TI 99 4A Joystick up issue

[VideoGameCritic]

So I've been trying to review some TI 99/4A games so I can get the new section started.

However, I ran into a vexing problem. Whatever game I played, pushing the joystick "up" did not work! This was driving me crazy. I was swapping joysticks, cleaning pins, thinking the system was busted.

Well sometimes the internet comes in handy. A quick search revealed the cause (Atari Age Forums):
The CAPS LOCK key must be *up* or the joystick *up* will not work.

Isn't that crazy? I wonder how many people in 1982 returned their computers thinking it was defective?

[BlasteroidAli]

Fantastic to hear about the solution to this issue. I remember seeing it and thinking, the Sinclair Spectrum is a better machine.. And it was. Though not sure I am it had any carts. It had microdrives and cassettes.