texas instruments professional computer (tipc)

2010.05.31 16.15

I'm attempting to get all of the data off my old MFM hard drives which date back to 1983 through 1985. There's literally an inch of dust caked into these things, but that's not what's really annoying. The computer these run on is a Texas Instruments Professional Computer (TIPC). Never heard of it? They never caught on since they weren't IBM PC compatible. It was only kinda-sorta-compatible, but with better graphics and a TI flavored version of MS-DOS from Microsoft. Long story short -- I have three machines with good components, but I can't seem to put them together to make one working machine. At least I don't think I can. It's hard to believe that this machine has become so esoteric that there is barely any information about it on the internet. I probably need to be searching Usenet archives and sending smoke signals. One theme that I've found recently when looking for information are an endless supply of estate sales. I set up a Facebook community page (which is what I linked to in this blog entry) to share whatever I learn / remember about restoring the machine to use. Bleah!

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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed here are my own only and in no way represent the views, positions or opinions - expressed or implied - of my employers both past and present. « my work laptop, my enemy \| Main \| rent uncle rico's van from napoleon dynamite » texas instruments professional computer (tipc) 2010.05.31 16.15 I'm attempting to get all of the data off my old MFM hard drives which date back to 1983 through 1985. There's literally an inch of dust caked into these things, but that's not what's really annoying. The computer these run on is a Texas Instruments Professional Computer (TIPC). Never heard of it? They never caught on since they weren't IBM PC compatible. It was only kinda-sorta-compatible, but with better graphics and a TI flavored version of MS-DOS from Microsoft. Long story short -- I have three machines with good components, but I can't seem to put them together to make one working machine. At least I don't think I can. It's hard to believe that this machine has become so esoteric that there is barely any information about it on the internet. I probably need to be searching Usenet archives and sending smoke signals. One theme that I've found recently when looking for information are an endless supply of estate sales. I set up a Facebook community page (which is what I linked to in this blog entry) to share whatever I learn / remember about restoring the machine to use. Bleah! « my work laptop, my enemy \| Main \| rent uncle rico's van from napoleon dynamite »