Display article   Subject:  March 1992
   04/30/97   19:57:50


March Newsletter

TANDY USER GROUP NEWSLETTER........................MARCH 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.



The Next Price/Performance Tandy PC

I told you last month about our additional strategy of a price/
performance family of PCs, and introduced you to the first three
family members.  This month, I'll be mailing this newsletter to
you on March 3, the announcement date for family member number
four.  It is the Tandy 4850 EP personal computer.  The EP
stands Extended Performance.

This is absolutely the fastest PC I've ever benchmarked on Norton
SI.  The CPU speed is a blistering 93.6, compared to the
4833 LX's impressive 71.4.  What really makes this an exciting
machine is the suggested retail price of only $2,699!  That
includes a 120 MB IDE SmartDrive hard drive, 4 MB RAM and all
the expected extras.  This is essentially the same unit as our
4825 SX but with the Intel486 DX2 processor that operates at an
internal speed of 50 MHz! That's right, a 50 MHz 486 DX2
processor in a $2,699 Tandy computer, at participating Radio Shack
stores and dealers nationwide.  Talk about the ultimate personal
workstation...this is it.

If the budget demands something less, remember the under-$2000
4825 SX is a great performer.  It can take advantage of Intel's
future OverDrive Processors to provide the same performance as
the 4850 EP.


Tandy MPC Named Best of 1991... TWICE!

PC Home Journal has named our most affordable model, the Tandy
2500 SX Multimedia PC as one of their Best PC Products of the
Year.  "MPC approved, this is a strong beginning for computers
in the multimedia marketplace," they said.

At the same time, COMPUTE magazine has also selected the 2500 SX
Multimedia PC as the Best Personal Computer of 1991.  It is one
of only 20 hardware and software products to receive the Compute
Choice Awards for the year.

As you probably know, the 2500 SX is now the 2500 SX/25, and uses
the fastest 386 SX chip on the market, the AMD 25 MHz unit.
Along with the $1,299.95 85 MB hard drive version, a $999.95
floppy-only model is available on special order.

We receive frequent questions about 386 SXs, now that they are
offered by many resellers at a wide variety of prices.  The
prices have come down so far, most people now class 386 SX
computers as "low-end" machines.  Computer discount houses
advertise them locally from $999 to $1,799.

What are the differences?

First, look at processor speed.  If it's not mentioned -- and
frequently it's not -- expect no more than 16 MHz.  Be aware that
a 25 MHz 80386 SX normally runs 50% faster than a 16 MHz machine
of equivalent design.

Sometimes, even the speed appears to be misleading.  We
physically tested one popular 386 SX/16 clone at a CPU speed of
only 6.6 on Norton SI.  By comparison, our 2500 SX/16 rated 11.0
and the 25 MHz version rates 18.0.  The extra speed of a 2500
SX/25 is extremely nice with Windows applications!  Next, check
the hard drive capacity.  We believe 85 MB is an optimum size for
Windows users.  A 40 MB drive is simply not large enough.  Some
individual Windows applications chew up as much as 15-20 MB of
hard disk space!   You'll also notice we provide 2 MB of system
RAM, expandable to 16 MB on the system board.

With a 2500 SX/25, you won't have to spend an additional bundle
to get those Windows applications running right!

Tandy computers give you most of the popular options on the
system board plus three industry-standard expansion card slots
and a 5.25-inch drive slot for floppy drive, CD-ROM drive or tape
backup.

Look for frequently omitted extras like a real-time clock and
bi-directional parallel port.  Don't forget, Tandy's digital
sound with microphone and headphone jacks is included on the
2500 SX series.

You'll see many clones bundled with great-sounding software.  Be
sure you know what versions you're getting.  The $999 clones
frequently come with DOS 4.0 or DR-DOS.  Windows may not be
version 3.0.  Buy a 2500 SX/25 and get MS-DOS 5.0 and Windows 3.0
immediately, plus a copy of any new version of Windows released
before June 30, 1992, at no additional cost.

There are "Works"  programs from  Microsoft, Lotus, Software
Publishing Corporation and possibly others.  It may be a Windows
or non-Windows version (even of Microsoft Works software).  Be
sure the DOS is version 5.0.

Of course, you may prefer some of these other products...but the
point is, know what you're buying!  Substituting older or lesser-
known software versions is a popular method of saving cost and
lowering the price.

Some manufacturers load the software on hard disk, but save the
cost of floppies.  We include MS-DOS 5.0, WIN 3.0, America
On-Line and Microsoft Works for Windows version 2.0 software,
installed on the hard disk and on floppy disk, in case you need
to re-load later.

Finally, Tandy desktop computers are designed and manufactured
right here in the USA.  They are quality controlled to modified
mil-spec standards and fully supported and repaired (with full
one-year warranty) by a nationwide network of company-owned
facilities.

In short, all 386 SX computers are not necessarily created equal!


Ship a Laser Printer CAREFULLY

If you ever need to ship a laser printer for repair, you must
take some precautions!  The number of things to do may vary from
one printer to another, but as a minimum the toner unit must be
removed.

Some printers, including the Tandy LP 950, have some form of new
or used toner in a development unit, a drum unit and a toner
collector unit.   The 950 requires that the toner collector be
emptied and placed in a sealed plastic bag.  The drum unit,
collector unit and development unit must be removed, carefully
packaged (in original containers if possible) and shipped
separately.

If you ever see the results of a laser printer being shipped with
toner still inside, you'll wish you hadn't.  It's a pretty good
match for GRiD's spiffy black finish...except that this finish
rubs off and gets all over everything.  The cost of having your
printer cleaned up and put back in usable condition usually
exceeds the cost of a new printer!


DeskMate Hints

DeskMate software users sometimes get "out of memory" error
messages when performing certain functions.  It happens, for
example, when using Draw.  When it does, check to see if the
Autoproof or Alarm functions are active.  Both are memory-
resident programs that use memory another function may need.

If you get this error, try turning off both Autoproof and Alarm,
temporarily, and see if it goes away.

A customer wrote this month about his mouse.  It worked fine when
he was in DeskMate, but disappeared when he went to a non-
DeskMate program.  DeskMate has its own mouse driver, but it only
works with DeskMate.  If you want to use your mouse with other
programs, you need to install the MS-DOS mouse driver.  Add this
line to your CONFIG.SYS file:

    device=c:\dos\mouse.sys

If DOS is in another directory, of course, change the path (after
the equal sign) to the actual path to your DOS files.  You can
edit CONFIG.SYS with either your DeskMate TEXT program, or the
MS-DOS EDIT function.


Old Tandy Printers and Some PC Clones Don't Mix

We receive sporadic reports from the field of problems resulting
from IBM Clone owners connecting an older Tandy printer to their
PC.  It's true!  The printer port in some of those clones will
not tolerate the voltages provided through the printer cable from
older Tandy printers to the computer.  In some cases, permanent
damage to the computer can result when the printer is plugged in
and turned on.

To be compatible with computers sold years ago, the older Tandy
printers supplied +5 volts on pin 18 of the printer connector.
All newer Tandy printers have switched to the standard IBM
parallel port configuration that doesn't use that 5 volt signal.

Unfortunately, there is no way for us to test all clones and tell
our stores (or you) which work and which don't.  Recent reports
seem to revolve around Tandy daisy wheel printers and Packard
Bell PCs.  This doesn't mean either our printers or PB computers
are somehow not good machines...just that they appear to be
incompatible.

One possible -- not sure -- cure is to cut line 18 in the printer
cable coming from the printer.  However, it is still possible
that the clone may not like the voltages present on other lines.

This applies to older Tandy printers with the old Tandy parallel
port.  It does not affect newer Tandy printers with the IBM
parallel port.  Old printers include the DMP 133, 440 and 107,
the  LP 1000 and anything produced before their time.


Neat Trick!

I've talked before about using my Tandy 2810 HD notebook PC.
For a long time I avoided Windows applications, mostly because of
the inconvenience of a mouse in some of the places I use the
computer.  A couple of things have just about converted me...

First, Windows performs quite acceptably on my quick 2810 HD.

Second, I'm now using a Microsoft BallPoint mouse, that
attaches quickly and easily to (and detaches just as easily from)
the side of the computer.  It takes a very slight amount of
"getting used to," but is really great.

Even then, there was one major headache.  Seeing the mouse
pointer -- especially when moving -- on the LCD screen,  ranged
from nearly impossible to forget it, depending on ambient light
level and how tired I was.

The third thing to win me over happened this morning.   I
received a little miracle in the mail...my upgrade to MS Mouse
Software Version 8.1 (free to owners of BallPoints).  There are
so many options I haven't tried them all.  With my current
settings, the pointer is black on a white background, and when I
move it, the pointer grows to about 1/2-inch square!  Even under
the worst conditions, it stands out like a beacon!  Of course it
shrinks back to normal size when movement stops.

Cursor choices include black, white or transparent pointer;
small, medium or large, or "grow mode."  I tried the pointer in
QBASIC (not the Windows arrow), and it is a black box about
1/2 x 3/8-inches, and equally visible.  (The typing cursor is a
character-size block, black on white.)  It is absolutely amazing
how much difference a little thing like this can make.

See you next month!
