On Fri, 3 May 2024, KenUnix via cctalk wrote:
Steve,
Where would you fit the Tandy Model 100 in here? Ultimately it supported
a disk drive, ran basic and also sported an expansion box that included
video support and a floppy.
-Ken
The Model 100 BASIC (puportedly the last product that billg had active
coding participation in) was, indeed, closely tied to the Microsoft
Standalone BASIC.
The external 3.5" "Tandy Portable Disk Drive" was a unique system, that
used ordinary 2DD 3.5" floppies, but had a bizarre format, unlike anything
else. It is even WAY more different than the 600RPM full-height Sony
drives. Although it would be possible, with a system supporting
FM/single-density to write code to read those disks, with their half-track
FM sectors, you would be far better off to connect that drive to a serial
port and use its internal circuitry (there have existed short programs to
talk to it).
But, the video and floppy external expansion box for the Model 100 uses
Microsoft Standalone BASIC MFM format and directory structure on 5.25"
floppies.
--
Grumpy Ol' Fred ci...@xenosoft.com
