Tandy 400

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Current revision as of 04:02, 28 August 2023

Many green lines

The Tandy 400 was Strong Bad's first computer. He used it to answer emails until the 41st email, "invisibility," when he threw it out and replaced it with the Compy 386. Presumably, the computer was made by The Tandy Corporation and thus would be the only computer Strong Bad has owned to not have been manufactured by Compy, Inc.

[edit] History

Strong Bad relied on the Tandy 400 to check emails but it exploded in "gimmicks." He made do using Tangerine Dreams during "weird dream," until he got "the old girl" working again in "sisters." The repaired Tandy was still malfunctioning, deleting an email he intended to save and vice versa. Strong Bad continued to use the damaged computer until he returned from his vacation in "invisibility," replacing the Tandy 400 with the Compy 386. The Tandy 400 made several disparaging remarks when it was thrown out, including: "386? More like three eighty SUCKS!"

The Tandy 400 haunted Strong Badia for some time. The computer appeared floating in mid-air in "ghosts," displaying a Bad Graphics Ghost on its screen. Bubs later salvaged the Tandy 400 and sold it to The King of Town for $900, who attempted to check his email with it in an Easter egg in The King of Town Main Page.

The Tandy 400 seems to be Strong Bad's least favorite computer, as evidenced by his indifference whilst knocking the Tandy off the desk in "invisibility" and his comments about it in "pop-up". He claims that he "liked that computer" in gimmicks when it blew up, and when he was able to begin using it again in sisters he was initially excited. However, by the end of the email his feelings had soured after the Tandy deleted an email without being prompted and saved an email he tried to delete, and Strong Bad declared he hated the computer. In contrast, he seemed a lot more broken up about the Compy's demise in virus than he did when the Tandy exploded.

After a long absence, the Tandy reappeared in retirement after Lappynapping the Lappy 486 with the help of the Compy 386. In exchange for the safe return of the Lappy, Strong Bad agreed to check one last email on each of the two abandoned computers. He used the still-malfunctioning Tandy first to answer a question on which email he deleted the hardest. Strong Bad enlisted the help of Homestar Runner, a bottle of Mountain Dew, and The King of Town's denture tablets, then sang a hymnal version of "DELETED" which caused the Tandy to start shaking. Strong Bad then drove a pickaxe through the computer's keyboard, causing it to explode in a flash of green light and finally destroy it. The Tandy was later seen, in restored form, as a ghost with the Compy at the end of the email.

In Hremail 7, Strong Bad is shown taking the Tandy 400 from the trash can of Homestar Runner, who was apparently the previous owner. The 2009 toon, set in 2001, supposedly explains the origin of the Tandy (and of Strong Bad Emails in general). When Strong Bad takes the Tandy, Homestar comments that the computer hardly works, and that he'd be surprised if Strong Bad could check more than forty emails on it. (Strong Bad only got to 39 before the computer was destroyed; see below.)

The Tandy's logo is a star with a bite out of it, which is also seen on The Cheat's computers, Strong Mad's computer and the Happy 8600 suggesting that these are all made by the same company. Every time Strong Bad checks an email on it, there is a small brown dot in the lower-left corner. Interestingly, no character has ever referred to the Tandy by name (usually referred to as "Strong Bad's old crappy computer" or just "Strong Bad's old computer"), and appearances outside the Tandy-era have the "contrast" label either with a different font or mispositioned. The Tandy is the only major computer owned by Strong Bad that (probably) wasn't made by Compy, Inc.

The Tandy, or a similarly outdated Tandy computer, is shown to be Strong Bad's "Twitter rig" for @StrongBadActual Tweets. This rig is two Apple IIe drives with Tandy logos.

[edit] Quick Facts

Debut: Email some kinda robot

Interactive Feature: Clicking the contrast buttons in the lower-left corner of the computer will change the background color gradually from black to green. The left button makes the screen darker and the right button makes it greener. There are 13 levels of contrast.

Font: Westminster

Emails checked on the computer: 44

[edit] Commands

• run — A BASIC command, used to start program execution from direct mode, or to start an overlay program from a loader program. Also a Microsoft Windows command.
• delete that crap (homestar hair)
• forward message (credit card)
• forward to (i she be)
• DELETED! (spring cleaning)

[edit] Programs

Some of the programs Strong Bad had on the Tandy 400, all of which were started by typing "run" plus the filename in double quotes:

• strongbad's_email — Used in emails 1-40 except for email 24 (the bird), which was checked on Pom Pom's Pom Pilot, and email 34 (weird dream) which was checked on The Cheat's Tangerine Dreams. It was used again in 159 (retirement).

• temple_of_apshai (homestar hair) — Runs the game Temple of Apshai, albeit with graphics from Chaos: The Battle of Wizards.

• internet (credit card) — It automatically directs Strong Bad to the_coolest_stuff_ever.com, seemingly his homepage.

• duckpond (duck pond) — Runs the game Duck Pond.

• Text Quest (E-mail Birds) — Runs a Thy Dungeonman-like text adventure.

[edit] Real-World Computers

Logo, reminiscent of the old rainbow Apple Logo

The Tandy contains elements of several personal computers released in the 1970s and 80s.

[edit] Tandy

The Tandy Corporation was an early producer of personal computers with the TRS-80 (affectionately known as the "Trash-80") in 1977. The 400 shares several design features with the TRS-80, including two contrast knobs on the monitor and a monochrome green display composed of rectangular characters.

The Tandy 400 probably gets its name from the Tandy 2000—1000—3000 home computer line; Tandy did not produce a "400" (or "4000") model.

[edit] Apple

The rainbow star logo on Tandy 400 is a play on an early Apple Computer logo which featured a rainbow-colored apple with a missing bite.

Many elements of the Tandy 400 are similar to the Apple II series of computers, including the Apple ProDOS-like operating system and the general appearance of the monitor. In the DVD commentary for cartoon, Strong Bad refers to it as an "Apple monitor." In the emails sugarbob and retirement, the Tandy makes several system sounds used in Mac OS.

As the Tandy does not appear to have a computer tower, its design may be an homage to the Apple Macintosh line where all the computer's internal workings were housed in the monitor case.

[edit] Other

The "400" in the name may be a reference to the Atari 400 home computer.

The Tandy's green screen and beige exterior is reminiscent of the ADM-3A computer terminal.

[edit] Gallery

The full desk	Normal	Exploded	Semi-repaired
Trashed (and apparently bitter)	Ghostly	Flashback	"How do you make this thing go?"
Tandsplosion 2.0	Ghostly again, restored to its original glory	Rear-view	Checking in on 2001... From 2009

[edit] Appearances outside Tandy-era Emails

• TV Time Toons Menu
• Email ghosts
• Email personal favorites
• Email no loafing
• King of Townmail
• Main Page 22
• Email rock opera
• HomestarRunner.com: PAY PLUS!
• Email do over
• Email lady...ing
• Email pop-up
• Email candy product
• strongbad_email.exe Disc One introduction
• strongbad_email.exe Disc Two introduction
• Email retirement
• Sbemailiarized!
• Hremail 7
• Loading Screens

The following Tandy 400 emails are only available on strongbad_email.exe Disc One and are outside the normal numbering scheme:

• Greeting Cards
• E-mail Birds