Digital Retro: The Evolution and Design of the Personal Computer

50 Pages·2004·9.772 MB·English

by  Gordon Laing

digital retro
gordon laing
Part ii I L E X
DEDICATED TO
Mum and Dad, for sparking my passion with a Sinclair
006_7 050_53 098_101 146_149
ZX81, and continuing to encourage me with
subsequent models, despite their increasingly obvious Introduction Tangerine Microtan 65 GCE/MB Vectrex Sinclair QL
realization that none was for educational purposes.
Nicki, for encouraging me to write this book.
008_11 054_57 102_105 150_153
A brief history of computers HP-85 Grundy Newbrain Amstrad CPC-464
012_13 058_61 106_109 154_157
MITS Altair 8800 Sinclair ZX80 Dragon 32 I BM PC AT
contents
016_19 062_65 110_113 158_161
Commodore PET 2001 Acorn Atom Jupiter ACE Tatung Einstein
020_23 066_69 114_117 162_165
Apple II Commodore VIC-20 Compaq Portable Atari ST
004_05
024_27 070 _73 118_121 166_169
Atari VCS Sinclair ZX81 Apple Lisa Commodore Amiga
028_31 074 _77 122_125 170_173
Tandy Radio Shack TRS-80 Osborne 1 Oric 1 Amstrad PCW
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ILEX is an imprint of The Ilex Press Ltd without a similar condition including these words
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Sharp MZ-80K BBC Micro Nintendo Famicom/NES Acorn Archimedes
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038_41 086_89 134_137 182_185
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ISBN 1-904705-39-1 Atari 400/800 Commodore 64 Acorn Electron NeXT Cube
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Design Manager: Tony Seddon including photocopying, recording, or information Texas Instruments TI-99/4 Sinclair ZX Spectrum Sony MSX Post History: 1989 to Present
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digital : retro
1 982 The Vectrex began life in early 1981 after Western Technologies/Smith Engineering
acquired a number of 5in cathode ray tubes from a liquidator’s surplus store. Employees
Mike Purvis and John Ross suggested they could be used as the display of an all-in-one
games console, an idea which head of engineering Jay Smith approved.
The project started life as the Mini Arcade and was initially optioned by Kenner
before The General Consumer Electronics company (GCE) licensed it that fall. GCE’s
boss Ed Krakauer liked the idea of the console, but changed the screen size to 9in.
John Ross designed the hardware, with Gerry Karr and John Hall writing its ROM which
was called The Executive.
Hall later left to write the Mine Storm game which was built into the console,
leaving Karr to rewrite the ROM with the help of Duncan Muirhead who developed many
of the trigonometric routines. After rejecting the name Vector-X in a brainstorming
session, the final Vectrex name was coined.
GCE / MB
The Vectrex was unique amongst its peers, not just for having a built-in screen,
but one which employed oscilloscope vector technology. This could draw perfectly
straight diagonal lines, unlike the jagged staircases of the common raster technology.
Vectrex
Since the display was black and white though, Vectrex games were supplied with clip-
on colored acetate overlays.
098_99 Manufacturer: GCE / Milton Bradley Launched: June 1982
Model: Vectrex Country of Origin: USA
SPECIFICATION COMPANY HISTORY Europe. It employed a spinner to
CPU model: Motorola 6809 While the Vectrex was originally launched determine how far a player could proceed,
Speed: 1MHz by GCE, the company most associated which inspired Bradley to devise his own
RAM: 3.5KB with it was games giant Milton Bradley, board game.
Special features: 9in black and
which acquired GCE in 1983. Milton In Bradley’s Checkered Game of Life,
white vector monitor, control panel
Bradley the company was formed by the players used a spinning dial to plot their
with four buttons and self-centering
man of the same name in 1864. Bradley, course around a board, hoping to land on
analogue joystick
born in Vienna, Maine, started his career in squares leading to happy retirement and
Local price at launch:$199
printing, opening Massachusetts’s first not bankruptcy. By 1861, Bradley had sold
color lithography shop in 1860. over 45,000 copies and three years later
Soon after opening his shop, Bradley met formed his own company to sell these and
with a friend who had a new board game other printed games.
believed to have been imported from
digital : retro
1 982
GCE / MB
Vectrex
100_101 Manufacturer: GCE / Milton Bradley
Model: Vectrex
WHAT HAPPENED NExT based arcade coin-ops, several raster-
GCE launched the Vectrex at the June based titles were successfully converted
1982 Consumer Electronics Show. With a including Scramble and Berzerk.
built-in screen, loudspeaker and arcade- In spring 1983, GCE was bought by DID YOU kNOW?
style controls, it was the closest thing to Milton Bradley, which allowed the Vectrex As with other games consoles of the
having a coin-op at home; indeed the to be sold throughout Europe. By early period, the Vectrex enjoyed several
supplied Mine Storm game was arguably 1984, though, the video games market peripherals and rumors of many more.
the most accurate home version of Atari had crashed, forcing the end of Vectrex Along with a spare control panel for two-
Asteroids, which itself employed a vector production. Hasbro bought Milton player games, a lightpen was released
display. While the best Vectrex games like Bradley later that year. with a simple art package. 3D glasses
Web Warp were also inspired from vector- which also delivered basic color were
also developed, but barely made it beyond
demonstrations at trade shows.
Color graphics was something the
The Vectrex took a very Vectrex desperately wanted, and a number
different approach to other
of color prototype versions were
systems at the time. By not
developed, but none came to market.
including a second controller,
There was even a rumor of a home
which other consoles did, the
computer add-on unit. Legend has it
Vectrex moved further away
from the Pong heritage. Western Technologies/Smith Engineering
Equally the inclusion of a began work on a handheld Vectrex in 1988,
screen prevented monopolizing perhaps using Sinclair’s pocket flat TV
7 8
the family TV space. technology, but Nintendo’s GameBoy
handheld scuppered the plan.
digital : retro
1 982 Newbury Labs completed Radionics work and announced the NewBrain with a
handful of working prototypes in 1980. The NewBrain certainly looked way ahead
of its time: a portable computer about the size of a hardback book, with options for
a built-in display and battery operation.
The cream case with brown keys and lettering may have matched Newbury
Labs’ colors, but this was more fortuitous coincidence than actual design. The
prototype NewBrains only sported these colors because that’s what the case
manufacturer had available at the time. The final models were to be red and gray,
but since this would involve retooling at additional cost, the prototype cream and
brown cases made it to the stores.
Newbury then went through a process of streamlining, with its MD leaving
to join the Grundy Group and the NewBrain following shortly afterwards. Grundy
Business Systems (GBS) was set up in late 1981 to market and produce the
Grundy
NewBrain, which eventually made it to the shops in the summer of 1982.
The NewBrain Model A cost £233 and featured a 4MHz Z80A processor,
display resolutions up to 640 x 250 pixels, and 32KB of RAM expandable to a
NewBrain
massive 2MB. The £267 AD model additionally boasted a 16-character green
fluorescent display and the ability to run from an optional battery.
102_103 Manufacturer: Grundy Business Launched: July 1982
Systems Country of Origin: England
Name: NewBrain
SPECIFICATION COMPANY HISTORY was the designer and Basil Smith worked
CPU model: Z80A The NewBrain computer was connected to on software, but before it could be
Speed: 4MHz three different companies before finally completed, NEB ran into troubles and
RAM: 32KB being launched. The project began at Clive announced plans to sell off Radionics’
Special features: AD model
Sinclair’s Radionics company, originally calculator and TV interests.
featured built-in 16 character
founded 25 July 1961. Sinclair had NEB thought the Radionics computer too
display and optional battery
previously launched the Mk14 computer promising to abandon, so transferred it to
Local price at launch: £233
kit in 1977 and was keen to follow it up another government-funded company,
(Model A), £267 (Model AD)
with a highly affordable system for the VDU manufacturer Newbury Labs.
man on the street. Radionics was subsequently closed in
Work began on the new Radionics mid-1979, with Sinclair taking a golden
computer during the summer of 1978, handshake and starting work on the Zx80
funded by the Uk Government’s National under his Science of Cambridge brand.
Enterprise Board, NEB. Mike Wakefield
digital : retro
1 982
Grundy
NewBrain
INPUT/OUTPUT
104_105 Manufacturer: Grundy Business 1 2x tape (1200 baud)
Systems 2 RGB
Name: NewBrain 3 UHF
4 2x RS232c (the one marked
“printer” lacked an in line)
5 Z80 bus
WHAT HAPPENED NExT collapse forced the Grundy Group to pull
The NewBrain boasted an impressive the plug on GBS later that year. Some time
array of expansion options including the afterwards the remaining NewBrain stock
ability to run CPM, but few were available was bought by Dutch company Tradecom,
at launch and there was little quality which had a government contract to
software, too. Worse, while impressive supply schools in Holland with computers.
when announced in 1980, the NewBrain Subsequent developments from
had simply lost its chance by the time it Norwegian and Danish companies saw the
finally went on sale. Over-production of NewBrain enjoy its final days equipped
NewBrains in 1983 as the market began to with the peripherals it deserved.
The NewBrain’s second tape DID YOU kNOW? difficulties at Newbury Labs forced the
socket made it possible to read Legend has it the NewBrain was originally BBC to look elsewhere.
data in one, perform ear marked to become the BBC Micro. What’s known for sure is Chris Curry from
calculations and output the
The BBC was on the lookout for a British Acorn got wind the BBC was looking for a
results to another. One machine
home computer to brand for its new TV computer to brand and persuaded them
found a home at the Angolan
series and campaign, and the early to consider the Proton. Acorn won the
Ministry of Commerce, doing
NewBrain specification appeared to fit the contract and the Proton was developed
the job of an IBM 370
7 8
mainframe, the cassettes acting bill. The story goes that production into the BBC Micro.
a little like punched cards.
digital : retro
1 982 Oric was formed out of Tangerine Computer Systems to exploit the booming home
computer market. With backing from British Car Auctions, Oric began development
of a machine based on Paul Kaufman’s earlier Tangerine Tiger concepts, but aimed
squarely at the mass market. While the case, keyboard, memory and pricing would
pitch the new machine directly against the likes of Sinclair’s ZX Spectrum, the
internal specifications were much more impressive.
While most systems of this price exclusively employed RF outputs for TV
displays, Oric’s machine also offered an RGB monitor interface. It additionally
featured a Centronics printer interface as standard, and rather than using the Z80A
processor, Oric opted for the 6502A. After the ZX Spectrum’s weak beeps, gamers
were also delighted to find a powerful General Instruments 8912 sound chip that
belted out four channels of audio from a large built-in loudspeaker. The four sound
effects, EXPLODE, SHOOT, ZAP and PING could often be heard across busy stores.
The new machine was announced in fall 1982, but it wasn’t officially
launched until January the following year. Oric secured deals to supply over 200,000
units to six major UK retailers, promising more power than the Spectrum, but at a
Dragon 32
lower price. The Oric-1 delivered on both counts, although it only barely undercut
the Spectrum at £99.95 and £169.95 for the 16KB and 48KB versions.
106_107 Manufacturer: Dragon Data Launched: August 1982
Name: Dragon 32 Country of Origin: Wales, UK
SPECIFICATION COMPANY HISTORY Swansea, in Wales, where it distributed
CPU model: Motorola 6809 Dragon Data was formed in the mid- Canadian Aurora plastic-model kits along
Speed: 1MHz Seventies as a division of English toy with marketing the Playtown range of
RAM: 32KB manufacturer Mettoy, founded by Philip railway construction kits. Mettoy later
Special features: Uncanny
Ullman in 1933. Ullman, once the abandoned tin-plate toys in favor of die-
resemblance to Tandy TRS-80
proprietor of German tin-plate toy cast models, which included the legendary
Color Computer
company Tipp & Co., had escaped the rise Corgi brand. As Mettoy evolved, it became
Local price at launch: £199
of the Nazis by setting up a new company sufficiently large to justify setting up its
in the UK using money owed to him by own computer bureau division to process
British department store Marks & Spencer. data for smaller companies. Based in
He subsequently founded Mettoy in Wales, it was named Dragon Data, after
Northampton, naming it after “metal toys.” that country’s national emblem.
After the war, Mettoy relocated to
digital : retro
1 982 Dragon’s domestic marketing
campaign centered not only on
the machine’s UK heritage but
also on its robustness, boasting
of the high-quality, typewriter-
style keyboard—“guaranteed
for twenty million
depressions”—and a case
strong enough to support a
television set or monitor.
Dragon 32
108_109 Manufacturer: Dragon Data
Name: Dragon 32
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT market began to slump that winter,
While UK retailers W.H. Smith and John though, GEC took over management.
Menzies had their hands full with Sinclair In May 1984, GEC Dragon announced a
and Commodore computers, Dragon Data portable 64KB model and spoke of two
secured deals with Boots, Comet and new systems, including a drive-packed
Dixons (a large chain drugstore and two Dragon 64 and dual-6809 machine. One
INPUT/OUTPUT retail electronics stores, respectively) to month later, though, Dragon announced
1 RF TV out sell its new machine. By 1983, no fewer bankruptcy. Spanish company Eurohard
2 2x analog joystick than 40,000 units had been sold. SA bought Dragon Data, supplying around
3 Cassette
With investment from Prudential and the 20,000 Dragons to Spanish schools. Most
4 Centronics parallel port
Welsh Development Agency, Dragon Data were actually given away, with Eurohard
5 Cartridge slot
expanded and launched the Dragon 64 in gradually closing its factories over the
6 Composite monitor
the UK and US in autumn 1983. As the subsequent years.
DID YOU KNOW?
A little-known fact about Dragon Data was
that it produced a software package for
the UK agriculture community that allowed
farmers to keep track of cows and other
livestock. This Farm Fax package was sold
with the Dragon 32 as part of a
government scheme to encourage farmers
7 8
to use computers.
digital : retro
1 982 The Jupiter ACE was designed by Richard Altwasser and Steve Vickers, who were
previously responsible for much of the Sinclair ZX Spectrum.
Unsurprisingly, given their previous work with Sinclair, Vickers and Altwasser
adopted that company’s successful strategy of designing a computer to meet a
strict price point. The Jupiter ACE was a highly compact system with a chicklet-style
keyboard and a startling resemblance to the Sinclair ZX81, only finished in white
with red stripes.
The ACE’s insides were also closer to the ZX81’s than to the Spectrum’s,
with the same 3.5MHz Z80A processor and just 3 KB of RAM. Unlike the ZX81,
though, the ACE did feature sound capabilities. Oddly, after making color a standard
in the Spectrum, Altwasser and Vickers equipped the ACE with black-and-white
graphics.
At the time, as virtually every machine came with BASIC, Vickers and
Jupiter
Altwasser felt it would be difficult to compete. So they chose the FORTH
programming language as a unique selling point. FORTH had the benefit of being
both compact and fast—which fit the ACE’s specifications perfectly—and it was
ACE
also enjoying a high profile after a special edition of BYTE magazine.
The use of FORTH and a modest hardware specification allowed the Jupiter
ACE to be both fast and inexpensive, retailing for just £89.99.
110_111 Manufacturer: Jupiter Cantab Launched: September 1982
Name: ACE Country of Origin: England
SPECIFICATION COMPANY HISTORY working on Sinclair’s tough deadlines but
CPU model: Z80A Jupiter Cantab was formed by Steve now wanted to be their own bosses. They
Speed: 3.5MHz Vickers and Richard Altwasser in 1982. initially traded under the name Rainbow,
RAM: 3KB Vickers had worked for John Grant’s Nine the name Altwasser had originally
Special features: First home
Tiles company, which wrote the code for suggested Sinclair should call the
computer to employ FORTH
Sinclair’s computers, while Altwasser machine which became the ZX Spectrum.
programming language
had worked for Sinclair Research itself. Upon discovering that Rainbow was
Local price at launch: £89.99
The pair are credited for much of the already in use, they chose Jupiter Cantab
Spectrum, Vickers writing instead. Cantab is short for
its ROM and Altwasser designing Cantabridgian (meaning “of Cambridge”).
its hardware. It seemed appropriate: Both Vickers and
After completing the Spectrum, Altwasser held University of Cambridge
Altwasser and Vickers decided to start degrees and had worked with Sinclair
their own company. Both had enjoyed there.
digital : retro
1 982 The ACE’s marketing was
targeted firmly at the hobbyist-
programmer market created by
computers like the Sinclair
ZX80. Whereas other ads
highlighted family credentials
like joystick ports and
educational software, the ACE’s
campaign focused on the speed
of processing certain
instructions. One thousand
empty-look instructions would
take, for example, 0.12 seconds
on the ACE, compared to 0.67
seconds on the BBC Micro
Jupiter and 17.7 seconds on the
Spectrum ZX81.
ACE
112_113 Manufacturer: Jupiter Cantab
Name: ACE
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT Boldfield then commissioned software, DID YOU KNOW?
The Jupiter ACE sold well to people who including games and a database, and In 1986, Richard Altwasser joined
were happy to play with FORTH, but sadly, introduced accessories like memory packs, Amstrad, which had since bought the
it never grew beyond that market because monitor adapters and a full-size keyboard. rights to produce Sinclair’s ZX range. On
it never built up a large body of software. These and the ACE were sold via mail his first day, Altwasser was called into the
By 1984, Jupiter Cantab had gone bust, the order, but Boldfield never built any more office of Bob Watkins (now Amstrad’s
liquidators selling its remaining stocks and units, instead running the project down group development and manufacturing
FORTH rights to Boldfield Computing. after a couple of years as stocks dried up. director) to look over some circuit
diagrams. Altwasser recalls, “I don't know
whether Bob or I was more surprised to
see that they were of the Spectrum, drawn
INPUT/OUTPUT
and signed by me several years earlier.”
1 UHF TV out
2 User port
3 Tape (1500 baud)
4 Z80 bus
The FORTH programming
language runs programs three
to ten times faster than BASIC,
7 8
but it is procedure-based and
harder to learn.
digital : retro