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PCjr
The IBM PCjr (pronounced "PC junior") was a home computer produced and marketed by IBM from March 1984 to May 1985, intended as a lower-cost variant of the IBM PC with hardware capabilities better suited for video games, in order to compete more directly with other home computers such as the Apple II and Commodore 64. It retained the IBM PC's 8088 CPU and BIOS interface, but provided enhanced graphics and sound, ROM cartridge slots, built-in joystick ports, and an infrared wireless keyboard. The PCjr supported expansion via "sidecar" modules, which could be attached to the side of the unit. Despite widespread anticipation, the PCjr was ultimately unsuccessful in the market. It was only partially IBM compatible, limiting support for IBM's software library, its chiclet keyboard was widely criticized for its poor quality, expandability was limited, and it was initially offered with a maximum of of RAM, insufficient for many PC programs. Models The PCjr came in two models: * 48 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Video Gate Array
Tandy Graphics Adapter (TGA, also Tandy graphics) is a computer display standard for the Tandy 1000 series of IBM PC compatibles, which has compatibility with the video subsystem of the IBM PCjr but became a standard in its own right. PCjr graphics The Tandy 1000 series began in 1984 as a clone of the IBM PCjr, offering support for existing PCjr software. As a result, its graphics subsystem is largely compatible. The PCjr, released in 1983, has a graphics subsystem built around IBM's Video Gate Array (not to be confused with the later Video Graphics Array) and an Motorola 6845, MC6845 CRTC and extends on the capabilities of the Color Graphics Adapter (CGA), increasing the number of colors in each screen mode. CGA's 2-color mode can be displayed with four colors, and its 4-color mode can be displayed with all 16 colors. Since the Tandy 1000 was much more successful than PCjr, their shared hardware capabilities became more associated with the Tandy brand than with IBM. While th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
IBM JX
The IBM JX (or JXPC) was a personal computer released in 1984 into the Japanese, Australian and New Zealand markets. Designed in Japan, it was based on the technology of the IBM PCjr and was designated the IBM 5511. It was targeted in the Australasian market towards the public education sector rather than at consumers, and was sold in three levels: JX (64 KiB), JX2 (128 KiB) and JX3 (256 KiB). Upgrades were available to both 384 KiB and 512 KiB. The JX was the first IBM PC to use 3.5" floppy drives. IBM Japan expected to sell 200,000 units of JX, but only 40,000 units were produced. The JX was discontinued in 1987, and IBM Japan gave 15,000 units of JX to its employees in honor of the company's 50th anniversary. General The IBM JX's main difference from the PCjr was a professional keyboard (rather than the PCjr's disparaged chiclet keyboard), dual 3.5" floppy drives, as well as options for a 5.25" floppy drive and a hard drive, both of which sat atop the m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
Color Graphics Adapter
The Color Graphics Adapter (CGA), originally also called the ''Color/Graphics Adapter'' or ''IBM Color/Graphics Monitor Adapter'', introduced in 1981, was IBM's first color graphics card for the IBM PC and established a de facto computer display standard. Hardware design The original IBM CGA graphics card was built around the Motorola 6845 display controller, came with 16 kilobytes of video memory built in, and featured several graphics and text modes. The highest display resolution of any mode was 640×200, and the highest color depth supported was 4-bit (16 colors). The CGA card could be connected either to a direct-drive CRT monitor using a 4-bit digital (TTL) RGBI interface, such as the IBM 5153 color display, or to an NTSC-compatible television or composite video monitor via an RCA connector. The RCA connector provided only baseband video, so to connect the CGA card to a television set without a composite video input required a separate RF modulator. IBM pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
IBM Personal Computer
The IBM Personal Computer (model 5150, commonly known as the IBM PC) is the first microcomputer released in the IBM PC model line and the basis for the IBM PC compatible de facto standard. Released on August 12, 1981, it was created by a team of engineers and designers directed by Don Estridge in Boca Raton, Florida. The machine was based on open architecture and third-party peripherals. Over time, expansion cards and software technology increased to support it. The PC had a influence of the IBM PC on the personal computer market, substantial influence on the personal computer market. The specifications of the IBM PC became one of the most popular computer design standards in the world. The only significant competition it faced from a non-compatible platform throughout the 1980s was from the Apple Macintosh product line. The majority of modern personal computers are distant descendants of the IBM PC. History Prior to the 1980s, IBM had largely been known as a provider of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chiclet Keyboard
A chiclet keyboard or island-style keyboard is a computer keyboard with keys that form an array of small, flat rectangular or lozenge-shaped rubber or plastic keys that look like erasers or "Chiclets", a brand of chewing gum manufactured in the shape of small squares with rounded corners. It is an evolution of the membrane keyboard, using the same principle of a single rubber sheet with individual electrical switches underneath each key, but with the addition of an additional upper layer which provides superior tactile feedback through a buckling mechanism. Since the mid-1980s, chiclet keyboards have been mainly restricted to lower-end electronics, such as small handheld calculators, cheap PDAs and many remote controls, though the name is also used to refer to scissor keyboards with superficially similar appearance. History The term first appeared during the home computer era of the late 1970s to mid-1980s. The TRS-80 Color Computer, TRS-80 MC-10, and Timex Sinclair 2068 wer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
IBM PS/1
The IBM PS/1 is a brand for a line of personal computers that marked IBM's return to the home market in 1990, five years after the IBM PCjr. It was replaced by the IBM Aptiva in September 1994. Position among IBM's PC brands The PS/1 line was created for new computer users and was sold in consumer electronics stores alongside comparable offerings from Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, Packard Bell, and others. American PS/1 models came with a modem installed so users could access online IBM help services, which were provided by partnerships with Prodigy and Quantum. Like the PCjr, the PS/1's name suggested a more limited machine than IBM's business line, the PS/2. However, unlike the PS/2, the PS/1 was based upon architecture closer to the AT and compatibles, for example using ISA, plain VGA, and IDE. Although the first models used custom-designed components and design, later desktop and tower models used mostly standard components. The earlier models included a ROM with IBM's PC D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BIOS
In computing, BIOS (, ; Basic Input/Output System, also known as the System BIOS, ROM BIOS, BIOS ROM or PC BIOS) is firmware used to provide runtime services for operating systems and programs and to perform hardware initialization during the booting process (power-on startup). The BIOS firmware comes pre-installed on an IBM PC or IBM PC compatible's system board and exists in some UEFI-based systems to maintain compatibility with operating systems that do not support UEFI native operation. The name originates from the Basic Input/Output System used in the CP/M operating system in 1975. The BIOS originally proprietary to the IBM PC has been reverse engineered by some companies (such as Phoenix Technologies) looking to create compatible systems. The interface of that original system serves as a ''de facto'' standard. The BIOS in modern PCs initializes and tests the system hardware components (Power-on self-test), and loads a boot loader from a mass storage device which then i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SN76489
The SN76489 Digital Complex Sound Generator (DCSG) is a TTL-compatible programmable sound generator chip from Texas Instruments. Its main application was the generation of music and sound effects in game consoles, arcade games and home computers (such as the TI-99/4A, BBC Micro, ColecoVision, IBM PCjr, Tomy Tutor, and Tandy 1000), competing with the similar General Instrument AY-3-8910. It contains: * 3 square wave tone generators. ** A wide range of frequencies. ** 16 different volume levels. * 1 noise generator. ** 2 types (white noise and periodic). ** 3 different frequencies. ** 16 different volume levels. Overview The SN76489 was originally designed to be used in the TI-99/4 computer, where it was first called the TMS9919 and later SN94624, and had a 500 kHz max clock input rate. Later, when it was sold outside of TI, it was renamed the SN76489, and a divide-by-8 was added to its clock input, increasing the max clock input rate to , to facilitate sharing a crystal for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
PS/2
The Personal System/2 or PS/2 is IBM's second generation of personal computers. Released in 1987, it officially replaced the IBM PC, XT, AT, and PC Convertible in IBM's lineup. Many of the PS/2's innovations, such as the 16550 UART (serial port), 1440 KB 3.5-inch floppy disk format, 72-pin SIMMs, the PS/2 port, and the VGA video standard, went on to become standards in the broader PC market. The PS/2 line was created by IBM partly in an attempt to recapture control of the PC market by introducing the advanced yet proprietary Micro Channel architecture (MCA) on higher-end models. These models were in the strange position of being incompatible with the IBM-compatible hardware standards previously established by IBM and adopted in the PC industry. However, IBM's initial PS/2 computers were popular with target market corporate buyers, and by September 1988 IBM reported that it had sold 3 million PS/2 machines. This was only 18 months after the new range had been introduced. Most ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Qume
Qume was a manufacturer of daisy-wheel printers originally located in Hayward, California, later moving to San Jose. Around 1980, it also opened a manufacturing facility in Puerto Rico. It once dominated the daisy-wheel market. As the market for its printers declined in the 1980s, the company developed a line of computer terminals. It was founded by David S. Lee and Robert E. SchroederThe Startup Game: Inside the Partnership between Venture Capitalists and Entrepreneurs, William H. Draper III, St. Martin's Press, 1/4/2011, ASIN B004CYERLI, page 168 in 1973, grew to become the largest printer company in the world, and was acquired by ITT Corporation for an unprecedented $164M in 1978. It remained a division of ITT until its acquisition by Wyse Technology sometime before 1995. Qume also manufactured floppy diskette drives, particularly 5.25" ones, but it also manufactured 8" diskette drives as well. Qume's diskette drives were included in some IBM PC models, such as the Portable P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Composite Video
Composite video is an analog video signal format that carries standard-definition video (typically at 525 lines or 625 lines) as a single channel. Video information is encoded on one channel, unlike the higher-quality S-Video (two channels) and the even higher-quality component video (three or more channels). In all of these video formats, audio is carried on a separate connection. Composite video is also known by the initials CVBS for composite video baseband signal or color, video, blanking and sync, or is simply referred to as ''SD video'' for the standard-definition television signal it conveys. There are three dominant variants of composite video signals, corresponding to the analog color system used: NTSC, PAL, and SECAM. Usually composite video is carried by a yellow RCA connector, but other connections are used in professional settings. Signal components A composite video signal combines, on one wire, the video information required to recreate a color picture, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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