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The Enterprise is a Zilog Z80 based home computer
first released in 1985.
There were two variants, the
Enterprise 64 with 64K of RAM, and the
Enterprise 128 with 128K.
The machine was also known by the names DPC, Samurai,
Oscar, Elan and Flan
before the Enterprise name was finally
chosen.
The machine had a Z80 CPU running at 4 MHz,
64K or 128K of RAM and 48K of ROM containing the
EXOS operating system and BASIC.
The case was unique for the time (in the UK at
least) for containing both a full-sized membrane keyboard
with programmable function keys,
and a joystick.
The machine was specifically engineered for
games, with a 672x256 pixel
display and 256 colours per pixel (one byte per
pixel being particularly easy to program).
Sound was 4 channels, stereo.
A graphics coprocessor called "Nick" and
sound coprocessor called "Dave" (named after
the designers Nick Toop and Dave Woodfield)
took the load off the central processor.
The machine came with a surprising array of connectors,
far beyond what was common on home computers of the
time. There was an RGB output, RS232/RS432
serial port, a Centronics printer port, two external
joystick ports, a cassette interface,
a ROM cartridge slot and an ordinary
expansion port. (To save money, however, the
connectors on the rear did not come with sockets.
They simply exposed traces on the edge of the
printed circuit board).
The BASIC ROM could even be replaced by a ROM which
could emulate a ZX Spectrum, thus in theory allowing
the Enterprise to run the existing catalogue of thousands
of Spectrum games.
Later, an external floppy drive became available,
supporting CP/M programs.
Commercial failure
Despite being particularly powerful for the time, the machine
was not a commercial success. The Amstrad CPC 464 was
released before the Enterprise, was less powerful, but
included a monitor and cassette recorder, and retailed for
less. The CPC in fact had a strikingly similar colour
scheme to the Enterprise, and it may be that
Amstrad boss Alan Sugar
had seen a prototype.
After the initial manufacturing run of 80,000 units it
is not believed that any further units were made, making
the Enterprise an extraordinarily collectible item in
Europe. When Enterprise (the company) was wound up in
Europe, 20,000 units were shipped to Hungary where it
appears a strong user community formed.
(Source: [1] (http://www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk/Museum/Enterprise/enterprise.php)).
Development
After the home computer market in the UK
took off with the launch of the ZX Spectrum
a Hong Kong trading company called
Locumals decided to commission Intelligent Software
in the UK to develop a home
computer. The head of Intelligent Software
was David Levy, an
international chess player.
During development the machine had the codename
DPC, standing for Damp Proof Course. The
idea was to throw off potential competitors. This
worked to an extent - at one point during development
the plans were left on a bus.
Emulating Amstrad's AMSOFT, Entersoft
was set up to ensure a steady supply of software for the
new machine.
Although the machine was announced to the press
in September 1983, it did not go on sale
until April 1984, at which point some 80,000
machines were pre-ordered. Unfortunately machines
did not ship until 1985, by which point the
competitive environment was much worse for
Enterprise.
A successor machine, the PW360, was developed
in 1986 to compete directly against the
Amstrad PCW 8256, but by this time the company
was in severe financial difficulties and went under.
(Source: [2] (http://www.mumm.ac.be/~cammejpm/enterprise/saga.html))
External links
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