Rhode Island Computer Museum

09/03/2026

Scott Saracen the Deputy Director of the Rhode Island Film & TV Office stopped by today to chat with board member John Manock! We are listed as a Prop House on their site! https://film.ri.gov/welcome/

08/29/2026

A big THANK YOU to Dassault Systems! We really appreciate their Volunteer Day of Service!

08/28/2026

From the time of home internet appliances.

Sony eVilla Internet appliance 2001

08/28/2026

08/21/2026

The Tandy 1000 was introduced in November 1984 and developed by Tandy Corporation, the parent company of Radio Shack. It was designed as an affordable alternative to the IBM PC and, in particular, the less successful IBM PCjr. With an introductory price of around $1,199, the Tandy 1000 offered an impressive set of features for the money.
The original model used an Intel 8088 processor running at 4.77 MHz, the same clock speed as the original IBM PC. It came standard with 128 KB of RAM, expandable to 640 KB. Storage was provided by a 360 KB 5.25-inch floppy drive, with space for a second drive. A hard disk was not included as standard.
One of the Tandy 1000’s major advantages was its graphics hardware. Tandy Graphics, based on the IBM PCjr’s video system, could display 16 colors simultaneously at a resolution of 320×200 pixels. A standard CGA-equipped IBM-compatible PC normally displayed only four colors at that resolution.
Sound was another strong point. Instead of relying solely on the primitive PC speaker, the Tandy 1000 offered three-voice sound, producing much richer music and sound effects. This made the machine especially popular among computer gamers, and many DOS games specifically supported Tandy graphics and sound.
Other features included a parallel port, two joystick connectors and three 8-bit ISA expansion slots. MS-DOS 2.11, BASIC and Tandy’s DeskMate integrated software package were supplied with the computer.
However, the $1,199 base price did not tell the whole story. A color monitor cost approximately $550, a second floppy drive around $300, and a 128 KB memory expansion could also cost roughly $300. A well-equipped Tandy 1000 could therefore approach $2,000.
Despite these additional costs, the Tandy 1000 offered excellent value. It combined IBM PC compatibility with superior graphics and sound and became one of Radio Shack’s most successful computer families. The Tandy 1000 series remained on the market into the early 1990s.

08/18/2026

The diversity of horizontal navigation in 2004

08/13/2026

On this day in 1996, Internet Explorer 3.0 was released.

08/09/2026

Thank you to everyone who came out to visit the Fraser archives today! You made our event an amazing success!

And another big Thank You to all of our awesome volunteers who made this event happen!

See you at the next one!

08/09/2026

The flea market and tours are happening now! Come see us. Until 2pm today