TI-99/4A Version 4.0+

[Omega-TI]

With all the stuff I've lately, it got me thinking. It seems to me that a lot of things are available in the TI environment, that if brought together could really change the paradigm and set a new standard for our little ‘orphan’.

 

The GROMS in the console for example, like Tursi showed us, with the 99/8 code floating around, we could ‘borrow’ the lower case code and replace what is already in the TI. If there are any new commands that can be ‘lifted and used’, all the better. We could possibly even change the default CYAN/BLACK screen to something a little bit more reasonable, possibly DARK BLUE/WHITE. Any of you have any ideas of something you would like to see changed or added to the basic console? It appears this may now be a possibility. Also, if there is a way to cram some extra stuff into the chips, and if the parts are available, possibly even a utility or two. (If you have not already done so, check out Tursi’s video, you’ll start drooling when you think of the possibilities he presents).

 

Now there is that 512K UBER CART that will emulate GROM as well. Can you imagine a hacked version of Extended BASIC, or an Extended version of say RXB that had built-in routines to use and exploit the extended graphics modes of the F18A, while also staying backward compatible. Sweet!

 

[RXB]

All GRAM devices use 8K vs TI GROM only use 6K GROMs. 2K per GROM in the TI99/4A is 2*8=16K of GROM. That is 4K more then all of TI Basic that is 12K presently in two 6K GROMs.

 

I put out a mod that you can use in Classic99 or MESS or PC99 or on TI99/4A that use a GRAM device like GRAMULATOR or GRAMKRACKER or HSGPL that puts EA TI Basic support in the extra 4K in TI Basic GROMS.

 

Cartridge space alone for GROMs is 640K plus the Console GROMs is 24K so fully expanded would be 40K (per page) times 16 of them and add in 24K you get 684K of GROM possible in the TI.

 

The POP cart used a 512K chip to do this and had RXB version 1005 installed in it along with many other cartridges.