Sun386i

The Sun386i (codenamed "Roadrunner") is a discontinued hybrid UNIX workstation/PC compatible computer system produced by Sun Microsystems, launched in 1988. It is based on the Intel 80386 microprocessor but shares many features with the contemporary Sun-3 series systems.
Hardware.
Unlike the Sun-3 models, the Sun386i has a PC-like motherboard and "mini-tower"-style chassis. Two variants were produced, the Sun386i/150 and the Sun386i/250 with a 20 or 25 MHz CPU respectively. The motherboard includes the CPU, 80387 FPU, 82380 timer/DMA/interrupt controller and a custom Ethernet IC called "BABE" ("Bus Adapter Between Ethernet"). Floppy disk, SCSI, RS-232 and Centronics parallel interfaces are also provided, as are four ISA slots (one 8-bit, three 16-bit) and four proprietary 32-bit "local" bus slots. The latter are used for RAM and frame buffer cards.
Two type of RAM card are available, a 4 or 8 MB card, and the "XP Cache" card, incorporating up to 8 MB with an 82385 cache controller and 32 KB of cache SRAM. Up to two memory cards can be installed, to give a maximum RAM capacity of 16 MB.
Mass storage options are either 91 or 327 MB internal SCSI hard disks and a 1.4 MB 3.5 in floppy drive. A storage expansion box that holds two more disks can be mounted to the top of the chassis.
Frame buffer options include the 1024×768 or 1152×900-pixel monochrome BW2 card, the 8-bit color CG3 with similar resolutions, or the accelerated 8-bit color CG5, otherwise known as the "Roadracer" or GXi framebuffer. This uses the TI TMS34010 graphics processor and had a resolution of 1152x900. In addition, a "SunVGA" accelerator card can be installed in the ISA expansion slot that allows a DOS session to display a full VGA window on the desktop.
The 386i introduced the Sun Type 4 keyboard, a hybrid of the earlier Type 3 and PC/AT layouts. This was later used for the SPARCstation line of workstations.
Software.
The Sun386i's firmware is similar to the Sun-3's "PROM Monitor". A 386 port of SunOS is the native operating system of the 386i. SunOS releases 4.0, 4.0.1 and 4.0.2 support the architecture. A beta version of SunOS 4.0.3 for the 386i also exists but was not generally available, except possibly to the U.S. government. Included with SunOS are the SunView GUI and VP/ix MS-DOS emulator. This runs as a SunOS process and thus allows multiple MS-DOS session to be run simultaneously, a major selling point of the Sun386i. Unix long file names are accessed using a mapping to DOS 8.3 filenames, the file names being modified to include a tilde and to be unique as far as possible. This system is similar to, but predates, that used for long file names in Microsoft's VFAT. Special drive letters are used including H: for the user's home directory and D: for the current working directory when the DOS shell is started. The C: drive corresponds to a file in the Unix file system which appears to DOS as a 20 MB hard disk. This is used especially for the installation of copy-protected software; files in this virtual drive are inaccessible to Unix programs.
The Sun386i version of SunOS includes many features not found in the versions then shipped with Sun-3 workstations (and later with then-new SPARC workstations), in addition to VP/ix. These additions focus on ease of use for end users who are likely not to be UNIX experts, and includes enhanced desktop tools (which, for the first time at Sun, used color by default) and an "out of box experience" that was painless and administrator-free, targeted to bring a system onto the network ("box to mail") in fifteen minutes. It uses the pioneering Dynamic RARP network protocol. At the time, and for a few years afterwards until DHCP later became standard, no other vendors' workstations (or PCs) were as easy to install on TCP/IP networks.
Sun486i.
An upgraded model, the Sun486i (codename "Apache") was designed, incorporating a 25 MHz 80486 CPU and improved SCSI interface. A small pre-production batch was built but the product was canceled in 1990, before its official launch.
Easter egg.
The inside surface of the right side cover has the Roadrunner logo and the developer's signatures molded in.
Reception.
"BYTE" in 1989 listed the Sun386i as among the "Excellence" winners of the BYTE Awards, praising its ability to run multiple MS-DOS applications under SunOS.


Group Sense PDA

Group Sense PDA Limited (GSPDA) is a Chinese manufacturer of personal digital assistants and smartphones. GSPDA is owned by Group Sense and is based in Hong Kong. One of its product lines is the Xplore series of personal digital assistants.
It was revealed during July 2008 that GSPDA had removed references to its "Palm OS" Xplore devices from its websites. Also purged were details of "Jasper", a "Java"-based device powered by a platform from SavaJe.
Product List.
Laptops—OS
Gps
Games


TK-80

The TK-80 (μCOM Training Kit TK-80) was an 8080-based single-board computer kit developed by Nippon Electric Company (NEC) in 1976. It was originally developed for engineers who considered using the "μCOM-80 family" in their product. It was successful among hobbyists in late 1970s in Japan, due to its reasonable price and an expensive computer terminal not being required.
History.
NEC started as a telecommunications equipment vendor, and their business was heavily dependent on Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation (NTT). To increase private demand and exports, NEC began developing new industries such as computers and semiconductors in the 1950s. Although those businesses were not profitable enough, NEC continued investing profits from successful telecommunication business.
In the 1970s, the Semiconductor Division developed several microprocessors including Intel compatible processors, and in 1976 got a second-source agreement with Intel to produce the 8080 microprocessor legally. However, the division had trouble marketing them. In Japan, few engineers were interested in microprocessors, and NEC salesmen couldn't find what kind of demand would make much profit.
In February 1976, the Semiconductor and Integrated Circuit Sales Division formed the Microcomputer Sales Section, and began to provide development environments for their microprocessors. , who was formerly manager of the Automation Promotion Section, became its section manager. However, they visited customers and explained, but it was difficult for them to understand how to use a microprocessor. At the same time, NEC received an order from a laboratory in the Yokosuka Communication Institute of NTT that they wanted an educational microcomputer product for their new employees. , a member of the section, proposed to Watanabe developing an educational kit. Based on this kit, the TK-80 was developed for general engineers and aimed to create a demand for microprocessors outside the industrial field.
Goto mainly designed the TK-80, and did the detailed design work. Goto got an idea from a photo of the KIM-1. The KIM-1 can monitor and show the current address by the software, but the display disappears when the CPU is hanging. The TK-80 has the Dynamic Display using the 555 timer IC and interrupt the CPU, it can always show the current address. In addition, the TK-80 has a CMOS battery. He decided to document its manual with a circuit diagram and assembly code of the debug monitor, influenced by the PDP-8 which was an open architecture and was used as an IC tester at NEC.
The TK-80 came out on August 3, 1976. It was priced at 88,500 yen, an engineer's section manager could approve at that time. NEC had opened a support center ("Bit-INN") at the Akihabara Radio Kaikan on September 13, 1976. They found many machines were sold to not only electrical engineers but also businessmen, hobbyists and students. The TK-80 was sold more than 2,000 units per month, despite 200 units expected.
Soon after its success, other Japanese microprocessor manufacturers developed an evaluation kit for their microprocessor. Power supplies and other peripherals came out from third parties. Watanabe and his members wrote an introductory book in July 1977, it became very popular and sold more than 200,000 copies. Also, some computer magazines were founded, the "ASCII", the ', the and the '.
When Kato worked for the help desk at Bit-INN, a doctor asked him how to use the TK-80 for calculating medical costs on the point system, and a store manager asked him whether it could process sales information. He noticed users were trying to use the TK-80 as a computer rather than a training kit. However, the TK-80 lacked memory and expandability to use for practical purposes. Around the same time, a third party manufacturer suggested an expansion board to provide TV output and a BASIC interpreter. The TK-80BS was built upon that board, and was released in the end of 1977. Its BASIC was designed to fit in 4 KB of ROM, had the same as Li-Chen Wang's Tiny BASIC except some differences in functions and statements. Its functions and speed didn't satisfy users. This led to the development of a new machine which became the PC-8001.
In Japan, the Altair 8800 was sold in 1975, but not successful due to its high brokerage fee. Neither was the Apple II nor the Commodore PET. Single-board computers had been popular until the successor PC-8001 came out in 1979.
Variants.
The TK-80E was a cost-reduced version priced at 67,000 yen, introduced in 1977. It contained the NEC μPD8080AF (2 MHz), fully compatible with the Intel 8080A. (The original μPD8080A has an incompatibility in the BCD adjustment, the μPD8080AF does not.). Other specifications included 768 B (Max. Up to 1 KB expandable) of ROM, and 512 B (Max. Up to 1 KB expandable) of RAM.
The TK-80BS was an expansion kit introduced in 1977. It included a keyboard, a backplane and an expansion board for the TK-80 with 5 KB of RAM and 12 KB of ROM. It supported 8K BASIC.
The COMPO BS/80 was a fully assembled unit of the TK-80BS, introduced in 1978. It was not a success because of its poor built-in BASIC and slow clock speed.
The TK-85 was introduced in May 1980 and was the successor to the TK-80E. It contained the μPD8085AC processor (2.4576 MHz) and has a system configuration that is considered to some extent for compatibility with the TK-80. Other specifications included 2 KB (Max. Up to 8 KB expandable) of ROM, 1 KB of RAM, while the board size was 310 × 220 mm. It supported BASIC.
The PDA-80 was a development platform for NEC's microprocessors. It had the μPD8080A processor, 8 KB of RAM, a teleprinter interface and a self assembler for its processor.


Dunzhin

Warrior of Ras: Volume I - Dunzhin is a fantasy role-playing video game developed by Med Systems Software. The game was released on the TRS-80 in 1982, then ported to the Apple II, Atari 8-bit family, and Commodore 64. A self-booting IBM PC port added digitized speech.
Gameplay.
The player explores a new, randomly generated dungeon for each adventure. The player encounters monsters and human enemies, and experience points are awarded based on the disparity between the character's and the monster's statistics. The players' primary goal is the recovery of a treasure hidden on the deepest level which is guarded by a particularly effective team of monsters.
Development.
The IBM PC port performs all disk access via IN/OUT instructions to the floppy controller instead of using the BIOS (this was done both to improve performance and as a copy protection). It also was not completely rewritten from the ground up, but instead contained the original Z80 code from the TRS-80 with an interpreter to convert it to x86 assembly language.
Reception.
"Dunzhin" was reviewed in "Dragon" magazine #71 by John Warren. The reviewer noted that while this game was able to accept more complex commands than other games of its time, the extra typing involved slowed the game down. Describing "Warriors of Ras" as "yet another "Dungeons-and-Dragons" style game series", "The Commodore 64 Home Companion" wrote that "Dunzhin" "is the first—and easiest—in the series".


Parallel Bus Interface

The Parallel Bus Interface, or PBI, is a 50-pin port found on some Atari 8-bit XL computers. It provides unbuffered, direct connection to the system bus lines (address, data, control), running at the same speed as the 6502 CPU. The 600XL and 800XL computers, along with the unreleased 1400XL and 1450XLD had a PBI interface.
The Enhanced Cartridge Interface, or ECI, was a modified version of the PBI designed to be smaller and less expensive to implement. Many of the pins in the PBI were duplicated in the 30-pin cartridge slot, so ECI was limited to only those 14 pins in the PBI that were not in the cartridge slot. Placed side-by-side on the back of the computer, devices plugged into both at the same time to provide the same electrical interface as the PBI. The ECI was found on the 65XE (late production units only), the 130XE and the 800XE.
Details.
The PBI is implemented as a rectangular 50-pin edge connector on the back of XL machines. The pins include all 16 address lines (A0 through A15) and 8 data lines (D0 through D7). Other pins include various electrical supplies, clock signals, interrupts, memory strobes, and even an analog audio input.
As many of these pins were already implemented as part of the already-existing 30-pin ROM cartridge slots on Atari machines, the XE series re-implemented the PBI to include only those pins that the PBI had but the cartridge slot didn't. The resulting connector contained only 14 pins, mostly the address pins A13 though A15, and the various sound and signal pins of the PBI. The ECI slot was placed beside the cartridge slot, allowing a single connector to be inserted into both connectors and re-create the functionality of the entire PBI.


RetroCode

RetroCode is a universal mobile content converter originally created by Retro Ringtones LLC. RetroCode is able to read and write most common sample based ringtone formats including meta-data.
Overview.
RetroCode reads and writes many common mobile sample content file formats. RetroCode takes measures for making sure that meta-data is maintained and converted between the formats. It features filters for adapting audio content to the abilities of small handheld devices. RetroCode also includes a ringback-signal synthesizer allowing to mix audio content with standard ITU ringback signals.
Compatibility.
RetroCode currently supports the following formats
Dependency.
RetroCode depends on a variety of open source libraries as well as some ISO reference implementations.


Hellfire Warrior

Hellfire Warrior is a dungeon crawl video game for the Apple II, Commodore PET, and TRS-80 published by Automated Simulations in 1980. An Atari 8-bit family port was released in 1982. "Hellfire Warrior" is the direct sequel to 1979's "Temple of Apshai".
Gameplay.
"Hellfire Warrior" leads players into the ruins that are unearthed below the Temple of Apshai. The levels are "The Lower Reaches of Apshai", "The Labyrinth" of the minotaur, "The Vault of the Dead" and "The Plains of Hell". Only the first and third levels have room numbers and descriptions. The game is meant for expert players and characters who already explored all the levels of "Temple of Apshai"; advertisements warned that "newcomers to Dunjonquest should begin with something easier". The complexity is also increased, with more shops and several new strengthening potions, some of which can give the player character an addiction. While the focus is still mostly on becoming stronger and richer, the last level also has the secondary objective of rescuing a princess from hell, who is represented as a particularly heavy treasure. There is still no ending trigger related to this goal, though.
Reception.
Forrest Johnson reviewed "Hellfire Warrior" in "The Space Gamer" No. 38. Johnson commented that "I won't forget my last view of Sanson - badly wounded, crawling desperately towards the exit, with sweet-but-cumbersome Brynhild in tow and an outraged fiend at his heels. If you enjoyed the earlier games, "Hellfire Warrior" is a must."
"Computer Gaming World" in 1993 stated that "Hellfire Warrior" was "better than "Apshai", but not by too much", criticizing the outcome of rescuing the princess.
Expansions.
"The Keys of Acheron" (1981).
The first expansion pack to "Hellfire Warrior" is "The Keys of Acheron" by designer Paul Reiche III. In it, the player attempts to recover four magical gems (the eponymous keys) for the wizard Abosandrus in order to prevent the immortal demon Kronus from invading the Earth. Kronus pursues the player through the four levels: "Abode of the Dragon", "The Temple in the Jungle", "The Crystal Caves", and "The Shadowland of Kronus."
"Danger in Drindisti" (1982).
The second expansion pack for "Hellfire Warrior" is "Danger in Drindisti" by designer Rudy Kraft. In it, the player attempts to defeat four enemies of the wizard Yoturni, the Wizard King of Drindisti. Since a lack of room descriptions in level 6 and 8 are a restriction of the "Helfire Warrior" program, the dungeons were built around that fact and are suggested to be played out of order: "The Glass Wizard" (level 7), "The Abode of the Illusionist" (level 6), "The Temple of the Demonmaster" (level 9), and "The Realm of Mist" (level 8).


Amiga 2500


Iskra Delta 800

Iskra Delta 800 was a PDP-11/34-compatible computer developed by Iskra Delta in 1984.


Pentax *ist DL2


Triton disk drive

The Triton Quick Disk Drive is a product that allows 2.8-inch floppy disks to be read on the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, MSX, Mattel Aquarius and Dragon 64 home computers. The product was released for sale in the mid-1980s.
The disk drive can be used with Hitachi Maxell 2.8-inch double sided floppy disks, with a capacity of 144 kilobytes non-formatted and 100 kilobytes formatted. Each side has 20 sectors of 2.5 kB written in a spiral pattern instead of the more usual circular tracks. A maximum of 20 files can be saved on each side of the floppy disks.
The data transfer rate is up to 100 kilobits per second. The disk drive measures 250 x 225 x 65 mm, weighing in at 3.2 kilograms.
Triton and Commodore 64.
For use on the Commodore 64, the controller/interface box contains an EPROM with an additional operating system, C-64 T-DOS, that when connected to the computer through the memory expansion port can be called by typing "SYS 32768". This activated various new commands;
If something goes wrong, 14 different error messages will give indications about what may have happened.
Triton and Spectrum.
For use on the Spectrum computer, the controller/interface box contains an EPROM with an additional operating system, Spectrum T-DOS, adding various new commands to the computer:
These commands can be used in BASIC programs, as long as the controller is connected.
If something goes wrong, 11 different error messages will give indications about what may have happened.


Surface Laptop 2

The Surface Laptop 2 is a Surface-series Laptop produced by Microsoft. Unveiled at an event in New York City on 2 October 2018, and alongside the Surface Pro 6 released on 16 October 2018, it succeeds the Surface Laptop released in June 2017. While maintaining a design similar to the original design of its predecessor, the Surface Laptop 2 has improved hardware specifications compared to it, an increased number of storage options and a new matte black color.
Configuration.
The Surface Laptop 2 is available in four colors: Black, Platinum, Burgundy, and Cobalt Blue"." Intel Core i5 and the Intel Core i7 processors are available. RAM is configurable to 8GB or 16GB while storage capacity is offered in 128GB, 256GB, 512GB and 1TB configurations. The laptop has no option for expandable storage.

Features.
The default operating system is Windows 10 Home. The display is a 13.5 inch 2256 x 1504 pixel 10-point touch screen with a front 720p HD camera. The laptop weighs 2.76 pounds for the Intel Core i5 models and 2.83 pounds for the Intel Core i7 model.
Hardware.
The Surface Laptop 2 includes three different ports on the left hand side of the laptop, a USB-A port, a mini-display port, and the headphone jack. The right side of the device contains a magnetic surface connector port. The Surface Laptop 2 was criticized for failing to include a USB-C port and Thunderbolt 3 port.
This laptop has two omnisonic speakers, a stereo, some microphones to collect audio, and a headset jack that is located on the left-hand side of the computer.
The battery life on this laptop has about 14 hours and 20 minutes, with a charging time approximately 3-5 hours.


Sony NEX-6

The Sony NEX-6 is a digital camera announced 12 September 2012. It is a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera or MILC, and this has a smaller body form factor than a traditional DSLR, whilst retaining the sensor size and features of an APS-C-sized model. It is targeted at experienced users, enthusiasts and professionals. It is replaced by the α6000.


Vangers

Vangers ("Вангеры", also known as Vangers: One for the Road) is a racing role-playing video game developed by K-D Lab, a Russian company. It was released in North America in June 29, 1998 after receiving positive responses at that year's E3. An updated re-release was made available on Steam and GOG.com in 2014. The re-release includes support for Mac OS X and Linux.
Plot and setting.
At the beginning of a new game the player is provided with text introduction to the major events of the game world genesis.
According to the introduction, a faction of advanced humans, termed as Spirits, at some point in time gains a technology of creating the Passages between different worlds, the source of technology being Spirits' transcendental contacts. With this knowledge humans undertake rushed construction of the Passages and the new worlds colonization. These events are portrayed in the later "Perimeter" game, which is the prequel to Vangers.
The game of "Vangers" starts with the Bios of Eleepods producing the player-Vanger. Gameplay-wise, player sees oneself as an automobile-like existence (although protected with regenerating shields, able to be outfitted with weapons and capable of making jumps) in the world-exploration mode. When entering the cities, the player reads the narrations of Bios representatives, is allowed to use the trading facilities, and can ask patterned questions of "what or who is", about the notions encountered to the point in game. Advancing the plot requires gaining the favor of Bioses, which means for player character to successfully participate in their rituals, to transport goods, to compete with and destroy other, computer-controlled Vangers.
Technology.
Worlds in "Vangers" were designed by means of Surmap A.R.T., K-D Lab's proprietary terrain editor, and the accompanying voxel-polygonal technology. Minor worlds are modeled to occupy torus surfaces, while three major inhabited worlds form the side surfaces of long cylinders (or rather tori with a single strong barrier set poloidally). Objects of the world are destructible, e.g. vehicle wheels and other impacts leave traces on the ground. Scripted conditional processes are set to affect the terrain. There is a player-controlled option to either keep all changes to the terrain on the hard disk or discard the changes each time the game starts.
Reception.
The game received mixed reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings. "Next Generation" said, "It's a shame there wasn't a quick-action mode to simply jump in and enjoy the game because what fun there is to be had is buried deep within the pages of a concoluted science-fiction script. Sorry, folks, being weird doesn't always work. Still, if you like the story and don't mind reading a lot of text, there is a fun game here." Charles Ardai of "Computer Gaming World" praised the game for its dark, detailed combat simulation with "ten strange and wonderful worlds filled with alien creatures and constructs". The game was "aggressively" priced at US$29.95. However, he found the controls confusing and the futuristic vocabulary contrived. In addition, the README file contained solutions to all of the puzzles in the game.
Digital release and open-sourcing.
In 2008, work began on porting the game to Linux and other operating systems, utilizing the SDL library for cross-platform compatibility.
In April 2014 the new version was digitally re-released on Steam and later on the DRM-free service GOG.com for Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows. Unfortunately, multiplayer support has been removed.
In March 2016, the Vangers source code was released under the GNU GPL-3.0-only license. As the art content was not released as freely redistributable freeware (or open content), the data files from the digital re-releases on GOG.com and Steam are required to run the game.


Super Dodge Ball

Super Dodge Ball is a dodgeball-based sports game produced by Technos Japan Corp. originally released as an arcade game in 1987. In Japan, it was the second game starring Technos Japan's video game character Kunio-kun, following "Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun" (the Japanese version of "Renegade"), although the connection between the two games was removed in the western release. Various home versions and sequels of the game have been released for various platforms.
Gameplay.
The player's team is composed of seven members; the team's captain (a large-sized character) and six smaller-sized characters. The captain and three of the other members are constrained to one side of the main court, while the other three stand at the sidelines surrounding the competing team. The objective of the game is to eliminate the members of the opposing team on the other side of the court by throwing the ball against them. Players who are eliminated are turned into a caricature of an angel that flies away to the top of the screen. The team that remains with at least one surviving member wins. If time runs out during a match, then the team with most surviving members wins. The player's life bar represents the number of remaining members, as each character is usually eliminated after taking three or four shots.
The game has two button configuration that change functions depending on the current circumstance. If the player currently has possession of the ball, then the left button will be used for throwing the ball against an opponent, while the right button is used for passing the ball to a nearby teammate. Likewise, if an opponent has possession of the ball, then the left button is used to catch or intercept an opponent's throw, while the right button is to duck an attack. Pressing both buttons simultaneously will cause the player to jump. The player can also dash by pushing the joystick left or right twice, increasing the momentum of an offensive throw. The team's captain has a specialized offensive throw, also known as a "Power Shot", that travels faster and does more damage than a regular offensive throw.
The game begins with a match between Dallas and Chicago to determine who will represent the United States in a worldwide dodge ball tournament. In the single-player game, the player will control Dallas, while the computer controls Chicago. If played against a second player, then the first player controls Dallas and the second controls Chicago. The winning team will then compete in the world cup and face against the following regions: England, Iceland, China, Africa (Kenya in later versions) and Japan. The foreign teams have more than four team members playing offense, although only four show up on the main court. If an opposing team loses a member, they will call upon one of their backups to replace the fallen teammate. After defeating Japan, the player's team is awarded with the world cup by a ninja and the game begins a new cycle starting with England.
Regional differences.
The Japanese version was released as a spin-off of "Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun", the Japanese version of "Renegade". The Japanese version features an opening sequence which parodies the pre-stage introductions of "Kunio-kun" which depicts Kunio being struck by a dodge ball thrown by a passing thug and his teammates chasing after said thug. The American teams of Dallas and Chicago were originally the Japanese teams of Nekketsu High School and Hanazono High School, while the final match was actually against U.S. team themselves. The characters' skin tones and hair colors were changed accordingly in the Western version to reflect this. The character who awards the trophy to the player's team at the end of the game is a thinly-disguised parody of the comic book superhero Superman.
Related games.
Ports.
A Nintendo Entertainment System version of "Super Dodge Ball" was released in 1989, although it is not an exact port, as it featured several differences such as special moves and full stats for individual team members, two additional teams (India and U.S.S.R.), and a "Bean Ball" mode. The soundtrack featured stage music appropriate for each country depicted in the game. For example, the Japan stage theme was "Sakura Sakura" and the England stage featured a song apparently written by marrying two Beatles hits ("Get Back" and "A Hard Day's Night").
The Japan-only X68000 version, an exact port of the arcade release, was released on September 1988. It added stereo music and parallax scrolling, as well as a cheat code that increases the character variations.
Another home version was released exclusively in Japan for the PC Engine titled , released on March 30, 1990. It was published by Naxat Soft and developed by KID. Similar to the NES version, the PC Engine version added individual stats, life gauges, and power shots for each member of every team. However, the graphics, teams, and stages are still identical. In addition to the single-player tournament mode and a 2-player versus mode, it also features a single-player quest mode where the player can replace the default members of their team with the captains from the rival teams.
The PlayStation 2 version, released in Japan on January 26, 2006, was published by Hamster as part of the "Ore-tachi no Gēsen Zoku" series. It is an emulation of the original arcade game.
Sequels.
Sequels to "Super Dodge Ball" have been released for various platforms. A Japan-exclusive Game Boy sequel, titled , was released on August 8, 1991. Another Japanese sequel, titled , was released for the Super Famicom on August 6, 1993. A Neo Geo sequel, simply titled "Super Dodge Ball", was released in 1996. It was the final game produced by Technos before they went out of business and as a result, no home version was released and the arcade version was produced in limited quantities.
Years after Technos went out of business, a new company called Million (composed of former staff members of Technos) developed "Super Dodge Ball Advance" for the Game Boy Advance in 2001. While not an official "Kunio-kun" game in Japan, it features play mechanics similar to the console installments and some of the same background music as the "Kunio-kun" series. An official sequel was released by Arc System Works and Aksys Games for the Nintendo DS titled "Super Dodgeball Brawlers" in 2008.
Although not an official part of the series, Miracle Kidz (a developing team composed of former Technos Japan staff members) released "River City Dodgeball All-Stars!!" as a doujin game for the PC in 2007 An Xbox 360 version was released in 2009 titled "Downtown Smash Dodgeball". Miracle Kidz released the Wii version titled , on July 12, 2011 as a WiiWare title. Unlike their previous Dodgeball games, this installment is officially sanctioned by Million.
Reception.
In Japan, "Game Machine" listed "Super Dodge Ball" on their January 1, 1988 issue as being the second most-successful table arcade unit of the year.


HP-55

The HP-55 was a programmable handheld calculator; a lower-cost alternative to the HP-65. Introduced by Hewlett-Packard in 1975, it featured twenty storage registers and room for 49 keystroke instructions. Its outward appearance was similar to the HP-65, but its silver band went through between the display and the keyboard like HP-45, its some key functions were different from HP-65 and it did not have a magnetic card reader/writer. Like all Hewlett-Packard calculators of the era and most since, the HP-55 used Reverse Polish Notation (RPN) and a four-level automatic operand stack.
Another feature of the HP-55 was that it officially featured a stop-watch function much similar to the hidden stop-watch function of the earlier HP-45 calculator. This stop-watch function could be accessed by setting the mode-slider to the Timer position. A quartz-crystal inside the calculator provided an accurate timebase, and it was advertised that the timer ran with as little as +/- 0.01% error. The data format used by the stop-watch consisted of a combination of units (Hours, Minutes and Seconds), but the HP-55 featured a special conversion function to convert between this format and a pure unit (Hours). Because of this, data from the stop-watch could easily be used right away in calculations.
The HP-55 also featured several other conversion functions to instantly convert data between the Imperial and Metric systems.
Bill Hewlett's design requirement was that the calculator should fit in his shirt pocket. That is one reason for the tapered depth of the calculator. The documentation for the programs in the calculator is very complete, including algorithms for hundreds of applications, including the solutions of differential equations, stock price estimation, statistics, and so forth.


Dynamite Dan

Dynamite Dan is a platform game written by Rod Bowkett for the ZX Spectrum and published by Mirrorsoft in 1985. It was ported to the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, and MSX.
A sequel, "Dynamite Dan 2", was released the following year.
Gameplay.
The game starts where Dan lands his airship on the top of the evil Dr Blitzen's hideout. The aim of the game is to find eight sticks of dynamite that are placed randomly around the playing area whilst avoiding the perils of the game such as moving monsters, drowning and falling from great heights. Once Dan has all eight sticks of dynamite, the player must make their way to the central safe to blow it open and steal the plans for the evil doctor's Death Ray and escape to his airship.
The playing area is one large building split up into multiple screens that wrap around a central elevator. Each screen contains a number of moving monsters that, once the player moves into them, are destroyed but take off a life in return. The only exception to being destroyed once walked into are Dr Blitzen and his assistant Donner (Donner and Blitzen) who are both located on the same screen as the safe. Other perils to Dan's life include running out of energy (caused by not collecting enough food, falling from heights and being hit by laser beams). If Dan should also fall into the underground river that flows beneath the building, the player will receive a game over unless Dan had picked up oxygen, in which case they will be sent back to the start of the game.
Once completed, the game provides a secret code to be deciphered and a telephone number to call with the answer. While the number no longer works now, the prize was a ride in the Mirrorsoft blimp.
The background music when choosing the game settings and waiting for the game to start is the third movement (Rondo Alla Turca) from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major, K. 331, which had been used the previous year in "Jet Set Willy".
Reception.
The readers of "Crash" magazine voted it the best platform game of the year. The ZX Spectrum version was voted the 24th best game of all time in a special issue of "Your Sinclair" magazine in 2004.


Share (command)

In computing, codice_1 is a command for DOS that allows software to perform file locks. Locking files became necessary when MS-DOS began allowing files to be accessed simultaneously by multiple programs, either through multitasking or networking.
Implementations.
On MS-DOS, the command is available in versions 3 and later. The command is also available in FreeDOS, PTS-DOS, and SISNE plus. The FreeDOS version was developed by Ron Cemer and is licensed under the GPL. DR DOS 6.0 and Datalight ROM-DOS include an implementation of the command.
Windows XP and later versions include 16-bit commands (nonnative) for the MS-DOS subsystem that are included to maintain MS-DOS compatibility. The codice_1 MS-DOS subsystem command performs functions that are now inherent to Microsoft Windows. It is available to preserve compatibility with existing files, but has no effect at the command line because the functionality is automatic. The 16-bit MS-DOS subsystem commands are not available on 64-bit editions of Windows.
Design.
There were five locking modes:
The program runs as a Terminate and Stay Resident program and is typically loaded at boot-up.
Syntax.
 share [/F:space] [/L:locks]


Olympus PEN E-PL5

The Olympus PEN E-PL5, announced on September 17, 2012 is Olympus Corporation's tenth camera that adheres to the Micro Four Thirds (MFT) system design standard. The E-PL5 succeeds the Olympus PEN E-PL3, and was announced in concert with one other model, the Olympus PEN E-PM2 (a simpler version of the PEN E-PL5 and the successor to the E-PM1).
Technology.
The E-PL5, together with the E-PM2, features a touchscreen, similar to the Olympus PEN E-P3 and Olympus OM-D E-M5, and the same 16.1 megapixel sensor as is in the OM-D E-M5, with its increased ISO range, low-light capability and wide dynamic range. Although the Olympus E-PL5 uses the same sensor as the OM-D E-M5, it lacks the 5 axis stabilisation system of the latter such as OM-D and E-P5, utilising a simpler system 2 axis stabilisation that only compensates for yaw and pitch.
The E-PL5 increases autofocus speed through use of a 240 Hz refresh rate for its sensor, similar to the technology used in its flagship MFT camera, the OM-D E-M5. The benefits of the 240 Hz refresh rate also provides the ability for continuous autofocus tracking during bursts of exposures, a faster shutter response (less lag) and less blackout time between exposures.
The E-PL5 has a capacitive touchscreen similar to E-P3 and OM-D E-M5 for creative camera control, but lacks an OLED type display that is supposed to vastly improve performance in sunny conditions, and off-angle viewing. Instead, the E-PL5 has a tiltable LCD, which allows easy above the head, waist level, low off the ground viewing and self-portraits, but no viewfinder. With no built-in flash, but sold with clip-on flash, the E-PL5 continues with the proprietary Accessory Port, a power and communication port, which allows the use of various accessories, such as other external flash, an external stereo microphone for HD video recording, LED macro lights, and a bluetooth communications adapter. The accessory port is compatible with the optional hotshoe mounted VF-2, VF-3 and VF-4 electronic viewfinders (EVF).


List of cameras which provide geotagging

There are several methods to create a Geotagged photograph (see also Geotagging). The application of this is to allow photo management applications to use this information to manage images.
Some of the existing methods for embedding location information to a captured image are:


Samsung NX300M

The Samsung NX300M is a rangefinder-styled digital mirrorless camera announced by Samsung on January 3, 2013. It was the first consumer product based on the Tizen operating system. Its other upgrades over the NX300 model include increased rotation range for the tiltable display, allowing it to be put into a 180 degree "selfie" position. It was initially on sale in South Korea only, and its containing the Tizen operating system was not revealed until almost a month later.


AMD Spider

The AMD Spider platform consists of enthusiast level products from AMD, including AMD Phenom X4 9000 series processors, ATI Radeon HD 3800 series GPUs, and the AMD 7 series chipset.


ExFAT

exFAT (Extensible File Allocation Table) is a file system introduced by Microsoft in 2006 and optimized for flash memory such as USB flash drives and SD cards. exFAT was proprietary until 28 August 2019, when Microsoft published its specification. Microsoft owns patents on several elements of its design.
exFAT can be used where NTFS is not a feasible solution (due to data-structure overhead), but a greater file-size limit than the standard FAT32 file system (i.e. 4 GB) is required.
exFAT has been adopted by the SD Association as the default file system for SDXC cards larger than 32 GB.
History.
exFAT was introduced in late 2006 as part of Windows CE 6.0, an embedded Windows operating system. Most of the vendors signing on for licences are manufacturers of embedded systems or device manufacturers that produce media formatted with exFAT. The entire File Allocation Table (FAT) family, exFAT included, is used for embedded systems because it is lightweight and is better suited for solutions that have low memory and low power requirements, and can be easily implemented in firmware.
Features.
Because file size references are stored in eight instead of four bytes, the file size limit has exponentially increased to (, or about , which is otherwise limited by a maximum volume size of , or ), raised from () in a standard FAT32 file system. Therefore, for the typical user, this enables seamless interoperability between Windows and platforms for files in excess of 4 GB.
Other specifications, features, and requirements of the exFAT file system include:
Windows XP requires update KB955704 to be installed and Windows Vista requires its SP1 or SP2 be installed. Windows Vista is unable to use exFAT drives for ReadyBoost. Windows 7 removes this limitation, enabling ReadyBoost caches larger than 4 GB. Windows 10 only allows formatting exFAT on volumes sized 32 GB or larger with the default user interface, and FAT32 format is suggested for lower sizes; command-line utilities still accept a full range of file systems and allocation unit sizes.
The standard exFAT implementation is not journaled and only uses a single file allocation table and free space map. FAT file systems instead used alternating tables, as this allowed recovery of the file system if the media was ejected during a write (which occurs frequently in practice with removable media). The optional TexFAT component adds support for additional backup tables and maps, but may not be supported.
The exFAT format allows individual files larger than 4 GB, facilitating long continuous recording of HD video which can exceed the 4 GB limit in less than an hour. Current digital cameras using FAT32 will break the video files into multiple segments of approximately 2 or 4 GB.
Efficiency.
With the increase of capacity and the increase of data being transferred, the write operation needs to be made more efficient. SDXC cards, running at UHS-I have a minimum guaranteed write speed of 10 MBps and exFAT plays a factor in achieving that throughput through the reduction of the file system overhead in cluster allocation. This is achieved through the introduction of a separate cluster bitmap where the reservation state of each cluster (reserved/free) is tracked by only one bit, reducing writes to the much larger FAT that originally served this purpose.
Additionally, a single bit in the directory record indicates that the file is contiguous (unfragmented), telling the exFAT driver to ignore the FAT. This optimization is analogous to an extent in other file systems, except that it only applies to whole files, as opposed to contiguous parts of files.
Adoption.
exFAT is supported in Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 with update KB955704, Windows Embedded CE 6.0, Windows Vista with Service Pack 1, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Server 2008 R2 (except Windows Server 2008 Server Core), Windows 10, macOS starting from 10.6.5, Linux via FUSE or natively starting from kernel 5.4, and iPadOS starting from 13.1.
Companies can integrate exFAT into a specific group of consumer devices, including cameras, camcorders, and digital photo frames for a flat fee. Mobile phones, PCs, and networks have a different volume pricing model.
exFAT is supported in a number of media devices such as modern flat-panel TVs, media centers, and portable media players.
Some vendors of flash media, including USB pen drives, compact flash (CF) and solid-state drives (SSD) ship some of their high-capacity media pre-formatted with the exFAT file system. For example, Sandisk ships their 256 GB CF cards as exFAT.
Microsoft has entered into licensing agreements with BlackBerry, Panasonic, Sanyo, Sony, Canon, Aspen Avionics, Audiovox, Continental, Harman, LG Automotive and BMW.
Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.5 and later can create, read, write, verify, and repair exFAT file systems.
Linux has support for exFAT via FUSE since 2009. In 2013, Samsung Electronics published a Linux driver for exFAT under GPL.
On 28 August 2019, Microsoft published the exFAT specification and released the patent to the OIN members. The Linux kernel introduced native exFAT support with the 5.4 release.
ChromeOS also has capability for the ExFat file type.
Technical specialities.
File name lookup.
exFAT employs a filename hash-based lookup phase to speed certain cases, which is described in US Patent 8321439, "Quick File Name Lookup Using Name Hash". Appendix A of the document contains details helpful in understanding the file system.
File and cluster pre-allocation.
Like NTFS, exFAT can pre-allocate disk space for a file by just marking arbitrary space on disk as 'allocated'. For each file, exFAT uses two separate 64-bit length fields in the directory: the Valid Data Length (VDL) which indicates the real size of the file, and the physical data length.
To provide improvement in the allocation of cluster storage for a new file, Microsoft incorporated a method to pre-allocate contiguous clusters and bypass the use of updating the FAT table and on December 10, 2013 the US patent office granted patent US8606830. One feature of exFAT (used in the exFAT implementation within embedded systems) provides atomic transactions for the multiple steps of updating the file system metadata. The feature, called "Transaction Safe FAT", or TexFAT, was granted a patent by the US patent office under US7613738 on November 3, 2009.
Directory file set.
exFAT and the rest of the FAT family of file systems does not use indexes for file names, unlike NTFS which uses B-trees for file searching. When a file is accessed, the directory must be sequentially searched until a match is found. For file names shorter than 16 characters in length, one file name record is required but the entire file is represented by three 32-byte directory records. This is called a directory file set, and a 256 MB sub-directory can hold up to 2,796,202 file sets. (If files have longer names, this number will decrease but this is the maximum based on the minimum three-record file set.) To help improve the sequential searching of the directories (including the root) a hash value of the file name is derived for each file and stored in the directory record. When searching for a file, the file name is first converted to upper case using the upcase table (file names are case insensitive) and then hashed using a proprietary patented algorithm into a 16-bit (2 byte) hash value. Each record in the directory is searched by comparing the hash value. When a match is found, the file names are compared to ensure that the proper file was located in case of hash collisions. This improves performance because only 2 bytes have to be compared for each file. This significantly reduces the CPU cycles because most file names are more than 2 characters (bytes) in size and virtually every comparison is performed on only 2 bytes at a time until the intended file is located.
Metadata and checksums.
exFAT introduces metadata integrity through the use of checksums. There are three checksums currently in use. The Volume Boot Record (VBR) is a 12 sector region that contains the boot records, BIOS Parameter Block (BPB), OEM parameters and the checksum sector. (There are two VBR type regions, the main VBR and the backup VBR.) The checksum sector is a checksum of the previous 11 sectors, with the exception of three bytes in the boot sector (Flags and percent used). This provides integrity of the VBR by determining if the VBR was modified. The most common cause could be a boot sector virus, but this would also catch any other corruption to the VBR. A second checksum is used for the upcase table. This is a static table and should never change. Any corruption in the table could prevent files from being located because this table is used to convert the filenames to upper case when searching to locate a file. The third checksum is in the directory file sets. Multiple directory records are used to define a single file and this is called a file set. This file set has metadata including the file name, time stamps, attributes, address of first cluster location of the data, file lengths, and the file name. A checksum is taken over the entire file set and a mismatch would occur if the directory file set was accidentally or maliciously changed. When the file system is mounted, and the integrity check is conducted, these hashes are verified. Mounting also includes comparison of the version of the exFAT file system by the driver to make sure the driver is compatible with the file system it is trying to mount, and to make sure that none of the required directory records are missing (for example, the directory record for the upcase table and Allocation Bitmap are required and the file system can't run if they are missing). If any of these checks fail, the file system should not be mounted, although in certain cases it may mount read-only.
The file system provides extensibility through template-based metadata definitions using generic layouts and generic patterns.
Flash optimizations.
exFAT contains a few features that, according to Microsoft, makes it flash-friendly:
Other implementations.
exFAT was a proprietary file system until 2019 when Microsoft released the specification and allowed OIN members to use their patents. This lack of documentation along with the threat of a patent infringement lawsuit, as happened previously when Microsoft sued various companies over the VFAT long file name patent (before it expired), hampered the development of free and open-source drivers for exFAT, and led to a situation where Linux distributions couldn't even tell users how to get an exFAT driver. Accordingly, exFAT official support was effectively limited to Microsoft's own products and those of Microsoft's licensees. This, in turn, inhibited exFAT's adoption as a universal exchange format, as it was safer and easier for vendors to rely on FAT32 than it was to pay Microsoft or risk being sued.
Interoperability requires that certain results be achieved in a particular, predefined way (an algorithm). For exFAT, this potentially requires every implementation to perform certain procedures in exactly the same way as Microsoft's implementation. Some of the procedures used by Microsoft's implementation are patented, and these patents are owned by Microsoft. A license to use these algorithms can be purchased from Microsoft, and some companies including Apple, Google and Samsung have done so. However, in the open-source ecosystem, users have typically responded to vendors being unwilling to pay for patent licenses by procuring an implementation for themselves from unofficial sources. For example, this is what happened with LAME when MP3 patents were still valid. (Alternatively, the user may decide that the feature is unimportant to them.)
Regardless of whether open-source or not, Microsoft stated that "a license is required in order to implement exFAT and use it in a product or device." Unlicensed distribution of an exFAT driver would make the distributor liable for financial damages if the driver is found to have violated Microsoft's patents. While the patents may not be enforceable, this can only be determined through a legal process, which is expensive and time-consuming. It may also be possible to achieve the intended results without infringing Microsoft's patents. In October 2018, Microsoft released 60,000 patents to the Open Invention Network members for Linux systems, but exFAT patents were not initially included at the time. There was, however, discussion within Microsoft of whether Microsoft should allow exFAT in Linux devices, which eventually resulted in Microsoft publishing the official specification for open usage and releasing the exFAT patents to the OIN in August 2019.
A FUSE-based implementation named fuse-exfat, or exfat-fuse, with read/write support is available for FreeBSD, multiple Linux distributions, and older versions of Mac OS X. It supports TRIM. An implementation called exFATFileSystem, based on fuse-exfat, is available for AmigaOS 4.1. A Linux kernel implementation has also been released, written by Samsung Electronics. It was initially released on GitHub unintentionally, and later released officially by Samsung in compliance with the GPLv2 in 2013. (This release does not make exFAT royalty-free, as licensing from Samsung does not remove Microsoft's patent rights.) A version of this driver was first incorporated into version 5.4 of the Linux kernel. A much newer version of the driver, with several bug fixes and improved reliability, was incorporated into kernel 5.7. Prior to its being merged into the Linux kernel, this newer version had already seen adoption on Android smartphones, and continued to be used on both Linux and Android thereafter.
Proprietary read/write solutions licensed and derived from the Microsoft exFAT implementation are available for Android, Linux, and other operating systems from Paragon Software Group and Tuxera.
XCFiles (from Datalight) is a proprietary, full-featured implementation, intended to be portable to 32-bit systems. Rtfs (from EBS Embedded Software) is a full-featured implementation for embedded devices.
Two experimental, unofficial solutions are available for DOS. The loadable USBEXFAT driver requires Panasonic's USB stack for DOS and only works with USB storage devices; the open-source EXFAT executable is an exFAT file system reader, and requires the HX DOS extender to work. There are no native exFAT real-mode DOS drivers, which would allow usage of, or booting from, exFAT volumes.
The renaming of ExFAT file system labels is natively supported by Microsoft Windows Explorer, while Linux relies on the third-party codice_1 tool. In addition, as of 2020, only Microsoft Windows supports a direct conversion of exFAT (and FAT32) into Microsoft's more modern NTFS ("New Technology File System") without needing to rewrite the files.


CER-203

CER ( – "Digital Electronic Computer") model 203 is an early digital computer developed by Mihajlo Pupin Institute (Serbia) in 1971. It was designed to process data of medium-sized businesses:
Specifications.
Central Processing:
Primary memory:
Punched tape reader:
Tape puncher:
Parallel Line Printer 667:
Independent Printer M 30:
Magnetic cassettes 4096:
Magnetic Tape Drives:


Leica M (Typ 240)

The Leica M (Typ 240) is a full-frame digital rangefinder camera of Leica Camera AG. It was introduced in September 2012, and is the successor to the Leica M9 range of cameras. The M uses a 24-megapixel image sensor. The camera is the first M model to feature movie recording, and the first to have Live View, which allows the scene, as viewed through the lens, to be composed. The M can use most M- and R-mount lenses. Leica M cameras are made by hand in Portugal and Germany. There is also a version, the M Monochrom, with a monochrome, rather than colour, sensor.
The M Typ 240 has been superseded by variants such as the Leica M10.
Features.
The M uses a CMOS 24-megapixel (6,000 × 4,000 pixels) image sensor designed for Leica by the Belgian company CMOSIS, and made by STMicroelectronics in Grenoble. The pixels are on a 6 x 6 µm² grid.
The M supports most M-mount lenses and, with an adapter, almost all R-mount lenses. R-lenses support an optional electronic viewfinder.
The camera uses a MAESTRO image/video processor which is based on the Fujitsu Milbeaut. It is sealed against dust and water spray.
Reception.
The Leica M camera was introduced at the photokina event in Cologne, Germany on 17 September 2012. The launch event included a "concert by recording artist—and Leica shooter—Seal".
In 2019, with the release of a new firmware update the Leica M (Typ 240) was discontinued.
Leica M-P (Typ 240).
The Leica M-P (Typ 240) was announced on 21 August 2014 under the slogan the 'Perfect understatement', the camera was released by Leica two years following the Leica M (Typ 240). Featuring a full-frame 24MP CMOS sensor and 2GB of built-in RAM, Leica claims that the new M-P digital is 'twice as fast' as the standard M (Typ 240). It also features weather-sealing for protection against water and dust, its rear LCD is covered in sapphire crystal glass. The camera was released with the initial price of $7950, a $1000 more than the standard M (Typ 240).
The design of the Leica M-P was based on that of the 35 mm film Leica MP released in 2003. It harks back to the 1950s and the first M mount camera; the Leica M3. The M-P omits the Leica red dot and replaces it with a minimal Leica script logo on the top plate.


List of publications and periodicals devoted to the Apple II

The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products. Introduced in 1977, it was the first consumer product sold by Apple Computer and the first model in the Apple II series. Its success spurred a thriving magazine industry aimed at Apple II owners which published type-in programs, programming tutorials, reviews, and other articles
Magazines.
"Juiced.GS" is still in print as of 2018, and is the only remaining print publication dedicated to the Apple II computer.
User group newsletters.
Most Apple user groups published newsletters; some of these gained fame outside their local area. The best known of these were probably Call-A.P.P.L.E. (published by the Apple Puget Sound Program Library Exchange, A.P.P.L.E., in Seattle), the Washington Apple Pi Journal (published by Washington Apple Pi in Washington, DC). The Washington Apple Pi is still in operation and still publishing (though the focus is now on the Macintosh); A.P.P.L.E. ceased publication of Call-A.P.P.L.E. in 1990, printing the Co-Op Spirit for 3 years and restarting publication of Call-A.P.P.L.E. as an E-Zine in 2002.


Timex Sinclair

Timex Sinclair was a joint venture between the British company Sinclair Research and Timex Corporation in an effort to gain an entry into the rapidly growing early-1980s home computer market in North America. The choice of partnership was natural, as Timex was already the main contractor for manufacture of Sinclair's ZX81 and ZX Spectrum computers at its Scottish plant in Dundee. It was Timex of Portugal, though, that took on the R&D and the local manufacturing of the models to be exported to the U.S. Although both Timex of Scotland and Timex of Portugal were full subsidiaries of Timex, internal rivalry, whether unintended or purported, meant there was little sharing between the two plants. Timex of Portugal also sold the Timex Sinclair models in Portugal and Poland under the Timex Computer brand.
Products.
Timex Sinclair released four computers, all of them based (to some extent) on Sinclair Research's existing machines. In chronological order:
The Timex Sinclair 1000 was introduced in July 1982, with Timex Sinclair touting it as the first home computer to cost under $100 in the U.S. market. In spite of the flaws in the early versions, half a million units were sold in the first six months alone. Overall, the machines were nowhere near as successful as their UK progenitors; in contrast with the ZX Spectrum, which was the best-selling computer in Britain at the time, the TS2068 was a relative failure, due to Timex leaving the computer business prior to the introduction of the TS2068 (and TS 1500).
Timex Corporation withdrew from the U.S. home computer market in February 1984 but Timex of Portugal continued to manufacture, sell and develop hardware in Portugal and Poland for another ten years.
Peripherals.
Timex Sinclair produced the following peripherals for the Timex computer line:
Timex Computer (TMX Portugal) produced the following peripherals for the Timex computer line:
TMX Portugal also sold the TS2040 and later renamed it to Timex Printer 2040.
To export the Timex Computer to Poland (as the Unipolbrit UK2086), Timex of Portugal had to be paid in goods. It chose to import the Neptun 156 12" green monochrome monitor, manufactured in Poland by Unimor company. Based on the Vela TV receiver, it proved very popular in Portugal and was frequently sold in bundles with the TC computers.
Software.
TMX Portugal sold/developed the following software:


STACKER


Twitter Zero

Twitter Zero is an initiative undertaken by social networking service company Twitter in collaboration with mobile phone-based Internet providers, whereby the providers waive data (bandwidth) charges—so-called "zero-rate"—for accessing Twitter on phones when using a stripped-down text-only version of the website. The images could be loaded by using the official Twitter app. The stripped-down version is available only through providers who have entered the agreement with Twitter.


Four-Phase Systems

Four-Phase Systems was a computer company, founded by Lee Boysel and others, which built one of the earliest computers using semiconductor main memory and MOS LSI logic. The company was incorporated in February 1969 and had moderate commercial success. It was acquired by Motorola in 1981.
History.
The idea behind Four-Phase Systems began when Boysel was designing MOS components at Fairchild Semiconductor in 1967. Boysel wrote a manifesto explaining how a computer could be built from a small number of MOS chips. Fairchild made Boysel head of a MOS design group, which he used to design parts satisfying the requirements of his putative computer. After doing this, Boysel left to start Four-Phase in October 1968, initially with two other engineers from his Fairchild group as well as others. Boysel was not sued by Fairchild, perhaps because of chaos caused by a change in Fairchild management at that time. When the company was incorporated in February 1969, he was joined by other engineers from the Fairchild group. Boysel arranged for chips to be fabricated by Cartesian, a wafer-processing company founded by another engineer from Fairchild. Four-Phase showed its system at the Fall Joint Computer Conference in 1970. By June 1971 Four-Phase IV/70 computers were in use at four different customers by June 1971, and by March 1973, they had shipped 347 systems to 131 customers. The company enjoyed a substantial level of success, having revenues of $178 million by 1979. In 1982, it was sold to Motorola for a $253 million stock exchange. The former location of the original business is now Infinite Loop.
System.
The Four-Phase CPU used a 24-bit word size. It fitted on a single card and was composed of three AL1 chips, three read-only-memory (ROM) chips, and three random logic chips. A memory card used Four-Phase's 1K RAM chips. The system also included a built-in video controller which could drive up to 32 terminals from a character buffer in main memory.
The AL1 was an 8-bit bit slice which contained eight registers and an arithmetic logic unit (ALU). It was implemented using four-phase logic and used over a thousand gates, with an area of 130 by 120 mils (3.3 mm by 3 mm). The chip was described in an April 1970 article in "Computer Design" magazine. Although the AL1 was not called a microprocessor, or used as one, at the time, it was later dubbed one in connection with litigation in the 1990s, when Texas Instruments claimed to have patented the microprocessor. In response, Lee Boysel assembled a system in which a single 8-bit AL1 was used as part of a courtroom demonstration computer system, together with ROM, RAM and an input-output device.


MDS 2400

The MDS 2400 was a small floor-standing computer manufactured by Mohawk Data Sciences Corporation. The machine was originally developed by Atron Corporation as the Atron 501 Datamanager, introduced in 1969. It was marketed primarily for "remote job entry" applications and promoted as "The Peripheral Processor".
Two related models from Mohawk were the 1200 and the 2300.
Description.
The system had a base memory of 4 KB of core memory with a 2 μs cycle time, expandable to 32 KB. It supported one to four input/output channels with up to 16 devices per channel. It offered a choice of line printers between 280 and 1250 lines per minute (lpm), a 400 cards per minute (cpm) card reader, a 160 columns per second card punch, a paper tape reader, a 2.48 MB disk storage unit, and 7 and 9-track half-inch magnetic tape drives. An optional asynchronous terminal could be attached as a console.
The system supported synchronous communications at up to 9600 baud, and usually served as a remote job entry system to a larger mainframe computer. The remote job entry software provided full support for the "HASP multi-leaving" protocol, among others.
See also.
George Cogar


SpareMiNT

SpareMiNT is a software distribution based on "FreeMiNT", which consists of a MiNT-like operating system (OS) and kernel plus GEM compatible "AES" (Application Environment Services).
Features and compatibility.
The English language distribution is intended for the Atari ST and derivative m68k computers, clones and emulators, such as the FireBee project or Hatari and ARAnyM. The "MiNT" itself, also once called MultiTOS, provided an Atari TOS compatible OS replacement with multitasking and multi-user switching capabilities and Unix-like operation, all of which the original "TOS" lacked.
The distribution comes with Red Hat's "rpm" utility for managing the source- and binary packages. Unix/Linux-style software can be used, if ported, GEM-programs for TOS can run concurrently. The TOS clone "EmuTOS", instead of Atari's original, can be used as a base to boot a MiNT, and e.g. "XaAES", a modern AES derivate, as essential part of the GEM-GUI (Graphical user interface).
FreeMiNT, and therefore SpareMiNT, is basically the enhanced and greatly improved derivate, and can be used on today's computers, even on different hardware platforms via emulation or Virtual Machines, thanks to the flexibility of the original MiNT and its components that made further development possible.
Comparable Distributions.
EasyMiNT.
Derived from SpareMiNT is "EasyMiNT", using its software repository and a GEM based installer, providing a folder system similar to the "UNIX Filesystem Hierarchy Standard" and German language translations to programs.
AFROS.
"AFROS" (Atari FRee Operating System) comes as a set of files, creating a TOS compatible operating system; there exists a Live-CD to test. Its key components all consist of Free Software:
AFROS software is available to all Atari and/or TOS compatible platforms, but is optimized to be used with the "ARAnyM" (Atari Running on Any Machine) emulator.
Historical Distributions.
Amongst other efforts, there also was a basic build of a "Debian GNU/MiNT" distribution, with a FreeMiNT "kernel", GNU based "userland software" plus DEB "package management". It should have provided commonly used programs and was based on "Debian GNU/Linux". Similar, more successful projects are Debian GNU/kFreeBSD, Debian GNU/Hurd and, most important, the Linux version. SpearMiNT follows the idea to use a Unix/Linux-like package management and software repository.


SALLY (microprocessor)


Canon EOS D30

The Canon EOS D30 is a discontinued 3.1-megapixel professional digital single lens reflex camera (DSLR) body, initially announced by Canon on May 17, 2000. It is part of the Canon EOS line of cameras and uses the EF lens mount. The EOS D30 was Canon's first "home grown" digital SLR. Before that point Canon had a contract with Kodak to rebrand the Kodak 2-megapixel DCS 520 as Canon EOS D2000 and the 6-megapixel DCS 560 as Canon EOS D6000 digital SLRs, which combined Kodak digital backs and Canon camera bodies.
The D30 was aimed at the enthusiast market, and was intended to occupy the gap between the high-end consumer-market Canon PowerShot Pro70, and Canon's first "professional" digital SLR, the Canon EOS-1D, which was released in November 2001.
The D30 was succeeded by the 6.3-megapixel D60 in 2002.


Aminet

Aminet is the world's largest archive of Amiga-related software and files. Aminet was originally hosted by several universities' FTP sites, and is now available on CD-ROM and on the web. According to Aminet, as of 1 April 2013, it has 80592 packages online.
History.
In January 1992, Swiss student Urban Müller took over a software archive that had been started by other members of a computer science students' club. Soon the archive became mirrored worldwide and in 1995 started being distributed on monthly CD-ROMs. By using a single master site (then wuarchive.wustl.edu) for creating ftp scripts for each slave site, Aminet reduced to a bare minimum the effort to set up new mirror sites. Aminet also illustrates practical use of metadata schema by software repositories. Reports of daily additions to this software archive were posted automatically to Usenet (de.comp.sys.amiga.archive), or could be requested as an email newsletter. Most of the programs on Aminet were public domain or shareware, but software companies made updates and demo versions of their programs available as well. Now Aminet is complemented by platform specific sites archiving software for AmigaOS 4, AROS or MorphOS only.
Aminet was an early attempt to create a centralized public archive maintained by the users themselves, predated only by the Info-Mac archive. Aminet aimed to keep the community united and free to download new open source software, new program demo releases, patches and localization of Amiga programs (AmigaOS and its modern programs are free to be localized by any single user into any country language), pictures, audio and video files and even hints or complete solutions to various Amiga games.
Recognized among interesting FTP sites in early 1990s, Aminet was the largest public archive of software for any platform until around 1996. When the Internet explosion occurred from 1996 to 1999, Aminet rapidly fell behind the emerging massive PC archives.
During 2004 the main Aminet mirror suffered from a hard-disk crash and many people considered the whole project dead. Around the same time, Nicolas Mendoza was setting up a modernized interface that indexed Aminet and provided advanced search features and a modern interface to navigate the tree, called Amirepo. He also posted public suggestions on how to help improving Aminet by adding tags for architectures to help catalog the tree that now consisted of MorphOS, AmigaOS 4 and Amithlon files, in addition to the already existing M68K, PowerUP and WarpOS files. He also suggested on measures to add proper dependencies to complement and replace the existing Requires field. This also in a future goal of letting Aminet function as a repository for package management systems similar to Debian's APT/DPKG and Red Hats' RPM. He tried to contact individuals like Matthias Scheler and Urban Müller which was known to maintain Aminet, but to no avail.
At the end of 2004 Christoph Gutjahr made contact with Urban Müller and set up a team to continue the Aminet effort. Urban Müller provided a new main mirror site and the backlog of packages were added in. The Amirepo interface of Nicolas Mendoza was integrated and Aminet was officially up and running again in February 2005. During 2005 the uploads started getting going again and in November 2005 most of the ambiguous files and .readme files were sorted out, finally sanitizing the repository. The team has gradually made many changes.


Altos 586

The Altos 586 was a multi-user microcomputer intended for the business market. It was introduced by Altos Computer Systems in 1983. A configuration with 512 kB of RAM, an Intel 8086 processor, Microsoft Xenix, and 10 MB hard drive cost about US$8,000. 3Com offered this Altos 586 product as a file server for their IBM PC networking solution in spring 1983. The network was 10Base-2 (thin-net) based, with an Ethernet AUI port on the Altos 586.
Reception.
"BYTE" in August 1984 called the Altos 586 "an excellent multiuser UNIX system", with "the best performance" for the price among small Unix systems. The magazine reported that a Altos with 512 kB RAM and 40 MB hard drive "under moderate load approaches DEC VAX performance for most tasks that a user would normally invoke". A longer review in March 1985 stated that "despite some bugs, it's a good product". It criticized the documentation and lack of customer service for developers, but praised the multiuser performance. The author reported that his 586 had run a multiuser bulletin board system 24 hours a day for more than two years with no hardware failures. He concluded that "Very few UNIX or XENIX computers can provide all of the features of the 586 for $8990", especially for multiuser turnkey business users.


Apple II accelerators

Apple II accelerators are computer hardware devices which enable an Apple II computer to operate faster than their intended clock rate.
8-bit accelerators.
Number Nine Apple Booster –.
Number Nine Apple Booster (1982) was one of the first accelerators for the Apple II series of computers. This card is the original version of Saturn's Accelerator II (thus the Accelerator II PCB shares both Saturn Systems' and NNCC's logos.) At $598, the Saturn was much cheaper than the NNCC, but little information about the board is available today.
SpeedDemon –.
Microcomputer Technologies (M-c-T) SpeedDemon card was the one of early Apple II accelerator which used the newer 65c02 microprocessor, and the first to implement caching technology. This allowed the card to use small amounts of memory, making the card less expensive to produce and eliminated the need to waste clock cycles in order to refresh the dynamic RAM that other cards used. Other accelerators which did not use caching operated at 3.58 MHz most of the time but had to slow down to 1 MHz for this refresh cycle. For peripheral cards that required 1 MHz "slow" operations, the Speed Demon always slowed access to slot #6 to 1 MHz, while an on-card jumper controlled the slot #4 and #5 slowdown. The SpeedDemon originally retailed for $295.
Accelerator II –.
Saturn System's Accelerator II was the original accelerator for the Apple II series of computers. The card accelerated the Apple II and the Apple II Plus using a faster MOS 6502 microprocessor and on-board high speed RAM. When the accelerator card was activated, software would execute within the CPU and memory on the card, not utilizing those components on the motherboard. The card used a series of 8 DIP switches to configure slot access speeds as well as the speed of the card. Since the Accelerator II was released before Apple Computer's introduction of the Apple IIe, while the card would run in an Apple IIe, software which required a 65C02 microprocessor or used auxiliary memory would not function properly—this problem was solved with the Accelerator //e, which was a complete redesign. Saturn Systems changed their name during the early 1980s to Titan Technologies due to trademark complications.
Accelerator IIe –.
The Accelerator //e was released in 1984 by Titan Technologies, an upgraded version of the original Saturn Accelerator, in response to the introduction of the Apple IIe. The card maintained the 64 KB of RAM of the original card and added the newer 65c02 microprocessor. This card solved the Auxiliary RAM incompatibility problem of the older card, however it did not speed up this second bank of RAM which was common on the Apple IIe.
TransWarp –.
Applied Engineering was the last company to offer a slot-based Apple II accelerator card, the TransWarp. This new card offered complete slot configurability via DIP switches and speed control via both DIP switches and software. A user could hold down the ESC key upon bootup, to disable the card for speed sensitive applications. In an Apple II Plus, the TransWarp emulated the 16k language card. The TransWarp ran at the same 3.58, 1.79 and 1.02 (commonly listed as "1") MHz speeds as other accelerators of its time, however, it included a whopping 256 KB of on-board RAM. According to the March 1986 Apple Assembly Line (volume 6, number 6) this is how the TransWarp utilized the RAM:
TransWarp's 256K RAM is effectively divided into four 64K banks. When you power-up your Apple with TransWarp installed, all of the ROM from $D000 through $FFFF is copied into one of the high-speed RAM banks. The rest of this bank is not used. A second bank is used in place of the motherboard RAM. The third and fourth banks are used in place of the first and second banks of AUXMEM, if you have a RAM card such as RAMWORKS installed in the AUX slot. If you have a large RAMWORKS in the auxiliary slot of a //e, any additional banks beyond two will still be usable but at "only" 1 MHz.
The same issue of the publication determined that the TransWarp was faster than either the McT SpeedDemon or Titan Accelerator //e when running the same applications, even though all three cards ran at the same 3.58 MHz native speed. The TransWarp was released during the early-mid 1980s with an original retail price of $279. Applied Engineering offered a unique $89 upgrade to the 16-bit 65802 microprocessor, for people who were able to use its advanced features.
TransWarp II –.
The TransWarp II was a completely redesigned accelerator from Applied Engineering (AE). The company scrapped the on-board RAM design of the original TransWarp in favor of a licensed cache based implementation like Zip Technology used. However, instead of using a hybrid chip, Applied Engineering chose to implement the design on a card. Unfortunately, since the design was licensed from Bits and Pieces, makers of the Rocket Chip, and not from Zip Technologies, Applied Engineering was forced to stop selling the TransWarp II not long after its introduction, due to Zip winning a patent infringement lawsuit against Bits and Pieces for Zip's implementation of caching technology.
TransWarp III (never released) –.
Applied Engineering's TransWarp III was supposed to be the TransWarp II's replacement after that product's abrupt discontinuation. Because of a dwindling Apple II market in the early 1990s, the TransWarp III never saw the light of day. Some believe that images in advertisements announcing the TransWarp III in Apple II related magazines were complete mock-ups and that the product never existed. The ads touted faster speeds and easy upgradeability when faster 65c02 microprocessors became available.
Zip Chip –.
Zip Technologies, introduced the 4 MHz Zip Chip Model 4000 (also: Zip Chip II - 4) at AppleFest in May 1989(?). This was a revolutionary design. Rather than building an accelerator on an expansion card, Zip used a hybrid chip design known as System in Package (SiP), and used this chip module to directly replace the microprocessor in the Apple II. They took a 65C02 core and combined it with control logic and 8 KB of cache ram into a very compact 40-pin DIP package, not much bigger than the original 65C02 CPU it replaced. By creating this ultra compact, slotless accelerator, the entire untapped market of tens of thousands of Apple IIc computers became available. Within the Zip Chip, all settings were software controllable, including individual slot speeds which could be set at 1 MHz or "accelerated." The accelerator was a cache type, based on Zip Technology's US patent #4,794,523 and was capable of 10 different speed settings. Zip later introduced a Zip Chip Model 8000 (also: Zip Chip II - 8) which had identical features but operated at 8 MHz.
Zip GSX –.
The accelerator consists of the CPU WDC 65C816 running at most at 15 MHz. A cache divided into 32 kByte "data" and 32 kByte "tag". The result is an average 4x performance boost.
Two less expensive models were advertised but never released: model 1500 "ZipChipGS" and model 1525 "ZipChipGS Plus". These two models were designed to fit into the CPU socket (similar to the 8-bit ZipChip models) rather than taking up a slot. The less expensive model 1500 would have omitted DMA support and was supposed to run at 8 MHz with 8 kB of cache. The 1525 would also have run at 8 MHz but it would have included DMA support and 16 kB of cache.
The slot-based model 1600 ("Zip GSX") was made available at several different clock speeds and with varying amounts of cache. Both the cache and CPU speed were upgradeable.
Rocket Chip –.
Bits and Pieces introduced the Rocket Chip soon after the Zip Chip was released. The product was nearly identical in look and function to Zip Technology's Zip Chip, however it operated at 5 MHz vs the Zip Chip Model 4000's 4 MHz, and the Rocket Chip II ran at a then blistering 10 MHz when it was released after the 8 MHz Zip Chip Model 8000. One unique feature of the Rocket Chip was its ability to slow the speed of an Apple II down to 0.05 MHz for "slow motion" operability. Although the Rocket Chip was faster in both instances than the Zip Chip, there were some rare software incompatibilities with the chip, while the Zip Chip didn't have any reported problems. These problems were perhaps due to Bits and Pieces pushing the physical limit of their 65C02 cores to squeeze out the extra speed in a game of one-upmanship with Zip Technologies. Zip Technologies ended up with the upper hand when they successfully sued Bits and Pieces for patent infringement and in turn forced the company out of business.
Apple IIc Plus motherboard.
Apple Computer licensed the cache based accelerator design from Zip Technologies for their design of the Apple IIc Plus. This enabled the computer to run 4 times faster than its 1 MHz predecessor, the Apple IIc. Rather than using a monolithic System in Package design of the Zip Chip, which may have caused overhead clearance problems as well as added cost to the compact Apple IIc Plus, Apple economically separated the Zip Chip design into its individual components, using off the shelf static RAM chips for the 8 KB cache.
Overclocking.
In October 2001, Michael J. Mahon, an enthusiast who frequents the Apple II usenet newsgroup comp.sys.apple2, proposed overclocking the Apple IIc Plus. Over the next few years, newsgroup members reported speeds ranging between 8 MHz - 10 MHz simply by changing the 16 MHz crystal oscillator on the motherboard to a faster one (the Apple IIc Plus divides the oscillator frequency by four to attain the actual processor frequency). Some users with 120ns static RAM cache reported problems attaining 10 MHz while others with 100ns chips were more successful. Most were able to achieve 8 MHz.


VAXstation

The VAXstation was a family of workstation computers developed and manufactured by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) using processors implementing the VAX instruction set architecture (ISA). VAX stood for Virtual Address EXtension.
VAXstation I.
Introduced in October 1984, it was code named ""Seahorse", and used the KD32 CPU module containing a 4 MHz (250 ns) MicroVAX I processor.
VAXstation II.
Code named "Mayflower"", it used the KA630 CPU module containing a 5 MHz (200 ns) MicroVAX 78032 microprocessor. It was essentially a MicroVAX II in a workstation configuration.
VAXstation II/RC.
A short-lived "Reduced Configuration" variant of the VAXstation II. Compared with the standard VAXstation II, a number of the slots on the backplane were filled with epoxy to limit the system's upgradability. It was discontinued when Digital discovered that enterprising customers were removing the epoxy, or replacing the backplane in order to convert the RC into a standard VAXstation II.
VAXstation II/GPX.
Introduced in December 1985, it was code named ""Caylith", and was a variant of the VAXstation II with hardware-enhanced, high-performance color graphics.
VAXstation 2000.
Introduced in February 1987, it was code named "VAXstar"" or "Kapri", and used the KA410 CPU module containing a 5 MHz MicroVAX II processor with no cache. It was essentially a MicroVAX 2000 in a workstation configuration.
VAXstation 3100 Series.
VAXstation 3100 Model 30 (VS42A-xx).
Code named "PVAX", it used the KA42-A CPU module containing an 11.12 MHz (90 ns) CVAX microprocessor with a 64 KB external cache.
The VT1300 X terminal was essentially a diskless VAXstation 3100 Model 30, running the VAXELN operating system.
VAXstation 3100 Model 38 (WS42A-xx).
Code named ""PVAX rev#7", it used the KA42-B CPU module containing a 16.67 MHz (60 ns) CVAX+ microprocessor with a 64KB external cache.
VAXstation 3100 Model 40 (VS42S-xx).
Code named "PVAX"", it used the KA42-A CPU module containing an 11.12 MHz (90 ns) CVAX microprocessor with a 64KB external cache. It used the same CPU module and system board as the Model 30, but was housed in a larger case which could hold additional 5.25" and 3.5" drives.
VAXstation 3100 Model 48 (WS42B-xx).
Code named ""PVAX rev#7", it used the KA42-B CPU module containing a 16.67 MHz (60 ns) CVAX+ microprocessor with a 64KB external cache.
VAXstation 3100 Model 76.
Code named "RigelMAX", it used the KA43-A CPU module containing a 35.71 MHz (28 ns) Rigel microprocessor with a 128 KB external cache. It provided two separate SCSI buses, one for internal devices and one for external.
VAXstation 3200 and VAXstation 3500.
Code named "Mayfair/GPX", it used the KA650 CPU module containing a CVAX chip set operating at 11.12 MHz (90 ns cycle time) with 64 KB of external secondary cache. They differed by the enclosure used, the 3200 using a BA23, whereas the 3500 used the BA213. As such, they were effectively workstation configurations of the MicroVAX III and MicroVAX 3500 respectively.
VAXstation 3520 and VAXstation 3540.
The VAXstation 3520 and VAXstation 3540, code named "Firefox"", were multiprocessor computers with two or four CVAX chip sets respectively, contained on KA60 CPU modules running at 12.5 MHz (80 ns cycle time). They were positioned as mid-range workstations. The first official announcement from Digital regarding these workstations was on 10 January 1989, although it was a "programme announcement" with no dates or prices provided.
VAXstation 4000 Series.
VAXstation 4000 Model VLC.
The VAXstation 4000 VLC (Very Low Cost), aka VAXstation 4000 M30, was an entry-level workstation introduced on 30 October 1991. It was code named ""PVAX2/VLC". It used the KA48 CPU module containing a 25 MHz (40 ns cycle time) SOC microprocessor. It had 8 to 24 MB of memory, using the MS40-BA SIMM, which was a low-height standard 72-pin 80 ns memory module with parity.
VAXstation 4000 Model 60.
The VAXstation 4000 Model 60, code named "PMariah", was announced on 30 October 1991 and became available on 25 November 1991. It used the KA46 CPU module containing a Mariah chip set operating at 55 MHz (18 ns cycle time) with 256 KB of external cache. It supported 8 to 104 MB of memory, with SIMMs installed in pairs. SIMMs used were the 4 MB MS44L-AA and the 16 MB MS44-DA, which both had parity. It was the first VAX system to use the TURBOchannel interconnect. The upgrade path was to the VAXstation 4000 Model 96.
VAXstation 4000 Model 90.
The VAXstation 4000 Model 90, code named "Cougar", was a further development of the VAXstation 4000 Model 60. Development of the VAXstation 4000 Model 90 began in mid-1991.
The workstation used the KA49-A CPU module containing a NVAX microprocessor operating at 74.43 MHz (14 ns cycle time) with a 256 KB external secondary cache. The NVAX had a 64-bit data bus to the NMC (NVAX Memory Controller) two gate array. The system module contained eight SIMM slots, and the workstation supported 16 to 128 MB of memory with parity. 16 MB MS44L-BC and 64 MB MS44-DC memory kits were used to populate the SIMM slots. Each memory kit contained four SIMMs with capacities of 4 MB and 16 MB respectively.
The VAXstation 4000 Model 90 supported 3D graphics hardware, the SPXg and SPXgt options. These modules had their own connector on the system module.
I/O was based around the NCA, a gate array which implemented an input/output adapter. The I/O subsystem had two independent 32-bit buses that communicated with the I/O and graphics options available. One of the buses interfaced to a TURBOchannel slot, the firmware contained within ROMs and the graphics options. The other bus interfaced to the Ethernet and EDAL controllers. EDAL was a 16-bit general-purpose bus for I/O. The EDAL controller consisted of a CEAC (CDAL-to-EDAL Chip) and a SQWF chip.
Ethernet was provided by the SGEC (Second-Generation Ethernet Controller) chip. SCSI was provided by the NCR 53C94, which connected to the EDAL bus. Serial lines were provided by a DC7085 quad UART. The four serial lines were used for the keyboard, mouse, modem and printer/console. A 64-entry FIFO queue was provided for all four serial lines and was implemented by a small external SRAM. Voice-quality sound was provided by an AMD Am79C30.
The VAXstation 4000 Model 90 could be upgraded to a VAXstation 4000 Model 96.
VAXstation 4000 Model 90A.
The VAXstation 4000 Model 90A, code named "Cougar+", was a faster version of the Model 90. It used the KA49-A CPU module containing a NVAX microprocessor operating at 83 MHz (12 ns cycle time) but was otherwise the same. The upgrade path was to the VAXstation 4000 Model 96.
VAXstation 4000 Model 96.
The VAXstation 4000 Model 96, code named "Cougar++"", was a faster version of the Model 90A. It was discontinued on 30 September 1999, with the last shipments concluding on 31 December 1999.
It used the KA49-C CPU module containing a NVAX microprocessor operating at 100 MHz (10 ns cycle time) but was otherwise the same.
VAXstation 8000.
The VAXstation 8000, code named "Lynx", was a high-end workstation introduced on 2 February 1988. It was essentially a VAX 8250 packaged in a deskside enclosure with a 3D graphics pipeline developed jointly with Evans & Sutherland. It was the only VAXstation to use a Full VAX processor instead of a MicroVAX as its main CPU.
VXT 2000.
The VXT 2000 was an X terminal using the SOC microprocessor. This system was essentially a VAXstation 3100 Model 30 without any mass storage and set up to network boot a VAXeln image that allowed it to be an X-Windows terminal.
VAXstation 100.
The VAXstation 100 was a VAXstation-branded graphics terminal introduced in May 1983. It used a Motorola 68000 microprocessor and connected to its VAX host via Unibus. It was used for developing the X Window System.
VAXstation 500.
The VAXstation 500 was a VAXstation-branded successor to the VAXstation 100 with color graphics, introduced in October 1985. It consisted of a MicroVAX I and a Tektronix 4125 colour terminal.
Software.
DTP software for VMS on the VAXstation included Interleaf IWPS/IWPS-Plus, CGS Digi-Design/ORIS, DECwrite and WordPerfect.
Mechanical CAE software:
Applicon Bravo (in 1988; with 3D-views),
SDRC applications (incl. FEM pre- and postprocessing, I-DEAS),
Prime GNC (GNC i.e. Graphical Numerical Control; a Numerical control application), MCS (Manufacturing & Consulting Services) ANVIL-5000, ISYKON (bought by Intergraph) Proren, EUCLID-IS, Unigraphics, MEDUSA


SoundApp

SoundApp is a freeware audio player for the Classic Mac OS. It was among the earliest MP3 players for the Classic Mac OS, and was widely praised for its ability to play back, and convert between, a variety of audio file formats.
The program appears to have been abandoned by its creator, Norman Franke, after the release of SoundApp 2.7.3. Franke's reasons for abandoning the project have never been made public, and SoundApp has never been ported to Mac OS X.
Another developer, Joachim Bengtsson / Third Cog Software, has begun a version for Mac OS X, "SoundApp Reborn", but this project does not use any of Franke's original code. As of 2017, SoundApp Reborn is at version 0.1.1 and supports audio playback but not conversion and does not incorporate all of SoundApp's features.


ZX Printer

The Sinclair ZX Printer is a spark printer which was produced by Sinclair Research for its ZX81 home computer. It was launched in 1981, with a recommended retail price of £49.95.
The ZX Printer used special wide black paper which was supplied coated with a thin layer of aluminium. To mark the paper, one of the printer's two styluses passed a current through a small area of the aluminium layer, causing the aluminium to evaporate and reveal the black under-surface. The printer's horizontal resolution was the same as the ZX81's video display, i.e. 256 dots (pixels) or 32 characters (using the standard character definition).
The ZX Printer was also compatible with the earlier ZX80 computer (when fitted with the 8kB ROM upgrade) and the later ZX Spectrum, and plugged directly into the expansion bus connector via a short cable. The expansion bus was duplicated on the outside of the printer's connector, allowing other peripherals to be connected concurrently. The printer drew its power directly from the expansion bus, and was sold with a larger (1-2A) power supply for the ZX81 to accommodate the additional power drain. The Spectrum's user manual noted that this was not needed for the Spectrum as its default 1.1A power supply was sufficient.
Competing printers.
The Alphacom 32 was a thermal printer that used the same interface, and therefore could be driven by a ZX81 or Spectrum without additional software. Unlike the ZX Printer, it had a separate power supply.
External links.
[[Category:Computer-related introductions in 1981]]
[[Category:Home computer peripherals]]
[[Category:Sinclair Research]]


Cromwell (computing)

Cromwell is a replacement firmware for the Microsoft Xbox gaming console that has been developed by the Xbox Linux Project. If programmed onto the onboard flash chip of the Xbox or a modchip, it can boot the Linux operating system and practically convert the Xbox into a full PC.
It is unusual in that it is a legal firmware (because it does not use any of Microsoft's code to function) and was developed primarily through reverse-engineering of the original Microsoft BIOS and its boot process. In light of this, many Xbox modchip manufacturers ship this firmware with their chips to avoid litigation and copyright infringement claims. The main function of this firmware is to load the Linux operating system, although it also supports other features, such as the ability to reprogram the hardware with another firmware image, lock and unlock the hard disk, and change video mode (PAL/NTSC). Unlike the vast majority of Xbox firmware images, it is not able to load Xbox games (either original or otherwise). This is because the original Microsoft firmware image contains the kernel of the Xbox operating system (widely believed to be a stripped-down Windows 2000 derivative) - that is, the firmware is the operating system. As Cromwell does not contain this, it is not able to allow games to load and function.
Cromwell includes code from other open source projects, but combines them in a unique way. This is a list of components that can be found in Cromwell:
The standalone version of the Linux USB stack from Cromwell has been ported to the ReactOS operating system.