MSX is a standardized home computer architecture, announced by ASCII Corporation on June 16, 1983. It was initially conceived by Microsoft as a product for the Eastern sector, and jointly marketed by Kazuhiko Nishi, the director at ASCII Corporation. Microsoft and Nishi conceived the project as an attempt to create unified standards among various home computing system manufacturers of the period, in the same fashion as the VHS standard for home video tape machines. The first MSX computer sold to the public was a Mitsubishi ML-8000, released on October 21, 1983, thus marking its official release date.
Tiki-100 was a desktop home/personal computer manufactured by Tiki Data of Oslo, Norway. The computer was launched in the spring of 1984 under the original name Kontiki-100, and was first and foremost intended for the emerging educational sector, especially for primary schools. Early prototypes had 4 KB ROM, and the '100' in the machine's name was based on the total KB amount of memory.
MSX BASIC is a dialect of the BASIC programming language. It is an extended version of Microsoft's MBASIC Version 4.5, adding support for graphic, music, and various peripherals attached to MSX microcomputers. Generally, MSX BASIC is designed to follow GW-BASIC, released the same year for IBM PCs and clones. During the creation of MSX BASIC, effort was made to make the system flexible and expandable.
The X68000 is a home computer created by Sharp Corporation. It was first released in 1987 and sold only in Japan.
The Tatung Einstein was an eight-bit home/personal computer produced by Taiwanese corporation Tatung, designed in Bradford, England at Tatung's research laboratories and assembled in Bridgnorth and Telford, England. It was aimed primarily at small businesses.
MicroBee was a series of networkable home computers by Applied Technology, which became publicly listed company MicroBee Systems Limited soon after its release. The original Microbee computer was designed in Australia by a team including Owen Hill and Matthew Starr.
The Yamaha V9958 is a Video Display Processor used in the MSX2+ and MSX turbo R series of home computers, as the successor to the Yamaha V9938 used in the MSX2. The main new features are three graphical YJK modes with up to 19268 colors and horizontal scrolling registers. The V9958 was not as widely adopted as the V9938.
The Yamaha V9938 is a video display processor (VDP) used on the MSX2 home computer, as well as on the Geneve 9640 enhanced TI-99/4A clone and the Tatung Einstein 256. It was also used in a few MSX1 computers, in a configuration with 16kB VRAM.
The SV-328 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Spectravideo in June 1983. It was the business-targeted model of the Spectravideo range, sporting a compact full-travel keyboard with numeric keypad. It had 80 KB RAM, a respectable amount for its time. Other than the keyboard and RAM, this machine was identical to its little brother, the SV-318.
The Geneve 9640 is an enhanced TI-99/4A clone. It was sold by the company Myarc as a card to fit into the Texas Instruments TI Peripheral Expansion System. Released in 1987, it is in many ways similar to the earlier TI-99/8, which was in prototype form in early 1983. The Geneve 9640 was designed by Paul Charlton, and the graphical swan on the boot up screen was designed by Mi-Kyung Kim.
The FM-7 is a home computer created by Fujitsu. It was first released in 1982 and was sold in Japan and Spain. It is a stripped-down version of Fujitsu's earlier FM-8 computer, and during development it was referred to as the "FM-8 Jr.".
Vector-06C is a home computer with unique graphics capabilities that was designed and mass-produced in USSR in the late 1980s.
The Spectravideo SVI-738 X'Press is an MSX1 compatible home computer manufactured by Spectravideo from 1985. Although compatible with the MSX 1.0 standard, it incorporates several extensions to the standard ; many are hardware-compatible with the MSX 2.0 standard but the system as a whole is not, leading to it being referred to as an "MSX 1.5" computer.
The Philips NMS-8250, was a professional MSX 2 home computer for the high end market, with two built in floppy disk drives in a "pizza box" configuration. The machine was in fact manufactured by Sanyo and it is basically the MPC-25FS with a different color.
An MSX-ENGINE chip is a specially developed integrated circuit for home computers that are built according to the MSX specifications. Generally, such a chip combines the functions of many separate, older/simpler chips into one. This is done to reduce required circuit board space, power consumption, and production costs for complete systems.
The Yamaha Y8950 is a sound chip, produced in 1984. It is also known as MSX-Audio as it was designed for inclusion in an expansion cartridge for the MSX personal computer.
The Matsushita JR series was a line of microcomputers produced by Matsushita Electric Industrial during the 1980s. Based on the success of the Sharp MZ and NEC PC-8000 series, it was an attempt by Matsushita to enter the personal computer market.
The HB-F9P was a Sony MSX2-computer, launched in 1985. The abbreviation HB stands for Hit Bit.
The MZ-2500, also known as the Super MZ, is an 8-bit personal computer released on 1 October 1985 as part of the Sharp MZ series.[1][2] It is a successor to the MZ-2000/2200 and a direct successor to the MZ-80B From the previous generation. The MZ-2000 was a model that was given significant functions along with a faster processing speed. It is also the final model of the entire 8-bit MZ series with its architecture. It is sometimes referred to as the best 8-bit machine along with the 6809 FM77AV and the MB-S1. In Japanese computer magazines, the MZ-2500 was also called 'The Phoenix'. Its successor was the Sharp MZ-2861 which has a compatible mode and a newly developed 16-bit mode. The development code is LEY and can be found in the circuit diagram.
