RCA's VP 3000 Interactive Data Terminals were a family of portable computer terminals housed in compact keyboard-like cases, but notable for their use of a color-coded membrane keyboard. The systems supported color output to a television with 20 and 40 character-per-line modes, and an optional built-in modem. It was first advertised in September 1982.
The VP series started life as an upgrade to RCA's COSMAC VIP kit-computer, originally to be known as the VIP II. Unlike the original VIP, which was a bare motherboard for hobbyists, the VIP II would be a complete home computer. Most of the new features were added through a series of expansion cards built into the chassis, most of which already existed as add-on cards for the VIP. Although some marketing material was produced in 1979, [1] and RCA suggested it would be available "some time next year" at a price around $400, [2] the VIP II was never released.
Instead, the design was re-purposed as a terminal system by replacing the ROMs with ones containing a simple terminal program and optionally adding a modem. The machines were otherwise the same as the VIP II, which is why it included color output, a "tone generator", and the relatively limited 40-column output in an era when 80-column was the standard for terminals.
The main model, the VP 3501 included a 300 bit/s modem, an RF modulator for connection to any conventional color television, and the keyboard included a 16-key numeric keypad. The VP 3303 removed the modem and keypad, while the VP 3301 removed the RF modulator as well. The terminals were quite inexpensive, with the 3501 selling for $275 (715 in 2020), while the 3301 was only $255. [3]
RCA also sold the systems as stand-alone keyboards as the VP 600 series. The VP 616 had an RS-232 serial port and calculator keypad while the VP 606 removed the keypad. The VP 611 replaced the 616's serial port with an 8-bit parallel port, suitable for being feeding into a typical microcomputer keyboard controller like the one on most S-100 bus machines. The VP 601 removed the keypad from the 611. The 616 sold for $68, while the 601 was only $56. [3]
The Amiga 600, also known as the A600, is a home computer introduced in March 1992. It is the final Amiga model based on the Motorola 68000 and the 1990 Amiga Enhanced Chip Set. A redesign of the Amiga 500 Plus, it adds the option of an internal hard disk drive and a PCMCIA port. Lacking a numeric keypad, the A600 is only slightly larger than an IBM PC keyboard and weighing approximately 6 pounds. It shipped with AmigaOS 2.0, which was considered more user-friendly than earlier versions of the operating system.
The Commodore VIC-20 is an 8-bit home computer that was sold by Commodore Business Machines. The VIC-20 was announced in 1980, roughly three years after Commodore's first personal computer, the PET. The VIC-20 was the first computer of any description to sell one million units. It was described as "one of the first anti-spectatorial, non-esoteric computers by design...no longer relegated to hobbyist/enthusiasts or those with money, the computer Commodore developed was the computer of the future."
The Apple IIe is the third model in the Apple II series of personal computers produced by Apple Computer. The e in the name stands for enhanced, referring to the fact that several popular features were now built-in that were formerly only available as upgrades or add-ons in earlier models. Improved expandability combined with the new features made for a very attractive general-purpose machine to first-time computer shoppers. As the last surviving model of the Apple II computer line before discontinuation, and having been manufactured and sold for nearly 11 years with relatively few changes, the IIe earned the distinction of being the longest-lived computer in Apple's history.
The Apple IIc, the fourth model in the Apple II series of personal computers, is Apple Computer's first endeavor to produce a portable computer. The result was a 7.5 lb (3.4 kg) notebook-sized version of the Apple II that could be transported from place to place — a portable alternative and complement to the Apple IIe. The c in the name stood for compact, referring to the fact it was essentially a complete Apple II computer setup squeezed into a small notebook-sized housing. While sporting a built-in floppy drive and new rear peripheral expansion ports integrated onto the main logic board, it lacks the internal expansion slots and direct motherboard access of earlier Apple II models, making it a closed system like the Macintosh. However, that was the intended direction for this model — a more appliance-like machine, ready to use out of the box, requiring no technical know-how or experience to hook up and therefore attractive to first-time users.
Tangerine Computer Systems was a British microcomputer company founded in 1979 by Dr. Paul Johnson, Mark Rainer and Nigel Penton Tilbury in St. Ives, Cambridgeshire.
The Commodore SX-64, also known as the Executive 64, or VIP-64 in Europe, is a portable, briefcase/suitcase-size "luggable" version of the popular Commodore 64 home computer and the first full-color portable computer.
The Netronics ELF II was an early microcomputer trainer kit featuring the RCA 1802 microprocessor, 256 bytes of RAM, DMA-based bitmap graphics, hexadecimal keypad, two digit hexadecimal LED display, a single "Q" LED, and 5 expansion slots. The system was developed and sold by Netronics Research and Development Limited in New Milford, CT, USA.
The COSMAC VIP (1977) [VIP means Video Interface Processor] was an early microcomputer that was aimed at video games. Essentially, it was a COSMAC ELF with a supplementary CDP1861/CDP1864 video display chip. For a price of US$275, it could be purchased from RCA by mail order. It came in kit form, and had to be assembled. Its dimensions were 22 x 28 cm, and it had a RCA 1802 processor; along with a crystal clock operating at 1.76 MHz. It had 2 KB of RAM, which could be expanded to 4 KB on board, and 32 KB via an expansion slot. Its 5V DC CDP18S023 power supply had an output of 600 mA. I/O ports could be added to connect to sensors, interface relays, an ASCII keyboard, or a printer.
Microprofessor III, introduced in 1983, was Multitech's third branded computer product and also (arguably) one of the first Apple IIe clones. Unlike the two earlier computers, its design was influenced by the IBM personal computer. Because of some additional functions in the ROM and different graphics routines, the MPF III was not totally compatible with the original Apple IIe computer.
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 rather crowded 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.
Apple Inc. has designed and released dozens of keyboard models since the introduction of the Apple II in 1977. The current models in use are dual-mode keyboards with integrated batteries: Magic Keyboard, and Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad. Both share a similar look and feel, based on a very thin aluminum chassis and laptop-style low-profile keys, sitting much closer to the tabletop than traditional keyboard designs.
Sun-1 was the first generation of UNIX computer workstations and servers produced by Sun Microsystems, launched in May 1982. These were based on a CPU board designed by Andy Bechtolsheim while he was a graduate student at Stanford University and funded by DARPA. The Sun-1 systems ran SunOS 0.9, a port of UniSoft's UniPlus V7 port of Seventh Edition UNIX to the Motorola 68000 microprocessor, with no window system. Early Sun-1 workstations and servers used the original Sun logo, a series of red "U"s laid out in a square, rather than the more familiar purple diamond shape used later.
The Amstrad PPC512 and Amstrad PPC640 were the first portable IBM PC compatible computers made by Amstrad. Released in 1988, they were a development of the desktop PC-1512 and PC-1640 models. As portable computers, they contained all the elements necessary to perform computing on the move. They had a keyboard and a monochrome LCD display built in and also had space for disposable batteries to power the PC where a suitable alternative power source was not available. The PCs came with either one or two double density double side floppy disc drives and the PPC640 model also featured a modem. Both models were supplied with 'PPC Organiser' software and the PPC640 was additionally supplied with the 'Mirror II' communications software.
The Twin Famicom is a home video game console that was produced by Sharp Corporation in 1986 and was only released in Japan. It is a licensed Nintendo product that combines the Family Computer (Famicom) and the Family Computer Disk System (FDS) into a single piece of hardware. Sharp removed most Nintendo branding from the system, even going as far as to remove the "Nintendo" branding from the Famicom Disk System startup, replacing it with the same "FAMICOM" logo used on the system itself.
Atari 8-bit computer peripherals include floppy drives, printers, modems, and video game controllers for Atari's 8-bit computer family, which includes the 400/800, XL, XE, and XEGS.
The Sol-20 was the first fully assembled microcomputer with a built-in keyboard and television output, what would later be known as a home computer. The design was a combination of an Intel 8080-based motherboard, a VDM-1 graphics card, the 3P+S I/O card to drive a keyboard, and circuitry to connect to a cassette deck for program storage. Additional expansion was available via five S-100 bus slots at the back of the machine. It also included swappable ROMs with a rudimentary operating system.
This is a list of GameCube accessories.
The Serial Input/Output system, universally known as SIO, was a proprietary peripheral bus and related software protocol stacks used on the Atari 8-bit family to provide most input/output duties for those computers. Unlike most I/O systems of the era, such as RS-232, SIO included a lightweight protocol that allowed multiple devices to be attached to a single daisy-chained port that supported dozens of devices. It also supported plug-and-play operations. SIO's designer, Joe Decuir, credits his work on the system as the basis of USB.
The Sup 'R' Mod II was an RF modulator sold by M&R Enterprises in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It allowed the connection of computers and other devices with composite video outputs to a television.
The West PC-800 is a home computer introduced by Norwegian company West Computer AS in 1984. The computer was designed as an alarm center allowing use of several CPUs and operating systems. The company introduced an IBM PC compatible in early 1986 and the West PC-800 line was phased out.