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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 mi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
PC-8000 Series
The is a line of personal computers developed for the Japanese market by NEC. The PC-8001 model was also sold in the United States and Canada as the PC-8001A. Original models of the NEC PC-8001B (or sometimes the NEC PC-8000) were also sold in some European countries like in the UK, France, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands and in Australia and New Zealand as well. PC-8001 The first member of the PC-8000 series, the PC-8001 was first introduced on May 9, 1979, and went on sale in September 1979 for ¥168,000. Its design combines the keyboard and the mainboard into a single unit. At a time when most microcomputers were sold as "semi-kits" requiring end user assembly, the fully assembled PC-8001 was a rarity in the market. Peripherals included a printer, a cassette tape storage unit, and a CRT interface. Although it is often believed to be the first domestically produced personal computer for the Japanese market, it was preceded by both the Hitachi and the Sharp . The PC- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ASCII (magazine)
was a monthly released microcomputer magazine in Japan, published by ASCII Corporation from 1977. It targeted business users who used a personal computer in their home and office, but it sometimes introduced computer games and computer music. It was also known as the written along with the title from Vol. 2 No. 4, and distinguish with the founded in 1997. The ASCII was rebranded as the in 2008, and ceased in 2010. Its news website and the Weekly ASCII are continuing as in 2016. The , a computer game magazine, was first published as an extra issue of the ASCII in 1982, and the was branched from the LOGiN. Foundation In 1976, NEC released the TK-80, a single-board computer kit, and it became popular among hobbyists in Japan. joined foundation of the first Japanese microcomputer magazine ''I/O'' ( ja) as an editor when he was a student at the Waseda University. The I/O initially served information for assembled microcomputer systems with a few video game columns. Growing t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Akihabara Radio Kaikan
The , Akihabara Radio Hall is a commercial building in Tokyo and is one of the most well-known landmarks in the Akihabara district. The recent building was built in 2014 after the old building was demolished in 2011. The building is 46.5 m high, is ten levels from the ground floor and has two basement levels. The current building primarily hosts stores selling otaku goods. The old 8-story building was built in November 1962 becoming the first high rise building in Akihabara. The building became the home of electronics shops selling component and parts. After the otaku culture started to establish itself in Akihabara, shops selling otaku goods moved into Radio Kaikan. Concerns were raised in 2010 regarding the structural integrity of Radio Kaikan due to the building's age. The building was closed for demolition in August 2011 and a new building was built in its place. In popular culture * The building plays a prominent role in the Steins;Gate franchise. See also * TK-80 The TK-8 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NEC μCOM Series
The NEC μCOM series is a series of microprocessors and microcontrollers manufactured by NEC in the 1970s and 1980s. The initial entries in the series were custom-designed 4 and 16-bit designs, but later models in the series were mostly based on the Intel 8080 and Zilog Z80 8-bit designs, and later, the Intel 8086 16-bit design. Most of the line was replaced in 1984 by the NEC V20, an Intel 8088 clone. Overview The μCOM series has its roots in one of the world's earliest microprocessor chipsets, the two-chip processor µPD707 / µPD708. Early in 1970, Coca Cola Japan set out to increase the efficiency of their sales outlets by introducing new POS terminals. Sharp was contracted to build these terminals, and NEC in turn to develop a chipset. The chipset development was complete in December 1971, at about the same time as other early microprocessors in the USA. Since then, NEC has developed and manufactured various microprocessors and microcontrollers. General-purpos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Single-board Computer
A single-board computer (SBC) is a complete computer built on a single circuit board, with microprocessor(s), memory, input/output (I/O) and other features required of a functional computer. Single-board computers are commonly made as demonstration or development systems, for educational systems, or for use as embedded computer controllers. Many types of home computers or portable computers integrate all their functions onto a single printed circuit board. Unlike a desktop personal computer, single board computers often do not rely on expansion slots for peripheral functions or expansion. Single board computers have been built using a wide range of microprocessors. Simple designs, such as those built by computer hobbyists, often use static RAM and low-cost 32- or 64-bit processors like ARM. Other types, such as blade servers, would perform similar to a server computer, only in a more compact format. A computer-on-module is a type of single-board computer made to plug into ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
KIM-1
The KIM-1, short for ''Keyboard Input Monitor'', is a small 6502-based single-board computer developed and produced by MOS Technology, Inc. and launched in 1976. It was very successful in that period, due to its low price (thanks to the inexpensive 6502 microprocessor) and easy-access expandability. History MOS Technology's first processor, the 6501, could be plugged into existing motherboards that used the Motorola 6800, allowing potential users (i.e. engineers and hobbyists) to get a development system up and running very easily using existing hardware. Motorola immediately sued, forcing MOS to pull the 6501 from the market. Changing the pin layout produced the "lawsuit-friendly" 6502. Otherwise identical to the 6501, it nevertheless had the disadvantage of having no machine in which new users could quickly start playing with the CPU. Chuck Peddle, leader of the 650x group at MOS (and former member of Motorola's 6800 team), designed the KIM-1 in order to fill this ne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ASCII Corporation
was a Japanese publishing company based in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It became a subsidiary of Kadokawa Group Holdings in 2004, and merged with another Kadokawa subsidiary MediaWorks on April 1, 2008, becoming ASCII Media Works. The company published '' Monthly ASCII'' as the main publication. ASCII is best known for creating the '' Derby Stallion'' video game series, the MSX computer, and the '' RPG Maker'' line of programming software. History 1977–1990: Founding and first projects ASCII was founded in 1977 by Kazuhiko Nishi and Keiichiro Tsukamoto. Originally the publisher of a magazine with the same name, ''ASCII'', talks between Bill Gates and Nishi led to the creation of Microsoft's first overseas sales office, ASCII Microsoft, in 1978.Quote from Bill Gates' ''The Road Ahead'', found in In 1980, ASCII made 1.2 billion yen of sales from licensing Microsoft BASIC. It was 40 percent of Microsoft's sales, and Nishi became Microsoft's Vice President of Sales for Far East. In 198 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Open Architecture
Open architecture is a type of computer architecture or software architecture intended to make adding, upgrading, and swapping components with other computers easy. For example, the IBM PC, Amiga 500 and Apple IIe have an open architecture supporting plug-in cards, whereas the Apple IIc computer has a closed architecture. Open architecture systems may use a standardized system bus such as S-100, PCI or ISA or they may incorporate a proprietary bus standard such as that used on the Apple II, with up to a dozen slots that allow multiple hardware manufacturers to produce add-ons, and for the user to freely install them. By contrast, closed architectures, if they are expandable at all, have one or two "expansion ports" using a proprietary connector design that may require a license fee from the manufacturer, or enhancements may only be installable by technicians with specialized tools or training. Computer platforms may include systems with both open and closed architectures. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
PDP-8
The PDP-8 is a 12-bit minicomputer that was produced by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC). It was the first commercially successful minicomputer, with over 50,000 units being sold over the model's lifetime. Its basic design follows the pioneering LINC but has a smaller instruction set, which is an expanded version of the PDP-5 instruction set. Similar machines from DEC are the PDP-12 which is a modernized version of the PDP-8 and LINC concepts, and the PDP-14 industrial controller system. Overview The earliest PDP-8 model, informally known as a "Straight-8", was introduced on 22 March 1965 priced at $18,500 (). It used diode–transistor logic packaged on flip chip cards in a machine about the size of a small household refrigerator. It was the first computer to be sold for under $20,000, making it the best-selling computer in history at that time. The Straight-8 was supplanted in 1966 by the PDP-8/S, which was available in desktop and rack-mount models. Using a one-bit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Machine Code Monitor
A machine code monitor ( machine language monitor) is software that allows a user to enter commands to view and change memory locations on a computer, with options to load and save memory contents from/to secondary storage. Some full-featured machine code monitors provide detailed control ("single-stepping") of the execution of machine language programs (much like a debugger), and include absolute-address code assembly and disassembly capabilities. Motorola published the MIKBUG ROM monitor for the 6800 in 1973 and the BUFFALO ROM monitor for the 68HC11. Machine code monitors became popular during the home computer era of the 1970s and 1980s and were sometimes available as resident firmware in some computers (e.g., the built-in monitors in the Commodore 128, Heathkit H89 and Zenith laptops). Often, computer manufacturers rely on their ROM-resident monitors to permit users to reconfigure their computers following installation of upgrade hardware, such as expanded main memo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
