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If you've been looking for the ideal writing laptop, the Tandy Model 102 is it. This machine is perfection in a fake leather sleeve. While the Rainbow 100 might be my favorite overall machine, this tiny plastic computer from Radio Shack easily steals second place.
The Model 102 is simply a thinner version of the Tandy/Radio Shack Model 100, so I think it actually beats out its earlier incarnation slightly. Also, the Model 102 has no mention of Radio Shack on it, which definitely makes it better.
The Model 102 is a tablet-style laptop in that its screen and keyboard are all on the same surface. This design makes the machine actually usable on a lap, believe it or not. The screen, while it could be better, is definitely at least as good as anything a contemporary machine would have. But the keyboard...
The Model 102's keyboard is glorious! It is a joy to use in every way! I have actually written four complete (and absolutely terrible) novels on my Model 102 over the years, the last finished in 2017. You can hear me read them at:
While a 40 column screen isn't ideal for typing a novel, it is manageable.
This tiny system has very little storage by default, though. I think around 32KB is available for text and program storage. However, the computer does have a totally standard serial port capable of running at 19.2kbps, so moving data off it after a day of work is no problem. I have a floppy drive for it that connects to said serial port as well, but I've only used it a handful of times. Transfering to a more modern, or at least a more storage-rich, machine seems to work fine.
What software? And why is the date 1900?
- Everyone who uses this
The "operating system," if you can call it that, is a delightfully simple creation by Microsoft (supposedly written by Bill Gates himself). It is notably not Y2K compliant, which is excusable since it was written in the early 1980s, unlike stupid NeXTStep, which had late-1990s releases that still weren't Y2K compatible (see my rant in my article about my NeXT Cube). But it doesn't matter.
The laptop comes with five program: TELECOM, BASIC, TEXT, ADDRSS, and SCHEDL. While I occasionally use BASIC, I mostly stick to TELECOM and TEXT. The BASIC interpretter is everything you'd hope for in a Microsoft BASIC implementation. It works great!
TELECOM is a full-featured-ish terminal program. Setting up modes on it tends to be somewhat arcane. Mine is currently set for "88N1E,10." The first 8 is the speed, which I suspect is 9600 baud. The remaining are 8 bits, no parity, 1 stop bit. The meanings of E and 10 escape me at the moment, but they don't matter. They probably refer to the serial port in some way, as opposed to the unit's built-in modem if you want to kick ass on the analog circuits at 300bps. TELECOM thankfully supports sending and receiving text files, so getting data on and off is simple.
TEXT is just a text editor. It does word-wrapping, so it's great. As far as I can tell, ADDRSS and SCHEDL are just the TEXT application with different names. I've never really used them.
This superb machine runs on four AA batteries. Unlike most 1980s devices running on actual batteries, this laptop works forever on a set of four. I normally get 20 hours of actual usage out of alkaline batteries. NiMH rechargables provide maybe 25% less, but still work amazingly well.
This little laptop is the pinnacle of portable computing. That's right, I said it. I've never seen or used a modern laptop that was even in the same class as this machine. The twenty hours on a single set of batteries is so clutch, and you can just carry more with you if you're afraid they'll die!
I love this machine!