u/SomewhatBeck

I purchased this 1979 TI 99/4 (not the more common 99/4A) from a VCF, and when I got home I noticed a sticker declaring it was an engineering prototype, not to be sold, and then the words "SOLD AS IS" factory etched into the case.

I opened up the computer and got to the motherboard today and didn't really see anything out of the ordinary, but I wouldn't know. I'm losing confidence this really is some kind of engineering prototype.

Does anyone have elite TI knowledge they can impart that may answer why this computer was labelled this way? I can't get to the bottom of it. Mostly curious if it really is unique in any way. Any information is appreciated.

I promise this is vaguely interesting if you don't already know please read this on the toilet I spent half an hour writing, but TLDR secret early concept album on second half of Dramatis/ation go listen blind

Old heads who know the exact length of every hair on Gilmour's beard and the timestamp of every show where Nick farts are probably gonna rag on me somehow for not already knowing this, but I personally don't venture TOO far into Pink Floyd's earlier works very often and was surprised to find this seldom reported decent work

I consider myself a pretty avid fan like according to Spotify I've clocked over 1000 hours into this game already, but I was mostly unaware of this body of work and think others would benefit from attention being brought to it more explicitly.

Apparently before More or Ummagumma were even released, the band embarked on "The Man and the Journey" tour in 1969.

What's interesting to me about this tour is that before several of the songs from More or Ummagumma were kind of hastily cemented forever in their "Movie Soundtrack" and "Studio B side" roles, apparently they were actually arranged in a conceptual manner similar to the way the band (or Roger presumably) would arrange tracks on something like Dark Side.

I am not omnipotent with my knowledge of the 60s London underground scene whatsoever, but I've heard old heads say literally nobody was doing things like Concept Album tours in 69, which depending on your definition is maybe vaguely true. Wouldn't surprise me if this band was ahead of the curve here.

This tour's setlist featured several of the best, crem de la crem tracks in my opinion from those albums in fantastic, heavily extended live versions, a few sincerely delightful tracks that aren't even on any studio albums (namely "Afternoon"), and cut out a lot of the "fluff" the studio releases are burdened with.

The songs are renamed to their 'working titles' at the time, and I actually sincerely recommend listening the whole way through completely blind if you haven't heard the set before so you don't see the bangers coming, just know they are absolutely there.

My first time listen was definitely enhanced ten fold not knowing what to expect next, then getting hit hard by a top tier early song in glorious 9 minute live rendition.

The concept in question is relatively tame compared to their later works and eventual Nazi dictated fascination with Roger's dad (which I love), but is actually surprisingly sound and kind of even reminiscent of themes in The Dark Side of the Moon or Wish you Were Here.

Mostly, the songs are arranged to represent the day in the life of an ordinary man who goes insane (where have we heard that one?) but if you listen to this thing the whole way through you won't really gleam the insanely introspective lyrics, high quality production, or even God tier guitar work of later releases, but you will absolutely bear witness to a transformation in sound from mundanity to insanity that's kind of a microcosm of the whole Roger arc and very much similar in theme to the aforementioned albums, especially Dark Side.

This was just super surprising and fulfilling to absorb as a long time listener, I really thought "More" And "Ummagumma" were just kind of hastily cobbled together songs the band had lying around - and actually, this whole concert proves to me they were, and their true form was to be arranged in a conceptual way all together.

That makes this particular concert a fascinating look at where the band was at in this transformative time without Syd at the helm, most people, myself included, see this era as a bumbling, stumbling time where they were kind of figuring out what the fuck to do and freaking out, with Roger eventually bucking up and truly taking charge, leading them to their golden age however destructively, but now I really feel like from the lens of this show, they actually never lost their sauce for a moment.

They were on fire with their songwriting, already had the novel conceptual arrangement down, and somehow just kind of got shafted with the way it translated to their physical releases.

Truly speaking, this show won't change your life probably, but it certainly changed the way I view early Floyd. I knew they always kicked ass live early on, but I never really got it until I heard this show blind with no expectations.

If you haven't heard it, I've probably raised your expectations too high, because there are a lot of weak points in the show that lean too avant garde for me that would very much benefit from an accompanying video (they built a table live on stage during the concert!), and honestly I don't know what drugs Gilmour was on or if he just wasn't in shape that day, but he lays down some poor vocals here and there you kind of have to head-canon the show's protagonist growing weary of the world for it to still sound good. You'll know what I mean when you listen.

With all that being said, I'm curious of anybody's thoughts if they take a blind listen like I did, or what anybody's thoughts are who was already in the know. Am I speaking facts or am I crazy? Could they have wrangled together a strong concept album as early as 1969 and jumpstarted their fame? Or was it a blessing they didn't really bother until they had the might to make something like The Dark Side of the Moon?

Go listen and let me know

So glad to have played these games when I was younger so these items could hit even harder when I found them

Does anybody have any information about what this is? Any comparable units to this? Any information helps