The Trash Computer That Became Your Phone

Popular Science Store: https://store.popsci.com/ Popular Science Prints: https://popularscienceprints.com/ Use code YOUTUBE for 10% off. Journeying down the path of vintage tech and retro computers is a good time even when it’s full of twists and turns… which it always is. But what happens when you’ve got a proto-portable computer that fits in your pocket, that struggles to function, that runs into incompatibility issues at every stage, and that was made by a leather company who decided to get into the home electronics business? That’s the Tandy TRS-80 Pocket Computer, sold exclusively through Radio Shack. And there’s a reason why the portable TRS-80 and its desktop companion were dubbed the ‘Trash-80.’ Charles Tandy built an empire so sprawling that the federal government had to break it up, and the TRS-80 line was one of his crowning achievements before his death. Everything was looking great for both Tandy and Radio Shack – but the TRS-80 Pocket Computer revealed the vulnerabilities of both businesses, the volatility of the hyper-evolving personal computer market, and the risks of market leadership in one of the most uncertain, unstable technological eras humanity has ever seen. The TRS-80 Pocket Computer was one of the earliest forerunners to Apple’s iPhone and to smartphones in pockets around the world. But it was also a cautionary tale for the entire tech industry… and it continues to serve as a warning for anyone interested in vintage computer restoration. #Computers #retrotech #Science