TI-99/4



"TI's home computer. This is the one."

The TI-99/4 home computer line was produced by Texas Instrument from 1979 to 1984. It is comprised of just two models. The original 99/4 was a commercial failure, as it was overpriced and had a terrible "chiclet" keyboard. Then the 99/4A offered a better keyboard, much lower cost, and more expansion options.

However, TI made two fatal mistakes. First, they entered a price war against VIC-20, and they couldn't out-cheap Commodore. Even though this helped increase their market share (and for a brief moment it was a very popular system), matching prices with a machine that was much cheaper to produce meant it ultimately had to be sold at a loss. Second, they tried to use the "razor and blades" business model: while other machines included full documentation and schematics, TI was very secretive and disincentivized third-party development, wanting to be the sole provider of applications and add-ons for their own machine. This led to a very limited software library, which dampened interest in the system.

TI then abandoned the 99/4, but remained in the computer business producing far more lucrative IBM-compatible PCs.

Note: the 99/4 and 99/4A are compatible with each other, software-wise, with only two caveats. A very small number of programs that use the "graphics 2" mode (such as Parsec) will only work on the 4A. And the very last 4A units (which boot with the message "©1983 TEXAS INSTRUMENTS V2.2") will not run unlicensed third-party cartridges.