TRS-80 Model 2000 Review ======================== The following review appeared in the July 1984 issue of 'Computers & Electronics', written by B. & J. McMullen. Also included in the same issue were advertisements for the Apple IIe and a data communications training course from NRI which was based on the Color Computer-2, as well as an article describing the Phillips optical drives. The review of the TRS-80 Model 2000 begins on page 18 and extends to pages 19 and 96, with various photographs and charts, which aren't included here. ------------------------ The Tandy 2000 - Speed and elegance mark Radio Shack's MS-DOS debut ------------------------ One of the major players in the microcomputer game from the beginning has been Radio Shack. Now it is attempting to strengthen its hand with the Tandy TRS-80 Model 2000 personal computer. For $2750, Radio Shack/Tandy offers a 128K MS-DOS computer with two disk drives, detached keyboard, and serial and parallel ports. Tandy has chosen the rather safe road of adhering to the MS-DOS operating system standard instead of either completely relying on its own unique system (as it did for years with TRS-DOS) or choosing a system like Apple's Macintosh to emulate. This choice may not place the Model 2000 at the very leading edge of technology but it certainly makes it fit comfortably within the universe of "current state of the art" systems. What does make the 2000 approach the leading edge is Tandy's choice to forsake pure IBM PC compatibility by using faster and newer components in the system. This decision signifigantly differentiates the machine technically from the IBM PC. However, it also presents some peril. The Model 2000 cannot utilize software designed for the IBM PC as the pure compatibles do (Compaq, Columbia, etc.). Therefore Tandy is dependent on companies such as Lotus and Microsoft to develop versions of thier software for the Model 2000. Tandy has both courted developers like these and, through its advertising, stressed its technical superiority over the IBM PC. The Basic Machine ----------------- The Model 2000 utilizes Intel's 80186 microprocessor, an enhanced 8086 that includes additional support ICs right on the chip. In addition to the CPU, the 80186 includes an 8-MHz clock generator, two 16-bit programmable timer/counters, and two high-speed independently programmable DMA channels, as well as other ICs. The processor allows the 2000 to run at over twice the internal speed of the IBM PC. The speed improvement is due both to the clock speed difference (8 MHz vs. the PC's 4.7 MHz) and the fact that the 2000 is a full 16-bit machine while the 8088-based PC is a 16-bit processor with an 8-bit bus. There is also a socket for the 80187 floating-point numeric processor. The system comes with a minimum of 128K RAM and is expandable to a maximum of 768K (vs. 640K for the PC). The system contains two 720K half-height floppy disk drives (compared to the 360K floppy capacity of the PC) in its standard configuration. (Optionally, the second floppy can be replaced by a 10Mbyte hard disk.) The system is housed in an attractive cream-colored case--a welcome departure from the traditional Radio Shack battleship grey. The main unit has the power switch conveniently placed at the front left-hand side along with a reset switch. The half-height drives are stacked on top of one another at the right, with the boot drie below the secondary one. The main unit can sit on the desk or stand vertically on the floor. If the latter tack is chosen, there is a pedestal available ($90) for the monochrome monitor and a stand for the main unit ($145). At the rear of the unit are horizontal slots for hardware expansion, and RS-232 (DB25 connector) serial port and Centronics (male 36-pin connector) parallel port. The color change, coupled with the decision to use the "Tandy" rather than the "Radio Shack" name for the machine, indicates an attempt to slightly change the previous TRS-80 image. The Model 2000 and the portable Model 100 are systems that are aimed at the business professional and the executive rather than the hobbyist or small businessperson that have been Radio Shcak's traditional marketplace. The subtle changes in packaging and titling reflect the shift in emphasis. Display and Graphics -------------------- Tandy offers two display monitors for the 2000: the VM-1 high- resolution monochrome monitor ($249) and the CM-1 high-resolution color monitor ($799). The standard configuration offers a text display of 80 (or 40) characters by 25 lines. An optional graphics board is available for $449. The monitor clarity of the 2000 is one of its most appealing features. With the optional graphics board, the resolution is 640 x 400 for both monochrome and color monitors. The 2000 will display graphics on its monochrome monitor (the PC will not). It supports up to 8 colors in the color mode (compared to the 4 supported by the PC), but needs a $199 upgrade to do it. The colors presented by the 2000 are vivid (the yellow is the best we have seen on a micro) and the graphics demonstration program provided on the MS-DOS diskette will impress even the computer sophisticate. The Keyboard ------------ The keyboard on the 2000 appears flimsier than the one on the IBM PC but is far superior in almost every other way. For example, the ENTER (shift) key is in the right place for typists (unlike the PC); the directional arrow keys do not interfere with the numeric keypad as they do on the PC; and there are LEDs that indicate when the numeric lock and caps lock modes have been activated. Additionally, the programmable function keys are located in a straight horizontal row across the top of the keyboard (there are 12 function keys on the Tandy compared to 10 on the PC), and PRINT (for screen printing) and BREAK are single keys and do not require the use of SHIFT, CTRL, or ALT keys. However, we do prefer the availability on the IBM keyboard of the additional "*" (asterisk) key. We feel that any machine that runs MS-DOS as a standard should have the colon (:) and asterisk keys available in lower-case. While none of the keyboard improvements are revolutionary, they do answer all of the criticisms of the PC keyboard. Hardware Expansion ------------------ With the 2000, Tandy has attempted to produce an "open" machine that will interest third party hardware and software developers. It has published a Hardware Reference Manual and a Software Reference Manual, which include schematics and assembly language modules to encourage such development. If this "openness" provides the stimulus to develop the same type of system expansion devices that such firms as AST, Quadram and Tecmar have developed for the IBM PC, Tandy will benefit greatly. Another indication of "openness" is the fact that all hardware options, with the exception of the internal hard disk and the first memory upgrade, are user-installable. The method of installing options is extremely straightforward and is explained well in the manual (option installation does not require opening the computer). Hardware options are installed in a card cage accessible from the back of the unit. Users will find this procedure far more "friendly" than installing cards in to slots in an Apple II or an IBM PC. Compatibilty ------------ Although programs that run on the IBM PC and compatibles may not be utilized on the Model 2000, the use of standard MS-DOS format provides data compatibility between the PC and Model 2000. (As part of this review we converted IBM PC-DOS "BAT" files and dBase II command and data files to the Model 2000 and utilized the files and commands with the Model 2000 version of dBase II). This level of compatibility enables current PC users to consider a transfer to a Model 2000 with little impact on thier activities. Software Base ------------- To succeed in the professional marketplace obviously requires more than subtle enhancements. It also requires more than technical excellence (witness the comparative lack of success of the Corvus Concept and the Apple Lisa). The most important factor in success in this marketplace is the availability of software that runs on the particular machine and performs the activity that the prospective purchaser perceives as needed (witness the success of the Apple II computer, much of which is attributed to the availability of VisiCalc solely on the Apple for over one year). Tandy recognized this ingredient and set out to woo the developers of the key software in the management analysis area so that they would tailor thier software for the Model 2000. Tandy was relatively successful in this pursuit and was able to announce when the Model 2000 was introduced that well-known, already successful software such as Multiplan, dBase II, Multi-Mate, Microsoft Word, and the PFS series (PFS:File, PFS:Report, PFS:Write and PFS:Graph) either were already available for the Model 2000 or would be within 6 months and would be marketed under the Tandy name and supported by the Tandy organization. In this announcement, Tandy also set sight on the small business market and announced the availability (for the first time on microcomputers) of the MAI/Basic Four Small Business Accounting Programs (General Ledger, Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Inventory, Purchase Order, Order Entry and Payroll). Finally, Tandy announced VideoTex Plus which allows, with appropriate modem interface, communications with remote data bases such as CompuServe and Dow Jones. The announcement of these products with the Model 2000 was of major importance and the product universe announced was certainly more comprehensive and exciting than the universe initially announced with the IBM PC. Tandy did not rest on its laurels after the initial announcement but continued to attempt to expand the software base. It soon announced agreement to market Ovation Technologies "Ovation," an integrated multi-function system and then, in possibly the most significant development in the software area to date, announced an agreement with Lotus Development Corporation for the marketing of the far and away biggest selling MS-DOS program "1-2-3", under the Tandy name. The Lotus announcement gave final credence to the Tandy marketing comparisons with the PC. (Prior to the announcement is seemed a bit ludicrous to take seriously a direct comparison with the PC when the 2000 could not run the most important software for the PC. The judgment for many people would be rather: "Is it better to have a PC or compatible system that runs '1-2-3' or a technically superior machine that cannot."). Christopher Morgan, Vice President of Communications for Lotus Development says "We are very excited about the installation of '1-2-3' on the 2000 as we feel that the high quality of the system makes it obvious that Tandy intends to be a major player in the professional marketplace." In addition to these agreements with software producers that put products in Radio Shack stores under the Tandy name, Tandy arranged with still other vendors a type of catalog sales arrangement in which a customer can decide on a program in a Radio Shack store and order it. The store will place the order in the new "Express Order" system and the order will be routed directly to the producer of the software who will ship it within 24 hours directly to the client. In this case, software maintenance and support will be provided by the software vendor. Agreements of this type are already in place with such firms as MicroPro and Information Unlimited and programs such as Wordstar, Easywriter and Word Perfect are available through this procedure. When one views the total universe of software encompassed by the products marketed under Tandy's own name and through Express Software, one realizes the great success Tandy has had in convincing developers to "port" their software to the 2000. Software Performance -------------------- We spent considerable time utilizing both packaged sofware such as dBase II, PFS:File and Multiplan and programming languages such as Microsoft's BASIC and FORTRAN. In every case, the software ran faster and, once we were acclimated to the more standard keyboard, was slightly more pleasant to use than the comparable version on the IBM PC or true compatible. The speed difference was quite apparent in the progcessing intensive software products such as Multiplan but far less dramatic in those systems that are highly disk I/O intensive. (A dBase II procedure that sets up files and indexes for processing and then counts the number of records in the data file took 01:56:60 minutes on the 2000 and 02:06:78 on the PC when the data file contained 354 records--a 10 second or an approximate 08:5% increase in "thru- put.") We found the text mode of the Tandy color monitor to be at least as sharp and restful to the eye as text displayed on an IBM Monochrome monitor. We also found that, in addition to all of its other pluses enumerated above, the touch of the 2000 keyboard had, in our opinion, a nicer feeling than either the IBM or Compaq keyboards. Summary ------- We find the Tandy TRS-80 Model 2000 to be a superior system in both packaging and performance. We feel that Tandy has properly analyzed the marketplace and has responded to it. The MAI/Basic Four Accounting Series makes the system very attractive for small businesses, and the professional market is well served by the 1-2-3, Multipln, Word, dBase II, etc. products. We do not expect the Model 2000 to be as successful as the IBM PC, which has been available for over two years, or Apple's Macintosh, which represents a new approach to the user-interface and has received tremendous press, but we feel that the machine is of sufficient quality to warrant the attention of new computer purchasers. It is a cost-efficient system and is supported by a proven organization. We further feel that Tandy is to be commended for choosing to produce a technically superior machine rather than developing just another IBM PC look-alike. --------------------------------