30 Dec
2009
30 Dec
'09
2:29 a.m.
Geoff Oltmans <oltmansg at bellsouth.net> writes:
It only required one AC connection for the whole
thing, one wire going
from the printer to the computer, and one wire to the keyboard.
Which is perfectly reasonable -- but you can get the same effect by
putting the shared PSU in the computer. The Amstrad PCW 8256/8512 used
that approach: monitor with integrated CP/M machine, simple dot matrix
printer powered from it, and a separate keyboard. This meant that you
didn't need to connect the printer if you weren't going to use it, and
third-party printer upgrades were fairly common.
(To be fair, the PCW's printer was connected to the PCW with *two*
cables -- data and power -- but I suspect that was just Amstrad's
designers being their usual penny-pinching selves...)
--
Adam Sampson <ats at offog.org> <http://offog.org/>