Monday, November 30, 2015
By: Matthew Doucette
Revisiting the Tandy 1000 SX, my second computer! (The TI-99/4A was my first computer.)
This is my actual Tandy 1000 SX, and it has not been turned on in over 20 years!
Revisiting the Tandy 1000 SX (playlist).
Some History:
I found data that showed my mother had used it as late as 1993, which surprised me that it lasted that long.
Jason and I would have used it mostly between 1987 and 1990 -- grades 7, 8, and 9 -- in junior high school. I do not remember exactly when we got the computer, but I believe we were in grade 7.
We coded in a GW-BASIC that was specialized for the Tandy to support enhanced sound and graphics. The Tandy was a step up from similar IBM machines.
I recall trying to put the Tandy in a graphics mode to access the pixel individually; It would have been for the first time I did this ever, on any computer. The idea of being able to draw anything I want, with no restrictions of a tiled graphics system, was amazing. I ran out of options and asked an employee at RadioShack to help me out, and he tried to sell me Deluxe Paint! No matter what, I could not communicate what I wanted and that Deluxe Paint was not the answer. I was too young to know the words and too young to be understood as a graphics programmer. He had no idea what I was talking about, but insisted that my mother buy us Deluxe Paint.
Eventually we graduated to a 486, which I believe was around grade 11 or 12 (1991 to 1993).
That is all!
About the Author: I am Matthew Doucette of Xona Games, an award-winning indie game studio that I founded with my twin brother. We make intensified arcade-style retro games. Our business, our games, our technology, and we as competitive gamers have won prestigious awards and received worldwide press. Our business has won $190,000 in contests. Our games have ranked from #1 in Canada to #1 in Japan, have become #1 best sellers in multiple countries, have won game contests, and have held 3 of the top 5 rated spots in Japan of all Xbox LIVE indie games. Our game engines have been awarded for technical excellence. And we, the developers, have placed #1 in competitive gaming competitions -- relating to the games we make. Read about our story, our awards, our games, and view our blog.