Author Archives: James

It was with minimal expectations that, on August 3, 1977, Tandy Corporation teamed up with Radio Shack to release the TRS-80, one of the first personal computers available to consumer markets. While Don French — a buyer for the Tandy Radio Shack consumer electronic chain — had convinced some Tandy executives of the need to release a personal computer, most felt it was unlikely to gross substantial profits. This bulky item with complex operating procedures would never sell, they thought, more than 1,000 units in its first month… As it turned out, the TRS-80 surpassed even the most cautious sales estimates by tenfold within its first month on the market; the burgeoning prospects of a new era in personal electronics and computing could no longer be denied. It had no hard drive and four kilobytes of memory, according to the article. Radio Shack’s $600 PC was preceded by the MITS Altair, as well as PCs from both Apple and IBM, but “the TRS-80 was one of the first products that came fully assembled and ready to use, bridging the gap in accessibility between hobbyists — who took interest in the actual building of the computer — and the average American consumer, who wanted to know what this new, cutting-edge technology had in store for them.”