@mangeurdenuage @geniusmusing I can remember using a #TRS-80 with 16K of RAM, Level II BASIC, and an attached expansion interface at school. Of course, a cassette tape recorder to save our programs. There was also a printer. I wanted one like it, but couldn't afford it.

The version with 4K of RAM, Level I BASIC, and no accessories (tape recorder, expansion interface, printer) was originally $499. I think the price dropped after #Radio_Shack and #Apple had established that there was a market for home microcomputers, but I wasn't even able to buy a Commodore 64 a few years later when they were as low as $99.