MicroBee
MicroBee (or Micro Bee) was a series of networkable home computers by Applied Technology, which became publicly listed company MicroBee Systems Limited soon after its release. The original Microbee computer was designed in Australia by a team including Owen Hill and Matthew Starr.
| Developer | Applied Technology |
|---|---|
| Type | Home computers |
| Release date | February 1982 |
| Introductory price | A$399 in Kit Form |
| Discontinued | 1990 |
| Operating system | MicroWorld BASIC DGOS (David Griffiths Operating System) |
| CPU | Zilog Z80 @ 2 MHz |
| Memory | 16 kB or 32 kB |
| Graphics | Synertek 6545 CRT controller for 64 × 16 characters (512 × 256 pixels) |
| Sound | Monotonic sound generator & speaker, 2 octaves |
The MicroBee's most distinctive features are its user configurable video display (capable of mimicking the displays of other computers and devices including the TRS-80, Sorcerer and SOL20 with later colour and graphic models 40 and 80 column terminals, Super-80, ZX Spectrum, early arcade machines, Amstrad CPC 464) and its battery backed non-volatile RAM and small size allowing it to be powered off, transported, and powered back on and resume activities on the currently loaded program or document.
It was originally packaged as a two board unit with the lower "baseboard" containing all components except the system memory which was mounted on the upper "core board".