comments and indentation, code portability, 20+ times faster than XB, compiled code “slimmer” than BASIC thus large BASIC (>24k) fit into 24k, modern editing on modern hardware, not tied to real iron during development, compiled code able to be converted to run on FlashROM and FlashGROM, or on emulator as a binary. From what I experienced it’s a great way to create speedy BASIC games. Once you get the flow down it’s not difficult. Credit to Sinphaltimus for showing me how it all worked through his posts. Added Bonus: Helps in the transition from BASIC to Assembly programming by building familiarization with Code-Compile-Load-Run process. A nice bridge to cross....Assembly training wheels.

Totally agree.

“. In contrast to the Dartmouth compilers, most other BASICs were written as interpreters. This allowed them to run in the limited main memory of early microcomputers.“

That’s a great memory to have! That clacking sound was on terminals, not keypunch machines? If so that’s quite advanced for 1969. What a time with Apollo 11 and all... Dartmouth’s system was a GE-225 with GE DATANET-30. Equipment they purchased at a 60% discount from GE’s Phoenix Arizona office. Of course they put the BASIC Time-Share system together so users wouldn’t have to compile-link-load-execute manually. BASIC did in fact start out as a compiled language. Kemeny (with Bill Zani) wrote the first single-pass BASIC compiler on punch cards in the summer of 1963. Later, BASIC was ported to other computers with less memory and processing power, simplified, and interpreted versions appeared. Ref: Back to BASIC, Kennedy and Kurtz

True. The interpreter was there as well. Does not exclude the compiler.

Mana Fix in Lubbock out of business.

I’ll try to get a few shots from the inside next visit. No doubt, all traces of a personal computer company are long gone. Except for that lone pallet of TI-99/8s I saw behind some tires;)

Refreshing to be in a town still small enough to not go overboard with security. I spent about thirty minutes looking around and talking with the employees. Friendly people. One guy was from NYC and loved living in Lubbock. I’m betting with Texas Tech nearby and a decent airport it’s not that bad. A few shots of the tire storage area where the main assembly line once produced nearly 3 million TI-99/4s.

The southern two-thirds of the facility is being used as a fab. Apparently TI spun off the fab operation about 15 years ago? Employees tell me they still do work for TI. I’ve been promised a tour of the inside if I can ever get there early on a weekday. Everyone I talked to there seemed to know about the TI-99/4. Even the young call center girls on smoke break. One said her Mom worked on the computer’s assembly line in Module-A. The building Module A through E names are still in use.

AT&T has a call center in the north half of Module A. The southern half of that building is a massive tire storage facility now.

I finally made it out to the site where our beloved machines were produced. A large complex for sure! Still, smaller than I anticipated. It’s still in the middle of nowhere. About two miles north of the Texas Tech Stadium on University, just north of the loop.

I believe ALL of the Kemeny & Kurtz 1960's versions of BASIC at Dartmouth were compiled. The interpreted versions of BASIC became popular (late 70s) out of necessity, with the limited capabilities of early personal computers. The point of BASIC was to get non-computer savvy folks to use computers and write code. Specifically, BASIC was created on large computers to get non-technical students and staff at Dartmouth to use the new time share system. BASIC has been compiled from day one.