this post was submitted on 16 Sep 2024
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Retro Gaming

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New arrival - Parsec.

Seems very fluid and fun! ๐Ÿ˜

#ti99 #parsec #retrogaming

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[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago (3 children)

@[email protected]

Man, I haven't seen a 99/4A in a reallllly long time.
I didn't have one at home, but I remember playing with one for a while, probably at school, or possibly at computer camp.

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago (2 children)

@RL_[email protected] until I got this one and repaired it, I'd never seen or used one before. I'm not even sure I knew it existed at the time. It's an unusual design internally, ahead of its time in some ways. I'm now trying to find all the fun stuff for it!

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

@[email protected]

I've heard it's actually a 16-bit machine, but limited in very peculiar ways.

I live in (and grew up in) Texas, which is probably why I saw them growing up. I don't think they were nearly as popular as Commodore or Apple, or even Tandy (another Texas company!)

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

@RL_[email protected] yeah it's 16-bit but using 8-bit interfacing chips most likely for cost reasons, similiar to what Sinclair would later do with the QL - and with similar speed tradeoffs.

I think of TI as a reliable chip company so it's curious to me they couldn't make this system more successful. A bunch of strangely insular decisions on software seems to be the main issue, and why it probably didn't come close to the others in popularity.