Floppy Days 51 - TI99 Tech Specs, Modern Upgrades with Tursi

Welcome to episode 52 of the Floppy Days Podcast where we talk about our beloved old computers like some guys talk about their old cars. I’m Randy Kindig. I want to thank Michael Glaser for providing his thoughts and memories of the TI-99 computer. No, this hasn’t suddenly turned into a TI-99 podcast. However, this IS the fourth in a series of what now will be 5 episodes on the TI-99/4A home computer. There just turned out to be so much material on this very interesting machine and so much interest in the community, that this turned out to be quite an extended series. Having already covered history and technical topics on previous episodes, I had originally intended this episode to cover everything from software and magazines to Web sites, but by the time my co-hosts and I had gotten through the material it turned out to be over 2 hours of audio and I decided to break it into 2 parts. This episode will cover TI-99 software, books, magazines, ads and user groups while the next one will cover emulation and Web sites. My very special co-hosts for this episode are two more luminaries in the TI-99 community: Chris Schneider, who produces the SHIFT838 newsletter and Rich Polivka, who manages the popular 99er.net Web site. They provide a very interesting perspective on the TI-99 and I think you will enjoy this show.

One final thought. It was 3 years ago this month, on Sunday, Feb. 17, that I posted the very first episode of Floppy Days. It’s incredible to think that here we are 51 episodes later, still going strong. I was new to the podcasting game at that time, unsure how well the show would be received or if anyone would care, but determined to do this because it seemed like a tremendous amount of fun to learn about all the old computers from the 70’s and 80’s. I’ve been blown away by the interest and support from the community and have made an awful lot of friends along the way. I honestly and deeply want to thank everyone who helped me produce this show, provided an interview, or simply provided words of encouragement. Who would have thought that there would be 1,000 or so geeks like me out there who would care enough about old computers to listen to me ramble on month after month. All I can say, is thank you so much, and please keep listening because I have a lot of ideas for interesting shows for some time to come.

Links Mentioned in the Show:

New Acquisitions

• “The Atari Book Volume 2” - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BKS5SHU/?tag=flodaypod-20
• “Kids and the Commodore 64” by Edward H. Carlson - http://www.amazon.com/dp/0942386779/?tag=flodaypod-20

News

• Bill Degnan’s “History of Commodore Computers” Poster - http://www.vintagecomputer.net/poster_detail.cfm
• Floppy Days Logo Contest Poll - https://www.facebook.com/groups/floppydays/permalink/1699121653679601/?qa_ref=qd
• VCF Southeast 4.0 - April 2 & 3 2016, Roswell, GA - http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-southeast-4-0/
• VCF East - April 15-17, 2016 - InfoAge Science Center, 2201 Marconi Rd., Wall, NJ, 07719 - http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-southeast-4-0/
• 25th Annual Last Chicago CoCoFest - http://www.glensideccc.com/cocofest/ - April 23 & 24, 2016, Heron Point Convention Center, Lombard, IL, Sat. 9-5, Sun. 9-3
• TI Fest West 2016 - http://atariage.com/forums/topic/248617-pnw-ti-994a-fest-west-2016-april-30th/ - April 30, Centralia WA
• KansasFest, 28th edition - https://www.kansasfest.org/ - Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Missouri, from Tuesday, July 19, through Sunday, July 24
• Vintage Computer Festival West - August 6-7 at the Computer History Museum, in Mountain View, California. - http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-west-xi/
• VCF MIDWEST 11 September 10-11, 2016, Elk Grove Village, IL - http://www.vcfmw.org/
• Portland Retro Gaming Expo - 11th annual Expo at the Oregon Convention Center on October 21-23, 2016 - http://www.retrogamingexpo.com/

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