The Ultimate Notebook PC of 1989 - Tandy 1100FD

With its low cost, light weight, and lightning-quick access to DOS, the DeskMate GUI, and a word processor with spelling checker in ROM, the Tandy 1100FD was the ultimate notebook computer of 1989 -- or so claimed Radio Shack. But is it worth owning today as a vintage PC?

I also discuss its successor, the Tandy 1110HD, and fraternal twin, the Panasonic Business Partner 150 (CF-150B).

#tandy #laptop #septandy

[ceticobr]

What I love about VWestlife's old computer videos is that he always demos what a typical owner of those machines might have used them for back in the day, instead of showing only videogames. Every other channel is guilty of that!

[ChedwardTherd]

Does anyone remember the smell of most Radio Shack stores?
To me I remember it smelling like those batteries they gave away.
We were such hooligans back then, someone taught us how to format the hard drive on the computers.

[hlebo]

I have a Panasonic CF150B (my first laptop, which I bought in 1991 on closeout) and a Tandy 1100. Both are still terrific. One point that you missed: yes, the Panasonic did have a backlit screen, which burned through the battery life, but the 150B also has a switch option that turned off the backlighting. The screen remains fully functional without the light, and saved a ton of battery life.

[thenewman]

I like this guy's uploads. He always has something interesting to show. His relaxed and mature manner is appreciated, though he does get excited when looking at rare tech.

[none]

The included word processor looks so clean and it's pleasant to look at. For times when I have to type out a long document, I prefer such UI over what modern word processors offer.

[greatquux]

It might not be good for action retro games, but text adventures and interactive fiction would be great on this little device!

[ehanneken]

The Tandy 1100FD was my PC through all of my college years. Mainly I ran PC-Write (another word processor), and Procomm Plus. I had the internal 2400 baud modem, so I was able to use the machine as a remote terminal. I didn’t play many games, but when I did it was usually Tetris.

Thanks for the lead on a replacement belt!

[ct]

We used to have one in the prop library. One of the few functioning props we had.

[joshm]

When I think 1989, I never really think that small of a portable computer, I think more of the macintosh portable (pretty sure that was 1989). Very cool, thanks for showing it off!

[themaritimegirl]

I bet the automatic screen blanking is a holdover from the Panasonic version to save on the EL backlight. My Sharp PC-7000 had the same thing.

[quantumfluffyflapjack]

It's adorable, I love it!
I suppose no fans means it's actually suitable as a laptop too, as in on your lap, unlike most. And no backlight to hurt your eyes, although I do remember the Gameboy, getting enough light was often a challenge.

[osgeld]

too bad it doesnt have a monitor output, I would be all over this, and as far as the current on the PSU you are most likely right about the backlight, but also charging a dumb battery (lead acid or ni-cad etc) usually requires a bit more current than running the machine

[sfred]

I had one of those! I ran Word for DOS, Lotus 123 and Kermit with an external modem. I only used the included word processor for note taking, for which it was perfectly adequate. I used it well into the nineties.

[SkeevyDaniel]

Always happy to catch one of your videos straight out of the oven.

[RandomInsano]

I loved mine. I got it around 2008 and it had a great design. Good to know that the HD variant is a bad buy as well.

[neilmansfield]

This has to be preserved
These portable laptops are still good

[AOKONE]

Why couldn’t I own this back then?
It has everything I didn’t understand I needed.

[fungo]

For a battery you could use two LiFePO4 batteries in series, as their nominal voltage is 3.2 volts. Two of them would be 6.4 volts which should be close enough.

[Eliotime]

I'm still amazed about how snappy feels that smooth experience.

And still, I'm still surprised if that ROM can be upgraded.

[VolenBoyadzhiyski]

I just love how the calendar at 2:34 shows the year of 2050... So that's how the notebooks in 2050 will look like! :D