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Notes |
Manufacturer |
|
Model |
PC Junior |
Date Launched |
Announced November 1st 1983 |
Price |
Approx. £800 without disk drive. |
Microprocessor type |
Intel 8088 @ 4.77 MHz |
ROM size |
24 kilobytes |
Standard RAM |
64 kilobytes in standard version. |
Maximum RAM |
Officially 128 kilobytes but 640 KB was possible. |
Keyboard type |
Originally a quite poor 62-key unit with stiff action and short key travel (right). Connected to main box via an infra-red link. |
Supplied language |
Simple Microsoft BASIC on internal ROM and expanded BASIC on cartridge. |
Text resolution |
40 or 80 columns x 25 lines. |
Graphics resolution |
160 x 200, 320 x 200 or 640 x 200 pixels |
Colours available |
16 at lowest resolution. |
Sound |
Three channels through internal or external speaker |
Cassette load speed |
Not known. IBM charged $30 for the cable needed to connect the PC Jr to a cassette recorder! |
Special features |
A cheap version of the IBM business PC. |
Good points |
High build quality. |
Bad points |
Some software written for the business version of the IBM PC would not run on the Junior because of hardware differences (i.e it was not fully 'IBM compatible'). |
How successful? |
Sales were low by IBM standards and production ended in March 1985. |
Comments |
The PC Junior was IBM's attempt to enter the home computer market, to complement its success in the business market with the full-size IBM PC. Thus the PC Jr was a cut-down IBM PC but it was cut to the point of being almost unusable. It lacked a 'direct memory access' controller and this prevented much popular software for the IBM PC from running on the Junior. Maybe this was a deliberate policy by IBM to prevent people buying the Junior instead of the much more expensive IBM PCs but in practice it negated one of the few reasons for considering buying the Junior. |
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