23 Aug
2012
23 Aug
'12
9:25 a.m.
On 23 Aug 2012 at 10:54, Michael Kerpan wrote:
Personally, I'm partial to the Amstrad PCW
line.While it was marketed
as a dedicated word processor in much of the world, it had gobs of RAM
(at least 256KB), high-resolution monochrome graphics (720x256) and
shipped with a very nice CP/M Plus implementation which included a
better-than-average BASIC as well as DRI LOGO and the GSX graphics
libraries. The non-standard 3 inch floppies are a bit of a drag, but
it was fairly easy to add 3.5 inch drives and even hard drives were
available.
Yup, got a "Joyce" here (120V US version, probably sold by Sears).
The 3" drive has been replaced with a 3.5" one (there's a gotcha with
the power cable--same connector as a 3.5" but the +5 and +12 are
interchanged. The Joyce does require a "ready" signal, so you need
to either use a drive that provides one or tie it active).
Mine has 512K of memory installed. The downside is the utter lack of
a standard peripheral interface (e.g. Centronics parallel or RS232)
or a way to modify the boot code, which appears to be contained in
the ASIC printer interface.
--Chuck