Retro Tech Tuesday: Tandy 1000

It's confessional time, dear reader. Today, you know me as the proprietor of this humble little website with a strong focus on Apple products. But many moons ago, I was a member of "the dark side." Yes, my first computer wasn't the Mac Classic, or an Apple II (although I played an unhealthy amount of Oregon Trail in school). No, my first computer was the beauty you see below: The Tandy 1000. It was a surprise Christmas gift: I knew my parents knew I wanted one, but the price just made it seem impossible.

I can remember countless hours, as a 9/10/11 year-old trying to figure out just what software would work on the computer since the Tandy wasn't quite all "IBM Compatible," and different flavors of software were the norm. Dual floppies, and 512K of RAM (via add-on pack) made me the king of the faux PC world. That computer and its "Deskmate" suite of apps had a long, long life...