Display article   Subject:  July 1992
   04/30/97   19:54:46


TANDY USER GROUP NEWSLETTER.............................JULY 1992

Material contained herein may be reproduced in whole or in part
in user group newsletters.  Please quote source as Tandy
Corporation/Radio Shack.  The company cannot be responsible for
inaccuracies or for information which changes prior to or after
publication.

Send questions/suggestions to:  Ed Juge, Director of Market
Planning, Radio Shack, 700 One Tandy Center, Fort Worth, TX
76102.


Consumer Electronics Show

We had a great time at the show.  Several of us from Fort Worth
spent almost 100% of our time in the Radio Shack booth, and it
was a great chance to visit with many of you, as well as our
friends in the media.  The hit of the booth was our new Digital
Compact Cassette (DCC) unit.  It is the only one currently slated
for production in the USA, and of course was designed by our
engineers here in Texas.  This was the first time we showed a
"real" unit... one that is exactly like what you'll buy in a few
months.  Our unit has many exciting features, some of which
aren't available in the other DCC units we've seen.  There is
even one feature, primarily for commercial applications now,
which you may never use... fiber-optic input for recording.
Second in popularity was our new 486 notebook PCs.  They really
drew crowds.

The 3830 SLC was a crowd-pleaser as well.  One visitor played
with it for a few minutes and said he had just ordered 60 "Brand
T" notebooks.  In quantity, they cost him only $20 less than our
single-unit price, and he liked the 3830 much better.  GRiD
occupied a position in the booth, and their new PalmPAD
"wearable" computer was also popular.  We showed the 1992 line of
standard and multimedia Tandy PCs as well.  Next week, it's PC
Expo in New York City, with very much the same exhibit.


Personal Information Processors

During the CES show, Tandy announced an alliance with Casio
Computer Co., Ltd. of Tokyo, Japan.  We will work together to
design, develop, manufacture, market and distribute a new family
of "Personal Information Processors."

These will be pen-based, pocket-sized processors, providing
access to information wherever you go.  Unlike other announced
projects for similar products, the Tandy product will be aimed
truly at the consumer market.  In that arena,  battery life is
measured in months rather than hours, and prices are well below
the $800-$1,000 range.

Radio Shack's experience, as America's largest consumer
electronics retailer, teamed with Casio's expertise in design and
manufacture of miniature, highly-integrated consumer electronic
products, will place a definite emphasis on the consumer in the
final product.  We will be joined by GeoWorks, which will supply
its GEOS operating system, and Palm Computing, Inc. which will
supply applications software.  The PalmPrint handwriting
recognizer, developed for GRiD Systems' GRiDPAD computer, will be
used.  Target for product availability is 1993.


Is a 1000 TL/2 a "286-type" Computer?

A Tandy 1000 TL/2 PC owner in Montgomery, Alabama wrote recently
to ask that question.  The technical answer is, if it contains a
80286 chip (which it does) it is a 286 computer.  There's no
"type" to it.  Her real question was, "Is it AT-compatible?"  The
answer is, it has an 8-bit (XT-compatible) bus, not a 16-bit AT
bus.  As most of you know, the TX-series computers were
discontinued in 1987 and the last of the TLs, the TL/3, in 1991.
There could be exceptions I'm not aware of, but the first
significant piece of software that requires an AT bus is Windows
3.1... introduced only about 90 days ago. The design philosophy
of the TX/TL series was to take advantage of the speed of the
80286 chip, while using an economical 8-bit bus.  This was based
on the idea that the only reason most people bought AT-class
machines was for the speed.

The popularity of the TX and TL family proved a very large number
of people agreed!  After all, it only took eight years after the
80286 chip was introduced in the IBM AT, for a piece of
significant software to require its 16-bit bus.  It is
unfortunate, but true, the TX and TL-series computers will not
run Windows 3.1.


Sound and Printer Conflict on the 2500 XL?

Does your sound sometimes fail to work when you have a printer
connected to your 2500 XL?  There's a simple answer.  There is a
single chip that controls printer, sound and joystick.  If you
have a printer connected to your 2500 XL, it should be powered on
before you boot the computer.  If it's connected and not powered
up, the chip can get confused.  Turn the printer on, and reboot.
Everything should work fine. If the printer is disconnected, of
course, it will also work fine.


PC Values Have Never Been Greater!

Early in the year, Radio Shack introduced a new family of
low-cost, high performance Tandy PCs.  Unquestionably, these
represented the best value we have ever offered PC buyers.

A week or two ago, Compaq announced a completely new line of
lower-cost PCs.  IBM has been announcing their intention to do so
for several months.  This action by the three largest sellers of
PC-compatible computers should send a very strong message...
There is no longer much reason to buy "clones," when you can have
a leading brand for virtually the same money.  Compaq announced
386 SX's starting under $900.  You get a 40 MB hard disk,
DOS 5.0, no Windows, no applications and no mouse, according to
their press kit.

Rumor gives that series of machine one or two card slots. By the
time you add an 84 MB HD, Windows 3.1 an application package and
a mouse, you could be well above the $899 price.

There is a "bundled" version of the low-end machine with an 84 MB
HD, Windows 3.1 and pfs:WindowWorks preinstalled -- and a mouse
--  but prices were not listed. Listed as options were a serial/
parallel interface board at $149, and a $399 internal 2400-baud
modem.  It wasn't clear if the basic machine included serial or
parallel ports, though I suspect it does.

In any case, we welcome Compaq to the world of affordable
computers.  We've been saying for years, a quality product --
from a company who will be around to support it -- doesn't have
to cost an arm and a leg. In case anyone wondered, Tandy still
sells more compatible PCs than anyone except IBM, according to
the folks in Redmond who collected the operating system royalties
on every unit each of us sold in 1991.  They didn't give me
numbers, for obvious reasons, but they gave permission to quote
the standings they gave me.


Weather Satellite Pictures

The National Education Computing Conference was held in Dallas
toward the end of June.  An interesting (independent) exhibit in
the Tandy booth showed a Tandy computer, connected through a
Terminal Node Controller (TNC) to a Radio Shack scanner, attached
to a Radio Shack discone antenna.  The computer was displaying
satellite weather pictures.  Actually, desktop and portable
scanners and desktop and notebook computers were used at various
times.  If you own a VHF scanner -- or a good shortwave receiver
-- and a PC, you have two-thirds of this system already.  Special
software (inexpensive) is also required.  You'll find the TNCs
and software available from any amateur radio dealer.

Ask him for suggestions on the best frequencies (especially on
shortwave) to use in your area, and the best TNCs.  He might even
have a used one available. If you don't have a local dealer, pick
up a copy of CQ or 73 Magazine from your local newsstand, and
you'll find many mail-order dealers listed.  You'll find this a
fascinating additional use for your PC.

By the way... Radio Shack has just introduced one of the slickest
handheld scanners I've ever used.  It's very small and sleek,
scans 200 channels with HyperScan  (50 frequencies per second!)
and just about every feature you can imagine!

It gives you access to over 48,000 frequencies, including the
200-400 MHz band almost always skipped over by other units.
That's where you'll find military aircraft and the 220 MHz
Amateur Radio band.  The receiver is triple conversion, and it
stays right with specialized Amateur Radio handheld transceivers
costing more than twice as much!

If you're interested in that sort of thing, you must see the
exciting and all new PRO-43.

See you next month!
