by Yasmin | May 28, 2012 | 1990s, Computers, Electrical
The Amiga CD32, styled “CD32” (code-named “Spellbound”), was the first 32-bit CD-ROM based video game console released in western Europe,Australia, Canada and Brazil. It was first announced at the Science Museum in London, United Kingdom on 16 July 1993, and was released in September of the same year. The CD32 is based on Commodore’s Advanced Graphics Architecture chipset, and is of similar specification to the Amiga 1200computer. Using 3rd-party devices, it is possible to upgrade the CD32 with keyboard, floppy drive, hard drive and mouse, turning it into an Amiga 1200personal computer. A hardware MPEG decompression module for playing Video CD was also available. The CD32 managed to secure over 38% of the CD-ROM market in the UK. (more…)
by Yasmin | May 24, 2012 | 1980s, Computers
Development of the Amiga began in 1982 with Jay Miner, developer of the Atari 800 chip set, as the principal hardware designer ofAmiga Corporation. It was initially intended to be a next generation video game machine, but was redesigned as a general purpose computer after the North American video game crash of 1983. A prototype of the full computer was shown to the public for the first time at the Summer Consumer Electronics Show in 1984. In order to bring the design to market Commodore International bought Amiga Corporation and funded development. The first model was released in 1985 as simply “The Amiga from Commodore”, later to be retroactively dubbed the Amiga 1000. The following year the Amiga product line was expanded with the introduction of two new models: the Amiga 2000 for high-end graphics and business use, and the Amiga 500 for home use. Commodore later released other Amiga models, both for low-end gaming use and high-end productivity use.
Info gleaned from Wikipedia
by Yasmin | May 23, 2012 | 1980s, Computers
The QL was originally conceived in 1981 under the code-name ZX83, as a portable computer for business users, with a built-in ultra-thin flat-screen CRT display (similar to the later TV80 pocket TV), printer and modem. As development progressed, and ZX83 became ZX84, it eventually became clear that the portability features were over-ambitious and the specification was reduced to a conventional desktop configuration. It was designed to be more powerful than the IBM Personal Computer, and comparable to Apple’s Macintosh.
Based on a Motorola 68008 processor clocked at 7.5 MHz, the QL included 128 kB of RAM (officially expandable to 640 kB) and could be connected to a monitoror TV for display.[4] Two built-in ZX Microdrive tape-loop cartridge drives provided mass storage, in place of the more expensive floppy disk drives found on similar systems of the era. Microdrives had been introduced for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum in July 1983, although the QL used a different logical tape format. Interfaces included an expansion slot, ROM cartridge socket, dual RS-232 ports, proprietary QLAN local area network ports, dual joystick ports and an external Microdrivebus. Two video modes were available, 256×256 pixels with 8 RGB colours and per-pixel flashing, or 512×256 pixels with four colours (black, red, green and white). Both screen modes used a 32 kB framebuffer in main memory. The hardware was capable of switching between two different areas of memory for the framebuffer, thus allowing double buffering. However, this would have used 64 KB of the standard machine’s 128 kB of RAM and there is no support for this feature in the QL’s original firmware. The alternative and much improved operating system Minerva does provide full support for the second framebuffer. When connected to a normally-adjusted TV or monitor, the QL’s video output would overscan horizontally. This was reputed to have been due to the timing constants in the ZX8301 chip being optimised for the flat-screen CRT display originally intended for the QL.
Info gleaned from Wikipedia
by Yasmin | May 23, 2012 | 1980s, Computers
Input was a partwork published by Marshall Cavendish in the United Kingdom during 1984 and 1985, covering the subject of home computer programming.
It was composed of 52 weekly editions which introduced several parallel themes (such as computer graphics, word processing, CAD, games etc) in each edition. These themes then were slowly developed with each new edition into BASIC and assembly language programs. The resulting programs were intended to run on a selection of the most popular home computers in the UK at the time: the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, BBC Micro, Acorn Electron andDragon 32. A subset of the programs were also suitable for the Sinclair ZX81, Commodore VIC-20 and Tandy TRS-80 Color Computer.
The magazine was well-known among hobbyists using these early computer architectures, since it provided a useful source of interesting programs in a wide range of themes.
As was usually the case in home computer magazines of the era, the programs were listed in the pages of the magazine, and readers had to type them manually into their computers.
Info gleaned from Wikipedia
by Yasmin | May 13, 2012 | 1980s, Computers
The Acorn Electron is a budget version of the BBC Micro educational/home computer made by Acorn Computers Ltd. It has 32 kilobytes of RAM, and its ROM includes BBC BASIC along with its operating system.
The Electron was able to save and load programs onto audio cassette via a supplied converter cable that connected it to any standard tape recorderthat had the correct sockets. It was capable of basic graphics, and could display onto either a television set, a colour (RGB) monitor or a “green screen” monitor.
At its peak, the Electron was the third best selling micro in the United Kingdom, and total lifetime game sales for the Electron exceeded those of the BBC Micro. There are at least 500 known games for the Electron and the true total is probably in the thousands.
The hardware of the BBC Micro was emulated by a single customized ULA chip designed by Acorn. It had feature limitations such as being unable to output more than one channel of sound where the BBC was capable of three-way polyphony (plus one noise channel) and the inability to provideteletext mode.
Info gleaned from Wikipedia
by Yasmin | May 11, 2012 | 1980s, Computers
The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers manufactured from 1979 to 1992. All are based on the MOS Technology 6502 CPU and were the first home computers designed with custom coprocessor chips. Over the following decade several versions of the same basic design were released, including the original Atari 400 and 800 and their successors, the XL and XE series of computers. Overall, the Atari 8-bit computer line was a commercial success, selling two million units through its major production run between late 1979 and mid-1985, a total of around 4 million units.
Info gleaned from Wikipedia
