slinkeey Posted September 10, 2013 Share Posted September 10, 2013 I see the text on my TI that reads out “Solid State Software” I started thinking how technology goes full circle at times. Here were are about 30 years later and you see computers boasting solid state storage. Yes, I realize that it never went away and that the technology has been getting more useful again because the size constraints are always improved. I just find it funny that the TI has “Solid State Software” badged right on the machine, almost like they were ahead of their time in marketing text, but never good at marketing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Gemintronic Posted September 10, 2013 Share Posted September 10, 2013 Were they talking about ROM based cartridges or battery backed RAM.. or, did they actually have something like eeprom back then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertLM78 Posted September 10, 2013 Share Posted September 10, 2013 Were they talking about ROM based cartridges or battery backed RAM.. or, did they actually have something like eeprom back then?The phrase is located on all TI's cartridge labels . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+save2600 Posted September 10, 2013 Share Posted September 10, 2013 Good thing those software programs are solid state. Carts made out of vacuum tubes would never have fit in the cartridge slot! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Gemintronic Posted September 10, 2013 Share Posted September 10, 2013 The phrase is located on all TI's cartridge labels . Ah.. that means they were referencing ROM. Thanks for the clarification. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RXB Posted September 10, 2013 Share Posted September 10, 2013 Ah.. that means they were referencing ROM. Thanks for the clarification. GROM and ROM as the TI Extended Basic is 80% GROM and 20% ROM, the EA Cart is 100% GROM, the Mini Memory is 6K GROM and 4K RAM. So ROM is incorrect you have to include GROM and ROM in that statement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertLM78 Posted September 10, 2013 Share Posted September 10, 2013 Ah.. that means they were referencing ROM. Thanks for the clarification.You're welcome - although I think Rich is correct in that it covers GROM, ROM and RAM. I think the phrase is basically describing the technology in general - i.e., software that is in "solid state" form rather than on disk. But I could be wrong about that . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OLD CS1 Posted September 10, 2013 Share Posted September 10, 2013 GROM and ROM as the TI Extended Basic is 80% GROM and 20% ROM, the EA Cart is 100% GROM, the Mini Memory is 6K GROM and 4K RAM. And 10% perspiration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+hloberg Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 Thought of another 'full circle' along those lines. When the TI-99 was out almost all the OS was ROM based. Then DOS/Windows/Mac came along and the OS went to a changeable hard drive base. Now Android/ IOS /Cell phones/ Tablets and even some laptops have the OS back to ROM (flashable, but still ROM). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OLD CS1 Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 Thought of another 'full circle' along those lines. When the TI-99 was out almost all the OS was ROM based. Then DOS/Windows/Mac came along and the OS went to a changeable hard drive base. Now Android/ IOS /Cell phones/ Tablets and even some laptops have the OS back to ROM (flashable, but still ROM). Not really ROM but flash RAM, which is much faster than ROM. Your point still stands, though, as the OS has been moved back onto chips. It is inevitable, as well, that spinning platters will go the way-side (whether we want them to or not) for consumer products as the cost of flash comes down, the capacities go up, and we approach theoretical limits for magnetic media (again.) I had a long discussion with a guy from Samsung yesterday who used to be with Seagate. Fascinating stuff. The only compelling reasons to stay with magnetic media drives is data recovery as, unless the drive is self-encrypting, recovery is very much possible versus flash. On the flip side, it is much easier to wipe magnetic drives* than flash because of the wear-leveling algorithms in use. * The old DoD standard which everyone refers to erroneously is finally being updated to meet NIST standards. Back in the 90s the standard was changed to destruction of drives for sanitizing classified and above rather than the three- or seven-pass wipe. Since the advent of perpendicular recording, it is a well-accepted fact that a single wipe is enough to elude software recovery, and that even with multi-pass wipes a microscopic analysis can still see the edges of the prior domains. Sorry to wander, there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sometimes99er Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 I see the text on my TI that reads out "Solid State Software". I guess this is what you see. IIRC mine didn't have that "label". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slinkeey Posted September 13, 2013 Author Share Posted September 13, 2013 I noticed that many of these machines on ebay do not. To cut cost, I wonder if TI dropped that thing.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OLD CS1 Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 I noticed that many of these machines on ebay do not. To cut cost, I wonder if TI dropped that thing.. I apparently do not pay much attention to these. I have never seen one without the badge from the factory. Interesting... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tursi Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 I haven't seen a silver console without the "Solid State Software" badge, but I did hear of them. the Beige units don't have it, of course. The whole reason it exists is to cover up the volume slider notch that they ended up not using. (IIRC) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slinkeey Posted September 14, 2013 Author Share Posted September 14, 2013 Here's one without. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Ksarul Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 You are right about it being for a volume slider, Tursi. I have a 99/4 that actually has the slider and an internal speaker under the grille at the top of the cartridge slot. Those disappeared pretty early in the life of the 99/4, but the slot lived on for a very long time. I have quite a few black and silver /4As with the slider cover piece and almost as many without it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omega-TI Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 Here's one without. That just looks sad. Without the 'Solid State Software' badge it looks like a poor stripped down Plain-Jane Chevy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertLM78 Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 That just looks sad. Without the 'Solid State Software' badge it looks like a poor stripped down Plain-Jane Chevy. Yeah, it sure isn't the same without it. I've been using a beige unit for years now though, so I've largely forgotten what it's like to have the badge (very sadly - I miss having a black unit ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OLD CS1 Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 That just looks sad. Without the 'Solid State Software' badge it looks like a poor stripped down Plain-Jane Chevy. This. It looks just shameful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+InsaneMultitasker Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 I apparently do not pay much attention to these. I have never seen one without the badge from the factory. Interesting... I do not recall ever using any -with- the badge. Amazing how foreign it looks to me. When Cecure Electronics became the authorized TI Repair/TICARES center, many (most?) of the consoles shipped from Texas Instruments for swap/repair purposes were of the beige variety. I still remember the day the semi showed up full of TI hardware and software. Nothing like the sight (and smell) of "new old stock". It took us days just to sort through all of the cartridges. Ahh the memories. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willsy Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 I don't think I've ever seen a (silver) console *without* the Solid State badge. I can only surmise that all the European built ones (there were factories in Holland and Italy IIRC) fitted the badge. I can't comment on the beige consoles, as I generally wouldn't touch them with a barg-pole. I usually douse them in petrol and set them on fire, or blow them up with a mild explosive! *That's* how fugly they are! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OLD CS1 Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 I can't comment on the beige consoles, as I generally wouldn't touch them with a barg-pole. I usually douse them in petrol and set them on fire, or blow them up with a mild explosive! *That's* how fugly they are! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKRetrogamer Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 I don't think I've ever seen a (silver) console *without* the Solid State badge. I can only surmise that all the European built ones (there were factories in Holland and Italy IIRC) fitted the badge. I'm in the UK and I have 3 consoles. Only one has a Solid State badge but then I've always been the odd one out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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