1977 — Tandy Corporation announces the TRS-80, one of the world’s first mass-produced personal computers.
In the fall of 1977, before “personal computer” meant anything to most Americans, a curious machine began to appear behind the glass counters of Radio Shack stores. It didn’t look like the future—more like a typewriter mated with a television—but Tandy Corporation believed otherwise. They called it the TRS-80.
Inside its modest frame lived a Zilog Z80 processor, humming along with just 4 KB of memory. It spoke in BASIC, displayed 64 characters across a glowing screen, and saved its thoughts onto cassette tapes. For $600 (equivalent to US$3,200 in 2025), you could take one home—an investment that felt daring, even strange. Yet something about it stirred the imagination.
Customers ordered it sight unseen, placing $50 deposits on a promise. When the first units arrived in November and reached store shelves just before Christmas, they didn’t sit long. Hobbyists tinkered late into the night. Small business owners saw efficiency. Families gathered around it, curious about what this “microcomputer” might become.
Radio Shack’s secret wasn’t just the machine—it was reach. With more than 3,000 storefronts, they placed computing power within walking distance of everyday Americans. And they stood behind it, offering upgrades, repairs, and guidance in plain language.
Soon, the TRS-80 stood alongside rivals from Apple and Commodore, forming what Byte magazine would later call the “1977 Trinity.” But Tandy had momentum—and a bold claim to match: “The Biggest Name in Little Computers.”
What began as a gamble on a countertop became something more—a quiet spark in the homes and shops of a nation, hinting at a digital age just beginning to dawn.
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