Timex/Sinclair 1000 "America's First Afforadable Personal Computer" By Euphrates
The Timex/Sinclair 1000 was available in stores in 1981 for $99. It was really
one of the earliest versions of the home computer and certainly the first
affordable computer. Its novel size (just 12 ounces!) and the fact that
it is nearly 20 years old now makes it quite collectible. It was about the size
of a large calculator and had multi-functional bubble keys. It came with a
whopping 2K of RAM. An earlier version of the machine only came with 1K! Of
course, like all early computers, the Timex/Sinclair used your television as a
monitor, and programs or data were loaded from and saved to cassette tape.
Next, the folks at T/S released a 16K RAM pack that plugged into the back of the computer and a small adding machine type printer. This module was very expensive but greatly expanded the functionality of the computer. As you can imagine or may even remember, with 1K of memory and no hard drive the computer did not come with any pre-loaded games or programs. You could buy pre-programmed cassettes that had BASIC versions of popular games like Space Invaders. These cassettes required the 16K RAM pack to run. Each cassette package had a replica of the Timex/Sinclair 1000 keyboard printed on it and cost around $15. There were also several paperback books with BASIC programs that you could type in and run. Later, the 1000 was repackaged with the memory module and 3 software cartridges for over $200! The 1000 and its accessories are still quite affordable and can be picked up with their original packaging for $25-$50, less than half of the original retail price. Grab one up if you can. You'll never have more fun displaying your name on the television or playing tic tac toe and after time, you may find yourself weaned off of your Playstation. Playstation? Hmmmmm, will those things ever be collectible?
Timex/Sinclair Hardware - Partial List ZX80 - 1980 TS1000 ZX81 - 1981 1016 Expander Module - 1982 TS1000 ZX81 w/Expander Module and 3 Software Cassettes 2020 OEM Tape Deck 2040 Printer Larken Disk Interface System for the Timex Sinclair 2068 Memotech External Keyboard Spectrum TS1500 - 1983 TS2068 (Color) TS2050 Modem for TS1000, TS1500, and the TS2068 Westridge 2050 Modem for the TS2068 Timex/Sinclair Software - Partial List Software - The Home or Blue Series The Budgeter The Carpooler The Checkbook Mananger The Coupon Manager College Cost Analyzer Heating System Analyzer The IRA Planner The Loan/Mortgage Amortizer The Organizer The Stamp Collector The Stock Option Analyzer Software - The Education or Yellow Series The Computer Coach Conversational French Conversational Spanish The Flight Simulator Guitar for Beginners Language Usage Music Educator 1 Geometry 1 Geometry 2 States & Capitals Super Math Software - The Entertainment or Red Series Alien Invasion Bigflap Attack The Challenger 1 Chess The Cube Game Fortress of Zorlac Frogger The Gambler Grimm's Fairy Trails Merchant of Venus Mixed Game Bag 1 Mixed Game Bag 2 Strategy Football Supermaze Tarot Software - The Business or Green Series Critical Path Analysis Inventory Control The List Manager Manufacturing Control Money Analyzer 1 Money Analyzer 2 VU-Calc Software - Timex/Sinclair ZX81 Chess Flight Simulation Space Trek Software - Timex/Sinclair 2068 Crazy Bugs States and Capitols Software - Softsync, Inc. 2K Games Pack Astro Walk Copter Patrol Dragon Slayer Hangman Killer Whale Mazogs Monster Masher Red Alert Sharks Treasure Space Commando Space Raid Star Blaster The Stock Market Calculator TS Destroyer/Space Raid
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