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APF Imagination Machine
The APF Imagination Machine is a combination home video game console and home computer system released by APF Electronics Inc. in late 1979. It has two separate components, the APF-M1000 game system, and an add-on docking bay with full sized typewriter keyboard and tape drive. The APF-M1000 was built specifically to compete with the Atari 2600. The full APF Imagination Machine, including the APF-M1000 console and the IM-1 computer component, originally sold for around (). Specifications *CPU: 8-bit 0.89 MHz Motorola 6800 (3.579 MHz Oscillator divided by 4) *ROM: 14 KB *RAM: 9 KB expandable to 17 KB (8 KB / 16 KB + 1 KB) *Video Display Controller: MC6847 *Resolutions: 256×192×4 / 128×192×8 *Colors: 8 *One sound channel in 5 octaves *Two controllers: **13 buttons ***0-9 numeric keypad ***Clear and End key ***Trigger **4-way joystick Overview APF Basic The bundled APF BASIC interpreter allows any users to develop their own programs. Most retailers of the system offer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
MC6847
The MC6847 is a video display generator (VDG) first introduced by Motorola and used in the TRS-80 Color Computer, Dragon 32/64, Laser 200, TRS-80 MC-10/Matra Alice, NEC PC-6000 series, Acorn Atom, and the APF Imagination Machine, among others. It is a relatively simple display generator compared to other display chips of the time. It is capable of displaying alphanumeric text, semigraphics and raster graphics contained within a roughly square display matrix 256 pixels wide by 192 lines high. The ROM includes a 5 x 7 pixel font, compatible with 6-bit ASCII. Effects such as inverse video or colored text (green on dark green; orange on dark orange) are possible. It is capable of displaying nine colors: black, green, yellow, blue, red, buff (almost-but-not-quite white), cyan, magenta, and orange (two extra colors, dark green and dark orange, are only possible as backgrounds for alphanumeric text modes). According to the MC6847 datasheet, the colors are formed by the combination o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
APF Electronics Inc
APF Electronics, Inc. was a publicly traded company in the United States dedicated to consumer electronics. The company's name comes from the initials of the two brothers who founded the company, Al & Phil Friedman. History The company was founded to import stereos from Japan to the U.S., specifically quadraphonic sets and 8-track player. They moved into calculators. APF had locations in Queens, NY where they were headquartered, and in Hong Kong, where they owned a factory. In all, APF employed 300 people. Products APF marketed calculators in the early 1970s. Models such as the Mark III and Mark V had LED displays and used C batteries. APF TV Fun was a series of classic first generation video game consoles. It is one of the first system based on the common AY-3-8500 chipset from General Instruments. There are TV Fun Model 401A and TV Fun Sportsarama. The series was first available in 1976. APF-MP1000, also called M-1000, was a second generation video game console released ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Video Game Crash Of 1983
The video game crash of 1983 (known as the Atari shock in Japan) was a large-scale recession in the video game industry that occurred from 1983 to 1985, primarily in the United States. The crash was attributed to several factors, including market saturation in the number of video game consoles and available games, many of which were of poor quality, as well as waning interest in console games in favor of personal computers. Home video game revenues peaked at around $3.2 billion in 1983, then fell to around $100 million by 1985 (a drop of almost 97 percent). The crash abruptly ended what is retrospectively considered the second generation of console video gaming in North America. To a lesser extent, the arcade game market also weakened as the golden age of arcade video games came to an end. Lasting about two years, the crash shook a then-booming video game industry and led to the bankruptcy of several companies producing home computers and video game consoles. Analysts of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Second-generation Video Game Consoles
The second generation is the generation following the one preceding it. Second generation, Generation II, or variants may also refer to: * Second generation immigrant ** Nisei, one of the second generation of people of Japanese descent in the Americas * Second generation of Chinese leaders, see Generations of Chinese leadership * Second-generation human rights, see Three generations of human rights * People whose parents took part in a Blessing ceremony of the Unification Church Arts and entertainment * ''Second Generation'' (novel), 1964 novel, by Raymond Williams * ''Second Generation'', 1978 novel by Howard Fast * '' The Second Generation'', 1994 collection of five fantasy novellas by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman * ''Second Generation'' (film), 2003 British television drama * ''Second Generation'' (advertisement), 2006 television ad for Nike * '' Second Generation of Postwar Writers'' in Japanese literature * ''Second Generation'' (2003), a British TV serial that was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andy Grove
Andrew Stephen Grove (born András István Gróf; 2 September 193621 March 2016) was a Hungarian-American businessman and engineer who served as the third CEO of Intel Corporation. He escaped from Communist-controlled Hungary at the age of 20 and moved to the United States, where he finished his education. He was the third employee and eventual third CEO of Intel, transforming the company into the world's largest semiconductor company. As a result of his work at Intel, along with his books and professional articles, Grove had a considerable influence on electronics manufacturing industries worldwide. He has been called the "guy who drove the growth phase" of Silicon Valley. In 1997, ''Time'' magazine chose him as "Man of the Year", for being "the person most responsible for the amazing growth in the power and the innovative potential of microchips." One source notes that by his accomplishments at Intel alone, he "merits a place alongside the great business leaders of the 20th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fairchild Semiconductor
Fairchild Semiconductor International, Inc. was an American semiconductor company based in San Jose, California. Founded in 1957 as a division of Fairchild Camera and Instrument, it became a pioneer in the manufacturing of transistors and of integrated circuits. Schlumberger bought the firm in 1979 and sold it to National Semiconductor in 1987; Fairchild was corporate spin-off, spun off as an independent company again in 1997. In September 2016, Fairchild was acquired by ON Semiconductor. The company had locations in the United States at San Jose, California; San Rafael, California; South Portland, Maine; West Jordan, Utah; and Mountaintop, Pennsylvania. Outside the US it operated locations in Australia; Singapore; Bucheon, Bucheon, South Korea; Penang, Malaysia; Suzhou, Suzhou, China; and Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines, among others. History 1950s In 1955, William Shockley founded Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory, funded by Beckman Instruments in Mountain View, California ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apple II
The Apple II (stylized as ) is an 8-bit home computer and one of the world's first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products. It was designed primarily by Steve Wozniak; Jerry Manock developed the design of Apple II's foam-molded plastic case, Rod Holt developed the switching power supply, while Steve Jobs's role in the design of the computer was limited to overseeing Jerry Manock's work on the plastic case. It was introduced by Jobs and Wozniak at the 1977 West Coast Computer Faire, and marks Apple's first launch of a personal computer aimed at a consumer market—branded toward American households rather than businessmen or computer hobbyists. ''Byte'' magazine referred to the Apple II, Commodore PET 2001, and TRS-80 as the "1977 Trinity". As the Apple II had the defining feature of being able to display color graphics, the Apple logo was redesigned to have a spectrum of colors. The Apple II is the first model in the Apple II series, followed by Apple ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Commodore PET
The Commodore PET is a line of personal computers produced starting in 1977 by Commodore International. A single all-in-one case combines a MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor, Commodore BASIC in read-only memory, keyboard, monochrome monitor, and, in early models, a cassette deck. Development of the system began in 1976, and a prototype was demonstrated at the January 1977 Consumer Electronics Show. The name "PET" was suggested by Andre Souson after he saw the Pet Rock in Los Gatos, and stated they were going to make the "pet computer". It was backronymed to Personal Electronic Transactor. A series of problems delayed production versions until December 1977, by which time the TRS-80 and Apple II had already begun deliveries. ''Byte'' referred to the three machines collectively as the "1977 trinity". Following the initial PET 2001, the design was updated through a series of models with more memory, better keyboard, larger screen, and other modifications. The systems were a top ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
TRS-80
The TRS-80 Micro Computer System (TRS-80, later renamed the Model I to distinguish it from successors) is a desktop microcomputer launched in 1977 and sold by Tandy Corporation through their Radio Shack stores. The name is an abbreviation of ''Tandy Radio Shack, Z80 icroprocessor'. It is one of the earliest mass-produced and mass-marketed retail home computers. The TRS-80 has a full-stroke QWERTY keyboard, the Zilog Z80 processor, 4 KB dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) standard memory, small size and desk area, floating-point Level I BASIC language interpreter in read-only memory (ROM), 64-character per line video monitor, and a starting price of US$600 (equivalent to US$ in ). A cassette tape drive for program storage was included in the original package. While the software environment was stable, the cassette load/save process combined with keyboard bounce issues and a troublesome Expansion Interface contributed to the Model I's reputation as not well-suited to serious ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
APF-M1000
The APF Microcomputer System is a second generation 8-bit cartridge-based home video game console released in October 1978 by APF Electronics Inc. with six cartridges. The console is often referred to M-1000 or MP-1000, which are the two model numbers of the console. The APF-MP1000 comes built-in with the game ''Rocket Patrol''. The APF-MP1000 is a part of the APF Imagination Machine. The APF-MP1000 and the APF Imagination Machine were developed in part by the noted engineer Ed Smith. It is the successor to the APF TV Fun line of first generation consoles. Technical specifications * CPU: Motorola 6800 ( 8 bit) @ 0.895 MHz (3.579 MHz oscillator divided by 4) * RAM: 1 KB * Video Display Controller: MC6847 The MC6847 is a video display generator (VDG) first introduced by Motorola and used in the TRS-80 Color Computer, Dragon 32/64, Laser 200, TRS-80 MC-10/Matra Alice, NEC PC-6000 series, Acorn Atom, and the APF Imagination Machine, among others ... * Palette : 8 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atari 2600
The Atari 2600, initially branded as the Atari Video Computer System (Atari VCS) from its release until November 1982, is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977, it popularized microprocessor-based hardware and games stored on swappable ROM cartridges, a format first used with the Fairchild Channel F in 1976. The VCS was bundled with two joystick controllers, a conjoined pair of paddle controllers, and a game cartridgeinitially '' Combat'' and later '' Pac-Man''. Atari was successful at creating arcade video games, but their development cost and limited lifespan drove CEO Nolan Bushnell to seek a programmable home system. The first inexpensive microprocessors from MOS Technology in late 1975 made this feasible. The console was prototyped as codename Stella by Atari subsidiary Cyan Engineering. Lacking funding to complete the project, Bushnell sold Atari to Warner Communications in 1976. The Atari VCS launched in 1977 with n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
