John Roach, Pioneer of the Personal Computer, Is Dead at 83

He helped make the home computer ubiquitous by introducing the fully
assembled Tandy TRS-80, which was so novel at the time that it became
a museum piece.

He was instrumental in prodding Tandy to venture into the computer
market. At the time, most small computers were sold as kits to be
assembled by hobbyists, but Mr. Roach believed that consumers would
welcome a model that they just needed to plug in.

His team presented the original TRS-80 prototype - cobbled together
from a black-and-white RCA monitor, a keyboard and a cassette recorder
- to Tandy's chief executive, Charles Tandy, and to Lewis Kornfeld,
the president of RadioShack, in January 1977.

It was my first "store bought" confuser. Bv)=

TRS-80 Model I / Level 2 ROMS

The TRS-80 was considered so novel that a model was later acquired for
the collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.

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Hello Dave,

24 Mar 22 07:16, you wrote to All:

John Roach, Pioneer of the Personal Computer, Is Dead at 83

Mr. Roach helped change the world. My first and favorite computer was my brand-new TRS-80 CoCo 2 my parents bought new in 1984 for me. Sadly it was stolen but I hope to acquire another CoCo 2 eventually.

-- Sean

... COBOL programs are an exercise in artificial inelegance.
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Dave Drum wrote to All <=-

John Roach, Pioneer of the Personal Computer, Is Dead at 83

This is why I'm trying to hit the various vintage computer festivals in the next few years.

The "movers and shakers" of the original computers are getting to that age and I'd actually like to meet them before they pass on.

Tandy Assembly is on our list this year. Hopefully some of these people will attend.


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Sean,

Mr. Roach helped change the world. My first and favorite computer was
my brand-new TRS-80 CoCo 2 my parents bought new in 1984 for me. Sadly
it was stolen but I hope to acquire another CoCo 2 eventually.

My first one was a TRS-80 MC-10 Micro Color Computer, with 4K of memory,
and a 16K RAM Expansion module. You used the TV as a monitor, and programs
were saved to/loaded from a cassette tape. It used a simple modem (with just
a toggle switch for ANS or ORIG (answer or originate mode) when calling
BBS's, CompuServe, etc., and a small thermal paper printer. There was no
mouse to it.

Daryl

... Nothing is fool-proof to a sufficiently talented fool.
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On 03-24-22 07:16, Dave Drum wrote to All <=-

John Roach, Pioneer of the Personal Computer, Is Dead at 83

He helped make the home computer ubiquitous by introducing the fully assembled Tandy TRS-80, which was so novel at the time that it became
a museum piece.

I never had one myself, but the TRS-80 did look nice in its day. I first saw one in a brochure around 1978.



... In seeking the unattainable, simplicity only gets in the way.
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Sean Dennis wrote to Dave Drum <=-

John Roach, Pioneer of the Personal Computer, Is Dead at 83

Mr. Roach helped change the world. My first and favorite computer was
my brand-new TRS-80 CoCo 2 my parents bought new in 1984 for me. Sadly
it was stolen but I hope to acquire another CoCo 2 eventually.

Never owned any of his products with the exception of the TRaSh-80. I
did, however , work on a Tandy 1000 running Unix that was the main box
for Family Video - a chain of video rental stores that survived to be
the last remaining physical video rental operation in USA. They used to
1000 well into the first decade of this century. It was sort of amazing
to know that this fairly major company was being coordinated by a wood
fired, steam powered computer. Bv)=

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Ron Lauzon wrote to Dave Drum <=-

John Roach, Pioneer of the Personal Computer, Is Dead at 83

This is why I'm trying to hit the various vintage computer festivals in the next few years.

The "movers and shakers" of the original computers are getting to that
age and I'd actually like to meet them before they pass on.

Tandy Assembly is on our list this year. Hopefully some of these
people will attend.

If you can get to the Vintage Computer Fest in Wall, NJ this year (April
22, 23, 24) Bil Herd, Dave Haynie, Andy Finkel, Al Charpentier, Benny
Pruden, Bob Russell, Neil Harris, Joe Myshko and possibly others from CommodeDoor/Amiga will be in attendance. Check the InfoAge Science and
History Museums main page for information:

... This year's only moments of joy were when we could buy toilet paper
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Dave Drum wrote to Ron Lauzon <=-

If you can get to the Vintage Computer Fest in Wall, NJ this year
(April 22, 23, 24) Bil Herd, Dave Haynie, Andy Finkel, Al Charpentier, Benny Pruden, Bob Russell, Neil Harris, Joe Myshko and possibly others from CommodeDoor/Amiga will be in attendance. Check the InfoAge Science and History Museums main page for information:

I saw that. Sadly, the east coast is not possible for us for a number of years. I'm hoping some of these people will come to VCF Mid West at some point. 8-bit Guy and the LGR guy made the trip there the last couple of years.

So Tandy Assembly this year. Maybe VCF MW next year. Hopefully things align that we might be able to make VCF East some day.


... The only dumb question is one you haven't asked yet.
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Tony Langdon wrote to Dave Drum <=-

I never had one myself, but the TRS-80 did look nice in its day. I
first saw one in a brochure around 1978.

For a 13 year old geek, it was wonderful.

My dad was an 8th grade science teacher. One year he found a TRS-80 Model I Level I that the PTA had bought the school. He learned to use it, had it upgraded to Level II and bought it home for the summer - where I pretty much commandeered it.

One summer teaching myself BASIC on a 16K computer with only the manuals and some example programs started a whole career in Computer Science for me.


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Dave Drum wrote to Sean Dennis <=-

1000 well into the first decade of this century. It was sort of amazing
to know that this fairly major company was being coordinated by a wood fired, steam powered computer. Bv)=

They are still producing new Z80 processors today. Mostly for industrial systems, but still...

When it works and works well, if there's no need, why change it?


... Just when you got it all figured out: An UPGRADE!
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Ron Lauzon wrote to Dave Drum <=-

1000 well into the first decade of this century. It was sort of
amazing to know that this fairly major company was being coordinated
by a wood fired, steam powered computer. Bv)=

They are still producing new Z80 processors today. Mostly for
industrial systems, but still...

This was an original PC-JRish model with an 8088 CPU and proprietary
chipset.

When it works and works well, if there's no need, why change it?

To claim "new and improved" and to enhance your bottom line. Bv)=

... Our new improved keyboard even has an ANY key!
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On 03-25-22 08:08, Ron Lauzon wrote to Tony Langdon <=-

Tony Langdon wrote to Dave Drum <=-

I never had one myself, but the TRS-80 did look nice in its day. I
first saw one in a brochure around 1978.

For a 13 year old geek, it was wonderful.

I was about 10 when I saw that brochure. :)

My dad was an 8th grade science teacher. One year he found a TRS-80
Model I Level I that the PTA had bought the school. He learned to use
it, had it upgraded to Level II and bought it home for the summer -
where I pretty much commandeered it.

One summer teaching myself BASIC on a 16K computer with only the
manuals and some example programs started a whole career in Computer Science for me.

I tinkered with various 8 bit computers in my teenage years, but it never led to a career - while I had the aptitude, it didn't completely agree with me mental health wise, so computers became a tool and a hobby, where I could pace myself appropriately.


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Dave Drum wrote to Ron Lauzon <=-

When it works and works well, if there's no need, why change it?

To claim "new and improved" and to enhance your bottom line. Bv)=

That doesn't work when your customers have to spend many thousands of dollars to vet and change their software.


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