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TRS 80 Model 100 was a portable computer introduced in 1983, made by Kyocera, and sold by Radio Shack . It was the among the first notebook computers ever made and over 6,000,000 units were sold worldwide. The Model 100 will run for days on a set of AA alkaline penlight cells, which make it lightweight and portable.
Specifications
- Processor: Eight-bit Intel 80C85, CMOS, 2.4 MHZ
- Display: Eight lines, forty characters LCD with 240 by 64 pixel addressable graphics. The screen was not back-lit.
- Peripherals: The basic package included: Built-in 300 Baud modem (North American versions), parallel printer port, serial communication port (shared by internal modem), bar-code reader input, cassette audio tape, real-time clock.
- Dimensions: 300 mm by 215 mm by 50 mm, mass about 1.4 kg with batteries
Power supply: Four penlight (AA) cells, or external power adapter 6V
A serial disk drive capable of storing 90K of data on a 3.5 inch diskette was also available.
A disk-video interface expansion box was available in 1984, with 5 1/4 inch disk drives and a CRT video adapter. This allowed the 100 to display 40 or 80 column videon on an external television set or video monitor.
ROM firmware
When first switched on, the Model 100 displayed a menu of files and the date and time. The time needed to boot this ROM firmware based system was very short compared to disk-based computers, since the machine was ready to use immediately on power-up. Cursor keys could be used to select one of the internal application programs or a data file to be worked upon.
The 32 kilobyte read-only memory of the Model 100 contained a version of the Microsoft BASIC 80 programming language. This was similar to other Microsoft BASICS with good support for the hardware features of the machine. This BASIC had pixel addressing of the display, support for the internal modem and serial port, monophonic sound, access to tape files, and support for the real-time clock and the bar code reader. Unlike other Microsoft BASIC interpreters of the time, the default for floating point numbers was double-precision.
The ROM also contained a terminal program, TELCOM; an address/phone book organizer, ADDRSS; a to-do list organizer, SCHEDL; and a simple text editor, TEXT. The TELCOM program allowed automation of a login sequence to a time sharing system under control of the BASIC interpreter.
Data files were stored in the internal battery-backed RAM. Files could also be loaded and stored to an audio cassette tape recorder, or optionally loaded and saved on the external diskette drive.
Optional ROMs could be installed in the Model 100 providing a range of customized application software.
Applications of the Model 100
The portability and simplicity of the Model 100 made it attractive to journalists, who could type about 11 pages of text and then transmit it using the built-in modem and TELCOM program for electronic editing and production. Writers continue to use the Model 100 for first drafts. Other professionals use it to take notes when away from the office. The computer is silent when it operates. The keyboard is superior to most others currently on the market. It runs for 20 hours on 4 readily available and easily replaceable AA batteries. Data is protected by a built-in rechargeable battery. There is no boot up routine, the Model 100 operates as soon as you flip the on switch and select the an application. There are several simple programs available on the internet for transferring the Model 100 files to a modern personal computer.
The Model 100 was also used in industrial applications as a programming terminal for configuration of control systems and instruments.
Third-party peripherals for the Model 100 extended its battery life and file storage capacity. Software was available to extend the display capabilities and to provide more advanced word-processing or calculation software than the supllied programs. Hobbyists designed games and other applications, including utilities.
With few exceptions, no modern portable computer has the appearance, or some would argue utility, of the Model 100 line. Modern portable computers (laptops) are larger, heavier, and have much shorter battery life than the Model 100. The closest modern successors include the Alphasmart Dana and the Quickpad Pro. These similar modern "slabtop" units typically are targeted at the education market, although they are often used by writers and mobile professionals.
Although much larger, the Model 100 actually bears a closer resemblance to modern handheld computers such as those manufactured by PalmOne (http://PalmOne.com). Its TEXT program is similar to the Memo program found on PalmOne products. ADDRSS and SCHEDL are essentially simplified versions of Contacts, Tasks and Calendar. The Model 100 has the additional advantage of a full size keyboard, a built-in modem and BASIC programming language. By including BASIC, the Model 100's designers made it possible for users to design additional applications.
Because of its adaptibility and features as well as its current relative affordability, the Model 100 and its progeny (Model 102/200/600) enjoy a near cult status among its supporters. Club 100 (http://club100.org) and Bitchin100 (http://bitchin100.com) are the center of the Model 100 universe. Model 100 enthusiasts continue to explore this early computer, trading information, participating in contests and designing new applications with exisiting and newly designed hardware and software.
Peers and Successors
Kyocera sold essentially the same notebook computer as it manufactured for Radio Shack. Other similar machines were sold by NEC (the PC-8201 with expanded memory) and Olivetti MC 10.
The Model 102 was a successor to the Model 100 but thinner. All Model 102 systems had at least 24K RAM. The Model 200 was introduced in 1985 as the successor to the 102. The Model 200 had 24K RAM expandable to 72K, a flip-up 16 line by 40 column display, and a spreadsheet (Multiplan) included. The Model 200 also included DTMF tone-dialling for the internal modem.
The EPSON HX 20 used a much smaller LCD display and had an internal cassette tape drive for program and file storage.
Systems of about the same size and form-factor as the Model 100 were sold by companies such as Teleram and Grid Systems. These were aimed at journalists.
- (Expand on Sinclair portable here (hit the back issues of the magazine collection))
See the article on Data General for a description of the DG-One, a much more powerful (but more costly) MS-DOS portable computer with disk drives and a full-sized LCD screen. Radio Shack introduced the LT1400 which was also a diskette-based MS-DOS system.
Trivia
The Model 100 firmware is said to be the last Microsoft product containing code written by Bill Gates.
Invisible files in the system RAM named "Hiyoshi" and "Suzuki" commemorate the names of two of the designers (an Easter egg).
Like other home computers of the era, a vast collection of PEEKs and POKEs were collected by avid hobbyists.
The Model 100 keyboard had 56 keys, eight programmable function keys, and four dedicated command keys, but no backslash "\" or pipe "|" keys.
The Model 100 ROM has a Y2K bug; the century displayed on the main menu was hard-coded as "19XX". Work-arounds exist for this problem.
References
TRS-80 Model 100 Owner's Manual, (1983) Tandy Corporation, Fort Worth Texas
BYTE Magazine April 1984, advertisement for Disk-Video Interface
BYTE Magazine May 1985, advertisement for Model 200
Rich Malloy, "Little Big Computer: The TRS 80 Model 100 Portable Computer", BYTE magazine, May 1983 pg. 14
Stan Wszola, "NEC PC 8201 Portable Computer", BYTE magazine June 1983, pg. 282
Since 1983, the main support for the Model 100, 102 and 200 is Club 100 at www.Club100.org.
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