I mean, in 1978 Tandy used standard drives and a disk controller IC, and still managed to sell a whole 16K TRS-80 system with disk drive for the same price
The Tandy products were utter garbage.
Controller = Unreliable. Expansion Interface required for the controller = So unreliable that a robust third-party alternative market developed, including Steve Ciarcia's version. TRSDOS = So unreliable that Tandy has the dubious distinction of being the 8-bit system with the most third-party operating systems.
Reliability greatly improved from the Model III onward, but by then it was too late: Tandy had a) destroyed its reputation (the "Trash-80" nickname did not come out of nowhere) and b) surrendered its colossal market lead to the tiny startup founded by two California college dropouts.
Comments
The Tandy products were utter garbage.
Controller = Unreliable. Expansion Interface required for the controller = So unreliable that a robust third-party alternative market developed, including Steve Ciarcia's version. TRSDOS = So unreliable that Tandy has the dubious distinction of being the 8-bit system with the most third-party operating systems.
Reliability greatly improved from the Model III onward, but by then it was too late: Tandy had a) destroyed its reputation (the "Trash-80" nickname did not come out of nowhere) and b) surrendered its colossal market lead to the tiny startup founded by two California college dropouts.
More at <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44352856>