Apricot and the Zen of Computing
Apricot's new 286-based PC had a 7.5-MHz processor with 1 MB of RAM and a 20-MB hard drive for $3995
(without the monitor).
Stressed-out techies today can seek solace, maybe, in Jerry Pournelle's statement in the opening paragraph of Computing at Chaos Manor: "I'll have to adm
it it: the hectic pace I live at is normal, and I'd better get used to it."
From page 38 of the February 1986 What's New section, we present the Apricot introduction:
Apricot Introduces 80286 Computer
The
Apricot XEN
(pronounced "zen") is based on an Intel 80286 running at 7.5 MHz with zero wait states. The system comes equipped with 1 megabyte of RAM, one 720k-byte double-sided 3-
1/2-inch microfloppy-disk drive, and an internal 20-megabyte 3-1/2-inch Winchester drive. One parallel Centronics port and one RS-232C serial port are standard.
Of the Apricot's six expansion slots, one is used for a monitor card, one is reserved for future use, and the remaining four can be filled with 1-megabyte RAM expansion boards. Two connectors are provided for expansion, one for Apricot-compatible cards and the other for IBM-compatible cards.
The keyboard layout is similar to that of the IBM PC AT but includes dedicated cursor keys and a backlit 80-character LCD display that you can use to label six additional programmable function keys. A trackball mouse is available as an option.
Software bundled with the system includes MS-DOS 3.1, Microsoft Windows, GW-BASIC, and IBM BIOS emulation software. With the addition of an optional 5-1/4-inch floppy-disk drive, the XEN can run IBM software off the shelf, including copy-protected programs like Lotus 1-2-3 and Microsoft's Flight Simulator.
System price, not including a monitor, is $3995. For further information, contact Apricot Inc., 47173 Benicia Street, Fremont, CA 94538. (415) 659-8500.
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10 Years Ago In Byte
