Radio Shack model TRS-80 pocket computer with miniature printer. Tom Shrimplin of Manhattan, Kansas, purchased this device ca. 1985 at a local Radio Shack store hoping to gain computer skills. At the time, Shrimplin worked as a technician at Kansas State University. Radio Shack, an electronics retail store, was established in 1921 and acquired by Tandy Corporation in 1962. TRS-80 (Tandy Radio Shack 80) was an early generation microcomputer that used innovative programming language.