The PECOS (Programa Educativo de COlegios Secundarios) was an

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

computer designed and manufactured by Assiel (later renamed Aswork) for educational purposes. Launched in 1983, around 1500 units were produced for schools in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

. It became a key development in Argentina's computing industry alongside the ''Alpha'' and ''Sincorp SBX''. Assiel was the first fully integrated computer manufacturer in Argentina, handling the entire process from design to assembly, unlike other companies that assembled imported parts. The machine was created based on the article '' Build Your Own Z80 Computer'' by Steve Ciarcia in Byte magazine. The PECOS was primarily sold to educational institutions, which were also using Commodore and

MSX 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 Corpo ...

machines. PECOS computers supported educational networks where teachers controlled student activities via terminal networks. Schools typically installed networks of up to 10 PECOS units, sharing floppy drives and printers, with software developed by Assiel.

Technical details

The PECOS was available in two models: ''PECOS'', a 64 KB RAM version for students; and ''PRICK'', a 128 KB RAM version for teachers. Powered by a

Zilog Z80 The Zilog Z80 is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit microprocessor designed by Zilog that played an important role in the evolution of early personal computing. Launched in 1976, it was designed to be Backward compatibility, software-compatible with the ...

microprocessor running at 4 MHz, the system featured an SN76489 audio chip and TMS9928A video controller. The PECOS featured an external power supply, expansion module connectors, and supported optional accessories such as RF modulators and diskette drives. The operating system used was

CP/M CP/M, originally standing for Control Program/Monitor and later Control Program for Microcomputers, is a mass-market operating system created in 1974 for Intel 8080/Intel 8085, 85-based microcomputers by Gary Kildall of Digital Research, Dig ...

, and software included a text editor, spreadsheet, and Micro Logo in Spanish. It also supported multiple programming languages, such as compiled

BASIC Basic or BASIC may refer to: Science and technology * BASIC, a computer programming language * Basic (chemistry), having the properties of a base * Basic access authentication, in HTTP Entertainment * Basic (film), ''Basic'' (film), a 2003 film ...

, Fortran 77,

COBOL COBOL (; an acronym for "common business-oriented language") is a compiled English-like computer programming language designed for business use. It is an imperative, procedural, and, since 2002, object-oriented language. COBOL is primarily ...

, and Pascal.

References

{{Reflist Z80-based computers Computer-related introductions in 1983