1982 - The Commodore C-64
Commodore Business Machines' C-64 was probably the most popular single computer of all time. With its 64K of bank switched memory (of which only 39K was available for Basic programs) but 20K was ROM including the character generator, running the 6510 processor it was capable of displaying 25 rows of 40 characters using 16 colours. One characteristic was the provision of 8 programmable sprites which could be coloured and moved independantly of the main screen image. Output was to a Y/C monitor, although with the optional RF converter it could be run through a TV set. Programs could be loaded from a special cassette drive or from a rather large and bulky 5¼" floppy disk drive with its own internal power supply.
|