Visual 1050
{{Short description|An 8-bit desktop computer sold by Visual Technology in the early 1980s}}
{{Infobox information appliance
| name = Visual 1050
| image =
| caption =
| manufacturer = Visual Technology
| type =
| releasedate = {{Start date and age|1983}}
| discontinued =
| connectivity =
| lifespan =
| unitssold =
| media = 2 400kb 5¼-inch floppy disks
| os = CP/M Plus
| input = Keyboard Keytronic full stroke 93-key with numeric key pad & 17 function keys
| power =
| cpu = Zilog Z80 clocked at 4 MHz with a MOS Technology 6502 graphics coprocessor
| storage =
| display = monochrome 80 chars. × 25 lines, 640 × 300 pixels
| audio =
| service =
| dimensions = CPU - 5H × 17W × 17Din
| weight = 15lbs
| touchpad =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| related =
| graphics = MOS Technology 6502
}}
The Visual 1050 was an 8-bit desktop computer sold by Visual Technology in the early 1980s.{{Cite web |title=Visual Technology Visual 1050 |url=http://v1050.classiccmp.org/index.html |access-date=2022-11-25 |website=v1050.classiccmp.org}}{{Cite web |title=Visual 1050 Visual Technology |url=https://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?st=2&c=842 |access-date=2022-11-25 |website=www.old-computers.com}} The computer ran under the CP/M operating system and used 2 400KB, 5¼, SSDD, 96tpi floppy disk drives (TEAC FD-55E) for mass storage with an optional 10MB external Winchester hard disk drive. In addition to the Zilog Z80A processor clocked at 4 MHz, the Visual 1050 also included a MOS Technology 6502 used as a graphics coprocessor.{{Cite news |last=Wierzbicki |first=Barbara |date=1983-07-18 |title=Graphics-terminal firm promises 8-bit micro with lots of software |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xi8EAAAAMBAJ&q=Visual+1050 |work=InfoWorld |pages=14}}{{Cite news |date=April 1984 |title=Visual 1050 Personal Computer System |url=https://vintageapple.org/byte/pdf/198404_Byte_Magazine_Vol_09-04_Real-World_Interfacing.pdf |work=BYTE |pages=407}}
Overview
The Visual 1050 featured a dual-processor architecture; Z80A processor as the main CPU and a 6502 to drive the display.{{Cite book |url=http://v1050.classiccmp.org/docs/v1050_UsersGuide.pdf |title=Visual 1050 User's Guide |date=1983 |publisher=Visual Technology, Inc.}}
In addition to the Z80 and 6502 chips, the system also included a Intel 8255A PIO, a Intel 8251A USART, a Intel 8214 Programmable Interrupt Controller, a Motorola 6845 CRT controller, a Western Digital 1793 floppy disk controller, and a OKI MSM5832 real time clock.{{Cite book |url=http://v1050.classiccmp.org/docs/v1050_ProgTechDoc.pdf |title=Visual 1050 Programmer's Technical Document |date=1984 |publisher=Visual Technology Incorporated}}
160K of RAM was included with the system, with 128K of this programmable and 32K reserved for use by the display processor.
The display was bit-mapped at a resolution of 640 × 300 pixels with 80 × 25 characters (at 8 × 12 pixel each) on a green monochrome CRT. The display offered programmable features which could be invoked from the main processing unit via a character-stream interface built in between the Z80 CPU and 6502 coprocessor.Visual 1050 Operating Manual
Two communication ports were available: an RS-232C serial port and a Centronics parallel port.
The machine had a Keytronic full stroke 93-key keyboard with numeric keypad and 17 function keys.
A standard Visual 1050 shipped with CP/M Plus operating system, a CP/M source disk, a copy of WordStar word processor with MailMerge software, Microsoft Multiplan spreadsheet, Digital Research DR Graph charting software, Digital Research CBASIC computer language, and an RS-232C communications program. Optionally there was support for a 10MB Winchester hard-drive via a Xebec S1410 Disk Controller.
See also
- Visual 50 - a video display terminal produced by Visual Technology
Sources
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=842&st=1 Pictures and Specifications]
- [http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/miscpm/v1050b84.jpg April 1984 Sales Advertisement from BYTE Magazine]
- [http://v1050.classiccmp.org/index.html Technical Information, Manuals, and general system information]