<s>
The	O
TRS-80	B-Device
MC-10	I-Device
microcomputer	B-Architecture
is	O
a	O
lesser-known	O
member	O
of	O
the	O
TRS-80	B-Device
line	O
of	O
home	O
computers	O
,	O
produced	O
by	O
Tandy	O
Corporation	O
in	O
the	O
early	O
1980s	O
and	O
sold	O
through	O
their	O
RadioShack	O
chain	O
of	O
electronics	O
stores	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
a	O
low-cost	O
alternative	O
to	O
Tandy	O
's	O
own	O
TRS-80	B-Device
Color	I-Device
Computer	I-Device
to	O
compete	O
with	O
entry-level	O
machines	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
VIC-20	B-Device
and	O
Sinclair	O
ZX81	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
MC-10	B-Device
was	O
of	O
value	O
primarily	O
to	O
hobbyists	O
and	O
as	O
an	O
introduction	O
to	O
computer	B-General_Concept
programming	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
About	O
the	O
size	O
of	O
a	O
hardcover	O
book	O
,	O
the	O
MC-10	B-Device
has	O
four	O
kilobytes	O
(	O
4096	O
bytes	O
)	O
of	O
RAM	O
,	O
a	O
Motorola	B-Device
MC6803	I-Device
eight-bit	O
microprocessor	B-Architecture
,	O
a	O
built-in	O
serial	B-Protocol
port	I-Protocol
,	O
and	O
graphics	O
capabilities	O
similar	O
to	O
those	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
Color	B-Device
Computer	I-Device
(	O
provided	O
by	O
the	O
same	O
MC6847	B-General_Concept
video	O
display	O
generator	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
MC-10	B-Device
includes	O
a	O
BASIC	B-Language
interpreter	O
in	O
ROM	B-Device
and	O
uses	O
regular	O
audio	B-Device
cassettes	I-Device
for	O
bulk	O
storage	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Less	O
common	O
for	O
machines	O
in	O
its	O
class	O
is	O
the	O
integrated	O
RS-232	O
serial	B-Protocol
port	I-Protocol
,	O
which	O
allows	O
the	O
MC-10	B-Device
to	O
use	O
line	O
printers	O
and	O
modems	B-Application
without	O
additional	O
hardware	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
time	O
of	O
its	O
release	O
in	O
1983	O
,	O
the	O
MC-10	B-Device
'	O
s	O
specifications	O
were	O
underwhelming	O
(	O
at	O
least	O
for	O
its	O
home	O
market	O
;	O
North	O
America	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Disk	B-Device
drives	I-Device
,	O
full-travel	O
keyboards	B-Device
,	O
medium-resolution	O
graphics	O
,	O
and	O
complete	O
64-kilobyte	O
(	O
65,536	O
bytes	O
)	O
memory	O
banks	O
were	O
becoming	O
popular	O
features	O
for	O
home	O
computers	O
;	O
the	O
MC-10	B-Device
offered	O
none	O
of	O
these	O
,	O
severely	O
limiting	O
the	O
functions	O
it	O
could	O
perform	O
and	O
the	O
range	O
of	O
users	O
to	O
whom	O
it	O
could	O
appeal	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
MC-10	B-Device
was	O
discontinued	O
in	O
1984	O
,	O
along	O
with	O
the	O
16	O
KB	O
(	O
16,384	O
bytes	O
)	O
memory	O
upgrade	O
and	O
small	O
amount	O
of	O
cassette-based	O
software	O
that	O
had	O
been	O
released	O
for	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
RS-232C	O
serial	B-Protocol
interface	I-Protocol
had	O
extremely	O
limited	O
usefulness	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
Micro	O
Color	O
Basic	B-Language
includes	O
an	O
undocumented	O
CLOADM	O
command	O
for	O
loading	O
machine-language	O
programs	O
and	O
an	O
undocumented	O
VARPTR	O
function	O
for	O
manipulating	O
variables	O
as	O
memory	O
,	O
there	O
is	O
no	O
corresponding	O
CSAVEM	O
command	O
(	O
documented	O
or	O
otherwise	O
)	O
to	O
permit	O
machine	O
language	O
programs	O
to	O
be	O
saved	O
to	O
tape	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
limited	O
amount	O
of	O
software	O
was	O
available	O
on	O
cassette	O
for	O
the	O
MC-10	B-Device
,	O
including	O
Lunar	O
Lander	O
,	O
Checkers	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
machine-language	O
Pinball	O
program	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
as	O
most	O
programs	O
written	O
in	O
Basic	B-Language
for	O
other	O
TRS-80	B-Device
models	O
were	O
compatible	O
with	O
the	O
MC-10	B-Device
,	O
many	O
books	O
with	O
BASIC	B-Language
programs	O
were	O
available	O
for	O
the	O
user	O
who	O
was	O
willing	O
to	O
type	O
in	O
the	O
code	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
clone	O
of	O
the	O
MC-10	B-Device
,	O
the	O
Alice	B-Device
,	O
was	O
marketed	O
in	O
France	O
through	O
a	O
collaboration	O
among	O
Tandy	O
,	O
Matra	O
and	O
Hachette	O
.	O
</s>
