Foreign Perspectives

Take programmable calculators for instance. Right now there’s a Sinclair programmable calculator and a Tandy PC-3 on the site, both bought new and for sale like new as they’ve been sitting in their original box for over 20 years. What kind of person keeps a mint programmable calculator for over 20 years?

More interesting, for me, are the likes of the Tandy laptops from 1983 onward. The Tandy 100 range is actually still in use by a number of reporters in war zones as it has a mini-wordprocessor, built-in modem, runs for 20-odd hours on 4 AA batteries and weighs about 1kg. Think about it: you can hardly rely on a power supply to charge up a normal laptop in a warzone before you even consider the effect of the knocking about that bomb explosions will have on a hard-drive. On the other hand, the 1kg Tandy can easily be accompanied by 1kg of AA batteries, still weigh less than a modern laptop and run for months.

Surely there’s a more modern equivalent though? Not really. After Tandy stopped making this series of machines in 1989 there was almost a 10 year gap before the AlphaSmart computer came along. It’s aimed at the education market but is also bought in significant numbers by reporters who basically want a modern version of the Tandy. Although, funnily enough, the Tandy still wins out as it’s the only one to come with a built-in modem.

The Tandy is so reliable (no moving parts, of course) that it’s installed in all the scrolling traffic signs in America and was the first laptop to be taken into space. It also has the distinction of being the last computer for which Bill Gates wrote a significant percentage of the code.

Originally on sale for around £600 or so (serious money in 1983), they can be had for about £20 on ebay these days.