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→Programmer portraits: What have these six men got in common? A TI, for one thing.
Economy was one reason.
Vaughn says, "I wasn't sure I'd bevery good at a computer. I picked theTI because it was cheap." Now, he says, "It's like a first love.I'd hate to switch," though "if theybring out the new 64 we may go intothat." Swett says, ''"Had I been a fewhundred dollars richer I might havebought an Apple, but TI blows theApple away. I regret that it's not beingmade any more." Emory says, "One, it was availableand not as expensive as the others,plus there was a lot of good software Icould use."
Harter cites the price also.
"Even at $1,000 that was a goodprice at that time." Dollard says the TI "looked interestingwith the color graphics and I sort ofthought I'd give it a try." "It's the best," Hughes says flatly."That's very true. Two-and-a-halfyears ago I compared the specifications,TI was clearly the best but tooexpensive." He says that when the TI made the"big drop down to $500 that's when Igot it. It was such a bargain. Theprimary reason I got it was I'm a programmerand I wanted to do my ownprogramming.''"
Hughes notes that TI BASIC is the
only home computer BASIC that