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The computer company made its debut in 1976 under the name "Kentucky Fried Computers" ("Kentucky Fried Computers"). But the producers of Kentucky fried chicken ("Kentucky Fried Chicken!") Were unhappy and had to change the name to "North Star" . Their first product was a mathematical board for floating point operations on S-100 computers. But in November 1977, the company introduced the full- featured NorthStar Horizon computer. He was the first computer with built-in floppy drives in the history of our civilization.
So "Horizon" brightened "Polar Star". NorthStar Horizon was based on a Z-80 processor with a clock speed of 4 megahertz. The RAM was rather big for its time: from 16 kilobytes or more. Expansion was provided with a slot for S-100 compatible cards.
The data carrier was the miracle of those days: 5.25-inch floppy disks (floppy disks), each of which contained 90 kilobytes of information. Ports: a couple of serial and one parallel. Operating systems: CP / M and NorthStar DOS.
But back to the math board. With it, mathematical operations were performed 50 times faster than without it. But on one condition: for the calculations should use a special kind of BASIC: NorthStar BASIC.
NorthStar did not stop there and developed low-cost floppy drives. This is how NorthStar Horizon was born, the happy users of which could store data not on tape cassettes, but on diskettes. I must say that this computer was not a cheap pleasure. In the form of a kit for assembly, it cost 1 thousand 599 US dollars. As a ready-made computer, it could be purchased for 1 thousand 899 US dollars.
These prices are for a model equipped with only one floppy drive. If there were two of them on board, then the NorthStar Horizon assembly kit cost the buyer 1 thousand 999 US dollars, and the ready, assembled computer by specialists - 2 3 349 US dollars.
In addition to integrated floppy drives, NorthStar Horizon is notable for another detail: it was one of several computers supplied in a wooden case. It so happened that the tree was not included (along with metal and plastic) in the number of traditional materials used in the computer industry.
The reason for this is clear to everyone. The tree is a flammable material and its use in the manufacture of computers is in contradiction with the requirements of safety and ... common sense.
On the left were connectors for twelve S-100 cards. This made it possible to equip NorthStar Horizon with memory that was incredible in its times. Seven modules of 64 kilobytes in total give 448 kilobytes. Compare this with the typical RAM volume of computers of 1977 and you will feel, firstly, how far current technologies have gone ahead compared with those recent times, and secondly, the extent to which NorthStar Horizon we are considering today surpassed its electronic peers
Most computers based on the S-100 were simply motherboards, the functionality of which should be expanded with additional modules. But the Northstar Horizon was not like that. Its component base was enough to work even without adding additional circuits.
In the standard configuration, the NorthStar Horizon had a video terminal connector, parallel ports, and two serial ports. But the stories are known models, equipped with an additional eight serial ports.
It may not be entirely accurate observation, but it is very similar to the fact that the NorthStar Horizon was the first computer, reminiscent of modern desktops. A kind of prototype that is still relevant, despite the changing and constantly growing technical characteristics.
Source: Oldcomputers.net
The article is based on materials .
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