Matra Alice
The Matra & Hachette Ordinateur Alice is a home computer sold in France beginning in 1983. It was a clone of the TRS-80 MC-10, produced through a collaboration between Matra and Hachette in France and Tandy Corporation in the United States.
The Matra Alice | |
| Manufacturer | Matra and Hachette |
|---|---|
| Type | Home computer |
| Release date | 1983 |
| Discontinued | 1983 |
| Operating system | Microsoft BASIC |
| CPU | Motorola 6803 @ 0.89 MHz |
| Memory | 4 KiB on-board |
| Display | Péritel video output; 32 x 16 or 64 x 32 with 8 colors, 160 x 125 with 4 colors (with expanded RAM) |
| Graphics | Motorola 6847 |
| Sound | 1 channel, 5 octaves |
| Input | Cassette interface |
| Connectivity | RS-232C serial interface |
| Backward compatibility | TRS-80 MC-10 |
The Alice is distinguished by its bright red casing. Functionally, it is equivalent to the MC-10, with a Péritel (SCART) connector replacing the RF modulator for video output.
The Alice never became a popular computer in its home country. It tried to invade schools by being part of the country's Plan Informatique pour Tous ("Information technology for everyone") programme, but Thomson won the whole deal. Less than 50 games were released for the system.
The original model had 4 kB of RAM and used a Motorola 6847 video display generator chip, as used in the Dragon 32 and Acorn Atom among others.
At least three emulators for the system exist.