17-09-2023, 12:56 PM
Hello All MicroBee Users and Fans,
My Microbee 128k Premium dual floppy disk was the first computer I ever had that could store data on anything, other than a Cassette Tape! I got it in 1983(1984?) when I started a university course in Teaching Adult Education (TAFE rather than any other "Adult" education!!!).
I chose it after using a friend's MicroBee 56k, and having taken over building a 16k kit that another friend had tried to learn soldering on! That didn't go so well for him.
Before the 'Bee I had used a Commodore PET, 6502 based "Single Board Computer". Well it was in a box but the keyboard was calculator style and the storage was a bolted in cassette player, 3.8kRAM + 1kRAM for video, 40x25 characters in Amber and Black!
So the 'Bee was a huge step up and yet the PET had thankfully caused me to learn hand assembled Machine Code.
The next greatest jump of the 'Bee was using an Operating System, and better still a Disk Operating System. Having experienced CP/M on Malcom's 56k-Bee, and MDOS on another friend's M6800 machine, name unknown but I think it was a "rescued' industrial Euroboard type plug-in card; double height (6U) card; Motorola computer board perhaps.
So I guess I have been a fan of MicroBee's since 1983/4, though I may still have a receipt somewhere which might be interesting to review!
NOTE: 2024 is the 50th Anniversary of Digital Research's CP/M, the illegitimate child of MS-DOS and Unix. (I think there is another name for a child of unmarried parents! ! 9-)
My Microbee 128k Premium dual floppy disk was the first computer I ever had that could store data on anything, other than a Cassette Tape! I got it in 1983(1984?) when I started a university course in Teaching Adult Education (TAFE rather than any other "Adult" education!!!).
I chose it after using a friend's MicroBee 56k, and having taken over building a 16k kit that another friend had tried to learn soldering on! That didn't go so well for him.
Before the 'Bee I had used a Commodore PET, 6502 based "Single Board Computer". Well it was in a box but the keyboard was calculator style and the storage was a bolted in cassette player, 3.8kRAM + 1kRAM for video, 40x25 characters in Amber and Black!
So the 'Bee was a huge step up and yet the PET had thankfully caused me to learn hand assembled Machine Code.
The next greatest jump of the 'Bee was using an Operating System, and better still a Disk Operating System. Having experienced CP/M on Malcom's 56k-Bee, and MDOS on another friend's M6800 machine, name unknown but I think it was a "rescued' industrial Euroboard type plug-in card; double height (6U) card; Motorola computer board perhaps.
So I guess I have been a fan of MicroBee's since 1983/4, though I may still have a receipt somewhere which might be interesting to review!
NOTE: 2024 is the 50th Anniversary of Digital Research's CP/M, the illegitimate child of MS-DOS and Unix. (I think there is another name for a child of unmarried parents! ! 9-)