|
Aamber Pegasus
300px, Aamber Pegasus PCB with MONITOR 1.0, FORTH 1.1A and FORTH 1.1B EPROMs installed. The Aamber Pegasus is a home computer first produced in New Zealand in 1981 by Technosys Research Labs. The hardware was designed by Stewart J Holmes. The software was designed by Paul Gillingwater, Nigel Keam and Paul Carter. It is thought that Apple Computer introduction of the Apple II computer into the New Zealand market, and its subsequent heavy educational discounting was the final nail in the coffin for Technosys and the Aamber Pegasus computer. Total production numbers are unknown, but it is thought "around one hundred" were sold. Technical specifications * CPU: Motorola MC6809C * Memory: 4k RAM, later versions 64k RAM * Input: QWERTY style key-matrix keyboard * Output: TV via RF modulator Software An optional multi ROM board in conjunction with a rotating dial allowed switching between 6 EPROM banks containing multiple language environments, games and applications. The EPROM bas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tiny BASIC
Tiny BASIC is a family of dialects of the BASIC programming language that can fit into 4 or fewer KBs of memory. Tiny BASIC was designed in response to the open letter published by Bill Gates complaining about users pirating Altair BASIC, which sold for $150. Tiny BASIC was intended to be a completely free version of BASIC that would run on the same early microcomputers. Tiny BASIC was released as a specification, not an implementation, published in the September 1975 issue of the People's Computer Company (PCC) newsletter. The article invited programmers to implement it on their machines and send the resulting assembler language implementation back for inclusion in a series of three planned newsletters. Li-Chen Wang, author of Palo Alto Tiny BASIC, coined the term "copyleft" to describe this concept. The community response was so overwhelming that the newsletter was relaunched as Dr. Dobb's Journal, the first regular periodical to focus on microcomputer software. Dr. Dobb's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
6809-based Home Computers
68 may refer to: * 68 (number) * one of the years 68 BC, AD 68, 1968, 2068 * 68 Publishers, a Czech-Canadian publishing firm * '68 (band), an American rock band * '68 (comic book) a comic book series from Image Comics Image Comics is an American comic book publisher and is the third largest comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry in both unit and market share. It was founded in 1992 by several high-profile illustrators as a venue for creator-o ... See also * List of highways numbered 68 {{Numberdis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Poly-1
The Poly-1 was a desktop computer designed in New Zealand for educational use. Background The Poly-1 was developed in 1980 by Neil Scott and Paul Bryant, who at the time were teaching electronics engineering at Wellington Polytechnic (now Massey University's Wellington campus), which the computer was named after. As with the Acorn BBC Micro in Britain, Scott and Bryant saw the increasing need for a fully integrated computer to serve the New Zealand school market, which had the blessing of then Education Minister Merv Wellington. After Scott and Bryant gathered a team of engineers and designers, DFC New Zealand Limited and Lower Hutt-based Progeni Systems — founded by Perce Harpham in 1968 — formed a joint venture, Polycorp, to market and build the Poly-1, which entered production in 1981. A distinctive fibreglass casing was designed to house the computer and monitor as an all-in-one unit, in a similar fashion to the Commodore PET. The Poly-1 came standard with a colour dis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ZX81
The ZX81 is a home computer that was produced by Sinclair Research and manufactured in Dundee, Scotland, by Timex Corporation. It was launched in the United Kingdom in March 1981 as the successor to Sinclair's ZX80 and designed to be a low-cost introduction to home computing for the general public. It was hugely successful; more than 1.5 million units were sold. In the United States it was initially sold as the ZX-81 under licence by Timex. Timex later produced its own versions of the ZX81: the Timex Sinclair 1000 and Timex Sinclair 1500. Unauthorized ZX81 clones were produced in several countries. The ZX81 was designed to be small, simple, and above all, inexpensive, with as few components as possible. Video output is to a television set rather than a dedicated monitor. Programs and data are loaded and saved onto compact audio cassettes. It uses only four silicon chips and a mere 1 KB of memory. It has no power switch or moving parts, with the exception of a V ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Address Line
In computer architecture, a bus (shortened form of the Latin ''omnibus'', and historically also called data highway or databus) is a communication system that transfers data between components inside a computer, or between computers. This expression covers all related hardware components (wire, optical fiber, etc.) and software, including communication protocols. Early computer buses were parallel electrical wires with multiple hardware connections, but the term is now used for any physical arrangement that provides the same logical function as a parallel electrical busbar. Modern computer buses can use both parallel and bit serial connections, and can be wired in either a multidrop (electrical parallel) or daisy chain topology, or connected by switched hubs, as in the case of Universal Serial Bus (USB). Background and nomenclature Computer systems generally consist of three main parts: * The central processing unit (CPU) that processes data, * The memory that holds the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hangman (game)
Hangman is a guessing game for two or more players. One player thinks of a word, phrase or sentence and the other(s) tries to guess it by suggesting letters within a certain number of guesses. Originally a Paper-and-pencil game, there are now electronic versions. History Though the origins of the game are unknown, a variant is mentioned in a book of children's games assembled by Alice Gomme in 1894 called Birds, Beasts, and Fishes. This version lacks the image of a hanged man, instead relying on keeping score as to the number of attempts it took each player to fill in the blanks. A version which incorporated hanging imagery was described in a 1902 ''Philadelphia Inquirer'' article, which stated that it was popular at "White Cap" parties hosted by "Vigilance Committees" where guests would wear "white peaked caps with masks"."A White Cap Party" [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Star Trek (1971 Video Game)
''Star Trek'' is a text-based strategy video game based on the ''Star Trek'' television series and originally released in 1971. In the game, the player commands the USS ''Enterprise'' on a mission to hunt down and destroy an invading fleet of Klingon warships. The player travels through the 64 quadrants of the galaxy to attack enemy ships with phasers and photon torpedoes in turn-based battles and refuel at starbases. The goal is to eliminate all enemies within a random time limit. Mike Mayfield wrote the game in the BASIC programming language for the SDS Sigma 7 mainframe computer with the goal of creating a game like '' Spacewar!'' (1962) that could be played with a teleprinter instead of a graphical display. He then rewrote it for the HP 2000C minicomputer in 1972, and it was included in Hewlett-Packard's public domain software catalog the following year. It was picked up from there by David H. Ahl, who ported it with Mary Cole to BASIC-PLUS and published the sour ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Snake (video Game Genre)
Snake is a sub-genre of action video games where the player maneuvers the end of a growing line, often themed as a snake. The player must keep the snake from colliding with both other obstacles and itself, which gets harder as the snake lengthens. The concept originated in the 1976 two-player arcade video game '' Blockade'' from Gremlin Industries, and the ease of implementation has led to hundreds of versions (some of which have the word ''snake'' or ''worm'' in the title) for many platforms. 1982's '' Tron'' arcade game, based on the film, includes snake gameplay for the single-player Light Cycle segment. After a variant was preloaded on Nokia mobile phones in 1998, there was a resurgence of interest in snake games as it found a larger audience. Gameplay The original ''Blockade'' from 1976 and its many clones are two-player games. Viewed from a top-down perspective, each player controls a "snake" with a fixed starting position and which continually moves forward, growing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Galaxy Wars
''Galaxy Wars'' is a fixed shooter arcade video game developed by Universal and manufactured by Taito in 1979. Gameplay Depress the fire button for a missile. The missile speed increases when depressing the fire button continuously. Guide the missile from a stationary launch pad to the top of the screen to blow up the invading fleet of armed UFOs while dodging meteorites and bombs. Points are awarded for blowing up various ships and range from 50-550 depending on the ship. There is a bonus chance of 600 points for one pattern. After clearing a level or "pattern" as the back of the flyer calls it, the player was rewarded with messages like "Good!!" after 3 screens cleared, "Very Good!!" after 7 screens cleared, "Wonderful!!" after 10 screens cleared, and "Fantastic!!" after 15 screens cleared. Players who failed to score any points were told to "Give Up!!" A launcher appears every 3,000 additional points (5,000 if the adjustment is made in the controlling dip switches in the arc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Space Invaders
is a 1978 shoot 'em up arcade game developed by Tomohiro Nishikado. It was manufactured and sold by Taito in Japan, and licensed to the Midway division of Bally for overseas distribution. ''Space Invaders'' was the first fixed shooter and set the template for the shoot 'em up genre. The goal is to defeat wave after wave of descending aliens with a horizontally moving laser to earn as many points as possible. Designer Nishikado drew inspiration from North American target shooting games like '' Breakout'' (1976) and '' Gun Fight'' (1975), as well as science fiction narratives such as the novel '' The War of the Worlds'' (1897), the anime '' Space Battleship Yamato'' (1974), and the movie '' Star Wars'' (1977). To complete development of the game, he had to design custom hardware and development tools. Upon release, ''Space Invaders'' was an immediate commercial success; by 1982, it had grossed $3.8 billion (equivalent to over adjusted for inflation ), with a net p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tank (arcade Game)
''Tank'' is an arcade game developed by Kee Games, a subsidiary of Atari, and released in November 1974. It was the only original title not based on an existing Atari property developed by Kee Games, which was founded to sell clones of Atari games to distributors as a fake competitor prior to the merger of the two companies. In the game, two players drive tanks through a maze viewed from above while attempting to shoot each other and avoid mines, represented by X marks, in a central minefield. Each player controls their tank with a pair of joysticks, moving them forwards and back to drive, reverse, and steer, and firing shells with a button to attempt to destroy the other tank. The destruction of a tank from a mine or shell earns the opposing player a point, and tanks reappear after being destroyed. The winner is the player with more points when time runs out, with each game typically one or two minutes long. ''Tank'' was designed by Steve Bristow, who had previously worked w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
