Asynchronous Communications Interface Adapter
The 6551 Asynchronous Communications Interface Adapter (ACIA) was an integrated circuit made by MOS Technology. It served as a companion UART chip for the widely popular 6502 microprocessor. Intended to implement RS-232, its specifications called for a maximum speed of 19,200 bits per second with its onboard baud-rate generator, or 125kbit/s using an external 16x clock. The 6551 was used in several computers of the 1970s and 1980s, including the Commodore PET and Commodore Plus/4. It was also used by Apple Computer on the Super Serial Card for their Apple II series, and by RadioShack, Radio Shack on the Deluxe RS-232 Program Pak for their Color Computer. Commodore International omitted the 6551 from the popular VIC-20, C64, and C128 home computers. Instead, these systems implemented a bit-banging UART via KERNAL routines. This RS-232 implementation was not reliable over 1200 bit/s (see errata comments in the 6526 article), forcing some programmers of terminal programs to writ ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Integrated Circuit
An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit (also referred to as an IC, a chip, or a microchip) is a set of electronic circuits on one small flat piece (or "chip") of semiconductor material, usually silicon. Large numbers of tiny MOSFETs (metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistors) integrate into a small chip. This results in circuits that are orders of magnitude smaller, faster, and less expensive than those constructed of discrete electronic components. The IC's mass production capability, reliability, and building-block approach to integrated circuit design has ensured the rapid adoption of standardized ICs in place of designs using discrete transistors. ICs are now used in virtually all electronic equipment and have revolutionized the world of electronics. Computers, mobile phones and other home appliances are now inextricable parts of the structure of modern societies, made possible by the small size and low cost of ICs such as modern computer ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Commodore 64
The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness World Records as the highest-selling single computer model of all time, with independent estimates placing the number sold between 12.5 and 17 million units. Volume production started in early 1982, marketing in August for . Preceded by the VIC-20 and Commodore PET, the C64 took its name from its of RAM. With support for multicolor sprites and a custom chip for waveform generation, the C64 could create superior visuals and audio compared to systems without such custom hardware. The C64 dominated the low-end computer market (except in the UK and Japan, lasting only about six months in Japan) for most of the later years of the 1980s. For a substantial period (1983–1986), the C64 had between 30% and 40% share of the US market and two mil ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Motorola 6800
The 6800 ("''sixty-eight hundred''") is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit microprocessor designed and first manufactured by Motorola in 1974. The MC6800 microprocessor was part of the Motorola 6800 family, M6800 Microcomputer System (latter dubbed ''68xx'') that also included serial and parallel interface integrated circuit, ICs, RAM, read-only memory, ROM and other support chips. A significant design feature was that the M6800 family of ICs required only a single five-volt power supply at a time when most other microprocessors required three voltages. The M6800 Microcomputer System was announced in March 1974 and was in full production by the end of that year. "Motorola's M6800 microcomputer system, which can operate from a single 5-volt supply, is moving out of the sampling stage and into full production." The small-quantity price of the MC6800 is . The MC6820 PIA cost . The 6800 has a 16-bit address bus that can directly access of memory and an 8-bit bi-directional data bus. It has 72 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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CMOS
Complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS, pronounced "sea-moss", ) is a type of metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) fabrication process that uses complementary and symmetrical pairs of p-type and n-type MOSFETs for logic functions. CMOS technology is used for constructing integrated circuit (IC) chips, including microprocessors, microcontrollers, memory chips (including CMOS BIOS), and other digital logic circuits. CMOS technology is also used for analog circuits such as image sensors (CMOS sensors), data converters, RF circuits (RF CMOS), and highly integrated transceivers for many types of communication. The CMOS process was originally conceived by Frank Wanlass at Fairchild Semiconductor and presented by Wanlass and Chih-Tang Sah at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference in 1963. Wanlass later filed US patent 3,356,858 for CMOS circuitry and it was granted in 1967. commercialized the technology with the trademark "COS-MO ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rockwell Semiconductor
Rockwell may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Rockwell'' (album), a 2009 mini-album by Anni Rossi * Rockwell, a fictional town and setting of ''They Hunger'' * ''Rockwell'', a 1994 film about Porter Rockwell * Rockwell, Maine, a fictional town in ''The Iron Giant'' Brands and enterprises * Rockwell International, a former defense company in the United States, portions of which are now owned by ArvinMeritor, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, and United Technologies ** Rockwell Automation, an industrial automation company that descended from Rockwell International ** Rockwell Collins, a communications and aviation electronics company that also descended from Rockwell International, and now part of United Technologies' Collins Aerospace division. ** Rockwell Semiconductor, a semiconductor company that also descended from Rockwell International, now known as Conexant * Rockwell Diamonds, a mid-tier high-value gem diamond producer based in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hayes Communications
Hayes Microcomputer Products was a U.S.-based manufacturer of modems. The company is well known for the Smartmodem, which introduced a control language for operating the functions of the modem via the serial interface, in contrast to manual operation with front-panel switches. This ''smart modem'' approach dramatically simplified and automated operation. Today almost all modems use a variant of the Hayes command set. Hayes was a major brand in the modem market from the introduction of the original 300 bit/s Smartmodem in 1981. They remained a major vendor throughout the 1980s, periodically introducing models with higher throughput. Their competition through this period was primarily from two other high-end vendors, US Robotics and Telebit, while other companies mostly sold into niches or were strictly low-end offerings. In the early 1990s a number of greatly cost-reduced high-performance modems were released by competitors, notably the SupraFAXModem 14400, which eroded price poi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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ROM Cartridge
A ROM cartridge, usually referred to in context simply as a cartridge, cart, or card, is a replaceable part designed to be connected to a consumer electronics device such as a home computer, video game console or, to a lesser extent, electronic musical instruments. Read-Only Memory, ROM cartridges allow users to rapidly load and access programs and data alongside a floppy drive in a home computer; in a video game console, the cartridges are standalone. At the time around their release, ROM cartridges provided security against Software copyunauthorised copying of software. However, the manufacturing of ROM cartridges was more expensive than floppy disks, and the storage capacity was smaller. ROM cartridges and slots were also used for various hardware accessories and enhancements. The widespread usage of the ROM cartridge in video gaming applications has led it to be often colloquially called a game cartridge. History ROM cartridges were popularized by early home computer ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Creative Micro Designs
Creative Micro Designs (CMD) was founded in 1987 by Doug Cotton and Mark Fellows. It is a computer technology company which originally developed and sold products for the Commodore 64 and C128 8-bit personal computers. After 2001 it sold PCs and related equipment. History CMD's first product, JiffyDOS, was developed from 1985 onwards by Mark Fellows. An updated disk operating system, it maintained broad compatibility with Commodore floppy drives' DOS while offering much increased read write access. CMD stopped selling Commodore products in 2001. In July of that year, programmer Maurice Randal was sold an exclusive license to produce and sell the Commodore related products. His company Click Here Software Co supplied the products until around 2009. In 2010, Jim Brain acquired the license to supply JiffyDOS. Since January of that year, he has sold the product via his web shop Retro Innovations. Products * SuperCPU - A 65816 CPU 8/16-bit upgrade for the C64 and C12 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Terminal Program
A terminal emulator, or terminal application, is a computer program that emulates a video terminal within some other display architecture. Though typically synonymous with a shell or text terminal, the term ''terminal'' covers all remote terminals, including graphical interfaces. A terminal emulator inside a graphical user interface is often called a terminal window. A terminal window allows the user access to a text terminal and all its applications such as command-line interfaces (CLI) and text user interface (TUI) applications. These may be running either on the same machine or on a different one via telnet, ssh, dial-up, or over a direct serial connection. On Unix-like operating systems, it is common to have one or more terminal windows connected to the local machine. Terminals usually support a set of escape sequences for controlling color, cursor position, etc. Examples include the family of terminal control sequence standards known as ECMA-48, ANSI X3.64 or ISO/IEC ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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6526
The 6526/8520 Complex Interface Adapter (CIA) was an integrated circuit made by MOS Technology. It served as an I/O port controller for the 6502 family of microprocessors, providing for parallel and serial I/O capabilities as well as timers and a Time-of-Day (TOD) clock. The device's most prominent use was in the Commodore 64 and Commodore 128(D), each of which included two CIA chips. The Commodore 1570 and Commodore 1571 floppy disk drives contained one CIA each. Furthermore, the Amiga home computers and the Commodore 1581 floppy disk drive employed a modified variant of the CIA circuit called 8520. 8520 is functionally equivalent to the 6526 except for the simplified TOD circuitry. Parallel I/O The CIA had two 8-bit bidirectional parallel I/O ports. Each port had a corresponding Data Direction Register, which allowed each data line to be individually set to input or output mode. A read of these ports always returned the status of the individual lines, regardless of the d ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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KERNAL
KERNAL is Commodore's name for the ROM-resident operating system core in its 8-bit home computers; from the original PET of 1977, followed by the extended but strongly related versions used in its successors: the VIC-20, Commodore 64, Plus/4, C16, and C128. Description The Commodore 8-bit machines' KERNAL consists of the low-level, close-to-the-hardware OS routines roughly equivalent to the BIOS in IBM PC compatibles (in contrast to the BASIC interpreter routines, also located in ROM) as well as higher-level, device-independent I/O functionality, and is user-callable via a jump table in RAM whose central (oldest) part, for reasons of backwards compatibility, remains largely identical throughout the whole 8-bit series. The KERNAL ROM occupies the last 8 KB of the 8-bit CPU's 64 KB address space ($E000–$FFFF). The jump table can be modified to point to user-written routines, for example rewriting the screen display routines to display animated graphics or copying the charac ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |