 Memory console and keyboard for Coleco Adam computer expansion for the Colecovision The Coleco Adam was a home computer, an attempt in the early 1980s by American toy manufacturer Coleco to follow on the success of its ColecoVision game console. The Adam (supposedly given its name because the manufacturer hoped it would take a "bite" out of Apple Computer's market share) was not very successful, partly because of early production problems. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1464x911, 170 KB) Coleco Adam computer, Computer History Museum, California, by Andrew Lih File links The following pages link to this file: Coleco Adam ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1464x911, 170 KB) Coleco Adam computer, Computer History Museum, California, by Andrew Lih File links The following pages link to this file: Coleco Adam ...
TRS-80 Color Computer II The home computer is a consumer-friendly word for the second generation of microcomputers (the technical term that was previously used), entering the market in 1977 and becoming common during the 1980s. ...
The 1980s refers to the years of 1980 to 1989. ...
Coleco was a company founded in 1932 by Maurice Greenberg as Connecticut Leather Company to sell leather supplies to shoemakers. ...
The ColecoVision was Coleco Industries second generation home video game console, released in August, 1982. ...
The Nintendo GameCube is an example of a popular video game console. ...
Introduction
Coleco announced the Adam in June 1983 at the Summer Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and executives predicted sales of 500,000 by Christmas 1983. From the time of the computer's introduction to the time of its shipment, the price increased, from USD $525 to $725. The International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is a trade show held each January in Las Vegas, Nevada, and is sponsored by the Consumer Electronics Association. ...
The Adam is famous for an incident connected with its showing at the June, 1983 CES. To showcase the machine, Coleco decided to demonstrate a port of its ColecoVision conversion of Donkey Kong on the system. Nintendo was in the midst of negotiating a deal with Atari to license its Famicom for distribution outside of Japan, and the final signing would have been done at CES. Atari had exclusive rights to Donkey Kong for home computers (as Coleco had for game consoles), and when Atari saw that Coleco was showing Donkey Kong on a computer, its proposed deal with Nintendo was delayed. Coleco had to agree not to sell the Adam version of Donkey Kong and it was eventually scrapped. Ultimately it had no bearing on the Atari/Nintendo deal though, as Atari's CEO was fired the next month and the proposal went nowhere, with Nintendo deciding to market its system on its own. Donkey Kong ) is an arcade game released by Nintendo in 1981. ...
Nintendo Company, Limited (ä»»å¤©å ‚ or ニンテンドー NintendÅ; NASDAQ: NTDOY, TYO: 7974 usually referred to as simply Nintendo, or Big N ) is a multinational corporation founded on September 23, 1889[1] in Kyoto, Japan by Fusajiro Yamauchi to produce handmade hanafuda cards. ...
This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...
NES redirects here. ...
Technical details In its favor, the Adam had a large software library from the start. It was derived from and compatible with the ColecoVision's software and accessories, and, in addition, the popular CP/M operating system was available as an option. Its price gave a complete system: a 64 KB RAM computer, tape drive, letter-quality printer, and software including the Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom video game. The IBM PCjr sold for $669 but included no peripherals, and although the popular Commodore 64 sold for around $200, its price was not much lower after the purchase of a printer, tape or disk drive, and software. CP/M is an operating system originally created for Intel 8080/85 based microcomputers by Gary Kildall of Digital Research, Inc. ...
An operating system (OS) is a computer program that manages the hardware and software resources of a computer. ...
A kilobyte (derived from the SI prefix kilo-, meaning 1000) is a unit of information or computer storage equal to either 1024 or 1000 bytes. ...
Random access memory (usually known by its acronym, RAM) is a type of data store used in computers that allows the stored data to be accessed in any order — that is, at random, not just in sequence. ...
This does not cite its references or sources. ...
North American DVD release of the 1979-81 Buck Rogers in the 25th Century TV series. ...
The IBM PCjr was a relatively inexpensive home computer of the 1980s, and it was IBMs first attempt to enter the educational and home computer markets. ...
The Commodore 64 is the best selling single personal computer model of all time. ...
Like many computers of its day, it was intended to use a television set for its display. The SmartWriter electronic typewriter loads when the system is turned on. In this mode, the system operates just like a typewriter, printing letters as soon as the user types them. Pressing the Escape/WP key puts SmartWriter into word processor mode, which functions similar to a modern word processor.
A less expensive version of the Adam plugged into a ColecoVision, which promised to be an inexpensive way for ColecoVision owners to upgrade to a full-blown computer system.
Problems Adam was not without weaknesses: - Adam generated a surge of electromagnetic energy on startup, which would erase the contents of any removable media left in or near the drive. Making this problem worse, some of the Coleco manuals instructed the user to put the tape in the drive before turning the computer on; presumably these were printed before the issue was known.
- Initial shipments to customers included a high rate of defective tape drives, some say up to 50%.
- Since Coleco made the unusual decision of using the printer to supply power to the entire Adam system, if the printer malfunctioned, none of the system worked.
- Unlike other home computers at the time, the Adam did not have its BASIC interpreter permanently stored in ROM. Instead, it featured a built-in electronic typewriter and word processor, SmartWriter, as well as the Elementary Operating System (EOS) OS kernel and the 8K OS-7 ColecoVision operating system. The SmartBASIC interpreter was delivered on a proprietary format Digital Data Pack tape cassette.
- Once put into Word Processor mode, SmartWriter could not get back into the typewriter mode without rebooting the system.
- Adam's Digital Data Pack drives, although faster and of higher capacity than the audio cassette drives used for competing computers, were less reliable and still not as fast as a floppy disk drive. Coleco eventually shipped a 160K 5¼ inch disk drive for it.
Read-only memory (ROM) is a class of storage media used in computers and other electronic devices. ...
The ColecoVision was Coleco Industries second generation home video game console, released in August, 1982. ...
A floppy disk is a data storage device that comprises a circular piece of thin, flexible (hence floppy) magnetic storage medium encased in a square or rectangular plastic wallet. ...
A floppy disk is a data storage device that comprises a circular piece of thin, flexible (hence floppy) magnetic storage medium encased in a square or rectangular plastic wallet. ...
Reception The Adam received some good reviews based on the quality of its keyboard and printer, and offered competitive sound and graphics. Its BASIC interpreter, called SmartBASIC, was largely compatible with Applesoft BASIC, which meant that many type-in programs from computer books and magazines would work with the Adam with little or no modification. BASIC (Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) is a family of high-level programming languages. ...
An interpreter is a computer program that executes other programs. ...
Applesoft BASIC was the second dialect of BASIC supplied on the Apple II computer, superseding Integer BASIC. Applesoft BASIC was supplied by Microsoft; Apple was looking for a new version of BASIC for the Apple II Plus computer with 48 KB of RAM, and after their success with Altair BASIC...
However, sales were weak, especially after the technical issues became obvious. Coleco tried cutting the price; towards the end it offered a $500 college scholarship along with each unit sold for use by a young child (to be paid when the child reached college). Less than 100,000 units ultimately sold. The Adam was discontinued in 1985, fewer than two years after its introduction. 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Legacy A company called Telegames bought the rights and remaining stock of Adam, to sell via mail-order. It continued some game development and sold a greatly redesigned product called the Personal Arcade until a tornado wiped out their inventory.[1]
Adam weakened Coleco by absorbing much of the money it had made from Cabbage Patch Kids; the company filed for bankruptcy in 1988. USPS stamp depicting the Cabbage Patch Kids craze of the 1980s. ...
The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ...
1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Like many computers of its era, Adam retained a cult following for years after its departure. A dedicated group of Adam enthusiasts gather every year at the annual Adamcon. The 19th annual gathering will be held in Ottawa, Canada in the summer of 2007. Adamcon is an annual gathering of North American Coleco Adam computer enthusiasts. ...
Motto: Advance Ottawa/Ottawa en avant Coordinates: Country Canada Province Ontario County Established 1850 as Bytown City Mayor Larry OBrien Governing body Ottawa City Council MPs / MPPs Members of Parliament (MPs) Mauril Bélanger (LPC), Paul Dewar (NDP), John Baird (CPC), Royal Galipeau (CPC), David McGuinty (LPC),Pierre Lemieux...
Specifications
 Memory console bottom view.
 Coleco ADAM, in word processing mode.
 Coleco ADAM, in word processing mode, closer view. - CPU: Zilog Z80 @ 3.58 MHz
- Support processors: three Motorola 6801s @ 1 MHz (memory & I/O, tape, and keyboard control)
- Memory: 64 KB RAM, 16 KB video RAM; 32 KB ROM
- Expansion: 3 internal slots, 1 cartridge slot, and a 62.5 kbit/s half-duplex serial bus called AdamNet. The stand-alone also has an external expansion port of the same type as the ColecoVision expansion port, on the right hand side.
- Secondary storage: Digital Data Pack tape cassette, 256 KB
- Graphics: Texas Instruments TMS9928A (a close relative of the TMS9918 in the TI-99/4A)
- Sound: Texas Instruments SN76489AN
Image File history File linksMetadata 026_23. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata 026_23. ...
Download high resolution version (1536x1024, 547 KB)View of the Monterey Bay from the Cowell College quad at the University of California, Santa Cruz File links The following pages link to this file: University of California, Santa Cruz Cowell College Categories: GFDL images ...
Download high resolution version (1536x1024, 547 KB)View of the Monterey Bay from the Cowell College quad at the University of California, Santa Cruz File links The following pages link to this file: University of California, Santa Cruz Cowell College Categories: GFDL images ...
Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (533x799, 208 KB) Other versions Originally from en. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (533x799, 208 KB) Other versions Originally from en. ...
One of the first Z80 microprocessors manufactured; the date stamp says well before July 1976. ...
Motorola 6800 Microprocessor The 6800 is a microprocessor produced by Motorola and released shortly after the Intel 8080 in 1975. ...
In telecommunications and computing, bit rate (sometimes written bitrate) is the frequency at which bits are passing a given (physical or metaphorical) point. It is quantified using the bit per second (bit/s) unit. ...
A duplex communication system is a system composed of two connected parties or devices which can communicate with one another in both directions. ...
Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN), better known in the electronics industry (and popularly) as TI, is an American company based in Dallas, Texas, USA, renowned for developing and commercializing semiconductor and computer technology. ...
// General information The TMS9918 Video Display Processor (VDP) was used in systems like MSX, Coleco Vision, TI-99 and Sega SG-1000/SC-3000. ...
1979 TI-99/4 with RF modulator, optional Speech Synthesizer, keyboard overlays, and a cartridge. ...
In computer graphics, a sprite (also known by other names; see Synonyms below) is a two-dimensional image or animation that is integrated into a larger scene. ...
White noise spectrum White noise( ) is a random signal (or process) with a flat power spectral density. ...
References and external links - ^ An extensive history of Coleco and the ADAM.
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