--- title: Texas Instruments Computer 99/8 categories: - Computers types: - Home Computer origins: - U.S.A. years: - '1983' cpus: - TI TMS 9995 params: name: Computer 99/8 image: /media/museum/photos/texas_instrument_ti99-8_1.jpg company: /companies/texas-instruments company_name: Texas Instruments specs: - label: NAME value: Computer 99/8 - label: MANUFACTURER value: Texas Instruments - label: TYPE value: Home Computer - label: ORIGIN value: U.S.A. - label: YEAR value: '1983' - label: END OF PRODUCTION value: '1983' - label: BUILT IN LANGUAGE value: TI Extended Basic II - label: KEYBOARD value: QWERTY full-stroke keyboard, 54 keys - label: CPU value: TI TMS 9995 - label: SPEED value: 10,7 MHZ - label: CO-PROCESSOR value: TMS 9918A (Video Generator) - label: RAM value: |- 64 kb (up to 15Mb !)\ 61 kb free with Basic - label: VRAM value: 16 kb - label: ROM value: 220 Kb - label: TEXT MODES value: 32 x 24 (16 colors) / 40 x 24 (2 colors) - label: GRAPHIC MODES value: 64 x 48 (with 4x4 graphic symbols), 256 x 128 (16 colors), 256 x 192 (16 colors) - label: COLORS value: '16' - label: SOUND value: 3 channels & 5 octaves, speech synthesizer built-in - label: I/O PORTS value: Tape, RGB video out (DIN), Joystick, HexBus connector, Expansion port (16 bits), Cartridge slot (GROM port) - label: OS value: P-System - label: PRICE value: planned for 600$ tabs: - photos - emulators - links - docs - videos photos: - title: KEYBOARD/LABEL subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/photos/texas_ti99_8_closeup_1.jpg emulators: - title: Mess emulator url: http://www.mess.org platform: MS DOS text: Emulates all of the TI-99 versions, including the Geneve card - title: PC99 url: http://pw2.netcom.com/~mjmw/index.html platform: MS DOS text: Quality emulator for the TI 99/4A - title: Classic99 url: http://www.harmlesslion.com/software/Classic99 platform: Windows text: Open Source & freeware TI-99/4A emulator for Windows 9x - title: Win994a url: http://www.99er.net/win994a.shtml platform: Windows text: Win994a is a TI-99/4A simulator written by Cory Burr that installs and runs in Windows - title: MacV9T9 official homepage url: http://perso.club-internet.fr/pytheas/english/MacV9T9.html platform: Apple text: MacV9T9 is a TI99 emulator for the Macintosh links: - title: planet-99.net url: http://www.planet-99.net/ text: Lots and Lots of 4A software on this site. Disks, Cartridges, Articles - the lot! - title: Somtimes url: http://sometimes.99er.net/ text: Demo cartridges - title: TI-99 4/A Forever ! url: http://www.ti99.com text: Excellent site with special pages about the Computer 99/8 - title: TI-99 4/A Webring url: http://e.webring.com/hub?ring=ti994a text: You know what it is ;-) - title: TI-99 Forever ! url: http://www.ti99.com text: Excellent site by Fabrice Montupet - title: TI-99/4 Home Page at 99er.Net url: http://www.99er.net/ text: THE us site to visit ! - title: Web Wiz CAPTCHA url: http://www.webwizcaptcha.com text: Discussion about Texas Instruments computers docs: - title: USER'S REFERENCE GUIDE url: http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/ti/index.htm cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/texas-instruments_ti99-4a_user-reference-guide.jpg text: |- [**USER'S REFERENCE GUIDE**](http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/ti/index.htm)written by Texas Instruments  compiled/archived by Dave Dunfield\  type of document : PDF\  source : [Daves Old Computers](http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/) - title: BEGINNER'S BASIC url: http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/ti/index.htm cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/texas-instruments_ti99-4a_beginners-basic.jpg text: |- [**BEGINNER'S BASIC**](http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/ti/index.htm)written by Texas Instruments  compiled/archived by Dave Dunfield\  type of document : PDF\  source : [Daves Old Computers](http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/) - title: BASIC REFERENCE CARD url: http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/ti/index.htm cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/texas-instruments_ti99-4a_basic-reference-card.jpg text: |- [**BASIC REFERENCE CARD**](http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/ti/index.htm)written by Texas Instruments  compiled/archived by Dave Dunfield\  type of document : PDF\  source : [Daves Old Computers](http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/) - title: GETTING STARTED WITH THE TEXAS INSTRUMENTS TI99/4A url: http://shawweb.myzen.co.uk/stephen/book.htm cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/vide.gif text: |- [**GETTING STARTED WITH THE TEXAS INSTRUMENTS TI99/4A**](http://shawweb.myzen.co.uk/stephen/book.htm)written by Stephen Shaw  compiled/archived by Stephen Shaw\  type of document : HTML\  source : [Stephen's Main Web Page](http://shawweb.myzen.co.uk/stephen) - title: PROGRAMMING DISCOVERY IN TI BASIC STUDENT GUIDE url: http://www.99er.net/docs.html cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/texas-instruments_ti99-4a_programming_discovery.jpg text: |- [**PROGRAMMING DISCOVERY IN TI BASIC STUDENT GUIDE**](http://www.99er.net/docs.html)written by Texas Instruments Computer Advantage Club  compiled/archived by Rich at www.99er.net\  type of document : Unknown\  source : [TI-99/4A Home Computer Page](http://www.99er.net/) - title: TI-99/4A CONSOLE & PERIPHERAL EXPANSION SYSTEM TECHNICAL DATA url: http://www.99er.net/docs.html cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/texas-instruments_ti99-4a_technical_data.jpg text: |- [**TI-99/4A CONSOLE & PERIPHERAL EXPANSION SYSTEM TECHNICAL DATA**](http://www.99er.net/docs.html)written by Texas Instruments  type of document : PDF\  source : [TI-99/4A Home Computer Page](http://www.99er.net/) - title: SPEECH SYNTHESIZER MANUAL url: http://www.99er.net/docs.html cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/texas-instruments_ti99-4a_speech-module-manual.jpg text: |- [**SPEECH SYNTHESIZER MANUAL**](http://www.99er.net/docs.html)written by Texas Instruments  type of document : PDF\  source : [TI-99/4A Home Computer Page](http://www.99er.net/) - title: DISK MEMORY SYSTEM MANUAL url: http://www.99er.net/docs.html cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/texas-instruments_ti99-4a_disk-memory-system.jpg text: |- [**DISK MEMORY SYSTEM MANUAL**](http://www.99er.net/docs.html)written by Texas Instruments  compiled/archived by Rich at www.99er.net\  type of document : Unknown\  source : [TI-99/4A Home Computer Page](http://www.99er.net/) - title: RS232 INTERFACE CARD MANUAL url: http://www.99er.net/docs.html cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/texas-instruments_ti99-4a_rs232.jpg text: |- [**RS232 INTERFACE CARD MANUAL**](http://www.99er.net/docs.html)written by Texas Instruments  compiled/archived by Rich at www.99er.net\  type of document : Unknown\  source : [TI-99/4A Home Computer Page](http://www.99er.net/) - title: DATA RECORDER MANUAL url: http://www.99er.net/docs.html cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/texas-instruments_ti99-4a_data-recorder.jpg text: |- [**DATA RECORDER MANUAL**](http://www.99er.net/docs.html)written by Texas Instruments  compiled/archived by Rich at www.99er.net\  type of document : PDF\  source : [TI-99/4A Home Computer Page](http://www.99er.net/) videos: - title: TV commercial featuring Bill Cosby url: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhsgvW9P7tI text: 'Length: 30 s' comments: - author: Andy (USA) date: Wednesday 17th June 2015 text: The Myarc Geneve was not a "clone" of the 99/8. It used the same CPU, but absent were the Hex Bux interface, built-in speech, and the built-in USCD Pascal system. It also used a totally different operating system. People have compared it to the 99/8 but it''s in no way a "clone" of the 99/8. - author: frank (us) date: Monday 30th July 2012 text: http://montreal.kijiji.ca/c-acheter-et-vendre-ordinateurs-Texas-Instruments-Computer-99-8-W0QQAdIdZ400504807 - author: Stephen Boutillette date: Tuesday 8th November 2011 text: Dan you are right. I knew a few members of the North Jersey TI Users club that had them. Myarc was based in Basking Ridge, NJ and it was called the Geneve. Some used the PE box or a PC case to hose the parts. I know that at least one was still in use in the late 1990s. - author: Dan Cochran (Leesport, PA) date: Friday 2nd September 2011 text: If I remember right, a company called Myarc produced a clone of this computer. I never saw one in person, but I saw ads for it in a TI-oriented magazine. - author: Alice Myers (Washington) date: Friday 7th July 2006 text: The codename for the 99/8 was indeed the Armadillo. My memory is that it was virtually ready for production when marketing studies determined that the price-point they would be able to be sold for was lower than the cost of making them. If I remember correctly, competitors were pricing so low that everybody was probably losing money with each computer sold. I suspect the mind-set was "the last company to run out of money will be the winner." related: - /museum/texas-instruments-ti-99-2 - /museum/texas-instruments-ti-99-4a - /museum/texas-instruments-ti-99-4a-beige oc_id: 268 source: url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230606203013/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=268 date: '2023-06-06' --- The 99/8 was intended as an upmarket companion to the [TI 99/4A](/museum/texas-instruments-ti-99-4a/) . Something like a small business computer. However, at TI they didn't think it would generate any income, so it was never released. It has built-in features which were optional in the 4A : The speech synthesiser and the Pascal UCSD ROM card. It is a prototype computer and was never marketed. --- Very interesting information from **CC Clarke**\ As a young electronic technician at TI, I labored in the "trenches" during the Home Computer Wars of the early eighties. It was brutal. Our 99/4A was technologically superior to the Comodore 64, but was marketed against the VIC 20 in price.\ The 99/8 (codenamed: **Roadrunner**) was supposed to remedy that situation. It was more advanced, cheaper to produce, (the bottom line was ALWAYs the decisive factor in corporate decision-making) and used the existing TI HexBus interface, touted as the emerging interface standard at TI.\ Unfortunately, TI got a very bloody nose when it voluntarily recalled thousands of 99/4A AC transformers due to a perceived fusing issue. Thousands of 99/8s were built and warehoused (before being destroyed) after it was discovered they couldn't meet FCC EMI specs without expensive design changes.\ In 1982/83, TI was losing more money in their Lubbock Consumer Products Division than they could justify. and the 99/8's problems made it cheaper to bury than bring to market. A few escaped and are considered collector's items.