Also known as | C900, Z-8000, Z-Machine |
---|---|
Developer | Commodore |
Manufacturer | Commodore |
Type | Desktop |
Units shipped | Fifty prototypes built |
Media | 1.2 MB 5.25" floppy disks [1] |
Operating system | Coherent |
CPU | Zilog Z8001 @ 10 MHz [1] |
Memory | 512 KB RAM [1] |
Storage | 20 MB hard drive [1] |
Display | 1024×800 |
Graphics | MOS Technology 8563 |
Sound | None |
Predecessor | Commodore PET |
The Commodore 900 (also known as the C900, Z-8000, and Z-Machine) [2] [3] was a prototype microcomputer originally intended for business computing and, later, as an affordable UNIX workstation. [4] [5] [6] It was to replace the aging PET/CBM families of personal computers that had found success in Europe as business machines. The project was initiated in 1983 by Commodore systems engineers Frank W. Hughes, Robert Russell, and Shiraz Shivji. [7]
In early 1983, Commodore announced an agreement with Zilog to adopt the Z8000 family of processors for its next generation of computers, conferring rights to Commodore to manufacture these processors and for Zilog to manufacture various Commodore-designed integrated circuit products. Zilog was to manufacture components for Commodore's computers, allowing Commodore to expand its own semiconductor operation. [8] Commodore had reportedly been developing its own 16-bit microprocessor, abandoning this effort to adopt the Z8000. [9]
The C900 was a 16-bit computer based on the segmented version of the Zilog Z8000 CPU. [10] Initial announcements indicated the use of a 10 MHz Z8001 processor, [1] but earlier technical documentation suggested the use of a 6 MHz part and detailed the option of a Z8070 arithmetic processing unit (APU) running at 24 MHz. [3] The specification as announced in 1984 featured 256 KB of RAM and a 10 MB hard drive, [11] but subsequently settled on 512 KB of RAM and a 20 MB hard drive as the minimum configuration, with 40 MB and 67 MB hard drives offered as options. [4] A minimum configuration system had been expected to provide only 128 KB of RAM and a 320 KB floppy drive, selling for under $1,000. [12]
Two versions of the machine were developed: a workstation with 1024 × 800 pixel graphics and a multi-user system featuring a text-only display intended to act as a server for a number of connected character-based terminals. [10] [4] For the text-only configuration and for lower-resolution graphical output, the system employed the MOS Technology 8563 video controller, [13] this supporting an 80 × 25 colour textual display or a 600 × 400 colour graphical display. [3] The high-resolution display option employed 128 KB of dedicated video memory and featured hardware support for blitting operations, this being employed by a graphical environment featuring "multiple overlapping windows". [4]
The C900 ran Coherent, a UNIX-like operating system, [4] claimed in publicity as being "fully compatible with AT&T's Unix System V, version 5.2", [1] [14] although the Coherent system was generally regarded as merely providing a level of compatibility with Version 7 Unix. [15] Some observers found the choice of an earlier form of Unix "surprising" given the availability of more recent versions and of Zilog's commitment among other manufacturers to promote System V as the industry standard for Unix. [11] Onyx Systems, a pioneer of Z8000-based systems running Unix, had previously delivered ports of Version 7 Unix [16] and Unix System III for their computers. [17]
Manufacturing of the system was to commence in 1985 at Commodore International's West Germany plant, with availability in the United States announced for the third quarter of the same year, and with pricing starting from approximately $2,700. [14] The machine was publicly demonstrated for the first time outside the US at the 1985 Hanover Fair, with interest in the product described as "overwhelming". [18] Ultimately, only fifty prototypes were made and sold as development systems before the project was cancelled.
The C900's case is similar to the Amiga 2000's but slightly larger.
Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the company's 8-bit home computers. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985, and was widely available in July. It was the first personal computer with a bitmapped color graphical user interface, using a version of Digital Research's GEM interface / operating system from February 1985.
The Amiga 1000, also known as the A1000, is the first personal computer released by Commodore International in the Amiga line. It combines the 16/32-bit Motorola 68000 CPU which was powerful by 1985 standards with one of the most advanced graphics and sound systems in its class. It runs a preemptive multitasking operating system that fits into 256 KB of read-only memory and was shipped with 256 KB of RAM. The primary memory can be expanded internally with a manufacturer-supplied 256 KB module for a total of 512 KB of RAM. Using the external slot the primary memory can be expanded up to 8.5 MB.
Commodore International Corporation was a Bahamian home computer and electronics manufacturer with executive offices in the United States founded by Jack Tramiel and Irving Gould. Commodore International (CI), along with its subsidiary Commodore Business Machines (CBM), was a significant participant in the development of the home computer industry in the 1970s to early 1990s. In 1982, the company developed and marketed the world's second-best selling computer, the Commodore 64, and released its Amiga computer line in July 1985. Commodore was one of the world's largest personal computer manufacturers, with sales peaking in the last quarter of 1983 at $49 million.
Zilog, Inc. is an American manufacturer of microprocessors, microcontrollers, and application-specific embedded system-on-chip (SoC) products.
Amiga Unix is a discontinued full port of AT&T Unix System V Release 4 operating system developed by Commodore-Amiga, Inc. in 1990 for the Amiga computer family as an alternative to AmigaOS, which shipped by default.
Coherent is a clone of the Unix operating system for IBM PC compatibles and other microcomputers, developed and sold by the now-defunct Mark Williams Company (MWC). Historically, the operating system was a proprietary product, but it became open source in 2015, released under the BSD-3-Clause license.
The Zilog Z8000 is a 16-bit microprocessor designed by Zilog in early 1979.
The PERQ, also referred to as the Three Rivers PERQ or ICL PERQ, is a pioneering workstation computer produced in the late 1970s through the early 1980s. It is the first commercially-produced personal workstation with a graphical user interface (GUI). The design of the PERQ was heavily influenced by the original workstation computer, the Xerox Alto, which was never commercially produced. The workstation was conceived by six former Carnegie Mellon University alumni and employees: Brian S. Rosen, James R. Teter, William H. Broadley, J. Stanley Kriz, Raj Reddy and Paul G. Newbury, who formed the startup Three Rivers Computer Corporation (3RCC) in 1974.
The Atari TT030 is a member of the Atari ST family, released in 1990. It was originally intended to be a high-end Unix workstation, but Atari took two years to release a port of Unix SVR4 for the TT, which prevented the TT from ever being seriously considered in its intended market.
The Acorn Business Computer (ABC) was a series of microcomputers announced at the end of 1983 by the British company Acorn Computers. The series of eight computers was aimed at the business, research and further education markets. Demonstrated at the Personal Computer World Show in September 1984, having been under development for "about a year" and having been undergoing field trials from May 1984, the range "understandably attracted a great deal of attention" and was favourably received by some commentators. The official launch of the range was scheduled for January 1985.
The VAXstation is a discontinued family of workstation computers developed and manufactured by Digital Equipment Corporation using processors implementing the VAX instruction set architecture. VAXstation systems were typically shipped with either the OpenVMS or ULTRIX operating systems. Many members of the VAXstation family had corresponding MicroVAX variants, which primarily differ by the lack of graphics hardware.
The MicroVAX is a discontinued family of low-cost minicomputers developed and manufactured by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC). The first model, the MicroVAX I, was first shipped in 1984. They used processors that implemented the VAX instruction set architecture (ISA) and were succeeded by the VAX 4000. Many members of the MicroVAX family had corresponding VAXstation variants, which primarily differ by the addition of graphics hardware. The MicroVAX family supports Digital's VMS, ULTRIX and VAXELN operating systems. Prior to VMS V5.0, MicroVAX hardware required a dedicated version of VMS named MicroVMS.
The Z-89 is a personal computer introduced in 1979 by Heathkit, but produced primarily by Zenith Data Systems (ZDS) in the early 1980s. It combined an updated version of the Heathkit H8 microcomputer and H19 terminal in a new case that also provided room for a built-in floppy disk on the right side of the display. Based on the Zilog Z80 microprocessor it is capable of running CP/M as well as Heathkit's own HDOS.
The Amiga 4000T, also known as A4000T, is a tower version of Commodore's A4000 personal computer. Using the AGA chipset, it was originally released in small quantities in 1994 with a 25 MHz Motorola 68040 CPU, and re-released in greater numbers by Escom in 1995, after Commodore's demise, along with a new variant which featured a 50 MHz Motorola 68060 CPU. Despite the subsequent demise of Escom, production was continued by QuikPak in North America into at least 1998.
Torch Computers Ltd was a computer hardware company with origins in a 1982 joint venture between Acorn Computers and Climar Group that led to the development of the Communicator or C-series computer, a system based on the BBC Micro with a Z80 second processor and integral modem, intended as a viewdata terminal.
Altos Computer Systems was founded in 1977 by David G. Jackson and Roger William Vass Sr. It focused on small multi-user computers, starting with multi-user derivatives of CP/M, and later including Unix and Xenix-based machines. In its 1982 initial public offering on NASDAQ, the company raised $59M. Thereafter the company's stock was traded under the symbol ALTO.
Onyx Systems, Inc. was a computer hardware and software company founded in Cupertino, California in 1979 by Bob Marsh and Kip Myers, former managers in Zilog's systems group. It was one of the earliest vendors of microprocessor-based Unix systems.
The Olivetti M20 is a Zilog Z8000 based computer designed and released by Olivetti in 1982. Although it offered good performance, it suffered from a lack of software due to its use of the Z8000 processor and custom operating system, PCOS. The company introduced the IBM PC compatible Olivetti M24 in 1983 and the M20 line was phased out.
3D Microcomputers Wholesale and Distribution, Inc., often referred to as 3D Microcomputers or 3D Micro, was a computer company based in Markham, Ontario. The company was among the top five personal computer vendors in Canada in the mid-1990s. The company was partially owned by Hong Kong–based computer manufacturer PC Chips for several years; many of the parts for 3D Micro's computers were of overseas origin.
Quasar Data Products Inc. (QDP), later QDP Computer Systems Inc., was an American computer company based in 1979 in North Olmsted, Ohio, United States. The company was founded by Brian A. Catalucci and Dave L. Kelley, the former a trained engineer who had previously worked as an airline pilot.
Coherent appears to be nearly a clone of UNIX Version 7, an older release of UNIX that has since been replaced by System III and System V. I write "appears to be" because the Coherent manual doesn't say it is based on UNIX.