8bit-Micro.com - Tandy 2000, Intel 80186

Tandy 2000

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	DESKTOP PC'S Early Intel and Zilog CPU based portable personal computers. TRS-80 Model I TRS-80 Model III TRS-80 Model IV Color Computer Color Computer 2 Color Computer 3
	BUSINESS PC'S Early ultra-light personal computers based on Intel and Zilog CPU's. These units are all unique in their class. TRS-80 Model II Tandy Model 12 Tandy Model 16, 16b
	THE ODDITIES Once again systems caught between CPU developments. TRS-80, Tandy 2000 Tandy 1200 MC 10
	THE 1000 SERIES Simply the best personal computers built. Operated under MS-DOS 2.11 to 6.22. Based on the IBM PC. Jr. Tandy 1000, 1000a Tandy 1000SX ,1000TX Tandy 1000 SL,TL & TL2 Tandy 1000EX, 1000 HX Tandy 1000 RL, RLX

Model: Tandy 2000

CPU: Intel 80186 @ 8 Mhz.

RAM: 256K (Expandable to

768K)

Ports: Printer & Serial

Display: 16 Colors 640 x 480

Graphics or Mono Hercules

Storage: Two 5.25" 768K

Floppies, One 5.35" 768K

Floppy

& One 10MB. Hard Drive.

Operating System: TRUE MS

-DOS

What do you get with a

computer ahead it it's

time?

Answer: Useless.

This is what happened with the Tandy 2000 and not just Tandy Corporation this occurred

to many manufacturers who built a system on the Intel 80186 CPU. The 80186 cpu

featured new instructions and new fault tolerance protection. Tandy built the 2000 with

advanced color graphics, and a desktop with Intel 16bit processing at 8 Mhz. It was a very

good computer as far as construction it was just built around the wrong CPU. The Tandy

2000 by many was considered the first AT style computer in North America. A bold and

risky move by Tandy. Equipped with two 5.25" 720K floppy drives the unit was a real

piece of work. The problem; nobody wrote software for the 80186. Microsoft provided a

TRUE MS-DOS for an operating system which was real proprietary programming. All other

units including the Tandy 1000 operated on what was essentially PC-DOS, Microsoft's

operating system written for the IBM-PC platform. The Tandy 2000 was a superior

product, but very short lived. Within 2 months of it's release the 80286 CPU hit the market

and the rest is history.

Tandy wasn't the only casualty of the 80186. Other computers were built on that format

including many from Europe that were marketed with the CP/M operating system. The

same problem occurred. If you had a machine based on those systems the only thing that

could run on them were the CP/M operating system, at least with

MS-DOS you some applications. The following are a

couple of those manufacturer who jump onto the 80186

bandwagon.

The Compis

The Telenova Compis computer was originally designed

to be used in the Swedish school system. It featured a

80186 cpu and used CP/M 86. shortly after it's release

Svenska Datorer AB (Swedish Computers AB) went

bankrupt. Further development of the Compis was taken

over by the state-owned Televerket´s company TeleNova

that invested large amounts of money in the project.

The Dulmont Magnum

This is probably the exception to the rule. Much like the

Tandy 200 the Dulmont Magnum belongs to the first

family of notebook computers with an LCD screen (not

yet back-lighted). It was manufactured in Australia and

known as the Kookaburra (an Australian bird) Much like

the Tandy 200 and 100 series it was preloaded in ROM:

word processor, spreadsheet, telecommunication, file

manager, and appointment. Additional ROM software

could be added thanks to two 128 KB cartridge slots. The

Magnum was a TRUE MS-DOS compatible system

featuring the infamous Intel 80186 processor, 96 KB of

RAM, an 8 line LCD screen and several management

software

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