Re: World-wide 8-bit computer sales (all-time)?

[Exegete <millers@noneofyourbusiness.com>]

Michael J. Mahon wrote:
> Roy wrote:
>
>
> > Scott Alfter wrote:
> >
> > > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
> > > Hash: SHA1
> > >
> > > In article <3EFC0271.753A07D6@usa.net>, Jeff Thomas  <a2forever@usa.net>
> >
> > wrote:
> >
> > > > Anders Carlsson wrote:
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > > Heh, a little exaggerating surely. By the way, which computer or
> > > > > game console has seen the largest drop in list price? IIRC, the
> > > > > TI-99/4 was released at $1150 in 1979, and the improved TI-99/4A
> > > > > was down at $99 in 1983ish when it finally was dropped.
> > > >
> > > > That's because of the great computer/video market crash of 1983, when
> > > > alot of companies went under!
> > >
> > >
> > > That TI apparently didn't have a clue about how to sell computers didn't
> > > help much, either.  
> >
> > Part of the problem Scott, was that TI sold VERY expensive mini 
> > computers that used the same CPU as the 99/4a, and that division didn't 
> > want to see people buying the 99/4a for a few hundred bucks and then 
> > using it to run the software that ran on their $25,000 systems.
>
>
> Actually, I think there would have been little chance of that, since
> the memory of the standard TI 99/4a could not be accessed directly
> by the processor, but only indirectly through the 9918a video
> controller.  ;-)

Right, but it wasn't the "standard TI 99/4a" that the mini division feared.

The memory that went into the PE box was not accessible to the video 
controller, it was only accessible to the 9900.

So, if you added a PE box and the 32K card you had a machine that was in 
danger of rivaling the lowest end mini that TI built. Since it too only 
had 32K and a 9900.

My point was, and you helped make it, the 99/4a was crippled so it 
*couldn't* rival the minis (the highest end machine didn't have a 9900, 
it was a TTL machine that the 9900 was able to duplicate much of it's 
abilities.) The minis could access 64K of 8 bit memory, or 32K of 16 bit 
memory (the 9900 be a "pure" 16 bit chip), though the most powerful 
machine could have one meg of 16 bit RAM through paging. The 99/4a was 
limited to 8 bit RAM access, but only through third parties could you 
use more than 32K (esp since a lot of software was on ROM)

Roy


> -michael
>
> Check out amazing quality 8-bit Apple sound on my
> Home page:  http://members.aol.com/MJMahon/



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