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Notes |
Manufacturer |
ACT Limited (UK) |
Model |
Apricot |
Date Launched |
September 1983 |
Price |
£1496 with one floppy disc drive. |
Microprocessor type |
Intel 8086 @ 5 MHz |
ROM size |
32 kilobytes ? |
Standard RAM |
256 kilobytes |
Maximum RAM |
768 kilobytes. |
Keyboard type |
Typewriter style with 96 keys, including 8 predefined function keys and 6 programmable touch-sensitive function keys. |
Supplied language |
Microsoft and Digital Research BASIC interpreters. |
Text resolution |
80 columns x 25 lines. |
Graphics resolution |
800 x 400 pixels |
Colours available |
Monochrome only |
Sound |
Sound was possible from a TI SN76489 programmable sound generator chip and internal speaker. |
Cassette load speed |
Supplied with one or two, single- or double-sided 3½ inch floppy disc drives. |
Dimensions (mm) |
Main unit 432 x 305 x 127 |
Special features |
The keyboard contained a real-time clock. |
Good points |
The Apricot was almost entirely compatible with the Sirius microcomputer, a popular American model at the time. |
Bad points |
Only two internal expansion slots. |
How successful? |
ACT's production plant had a capacity of 75,000 machines per year. As far as I know the Apricot sold steadily but not spectacularly for several years. |
Comments |
Like several other 16-bit machines of that time, the Apricot used the same type of processor and similar hardware to the IBM PC, but its BIOS differed. The result was that programs written for the IBM models, which by late 1983 were selling in large numbers, usually would not run on the Apricot without some modifications. |