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In the last few years (in the TI world), has newer always been better?


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Over the past few years, the TI community has been lucky enough to have been inundated with a flood of new stuff in every category.   Be it software as in games or utilities, hardware like the FinalGROM and TIPI.  But it starts one wondering is newer always better?  Is there something 'older' out there for the TI, that in your opinion, that has held up to the test time?

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I think it's a good question for those who grew up with the machine.  

My history with the TI is very limited.  My first home computer was a Commodore VIC-20.  I graduated to an Atari 800XL after a few years.  My friends mostly had Commodore 64.

For those three, I mostly love being able to do everything we could do back in the old days.  Play games, maybe access a few BBS's.  So I'm not really interested in the new things the machines can do.  I do really appreciate the devices that let you load software without tapes or floppies (SD card or multi-carts).  New games and new demos are cool.  The Atari machines prove to be especially elegant as retro machines.  There are many very easy to use SD card solutions that don't require anything other than a base machine.

For TI, I don't really want to play tic-tac-toe over the internet or leave messages to people I don't know anyway.  I just want to experience the machine and software for what it was in the 1980's.  Since I don't have a history with it, it's all new to me.  And that's what makes it so fun.

Don't get me wrong.  I appreciate all the hard work and the enjoyment people get out of the new devices.  To each his own.  But maybe this explains why my eyes glaze over when people start talking about modifying config files on a TIPI.   And I know that's a completely different perspective than those that grew up with and used those machines for decades.  

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4 hours ago, RickR said:

...Play games, maybe access a few BBS's.  So I'm not really interested in the new things the machines can do.  I do really appreciate the devices that let you load software without tapes or floppies (SD card or multi-carts).  New games and new demos are cool

...I just want to experience the machine and software for what it was in the 1980's.  Since I don't have a history with it, it's all new to me.  And that's what makes it so fun.

...Don't get me wrong.  I appreciate all the hard work and the enjoyment people get out of the new devices.  To each his own. 

That is totally understandable!  When you say, "To each his own", I totally agree, because the truth is the hobby is different things to different people.  Some people like to make hardware or software, while others like to eek out every bit of power they can, while still others simply want to play games and that is all right.  Heck, I know one guy who only wanted one to put one on a shelf to view it along with all his other systems.

What people do with their TI is their business, no one has the right to tell somebody how they should enjoy their hobby.  I admit my eyes glaze over when talk of assembly language coding arises, or someone obsesses about a .003 second increase of speed in the way one function works over another, but hey, if that's how they want to enjoy the hobby, go for it.

I love seeing how many different ways people expand their systems, and some of those systems do some really cool things with legacy hardware.  I'm hoping to learn about some of the older tech that might be so good that it's not easy to replace or consider 'obsolete'.

The main thing is to have fun in whatever way you want, and a big part of that are sites like this one, that are friendly, encouraging and just fun to come to, while at the same time are open to newbies.  I think I've gone off-topic here...

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18 hours ago, DavidC said:

I consider the CF7+ / NanoPEB indispensable.  Combined with the FinalGROM it makes my TI99/4a the system I could only dream of as a young teenager when I couldn't afford the official PEB with all the bells and whistles..only took 40 years! 

It gets even better when you consider monetary inflation!  The FinalGROM 99 is dirt cheap when you think about it.  In today's money it costs what, $110 - $125 depending on the case you get and shipping?  So much of that software is FREE and ABUNDANT on the Internet now.  

 

CALC.JPG.3ca497d2616b1e3369c796c0cbba8d72.JPG

 

So that super duper mega cartridge would cost only about $51.00 in 1985... heck I paid $99.00 for Multiplan back in the day, so THIS is the golden era for TI'ers!

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