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Vintage Computers and Emulators

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Vintage Computing and Gaming | The Retrogaming and Retrocomputing Blogazine. The Emulator Zone - Your Source for Emulation! Emulator. In computing, an emulator is hardware or software or both that duplicates (or emulates) the functions of one computer system (the guest) in another computer system (the host), different from the first one, so that the emulated behavior closely resembles the behavior of the real system (the guest). The above described focus on exact reproduction of behavior is in contrast to some other forms of computer simulation, in which an abstract model of a system is being simulated.

For example, a computer simulation of a hurricane or a chemical reaction is not emulation. Emulators in computing[edit] Emulation refers to the ability of a computer program in an electronic device to emulate (imitate) another program or device. A hardware emulator is an emulator which takes the form of a hardware device. In a theoretical sense, the Church-Turing thesis implies that (under the assumption that enough memory is available) any operating environment can be emulated within any other.

Benefits[edit] World of Spectrum. ZX Spectrum. The ZX Spectrum (pronounced /ˈzɛdˌɛks/ "Zed-Ex"[2][3]) is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd. Referred to during development as the ZX81 Colour and ZX82,[4][5] the machine was launched as the ZX Spectrum by Sinclair to highlight the machine's colour display, compared with the black-and-white of its predecessor, the ZX81.[6] The Spectrum was ultimately released as eight different models, ranging from the entry level model with 16 kB RAM released in 1982 to the ZX Spectrum +3 with 128 kB RAM and built in floppy disk drive in 1987; together they sold in excess of 5 million units worldwide (not counting numerous clones).[7] The Spectrum was among the first mainstream audience home computers in the UK, similar in significance to the Commodore 64 in the USA.

The Commodore 64, Oric-1 and Atmos, BBC Microcomputer and later the Amstrad CPC range were major rivals to the Spectrum in the UK market during the early 1980s. Hardware[edit] ZX Spectrum: 30 years old, and still one of the cheapest computers ever made. Today is the 30th birthday of the ZX Spectrum, one of the most popular home computers ever made, and probably the single most important factor in the creation of the IT industry in the UK.

The ZX Spectrum, made by Sinclair Research in Cambridge, England is usually considered the UK equivalent of the US-made Commodore 64. Hardware-wise, the ZX Spectrum was completely unremarkable. There was an 8-bit Zilog Z80A CPU, a graphics chip capable of outputting 32 columns by 24 rows (256x192px) with 15 colors, and either 16 or 48KB of RAM. At just £125 ($200), however, the ZX Spectrum was incredibly cheap. The Commodore 64 cost $600. The BBC Micro, made by Sinclair’s arch rival Acorn Computers, cost £299. How did Sinclair Research pull it off? In short, the ZX Spectrum was simply better engineered than its contemporaries — much like iPhone, except Apple uses its engineering and supply line advantage to squeeze out higher profits, rather than slashing prices.

Motorola 68000. This article is about the CPU. For the computer, see Sharp X68000. The Motorola 68000 ("'sixty-eight-thousand'"; also called the m68k or Motorola 68k, "sixty-eight-k") is a 16/32-bit[1] CISC microprocessor core designed and marketed by Motorola Semiconductor Products Sector (now Freescale Semiconductor). Introduced in 1979 with HMOS technology as the first member of the successful 32-bit m68k family of microprocessors, it is generally software forward compatible with the rest of the line despite being limited to a 16-bit wide external bus. After 35 years in production, the 68000 architecture is still in use.

Pre-release XC68000 chip manufactured in 1979. History[edit] Motorola MC68000 (CLCC package) Motorola MC68000 (PLCC package) In the mid 1970s, the 8-bit microprocessor manufacturers raced to introduce the 16-bit generation. The original MC68000 was fabricated using an HMOS process with a 3.5 µm feature size. Second-sourcing[edit] CMOS versions[edit] As a microcontroller core[edit] Old Computers - rare, vintage, and obsolete computers.