Thanks for this video! Brings me back 40 years. I spent months creating games on this machine, it had a unique feature to create games called Sprites(images that can have a velocity and fire an event when collide). I later studied and still work in IT, this machine played a big role in this.
Happy you enjoyed this video, I have several more on my channel (here, if interested: wagnerstechtalk.com/retro-computing/ ). I too started with this machine, using Sprites in Extended Basic and wrote several games also. I tried selling one when I was 17, sold one copy :D But, it was fun and kick-started my career in computers as well. It was an exciting time back then, few knew how to use a computer in those days.
Thanks for this bit of nostalgia. I did my master's research with a TI-99/4a. I'd load the data from cassette in the morning while I showered, then process data during the day. That days work would be saved to new cassette that night before bed. I'm glad things are easier now ;-)
If you're interested to see some "New" TI-99/4a stuff, please see my page here: wagnerstechtalk.com/retro-computing Some really amazing enhancements in recent years such as FinalGrom 99, TIPI and even Dragon's Lair for the TI-99/4a (this one is sure to impress)
Very welcome! Hard to believe it's been that long already. There are a few more interesting things you may not be aware of, here are my favorites (in order): Dragon's Lair for the TI, FinalGrom99 and TIPI 32k. You can find those videos (and more) here: wagnerstechtalk.com/retro-computing . Just something I think you'll also like given your comment above. 😎
In 1984 I was going to a Business College and one of the computer languages I had to learn was BASIC. There were only 4 computer terminals for the whole school, so we all had to reserve time on them! (Sometimes even on weekends!) So the going was slow. I bought a TI-994A at Kmart for $99, along with an extra, simpler easier-to-understand textbook at Waldenbooks so I could work at home on my own time and at my own speed. It helped!🙂 We also had a class assignment to give a speech about any of the personal computers that were just beginning to hit the home market. Naturally, I decided to give MY speech about the TI-994A--which had just been discontinued. I started off with these words: "Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here to pay our last respects to the Texas Instruments TI-994A Home Computer..." I got an A!🤣
That is AWESOME! Thank you so much for sharing your story! I still love the TI and use it even today. Have you seen my video on the TIPI and browsing the internet on a TI-99/4a? If not, you may want to check it out. Crazy that new development is still on-going for the TI after nearly 40 years.
If interested, here's a link to all the interesting and amazing things for the TI that I've covered on my channel: wagnerstechtalk.com/retro-computing/
I used to play car wars on mine in the 80s. Forgot about those awesome joy sticks, ha! Me and my parents spent hours typing in programs from magazines. Thanks for the video!
I'm glad you enjoyed it! I loved Car Wars, may want to check out my other TI-related videos here: wagnerstechtalk.com/retro-computing/ Lots of amazing recent innovations for this nearly 40 year old machine!
Most welcome, happy you enjoyed it! I have some more Retro systems in the pipeline for 2021. I always like to visit machines I played with friends back in the day or systems I never owned and couldn't afford. Thank you for watching and Happy New Year!
Thank you, can't wait for 2020 to be over with :) Not to bore you at all, but just incase you're interested... On this page you'll find a mix of retro meets modern tech, much of which has to do with the TI-99/4A: wagnerstechtalk.com/retro-computing Definitely check out the Dragon's Lair video, that one is amazing as well as the TIPI. The show notes for the DL video have a link to the technical details of how the developer created it. But there is much more there that might be interesting.
If you enjoyed this video, here's one that will really blow your mind th-cam.com/video/_5771_e0Ff4/w-d-xo.html and Dragon's Lair for the TI that was released this year: th-cam.com/video/QB3oHdSjfCE/w-d-xo.html . Sorry to throw more stuff at you, but it's pretty amazing IMO
@@WagnersTechTalk I've already watched your Dragons Lair video. Its awesome!!! I would have killed to play that game in 1984. I'm thinking about buying a Ti/994a on ebay. If I do I will post a video on it and I will send you a message. If you get a chance check out my channel its pretty much all about tech.
thanks for this video! My dad bought this computer in 1983. That Summer, in between grades 2 & 3, my sister & I had to improve our English using some of the educational software. There was game where you had to guess a word you learned earlier in the spelling module, based on just a few letters-- I think it was called "That Did It". Or maybe that was a phrase one of the characters said. ANyway, some days the educational software would drive me to tears! I just couldn't guess the word, I would get so frustrated! I didn't realize the cartridges were solid state-- though that wouldn't have meant anything to me back then. I did like plugging them in-- satisfying feeling. There was some kind of word processor software too-- right now I can almost hear the sound of the dot matrix printer...
Happy you enjoyed this look down memory lane! There was a word processor called TI-Writer, I think it needed an expanded system (32k RAM + Floppy Drive). I spent most of my time in Extended Basic learning to program the machine. Those were the glory days of computing, it was new and magical. Thank you for sharing your experiences, really enjoy reading stuff like this!
Amazing as roughly a 8 year old I started with the ti, then the comadore 64, and 128…seeing that TI load screen really takes me back….this stuff was magical back then!!!! Anybody else remember bbs’s back in the day….calling card numbers 😂 cassette recording software
If you want to see some wild and crazy TI-stuff, see this video on Dragon's Lair for the TI: wagnerstechtalk.com/retro-computing/#Dragons_Lair_for_the_TI-994A_Home_Computer-_NEW_in_2019_FULL_Play-through_in_practice_mode . There's some other stuff on that page you may enjoy, such as FinalGrom 99 and TIPI. At least, I found it all very interesting. The TI was my first home computer as well.
I know this is an older video but I just wanted to say thanks for this video. I found my father in laws TI 99\4a and all its peripherals in some old boxes in storage. It has pretty much everything you have here except Disk Manager Cart. It has quite a few carts, a box of floppy disks, and a few magazines from the time with programs in them. I turned everything on and I was shocked it worked. The monitor needs some refurbishing as it gets blurry and hard to read after a few seconds. Perhaps a bad cap. I always wanted a pc in the 80s but considering my family was happy to have electricity most months, I was out of luck. A friend of my mothers donated to me an old Commodore in 89 and I was in heaven. Until I turned it on and it smoked severely and popped a breaker. My mom promptly refused to let me touch it further and my heart was crushed. I plan to read the Basic manual that came with this TI 99 and learn to use it as soon as I can get a tv to use as a monitor and also get the disk drive working. I have a full size in the PEB but I continue to get I\O error 00 or 06. The second external Floppy Drive gives me error 50 and 07. I dont have a manual yet so I will have to look all this up. Hopefully I just need to clean the heads and lube the rails. I was shocked to have to type "OLD" to talk to the drives. I was a DOS kid as that was what my local library had so im excited to learn this thing from scratch as if it was 81' again! Basic here I come! There is a second TI 99 but it has knobs and a button modded in. My father in law worked at TI when this was produced. Perhaps it was an in house unit for testing but it seems from what I can read on the blurry screen its in spanish. Also it only has 2 pins on the power port. I was nervous plugging it in but it worked and is in really nice condition. I'll try to find a group that supports this PC if there is one. I am excited to see what this old girl can do. I see you have a few vids on modern mods. I'll check that out as well. Again thanks for the video. I am like a 40 year old kid at Christmas finding all this old stuff.
That's an awesome find! So glad you enjoyed the video, I enjoy hearing stories like this. As far as the group that supports the TI, definitely go here: atariage.com/forums/forum/164-ti-994a-computers/ It is a very active forum, you'll get all kinds of excellent feedback on any questions you post there (such as the IO errors with the PEB). One thing I'd recommend getting is a FinalGROM cartridge. Basically, you can load it up with a bunch of TI cartridges (including the Disk Manager Cart). Here's a link with info. on the FinalGROM: atariage.com/forums/topic/260917-the-finalgrom-99/page-10#entry3802011 You can transfer the programs to an SD card and install it in this cartridge. Pretty cool stuff! I do have a few other TI-related videos you may also want to watch, the one on TIPI will likely interest you. Link here: th-cam.com/video/5NPYWeCx-lk/w-d-xo.html Happy TI'ing!
I was 35 years old when I got one of theses with the voice synth. We used to play that Parsec well into the night on weekends after having consumed copious amounts of scotch.
I was about 14 with a speech synthesizer and parsec. Wasn't drinking scotch at the time, but definitely playing long into the night in amazement! Thank you for your comment. For some more recent TI-99 innovations, check out this page: wagnerstechtalk.com/retro-computing , particularly these: Dragon's Lair for the TI, FinalGROM 99 and the TIPI/32k Install. Those I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy, especially while having a scotch or two 😎
Recently got one of these! They were never that popular here in the U.K. so software is a bit hard to get at reasonable cost but glad I’ve got one for our collection! Nice vid.
Thank you, be on the lookout for my next video (I'm editing it now), should be useful for you. It will demonstrate a way to play all those original TI cartridges on an original TI console as well as home-brew carts. You can literally have hundreds of games, programs, etc. on one cartridge.
It was some fun stuff, glad you liked the video. It was fun bringing all this stuff down out of the attic after so many years. I was really amazed to find out that people are making some really cool stuff on this machine. It's almost 40 years old, how time flies. *Note to self, make sure if you record a video that you get the cat hair off your shirt lol
If you like that, you will really like this page : wagnerstechtalk.com/retro-computing/ I have several recent videos including Browsing the Internet with a TI and even Dragon's Lair for the TI! Do check out TIPI also :) There is no shortage of cool stuff for it lately.
The Joysticks sucked but the speech synth was cool! I had the cassette recorder. Thanks for making this video Wagner, it brings me back to my childhood. The keyboard looks so small now but back in the 80s it worked just fine!
Awesome, glad you enjoyed it! Got a few others you may want to check out FinalGROM99, TIPI & Browsing the internet on your TI :) Crazy what has been developed nearly 40 years after its release!
My father bought a WICO joystick converter around 1983 or '84 that allowed the use of Atari joysticks on the TI as he was fed up with the substandard quality of the TI joysticks (to be fair so did I). Years later I discovered the Sega Genesis controller was Atari compatible so you can use a Genesis controller on the TI so long as your have a converter. I was told the Sega Master System controls were also Atari compatible.
We had one with a dozen games or so, plus we had a BASIC work book that had programs you could type in and run them. No cassette expansion though, we had to retype the program everytime we powered up.
lol, those were the days! The cassette + Extended Basic were my most used add-ons for the TI for quite awhile. I eventually wound up with a CorComp 9900 expansion system and x2 DSDD drives. I wish I had kept the cc9900, they are very hard to find these days.
I mean, even the IBM PC, supposedly a 16-bit machine, was entirely 8-bit architecture outside of the 8088 CPU. Not even the RAM or ROM were connected via a full 16-bit bus. So everyone who says the TI's 16-bit CPU was hobbled by the machine's 8-bit architecture forgets that the entire IBM-PC was all 8-bit except for INSIDE the CPU, where the 16-to-8-bit multiplexer was built in.
Fair enough, thank for pointing that out Brian. I've got a few more TI-related videos created after this one that you may enjoy, particularly the TIPI/32k, FinalGROM99 and Dragon's Lair for the TI on this page: wagnerstechtalk.com/retro-computing/#TIPI32k_Installation_into_a_TI-994A_Speech_Synthesizer_AWESOME
My first computer... However I have had the C-64, IBM 286,386,486, Various Dell Acer Windows, and Apple, Mac Books... The TO still online with a few games for the "grandkids... and myself sometimes LOL "
I absolutely LOVE the TI-994a! This box was of its own realm Not tied to the 6502, 8080 or any other thing. it was off on its own. Its proc was based on a minicomouter, So yeah...BASIC was SLOW (double interpreted) Assembly language programs would "smoke" most "home" computers of the day. I had the full "kit" with "PE" box and 2 floppy drives. e
There are a few more interesting TI-related things you may not be aware of, here are my favorites (in order): Dragon's Lair for the TI, FinalGrom99 and TIPI 32k. You can find those videos (and more) here: wagnerstechtalk.com/retro-computing . If interested, newer stuff that makes having this 40 year old machine around even more fun.
I wish Texas Instruments wouldn't have crippled the CPU by using an 8-bit data bus. This system could have been one of the first true 16-bit home computers and it would've had a significant performance advantage over the competitors offerings.
The TI was the best example of how NOT to build a computer ROFL. they really worked hard to cripple it in many ways. That being said,it was my first machine in 1980 and is still working! It has a special place in my heart. finalgrom is great but i have a PEB and all. The C64 really ran rings around it in 83' on though.
It was also hindered by the way it access the GROM (Graphics ROM). It had a strange "double interpretation" in accessing commands from the high level language (BASIC) and running it at the core speed (ASSEMBLY) which was very fast. In later years I bought a compiler which I never seemed able to get working.
@@tron3entertainment I found the BASIC on the TI99/4a somewhat strange. Much preferred Microsoft's version on other home computers versus the ANSI based TI version.
Another reason leading to TI's failure in the home computer market. Having to restart your computer with a Disk Manager just to get a disk directory and for file manipulation. I thought Commodore's concept of disk management through complex command channels was hokey enough until I saw what had to be done with a TI-99.
Actually, you didn't need the Disk Controller cartridge to access the floppy disks for most purposes. It had advanced features, but cartridge based applications had access to the drive to save/load data. One could also access the drive with the built-in BASIC language. Compared to consumer-based home computers of the day; accessing floppy disk storage on the TI wasn't that complicated. You rarely used the Disk Controler cartridge. I think only if you needed to format a disk in a special way or print a disk directory in a neat format.
Are you kidding? I had about 10 really good games but then got the advanced basic then got the assembler language cartridge. I really enjoyed playing with programming. I think this machine was simple and easy enough to give me confidence. I also had a daisy-wheel printer and learned to type pretty well.
The Disk Manager ROM should have been built into the computer instead of being released on a cartridge (Command Module). Texas Instruments, like Commodore, was always trying to cut corners to save on manufacturing costs.
@@dbranconnier1977 We had jiffydos rom that made c64 life great. they were around since 1985. commodore 64 suffered from bill gates horrible microsoft basic. There were also a pile of fastload style carts.
@@a4000t Indeed BASIC 2.0 was rather awful on the C64. Commodore sold an add-on cartridge afterwards called Simons' BASIC that added a lot of missing commands. I never had JiffyDOS but I do remember using the Epyx FastLoad cartridge which was pretty popular at the time.
You're right, I did - good catch! Primarily because I was going to highlight that connection with the RF Modulator/RCA cable but I wanted to keep this segment at 10 min. So, Part II will discuss this in detail, along with some cool other options. I'll make sure Part II mentioned that this was missing from Part I and why.
Quick update, the segment for the display port was completed and a new video now exists that discussed it, you can watch it here: th-cam.com/video/-0bffE-61qo/w-d-xo.html
Originally I wanted the c-64, but couldn't afford it at the time. Then, the TI-99/4A went on sale for $50 and I could finally get a computer. One thing for sure, whatever your first computer was -no doubt it is special. We all spent a lot of time on these machines!
Ya, the C64 was pricey at the time and I saved as much cash for it with my paper route to get it... those were the good old days. I saw that TI 99/4A requires a cartridge to do disk and file management? Wow... whereas Commodore had basic save/load disk catalog commands built-in...
@Andrew Le Yeah, not sure why such basic functionality wasn't built into the unit. There were a number of iterations of the Disk Manager command module (1/2/3) and a number of others by CorComp (one I eventually owned - then sold to buy an Amiga, wish I had kept it) and Myarc. Fun times though! You could save/read from disk without the command module, but to catalog, initialize, etc. required a cartridge. For the most part - there were programs that you could run that could actually catalog the disk without the cartridge.
There's another TH-camr that did a VIC-20 vs TI 99/4A and a matrix of pros and cons and VIC-20 won slightly... looking at the comparison, though VIC-20 had lower screen resolution and graphics and 3.5k of BASIC RAM, it was still faster running BASIC... and editing BASIC in VIC-20 was easier and it had true upper/lowercase letters that TI 99/4A did not... but then came Commodore 64 and that truly was superior to TI 99/4A, even though it lacked graphic commands, so you had to PEEK/POKE to do real graphics...
I saw that video as well sometime back, I can't recall the channel name (now I have to go hunting lol). But it was a good and fair comparison and I mostly agreed. But if you want to see something on the TI that might make you go "Hmmm...", check this out: th-cam.com/video/QB3oHdSjfCE/w-d-xo.html . You'll find that one and several others here: wagnerstechtalk.com/retro-computing . After nearly 40 years, there is still TI-99 innovation going on. TIPI, Web Browsers, FinalGrom99, Dragon's Lair and others. The same is probably true with Vic/C64, I just don't own one of those units yet. Someday, I do hope to acquire a C64.
To Insert Solid State Cartridges Turn on your console and monitor or TV. The TI master title screen should automatically display on your screen. Insert a solid state cartridge firmly into the slot to the right of the keyboard. The screen will go blank for a second and the the TI master title screen should reappear. Press any key to move to the next screen.
I don't care what the manual says, I would not recommend doing that. It's possible to short out some contacts with the power applied, which would not be good.
Thanks for this video!
Brings me back 40 years.
I spent months creating games on this machine, it had a unique feature to create games called Sprites(images that can have a velocity and fire an event when collide). I later studied and still work in IT, this machine played a big role in this.
Happy you enjoyed this video, I have several more on my channel (here, if interested: wagnerstechtalk.com/retro-computing/ ). I too started with this machine, using Sprites in Extended Basic and wrote several games also. I tried selling one when I was 17, sold one copy :D But, it was fun and kick-started my career in computers as well. It was an exciting time back then, few knew how to use a computer in those days.
Thanks for this bit of nostalgia. I did my master's research with a TI-99/4a. I'd load the data from cassette in the morning while I showered, then process data during the day. That days work would be saved to new cassette that night before bed. I'm glad things are easier now ;-)
Most welcome, I'm happy you enjoyed it Mr. Gross!
If you're interested to see some "New" TI-99/4a stuff, please see my page here: wagnerstechtalk.com/retro-computing Some really amazing enhancements in recent years such as FinalGrom 99, TIPI and even Dragon's Lair for the TI-99/4a (this one is sure to impress)
Amazing! Remember every bit, got mine when I was about 14, too. Feel 40 years younger now! Thx for this video!
Very welcome! Hard to believe it's been that long already. There are a few more interesting things you may not be aware of, here are my favorites (in order): Dragon's Lair for the TI, FinalGrom99 and TIPI 32k. You can find those videos (and more) here: wagnerstechtalk.com/retro-computing . Just something I think you'll also like given your comment above. 😎
In 1984 I was going to a Business College and one of the computer languages I had to learn was BASIC. There were only 4 computer terminals for the whole school, so we all had to reserve time on them! (Sometimes even on weekends!) So the going was slow. I bought a TI-994A at Kmart for $99, along with an extra, simpler easier-to-understand textbook at Waldenbooks so I could work at home on my own time and at my own speed. It helped!🙂
We also had a class assignment to give a speech about any of the personal computers that were just beginning to hit the home market. Naturally, I decided to give MY speech about the TI-994A--which had just been discontinued.
I started off with these words:
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here to pay our last respects to the Texas Instruments TI-994A Home Computer..."
I got an A!🤣
That is AWESOME! Thank you so much for sharing your story! I still love the TI and use it even today. Have you seen my video on the TIPI and browsing the internet on a TI-99/4a? If not, you may want to check it out. Crazy that new development is still on-going for the TI after nearly 40 years.
If interested, here's a link to all the interesting and amazing things for the TI that I've covered on my channel: wagnerstechtalk.com/retro-computing/
I used to play car wars on mine in the 80s. Forgot about those awesome joy sticks, ha! Me and my parents spent hours typing in programs from magazines. Thanks for the video!
I'm glad you enjoyed it! I loved Car Wars, may want to check out my other TI-related videos here: wagnerstechtalk.com/retro-computing/
Lots of amazing recent innovations for this nearly 40 year old machine!
thanks for the stroll down memory lane!
this system was my life after coming home from elementary school
Most welcome, happy you enjoyed it! I have some more Retro systems in the pipeline for 2021. I always like to visit machines I played with friends back in the day or systems I never owned and couldn't afford. Thank you for watching and Happy New Year!
@@WagnersTechTalk Happy New Year!
Thank you, can't wait for 2020 to be over with :) Not to bore you at all, but just incase you're interested... On this page you'll find a mix of retro meets modern tech, much of which has to do with the TI-99/4A: wagnerstechtalk.com/retro-computing Definitely check out the Dragon's Lair video, that one is amazing as well as the TIPI. The show notes for the DL video have a link to the technical details of how the developer created it. But there is much more there that might be interesting.
@@WagnersTechTalk sure I'll check it out =]
Parsec was TI's home equivalent to the arcade game Defender. I loved the game and spent hours playing it over a few years.
I am 61 years old. I still play Parsec AND Defender! LOL
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!... I had that when I was a kid...never understood the expansion port. Now I see the whole thing completed.
If you enjoyed this video, here's one that will really blow your mind th-cam.com/video/_5771_e0Ff4/w-d-xo.html and Dragon's Lair for the TI that was released this year: th-cam.com/video/QB3oHdSjfCE/w-d-xo.html . Sorry to throw more stuff at you, but it's pretty amazing IMO
@@WagnersTechTalk I've already watched your Dragons Lair video. Its awesome!!! I would have killed to play that game in 1984. I'm thinking about buying a Ti/994a on ebay. If I do I will post a video on it and I will send you a message. If you get a chance check out my channel its pretty much all about tech.
thanks for this video! My dad bought this computer in 1983. That Summer, in between grades 2 & 3, my sister & I had to improve our English using some of the educational software. There was game where you had to guess a word you learned earlier in the spelling module, based on just a few letters-- I think it was called "That Did It". Or maybe that was a phrase one of the characters said. ANyway, some days the educational software would drive me to tears! I just couldn't guess the word, I would get so frustrated! I didn't realize the cartridges were solid state-- though that wouldn't have meant anything to me back then. I did like plugging them in-- satisfying feeling. There was some kind of word processor software too-- right now I can almost hear the sound of the dot matrix printer...
Happy you enjoyed this look down memory lane! There was a word processor called TI-Writer, I think it needed an expanded system (32k RAM + Floppy Drive). I spent most of my time in Extended Basic learning to program the machine. Those were the glory days of computing, it was new and magical. Thank you for sharing your experiences, really enjoy reading stuff like this!
This video is really hidden gem. Greetings from Turkey.
Thank you! Greetings from the USA
It’s a must have,i don’t believe to see so many boxed Ti99 systems on ebay for cheap whether tested or not,it’s a must have.
Amazing as roughly a 8 year old I started with the ti, then the comadore 64, and 128…seeing that TI load screen really takes me back….this stuff was magical back then!!!! Anybody else remember bbs’s back in the day….calling card numbers 😂 cassette recording software
If you want to see some wild and crazy TI-stuff, see this video on Dragon's Lair for the TI: wagnerstechtalk.com/retro-computing/#Dragons_Lair_for_the_TI-994A_Home_Computer-_NEW_in_2019_FULL_Play-through_in_practice_mode . There's some other stuff on that page you may enjoy, such as FinalGrom 99 and TIPI. At least, I found it all very interesting. The TI was my first home computer as well.
I know this is an older video but I just wanted to say thanks for this video. I found my father in laws TI 99\4a and all its peripherals in some old boxes in storage. It has pretty much everything you have here except Disk Manager Cart. It has quite a few carts, a box of floppy disks, and a few magazines from the time with programs in them. I turned everything on and I was shocked it worked. The monitor needs some refurbishing as it gets blurry and hard to read after a few seconds. Perhaps a bad cap. I always wanted a pc in the 80s but considering my family was happy to have electricity most months, I was out of luck. A friend of my mothers donated to me an old Commodore in 89 and I was in heaven. Until I turned it on and it smoked severely and popped a breaker. My mom promptly refused to let me touch it further and my heart was crushed. I plan to read the Basic manual that came with this TI 99 and learn to use it as soon as I can get a tv to use as a monitor and also get the disk drive working. I have a full size in the PEB but I continue to get I\O error 00 or 06. The second external Floppy Drive gives me error 50 and 07. I dont have a manual yet so I will have to look all this up. Hopefully I just need to clean the heads and lube the rails. I was shocked to have to type "OLD" to talk to the drives. I was a DOS kid as that was what my local library had so im excited to learn this thing from scratch as if it was 81' again! Basic here I come! There is a second TI 99 but it has knobs and a button modded in. My father in law worked at TI when this was produced. Perhaps it was an in house unit for testing but it seems from what I can read on the blurry screen its in spanish. Also it only has 2 pins on the power port. I was nervous plugging it in but it worked and is in really nice condition. I'll try to find a group that supports this PC if there is one. I am excited to see what this old girl can do. I see you have a few vids on modern mods. I'll check that out as well. Again thanks for the video. I am like a 40 year old kid at Christmas finding all this old stuff.
That's an awesome find! So glad you enjoyed the video, I enjoy hearing stories like this. As far as the group that supports the TI, definitely go here: atariage.com/forums/forum/164-ti-994a-computers/ It is a very active forum, you'll get all kinds of excellent feedback on any questions you post there (such as the IO errors with the PEB). One thing I'd recommend getting is a FinalGROM cartridge. Basically, you can load it up with a bunch of TI cartridges (including the Disk Manager Cart). Here's a link with info. on the FinalGROM: atariage.com/forums/topic/260917-the-finalgrom-99/page-10#entry3802011 You can transfer the programs to an SD card and install it in this cartridge. Pretty cool stuff!
I do have a few other TI-related videos you may also want to watch, the one on TIPI will likely interest you. Link here: th-cam.com/video/5NPYWeCx-lk/w-d-xo.html Happy TI'ing!
Sorry for late reply but its the holidays. Thanks for the info! I will take a look at everything. Keep up the great work!
I was 35 years old when I got one of theses with the voice synth. We used to play that Parsec well into the night on weekends after having consumed copious amounts of scotch.
I was about 14 with a speech synthesizer and parsec. Wasn't drinking scotch at the time, but definitely playing long into the night in amazement! Thank you for your comment. For some more recent TI-99 innovations, check out this page: wagnerstechtalk.com/retro-computing , particularly these: Dragon's Lair for the TI, FinalGROM 99 and the TIPI/32k Install. Those I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy, especially while having a scotch or two 😎
Recently got one of these! They were never that popular here in the U.K. so software is a bit hard to get at reasonable cost but glad I’ve got one for our collection! Nice vid.
Thank you, be on the lookout for my next video (I'm editing it now), should be useful for you. It will demonstrate a way to play all those original TI cartridges on an original TI console as well as home-brew carts. You can literally have hundreds of games, programs, etc. on one cartridge.
Wagner's TechTalk sounds good to me! I’ll keep an eye open for that. Thanks.
Here ya go, this may be a cheaper solution for you since carts are difficult to find there in the U.K.: th-cam.com/video/IZHYJkwD88k/w-d-xo.html
Thank you for the trip down memory lane.
sucks we didn't know each back then I could have used your help understanding all this when it happened.
It was some fun stuff, glad you liked the video. It was fun bringing all this stuff down out of the attic after so many years. I was really amazed to find out that people are making some really cool stuff on this machine. It's almost 40 years old, how time flies. *Note to self, make sure if you record a video that you get the cat hair off your shirt lol
Thats an awesome machine, i have one ... without games though, i had no idea you could get such a broad range of accessories for it :)
If you like that, you will really like this page : wagnerstechtalk.com/retro-computing/ I have several recent videos including Browsing the Internet with a TI and even Dragon's Lair for the TI! Do check out TIPI also :) There is no shortage of cool stuff for it lately.
Have to love the TI ... :)
The Joysticks sucked but the speech synth was cool! I had the cassette recorder. Thanks for making this video Wagner, it brings me back to my childhood. The keyboard looks so small now but back in the 80s it worked just fine!
Awesome, glad you enjoyed it! Got a few others you may want to check out FinalGROM99, TIPI & Browsing the internet on your TI :) Crazy what has been developed nearly 40 years after its release!
My father bought a WICO joystick converter around 1983 or '84 that allowed the use of Atari joysticks on the TI as he was fed up with the substandard quality of the TI joysticks (to be fair so did I). Years later I discovered the Sega Genesis controller was Atari compatible so you can use a Genesis controller on the TI so long as your have a converter. I was told the Sega Master System controls were also Atari compatible.
We had one with a dozen games or so, plus we had a BASIC work book that had programs you could type in and run them. No cassette expansion though, we had to retype the program everytime we powered up.
lol, those were the days! The cassette + Extended Basic were my most used add-ons for the TI for quite awhile. I eventually wound up with a CorComp 9900 expansion system and x2 DSDD drives. I wish I had kept the cc9900, they are very hard to find these days.
I mean, even the IBM PC, supposedly a 16-bit machine, was entirely 8-bit architecture outside of the 8088 CPU. Not even the RAM or ROM were connected via a full 16-bit bus. So everyone who says the TI's 16-bit CPU was hobbled by the machine's 8-bit architecture forgets that the entire IBM-PC was all 8-bit except for INSIDE the CPU, where the 16-to-8-bit multiplexer was built in.
Fair enough, thank for pointing that out Brian. I've got a few more TI-related videos created after this one that you may enjoy, particularly the TIPI/32k, FinalGROM99 and Dragon's Lair for the TI on this page: wagnerstechtalk.com/retro-computing/#TIPI32k_Installation_into_a_TI-994A_Speech_Synthesizer_AWESOME
Its greatest strength was the accuracy of its calculations; its greatest weakness was everything else.
Here's something that might make you say hmmm.... th-cam.com/video/QB3oHdSjfCE/w-d-xo.html and th-cam.com/video/_5771_e0Ff4/w-d-xo.html
My first computer... However I have had the C-64, IBM 286,386,486, Various Dell Acer Windows, and Apple, Mac Books... The TO still online with a few games for the "grandkids... and myself sometimes LOL "
Mine as well, you might like something you find here: wagnerstechtalk.com/retro-computing Pretty amazing to see some new tech for the TI.
I absolutely LOVE the TI-994a! This box was of its own realm Not tied to the 6502, 8080 or any other thing. it was off on its own. Its proc was based on a minicomouter, So yeah...BASIC was SLOW (double interpreted) Assembly language programs would "smoke" most "home" computers of the day. I had the full "kit" with "PE" box and 2 floppy drives.
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There are a few more interesting TI-related things you may not be aware of, here are my favorites (in order): Dragon's Lair for the TI, FinalGrom99 and TIPI 32k. You can find those videos (and more) here: wagnerstechtalk.com/retro-computing . If interested, newer stuff that makes having this 40 year old machine around even more fun.
If you need a cartridge for TI Basic and a cartridge for the Disc Management, how do you get basic to load/save to a disk? Just curious.
You would simply issue: OLD DSK1.NAME (where NAME is the program name) to load it and SAVE DSK1.NAME to save the basic program.
I wish Texas Instruments wouldn't have crippled the CPU by using an 8-bit data bus. This system could have been one of the first true 16-bit home computers and it would've had a significant performance advantage over the competitors offerings.
100% agreed!
The TI was the best example of how NOT to build a computer ROFL. they really worked hard to cripple it in many ways. That being said,it was my first machine in 1980 and is still working! It has a special place in my heart. finalgrom is great but i have a PEB and all. The C64 really ran rings around it in 83' on though.
It was also hindered by the way it access the GROM (Graphics ROM). It had a strange "double interpretation" in accessing commands from the high level language (BASIC) and running it at the core speed (ASSEMBLY) which was very fast. In later years I bought a compiler which I never seemed able to get working.
@@tron3entertainment I found the BASIC on the TI99/4a somewhat strange. Much preferred Microsoft's version on other home computers versus the ANSI based TI version.
Another reason leading to TI's failure in the home computer market. Having to restart your computer with a Disk Manager just to get a disk directory and for file manipulation. I thought Commodore's concept of disk management through complex command channels was hokey enough until I saw what had to be done with a TI-99.
Actually, you didn't need the Disk Controller cartridge to access the floppy disks for most purposes. It had advanced features, but cartridge based applications had access to the drive to save/load data. One could also access the drive with the built-in BASIC language. Compared to consumer-based home computers of the day; accessing floppy disk storage on the TI wasn't that complicated. You rarely used the Disk Controler cartridge. I think only if you needed to format a disk in a special way or print a disk directory in a neat format.
Are you kidding? I had about 10 really good games but then got the advanced basic then got the assembler language cartridge. I really enjoyed playing with programming. I think this machine was simple and easy enough to give me confidence. I also had a daisy-wheel printer and learned to type pretty well.
The Disk Manager ROM should have been built into the computer instead of being released on a cartridge (Command Module). Texas Instruments, like Commodore, was always trying to cut corners to save on manufacturing costs.
@@dbranconnier1977 We had jiffydos rom that made c64 life great. they were around since 1985. commodore 64 suffered from bill gates horrible microsoft basic. There were also a pile of fastload style carts.
@@a4000t Indeed BASIC 2.0 was rather awful on the C64. Commodore sold an add-on cartridge afterwards called Simons' BASIC that added a lot of missing commands. I never had JiffyDOS but I do remember using the Epyx FastLoad cartridge which was pretty popular at the time.
You forgot to mention the display--the port, and either the TI monitor or the RF modulator to connect to a (analog) television.
You're right, I did - good catch! Primarily because I was going to highlight that connection with the RF Modulator/RCA cable but I wanted to keep this segment at 10 min. So, Part II will discuss this in detail, along with some cool other options. I'll make sure Part II mentioned that this was missing from Part I and why.
Quick update, the segment for the display port was completed and a new video now exists that discussed it, you can watch it here: th-cam.com/video/-0bffE-61qo/w-d-xo.html
Sounds good!
I got a Commodore VIC-20 first, so it led it along the Commodore path, instead of the TI-99/4A...
Originally I wanted the c-64, but couldn't afford it at the time. Then, the TI-99/4A went on sale for $50 and I could finally get a computer. One thing for sure, whatever your first computer was -no doubt it is special. We all spent a lot of time on these machines!
Ya, the C64 was pricey at the time and I saved as much cash for it with my paper route to get it... those were the good old days. I saw that TI 99/4A requires a cartridge to do disk and file management? Wow... whereas Commodore had basic save/load disk catalog commands built-in...
@Andrew Le Yeah, not sure why such basic functionality wasn't built into the unit. There were a number of iterations of the Disk Manager command module (1/2/3) and a number of others by CorComp (one I eventually owned - then sold to buy an Amiga, wish I had kept it) and Myarc. Fun times though! You could save/read from disk without the command module, but to catalog, initialize, etc. required a cartridge. For the most part - there were programs that you could run that could actually catalog the disk without the cartridge.
There's another TH-camr that did a VIC-20 vs TI 99/4A and a matrix of pros and cons and VIC-20 won slightly... looking at the comparison, though VIC-20 had lower screen resolution and graphics and 3.5k of BASIC RAM, it was still faster running BASIC... and editing BASIC in VIC-20 was easier and it had true upper/lowercase letters that TI 99/4A did not... but then came Commodore 64 and that truly was superior to TI 99/4A, even though it lacked graphic commands, so you had to PEEK/POKE to do real graphics...
I saw that video as well sometime back, I can't recall the channel name (now I have to go hunting lol). But it was a good and fair comparison and I mostly agreed. But if you want to see something on the TI that might make you go "Hmmm...", check this out: th-cam.com/video/QB3oHdSjfCE/w-d-xo.html . You'll find that one and several others here: wagnerstechtalk.com/retro-computing . After nearly 40 years, there is still TI-99 innovation going on. TIPI, Web Browsers, FinalGrom99, Dragon's Lair and others. The same is probably true with Vic/C64, I just don't own one of those units yet. Someday, I do hope to acquire a C64.
Anyone want some TI99/4a hardware....? I have several computers, P-boxes, and other things...
Would love to pick up a backup system, but I've exceeded my spending budget for the month already.
I can recognise the dog owner :)
haha, yep!
Ahhh!!! Hot plugging the cartridge! Should avoid doing that too often.
I thought the TI99 was built to do so?
Well, after all these years hasn't been a problem. Old habit I guess :)
To Insert Solid State Cartridges
Turn on your console and monitor or TV. The TI master title screen should automatically display on your screen.
Insert a solid state cartridge firmly into the slot to the right of the keyboard. The screen will go blank for a second and the the TI master title screen should reappear.
Press any key to move to the next screen.
They recommended hot plugging the cartridges in the manual. www.mainbyte.com/ti99/software/carts/carts.html
I don't care what the manual says, I would not recommend doing that. It's possible to short out some contacts with the power applied, which would not be good.
Today's kids will never understand the yearning of a poor kid to make their own games. LOL.
so true! :)