Jeremy Ayangco Anoso
Future Computer Engineer
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Simple-As-Possible 1 Architecture
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 was one of the most popular of its era and it is the best-selling model of home computer of all time.
The C64 uses an 8 bit MOS Technology 6510 microprocessor. This is a close derivative of the 6502, with an added 6-bit internal I/O port that in the C64 is used for two purposes: to bank-switch the machine's ROM in and out of the processor's address space, and to operate the datasette tape recorder. The C64 has 64 KB of RAM, of which 38 kB are available to built-in Commodore BASIC 2.0.
source: wikipedia.com
The Early Microcomputer Design
A computing device made up of one or more microprocessors, random access memory (RAM), input/output logic, and usually one or more data input and data output devices. Desktop computers (personal computers) are all also called microcomputers.
A microcomputer is a personal computer. It's considered a personal computer because people can use it in their homes. Microcomputers were invented in the 1970s. Before the invention of microcomputers, people used mainframes and minicomputers. They were big, bulky, expensive computers used at companies and universities. Microcomputers were smaller and cheaper than mainframes and minicomputers.
Microcomputers use a microprocessor, which is an integrated circuit that's referred to as the central processing unit. The microprocessor is able to move information back and forth through its transistors.
Intel and Motorola took center stage in the development of microprocessors in the 1970s, although Zylog and Texas Instruments made microprocessors. Intel's first microchip, the MCS4 or 4004, had four 16-pin chips with 2,300 transistors and 45 instructions and could handle a word length of up to 4 bits.
Intel's 8008 microchip made it possible for one microprocessor to perform multiple tasks. Intel 8008 microprocessors had 3,500 transistors, 66 instructions and 8-bit register, meaning it could hold up to eight word lengths of information.
Mark-8 was one of the first microcomputers to use the Intel 8008 microchip, in 1974. The computer came in parts and was sold as a kit. When Intel developed the Intel 8800 microchip, it was used in 1975 with the Altair 8800 computer kit. Bill Gates and Paul Allen developed the Basic Interpreter for the Altair 8800. IBM used Intel 8088 to design its first microcomputer and called it a personal computer. In 1980, Gates and Allen supplied IBM with the DOS operating system software to be used with their computer model.
The Early Microcomputer Design
A collection of early microcomputers, including a Processor Technology SOL-20 (top shelf, right), an MITS Altair 8800 (second shelf, left), a TV Typewriter (third shelf, center), and an Apple I in the case at far right.
The MITS Altair 8800 is a microcomputer design from 1975 based on the Intel 8080 CPU. The Altair bus consists of the pins of the Intel 8080 run out onto the backplane. Another oddity was that the system included two unidirectional 8-bit data bus, but only a single bidirectional 16-bit address bus.