Collection — VMA Virtual Computer Museum

1970s–1980s · Z80/8080

CP/M Computer

A disk-boot CP/M environment for Z80 and Intel 8080 software, inspired by early microcomputers such as the Altair 8800.

NO INSTALLPC · TABLET · PHONELOCAL ROM / MEDIA

Museum exhibit · history, silicon and market context

The machine

CP/M was the software bridge between the kit-computer age and a genuine microcomputer industry. Gary Kildall designed it so the operating system could be moved from one 8080 or Z80 machine to another by replacing a relatively small hardware-specific BIOS layer. That mattered because early computers had wildly different terminals, disks and controllers, yet users wanted the same WordStar, dBASE and programming tools everywhere.

Inside the silicon

The Intel 8080 turned a practical general-purpose CPU into a single-chip product in 1974. Zilog’s Z80, designed by Federico Faggin’s team and introduced in 1976, kept broad 8080 software compatibility while adding registers, instructions and easier system support. Both exposed a 16-bit address space, making 64 KB the natural ceiling of the classic CP/M world.

Intel 8080Zilog Z8064 KB address spacemachine-specific BIOS

The market battle

CP/M became the de facto business-microcomputer standard precisely because it was not tied to one manufacturer. Its weakness was the same fragmentation it solved: disks, displays and hardware capabilities still varied. The arrival of the IBM PC in 1981 and Microsoft’s MS-DOS shifted the compatibility centre of gravity from “CP/M machine” to “IBM compatible.”

Why it matters

The important idea was portability through a hardware abstraction layer. CP/M demonstrated that a software ecosystem could be more valuable than the machine underneath it — a principle that later defined DOS PCs and, eventually, modern operating systems.

Configurations varied by model revision and region; this exhibit describes the architecture most relevant to the emulated system.

Emulation profile

Host

Modern browser; no emulator installation.

Portability

Interface designed for PCs, tablets and smartphones.

Controls

Machine-specific virtual keyboard/controls are used where practical rather than a generic input shell.

Display

Machine-appropriate CRT, television or LCD presentation and scaling are used where applicable.

Media

Original ROM/BIOS/software remains user-supplied where copyright requires it.

Fidelity

No artificial accuracy percentage is claimed; hardware coverage and limitations are exhibit-specific.

Sources & research notes →

1976 · 8-bit trainer

MOS KIM-1

A 6502 single-board development-system emulator with hexadecimal keypad/display operation, selectable RAM and terminal support for programs such as Tiny BASIC.

NO INSTALLPC · TABLET · PHONELOCAL ROM / MEDIA

Launch emulator

Museum exhibit · history, silicon and market context

The machine

The KIM-1 was sold as a development board, yet it became one of the most important bridges between semiconductor engineers and computer hobbyists. With a hexadecimal keypad, six LED digits, monitor ROM and cassette/serial interfaces on one board, it could be used without an expensive terminal. Hobbyists quickly treated it as a small personal computer rather than merely an evaluation kit.

Inside the silicon

At its centre is the MOS Technology 6502, the famously inexpensive processor introduced in 1975. Two 6530 RIOT chips combined ROM, RAM, parallel I/O and timers, reducing the number of support components. This high level of integration helped make a complete 6502 system dramatically cheaper than many contemporary designs.

MOS 65022 × MOS 6530 RIOT1 KB RAMmonitor ROM

The market battle

MOS Technology deliberately undercut established CPU vendors such as Motorola and Intel. The cheap 6502 triggered a price shock and was rapidly adopted by designers who could not afford earlier processors. Commodore’s acquisition of MOS in 1976 then gave Commodore direct control of the silicon that would power the PET, VIC-20 and C64.

Why it matters

The KIM-1 is a seed from which a remarkable family tree grows. The same CPU architecture soon appeared in Apple, Commodore, Atari and Acorn computers, and a modified 6502 core later powered Nintendo’s NES.

Configurations varied by model revision and region; this exhibit describes the architecture most relevant to the emulated system.

Emulation profile

Host

Modern browser; no emulator installation.

Portability

Interface designed for PCs, tablets and smartphones.

Controls

Machine-specific virtual keyboard/controls are used where practical rather than a generic input shell.

Display

Machine-appropriate CRT, television or LCD presentation and scaling are used where applicable.

Media

Original ROM/BIOS/software remains user-supplied where copyright requires it.

Fidelity

No artificial accuracy percentage is claimed; hardware coverage and limitations are exhibit-specific.

Sources & research notes →

1977 · 8-bit console

Atari VCS / 2600

Atari VCS / 2600 emulation with cartridge loading, mapper selection, console switches and one- or two-joystick controls.

NO INSTALLPC · TABLET · PHONELOCAL ROM / MEDIA

Launch emulator

Museum exhibit · history, silicon and market context

The machine

The VCS turned a game console from a fixed-function appliance into a programmable platform. Instead of buying a new machine for every game, users bought ROM cartridges. That business model sounds obvious now, but in 1977 it fundamentally changed the economics of home videogames.

Inside the silicon

The 6507 is a cost-reduced member of the 6502 family. The 6532 RIOT supplies just 128 bytes of RAM, I/O and timing. The star is Atari’s TIA: Television Interface Adapter. With no framebuffer, software must generate much of the picture in real time, synchronised with the television beam — the famous “racing the beam” programming model.

MOS 6507Atari TIAMOS 6532 RIOT128 bytes RAM

The market battle

The VCS became the dominant cartridge console of its generation, but success created a new problem: third-party publishing escaped Atari’s control. A flood of uneven software, aggressive inventory bets and a broader market correction contributed to the North American videogame crash of 1983. The lesson would strongly influence Nintendo’s later licensing strategy.

Why it matters

Its severe limits forced programmers to exploit timing, scanlines and the TIA in ways the original designers never anticipated. Few machines demonstrate more clearly how software ingenuity can extend apparently primitive hardware.

Configurations varied by model revision and region; this exhibit describes the architecture most relevant to the emulated system.

Emulation profile

Host

Modern browser; no emulator installation.

Portability

Interface designed for PCs, tablets and smartphones.

Controls

Machine-specific virtual keyboard/controls are used where practical rather than a generic input shell.

Display

Machine-appropriate CRT, television or LCD presentation and scaling are used where applicable.

Media

Original ROM/BIOS/software remains user-supplied where copyright requires it.

Fidelity

No artificial accuracy percentage is claimed; hardware coverage and limitations are exhibit-specific.

Sources & research notes →

1980 · 8-bit

Commodore PET 4032

PET 4032 emulation with 40-column display, full keyboard, selectable ROMs and Commodore 4040-style disk access for D64 images.

NO INSTALLPC · TABLET · PHONELOCAL ROM / MEDIA

Launch emulator

Museum exhibit · history, silicon and market context

The machine

The PET family was one of the landmark “complete” personal computers of 1977: keyboard, display, BASIC and storage interface were designed as a coherent product instead of a hobbyist collection of boards. The later 4032 moved the PET toward schools and business with 32 KB of RAM, a full-travel keyboard and a more conventional display subsystem.

Inside the silicon

The MOS 6502 provides the CPU. 6520 PIA and 6522 VIA devices handle peripheral I/O and timing, while later PET boards use a 6545 CRT controller to generate the text display. Commodore’s ownership of MOS Technology meant it controlled both the computer brand and much of the semiconductor bill of materials.

MOS 6502MOS 6520 PIAMOS 6522 VIA6545 CRTC

The market battle

The original PET entered the market alongside the Apple II and TRS-80 — the famous 1977 trio. Commodore competed with integration and businesslike reliability rather than colour gaming. In education and offices, especially outside the United States, the PET established Commodore as a serious computer company before the VIC-20 and C64 transformed it into a mass-market giant.

Why it matters

The PET established design patterns that echoed through later Commodores: Microsoft-derived BASIC in ROM, 6502-family CPUs, Commodore peripherals and a vertically integrated approach to cost.

Configurations varied by model revision and region; this exhibit describes the architecture most relevant to the emulated system.

Emulation profile

Host

Modern browser; no emulator installation.

Portability

Interface designed for PCs, tablets and smartphones.

Controls

Machine-specific virtual keyboard/controls are used where practical rather than a generic input shell.

Display

Machine-appropriate CRT, television or LCD presentation and scaling are used where applicable.

Media

Original ROM/BIOS/software remains user-supplied where copyright requires it.

Fidelity

No artificial accuracy percentage is claimed; hardware coverage and limitations are exhibit-specific.

Sources & research notes →

1980 · 8-bit

Commodore VIC-20

VIC-20 emulation with configurable RAM, authentic keyboard handling, joystick input and full 1541-style disk-drive support.

NO INSTALLPC · TABLET · PHONELOCAL ROM / MEDIA

Launch emulator

Museum exhibit · history, silicon and market context

The machine

The VIC-20 was designed to make a real computer cheap enough to sell like consumer electronics. It arrived with only 5 KB of RAM, but it had colour, sound, cartridge expansion and a friendly BASIC prompt. Commodore sold it through ordinary retail channels rather than treating computers as specialist equipment.

Inside the silicon

A 6502-family CPU is paired with the VIC video/interface chip, originally developed for low-cost terminals and game-oriented products. Two 6522 VIAs handle I/O. The VIC shares memory bandwidth with the CPU and provides both display generation and simple sound, an early example of using custom silicon to make a low-cost machine feel more capable than its specification suggests.

MOS 6502VIC 6560/65612 × MOS 6522 VIA5 KB RAM

The market battle

Jack Tramiel’s strategy was scale and price: “computers for the masses, not the classes.” The VIC-20 competed against machines such as the TI-99/4A, Atari 400 and Sinclair’s very cheap computers. Its success proved there was a mass home-computer market and created the retail and software ecosystem into which Commodore launched the C64.

Why it matters

It was a gateway machine: limited enough to invite experimentation, inexpensive enough to reach new users, and commercially important enough to change expectations about what a home computer should cost.

Configurations varied by model revision and region; this exhibit describes the architecture most relevant to the emulated system.

Emulation profile

Host

Modern browser; no emulator installation.

Portability

Interface designed for PCs, tablets and smartphones.

Controls

Machine-specific virtual keyboard/controls are used where practical rather than a generic input shell.

Display

Machine-appropriate CRT, television or LCD presentation and scaling are used where applicable.

Media

Original ROM/BIOS/software remains user-supplied where copyright requires it.

Fidelity

No artificial accuracy percentage is claimed; hardware coverage and limitations are exhibit-specific.

Sources & research notes →

1981 · 8-bit

Sinclair ZX81

A compact Z80 home computer famous for its minimal hardware and membrane keyboard. Load the ROM and ZX81 program or tape images.

NO INSTALLPC · TABLET · PHONELOCAL ROM / MEDIA

Launch emulator

Hewlett-Packard HP-12C, representative of the HP Voyager calculator family

1981–1982 · Programmable calculators

HP 10C / 11C / 12C / 15C / 16C

The Voyager family: five slim continuous-memory RPN calculators spanning general scientific, financial, advanced scientific and programmer use.

NO INSTALLPC · TABLET · PHONELOCAL ROM / MEDIA

Launch emulator

1981–1984 · Pocket computers

Sharp PC-1500 / PC-1350

Two Sharp pocket computers at the calculator–computer boundary: BASIC, QWERTY input, scientific functions and genuinely programmable LCD graphics in a hand-held format.

NO INSTALLPC · TABLET · PHONELOCAL ROM / MEDIA

Launch emulator

Museum exhibit · history, silicon and market context

The machines

Sharp called these Pocket Computers, and the name is revealing. The PC-1500 combined a calculator-style numeric pad with a QWERTY keyboard, BASIC, expandable memory and an LCD that could be addressed graphically. The later PC-1350 widened the idea with a four-line dot-matrix display and a more capable BASIC environment. Both were small enough to carry, but expected their owners to write programs rather than merely enter formulas.

Inside the silicon

The 1981 PC-1500 centres on Sharp's low-power LH5801 8-bit processor and a 156×7-dot LCD, while the 1984 PC-1350 uses the SC61860 family and a 150×32-dot display. Their CMOS-oriented designs, persistent battery-backed memory and direct keyboard/LCD integration show how different a pocket computer's priorities were from a desktop microcomputer.

LH5801SC61860BASICbattery-powered LCD

The market battle

Sharp and Casio spent the early 1980s stretching the programmable calculator into something closer to a personal computer. The differentiators were no longer only numerical functions: keyboard quality, programming language, RAM, display geometry, expansion modules, printers, cassette interfaces and serial links became part of the competition.

Why they matter

These machines make the transition from programmable calculator to pocket computer tangible. They put a real programming environment into the place where a scientific calculator used to live, establishing a portable-computing branch that would later overlap with palmtops, organisers and graphing calculators.

This exhibit supports two distinct Sharp architectures and ROM sets; exact RAM and peripheral configurations varied by model and expansion module.

Emulation profile

Host

Modern browser; no emulator installation.

Portability

Interface designed for PCs, tablets and smartphones.

Controls

Machine-specific virtual keyboard/controls are used where practical rather than a generic input shell.

Display

Machine-appropriate CRT, television or LCD presentation and scaling are used where applicable.

Media

Original ROM/BIOS/software remains user-supplied where copyright requires it.

Fidelity

No artificial accuracy percentage is claimed; hardware coverage and limitations are exhibit-specific.

Sources & research notes →

1981 · 16-bit home computer

Texas Instruments TI-99/4A

TI's unusual 16-bit home computer combines the TMS9900 CPU with TMS9918A-family video, GROM-based system software, cartridge expansion and a distinctive keyboard/I/O architecture.

NO INSTALLPC · TABLET · PHONELOCAL ROM / MEDIA

Launch emulator

Museum exhibit · history, silicon and market context

The machine

The TI-99/4A arrived in 1981 as the improved successor to the 1979 TI-99/4. It looked like a conventional home computer, but its internal design came from a very different engineering tradition: Texas Instruments built the machine around its own 16-bit processor family and surrounded it with proprietary support chips, GROM system software and a tightly controlled cartridge ecosystem.

Inside the silicon

The TMS9900 is a genuine 16-bit CPU descended from TI's minicomputer architecture and uses a workspace-pointer scheme in which most registers live in memory. In the TI-99/4A, however, much of the surrounding system is reached through narrower and relatively slow paths, so the impressive CPU specification does not translate directly into home-computer performance. TMS9918A-family video provides character, bitmap and sprite capabilities, while the TMS9901 handles interrupt, timer and keyboard/CRU duties.

TMS9900 @ ~3 MHzTMS9918A / TMS9929A VDPTMS9901 I/O / CRUGROM firmwarecartridge port

The market battle

The TI-99/4A became one of the defining casualties of the early-1980s home-computer price war. Texas Instruments initially tried to control hardware, peripherals and software distribution, but Commodore's vertically integrated cost structure let it cut prices brutally. TI responded with heavy rebates and price reductions; volumes rose while margins collapsed, and TI withdrew from the home-computer market in 1983.

Why it matters

The machine is a useful warning against reading computer history from headline specifications alone. A 16-bit CPU did not automatically beat inexpensive 8-bit rivals: memory architecture, custom-chip integration, software availability, peripheral cost, retail strategy and price mattered just as much. It also preserves a fascinating alternate branch of microcomputer design based on TI's TMS9900 family rather than 6502, Z80 or x86.

This emulator targets the TI-99/4A home-computer architecture. System ROM/GROM and cartridge images remain separate user-supplied firmware/software.

Emulation profile

Host

Modern browser; no emulator installation.

Portability

Interface designed for PCs, tablets and smartphones.

Controls

Machine-specific virtual keyboard/controls are used where practical rather than a generic input shell.

Display

Machine-appropriate CRT, television or LCD presentation and scaling are used where applicable.

Media

Original ROM/BIOS/software remains user-supplied where copyright requires it.

Fidelity

No artificial accuracy percentage is claimed; hardware coverage and limitations are exhibit-specific.

Sources & research notes →

1981–1983 · 16-bit PC

IBM PC / XT (5150 / 5160)

IBM 5150 and 5160 emulation centred on the 8088 platform, with period MDA/CGA display hardware, PC keyboard, floppy storage and the PC/XT expansion architecture.

NO INSTALLPC · TABLET · PHONELOCAL ROM / MEDIA

Launch emulator

Museum exhibit · history, silicon and market context

The machines

The IBM Personal Computer 5150 arrived in August 1981 as IBM's rapid entry into the growing microcomputer market. The 5160 PC XT followed in 1983, retaining software and expansion compatibility while turning the PC into a more capable office machine, most notably through additional expansion capacity and factory hard-disk configurations.

Inside the silicon

Both systems are built around Intel's 8088 running at 4.77 MHz. Internally it is a 16-bit x86 processor, but its 8-bit external data bus reduced system cost and allowed IBM to use readily available support logic. The classic platform combines the 8259 interrupt controller, 8237 DMA controller and 8253 timer with interchangeable display adapters such as MDA and CGA; the XT expands the slot count and makes hard-disk storage a defining part of the configuration.

Intel 8088 @ 4.77 MHz8259 PIC8237 DMA8253 PITMDA / CGA

The market battle

IBM deliberately used many off-the-shelf components and documented an expandable architecture so the machine could be completed quickly and supported by outside vendors. Combined with PC DOS/MS-DOS and IBM's market credibility, that decision created an enormous software and peripheral ecosystem. Clone manufacturers soon reproduced the architecture, eventually making “IBM compatible” more important than IBM itself.

Why it matters

The 5150 and 5160 established the compatibility target that evolved into the modern PC. The decisive innovation was not one spectacular custom chip but a reproducible platform: x86 CPU, BIOS conventions, expansion slots, standard peripherals and a software market that could survive changes of manufacturer.

The emulator covers the early IBM PC/XT family. RAM size, video adapter, drives and installed expansion hardware vary with the selected configuration and software.

Emulation profile

Host

Modern browser; no emulator installation.

Portability

Interface designed for PCs, tablets and smartphones.

Controls

Machine-specific virtual keyboard/controls are used where practical rather than a generic input shell.

Display

Machine-appropriate CRT, television or LCD presentation and scaling are used where applicable.

Media

Original ROM/BIOS/software remains user-supplied where copyright requires it.

Fidelity

No artificial accuracy percentage is claimed; hardware coverage and limitations are exhibit-specific.

Sources & research notes →

1981 · 8-bit

BBC Micro Model B

Acorn BBC Micro Model B emulation with MOS/BASIC ROMs, keyboard support and DFS floppy images including SSD and DSD formats.

NO INSTALLPC · TABLET · PHONELOCAL ROM / MEDIA

Launch emulator

Museum exhibit · history, silicon and market context

The machine

The BBC Micro was built by Acorn for the BBC Computer Literacy Project, so its priorities were very different from a bargain home machine. It was fast, exceptionally expandable, rich in I/O and designed to teach programming and computer architecture in schools as well as homes.

Inside the silicon

The 6502A runs at 2 MHz, unusually fast for its time. A Motorola 6845 handles display timing; a Mullard SAA5050 provides Teletext mode; an SN76489 generates sound; 6522 VIAs provide versatile I/O and timers; and early disk systems commonly use the Intel 8271 controller. Careful memory timing lets video hardware share RAM without simply halving CPU performance.

MOS 6502A @ 2 MHzMotorola 6845SAA5050 TeletextSN76489 PSG6522 VIA

The market battle

In Britain the BBC Micro competed with much cheaper Sinclair and Commodore machines. It rarely won the price argument, but it dominated a different battlefield: education, institutional credibility and expandability. Its ROM system, Tube co-processor interface and excellent documentation created a deep technical culture.

Why it matters

Acorn’s search for a faster processor for future computers led to the ARM project. Early ARM development was performed using Acorn systems connected through the BBC Micro family’s Tube architecture, making the BBC ecosystem an unexpected ancestor of today’s ARM-dominated world.

Configurations varied by model revision and region; this exhibit describes the architecture most relevant to the emulated system.

Emulation profile

Host

Modern browser; no emulator installation.

Portability

Interface designed for PCs, tablets and smartphones.

Controls

Machine-specific virtual keyboard/controls are used where practical rather than a generic input shell.

Display

Machine-appropriate CRT, television or LCD presentation and scaling are used where applicable.

Media

Original ROM/BIOS/software remains user-supplied where copyright requires it.

Fidelity

No artificial accuracy percentage is claimed; hardware coverage and limitations are exhibit-specific.

Sources & research notes →

1982 · 8-bit

Commodore 64

The classic 6510/VIC-II/SID home computer. Supports the familiar C64 environment, disk images, joystick input and text entry.

NO INSTALLPC · TABLET · PHONELOCAL ROM / MEDIA

Launch emulator

Museum exhibit · history, silicon and market context

The machine

The C64 combined a mass-market price with hardware that looked almost excessive for 1982: 64 KB of RAM, hardware sprites, smooth scrolling and a synthesizer-class sound chip. Commodore could price it aggressively because it owned MOS Technology and therefore controlled several of the machine’s most expensive custom components.

Inside the silicon

The 6510 is a 6502 derivative with an integrated I/O port. The VIC-II generates graphics, sprites, scrolling and raster interrupts. Bob Yannes’s SID chip provides three programmable voices, filters and a character that helped define an entire music culture. Two 6526 CIAs manage timers, keyboard, joystick and serial I/O.

MOS 6510VIC-II 6567/6569SID 6581/85802 × 6526 CIA64 KB RAM

The market battle

Commodore fought the early-1980s home-computer war through vertical integration, manufacturing scale and repeated price cuts. In North America it battled Atari and Apple; in Britain and Europe it fought the ZX Spectrum and later Amstrad. A huge games and applications library turned hardware sales into a self-reinforcing ecosystem.

Why it matters

Its importance comes from the combination, not a single specification: capable custom silicon, enormous distribution, low cost and years of software support. It became one of the defining machines of the 8-bit era.

Configurations varied by model revision and region; this exhibit describes the architecture most relevant to the emulated system.

Emulation profile

Host

Modern browser; no emulator installation.

Portability

Interface designed for PCs, tablets and smartphones.

Controls

Machine-specific virtual keyboard/controls are used where practical rather than a generic input shell.

Display

Machine-appropriate CRT, television or LCD presentation and scaling are used where applicable.

Media

Original ROM/BIOS/software remains user-supplied where copyright requires it.

Fidelity

No artificial accuracy percentage is claimed; hardware coverage and limitations are exhibit-specific.

Sources & research notes →

1982 · 8-bit

Sinclair ZX Spectrum 48K

The Z80-based British home computer with its distinctive keyboard and colour display. Load tape files, snapshots and compressed program archives.

NO INSTALLPC · TABLET · PHONELOCAL ROM / MEDIA

Launch emulator

1982 · Vector console

GCE Vectrex

The unusual all-in-one console with a built-in vector display. Supply the system BIOS and a cartridge image to start.

NO INSTALLPC · TABLET · PHONELOCAL ROM / MEDIA

Launch emulator

Museum exhibit · history, silicon and market context

The machine

Vectrex rejected the television entirely. Its built-in monochrome CRT draws lines directly as vectors, like an arcade vector display, rather than assembling a picture from pixels. Plastic colour overlays supplied artwork and colour cues while the electronics concentrated on extremely sharp moving geometry.

Inside the silicon

A Motorola 6809 CPU drives the system, assisted by a 6522 VIA for timing and I/O and an AY-3-8912 sound generator. Digital values are converted to analogue deflection signals that steer the CRT beam. The display is therefore part computer graphics system, part analogue instrument.

Motorola 6809MOS 6522 VIAAY-3-8912 PSGanalogue vector generator

The market battle

GCE launched Vectrex in 1982 and Milton Bradley acquired the company soon afterward. The machine was visually unique but arrived just as the North American console market collapsed. That timing, combined with the cost of including a CRT in every unit, made it impossible to fight cheaper television-connected consoles for long.

Why it matters

Vectrex is a valuable counterfactual: home videogames did not have to be raster graphics. Its display technology creates a visual character that software emulation can approximate but a real CRT renders in a physically distinctive way.

Configurations varied by model revision and region; this exhibit describes the architecture most relevant to the emulated system.

Emulation profile

Host

Modern browser; no emulator installation.

Portability

Interface designed for PCs, tablets and smartphones.

Controls

Machine-specific virtual keyboard/controls are used where practical rather than a generic input shell.

Display

Machine-appropriate CRT, television or LCD presentation and scaling are used where applicable.

Media

Original ROM/BIOS/software remains user-supplied where copyright requires it.

Fidelity

No artificial accuracy percentage is claimed; hardware coverage and limitations are exhibit-specific.

Sources & research notes →

1982 · Portable

Epson HX-20

A browser recreation of Epson’s early portable computer, including LCD display, keyboard, ROM loading and virtual cassette/tape functions.

NO INSTALLPC · TABLET · PHONELOCAL ROM / MEDIA

Launch emulator

Museum exhibit · history, silicon and market context

The machine

The HX-20 compressed a useful computer, keyboard, LCD, rechargeable batteries, microcassette drive and tiny printer into a portable package years before “laptop” became an ordinary category. Its 20×4 character display seems tiny now, but the ability to carry a programmable computer into the field was transformative.

Inside the silicon

The architecture uses two Hitachi HD6301 microcontrollers, each derived from the Motorola 6800 family and integrating CPU, RAM, ROM, timers and serial/parallel I/O. One acts as the main processor and the other as a slave controller. Both run at about 614 kHz, illustrating how integration and low power mattered more than clock speed in portable design.

2 × Hitachi HD6301~614 kHz16 KB RAM20×4 LCD

The market battle

Portable computing was initially a specialist market for engineers, sales staff and field work. Epson’s integrated design showed that mobility could be a primary product feature rather than an accessory. Later machines such as the TRS-80 Model 100 would expand the same idea with larger displays and communications features.

Why it matters

The HX-20 foreshadows a recurring theme in mobile computing: the winning architecture is often the one that minimises power and packaging rather than maximising performance.

Configurations varied by model revision and region; this exhibit describes the architecture most relevant to the emulated system.

Emulation profile

Host

Modern browser; no emulator installation.

Portability

Interface designed for PCs, tablets and smartphones.

Controls

Machine-specific virtual keyboard/controls are used where practical rather than a generic input shell.

Display

Machine-appropriate CRT, television or LCD presentation and scaling are used where applicable.

Media

Original ROM/BIOS/software remains user-supplied where copyright requires it.

Fidelity

No artificial accuracy percentage is claimed; hardware coverage and limitations are exhibit-specific.

Sources & research notes →

1983 · 8-bit

Apple IIe

The enhanced Apple II generation with 6502-family CPU, text and graphics modes, keyboard input, and floppy-disk image support.

NO INSTALLPC · TABLET · PHONELOCAL ROM / MEDIA

Launch emulator

Museum exhibit · history, silicon and market context

The machine

The IIe was not a clean-sheet design. Its strength was the opposite: it modernised the enormously successful Apple II architecture while preserving the software, expansion cards and habits accumulated since 1977. That continuity made it especially durable in schools and homes.

Inside the silicon

The CPU remains a 6502-family processor at roughly 1 MHz, but Apple replaced large amounts of discrete logic with custom IOU and MMU chips. That reduced component count and enabled features such as 80-column text and more flexible memory mapping. The standard 64 KB configuration could be expanded to 128 KB and beyond through established Apple II mechanisms.

6502 / later 65C02Apple IOUApple MMU64–128 KB common

The market battle

By 1983 Apple faced radically cheaper home computers and the rise of the IBM PC. Instead of chasing the lowest price, the IIe defended a huge installed base, education presence and expansion ecosystem. Remarkably, it continued alongside the Macintosh rather than disappearing when Apple moved to a graphical 68000 platform.

Why it matters

The IIe shows the commercial power of backward compatibility. A machine can remain relevant not because its architecture is new, but because changing architectures would cost users too much software, knowledge and hardware.

Configurations varied by model revision and region; this exhibit describes the architecture most relevant to the emulated system.

Emulation profile

Host

Modern browser; no emulator installation.

Portability

Interface designed for PCs, tablets and smartphones.

Controls

Machine-specific virtual keyboard/controls are used where practical rather than a generic input shell.

Display

Machine-appropriate CRT, television or LCD presentation and scaling are used where applicable.

Media

Original ROM/BIOS/software remains user-supplied where copyright requires it.

Fidelity

No artificial accuracy percentage is claimed; hardware coverage and limitations are exhibit-specific.

Sources & research notes →

1983 · 8-bit

Atari 600XL / 800XL

Atari XL home-computer emulation with ANTIC/GTIA graphics, player-missile graphics, keyboard and joystick input, and executable program loading.

NO INSTALLPC · TABLET · PHONELOCAL ROM / MEDIA

Launch emulator

Museum exhibit · history, silicon and market context

The machine

The XL line refined Atari’s earlier 400/800 architecture into cleaner and cheaper home computers. The 600XL and especially 800XL preserved a sophisticated custom-chip design that had been conceived when most competitors still relied on comparatively simple display hardware.

Inside the silicon

The 6502C CPU works with three famous Atari custom chips. ANTIC is effectively a display processor that executes display lists and performs DMA. GTIA converts playfields and players/missiles into colour video. POKEY combines four-channel audio, timers, keyboard scanning, serial I/O and random-number generation.

6502CANTICGTIAPOKEY16/64 KB RAM

The market battle

Atari had a technological head start in custom graphics, but Commodore’s ownership of MOS Technology enabled relentless price competition. Corporate turmoil and frequent product changes weakened Atari’s position even when the hardware remained strong. The 800XL nevertheless became one of Atari’s most important 8-bit models, particularly in Europe.

Why it matters

The Atari 8-bit family is an early example of heterogeneous computing: the CPU does not draw everything itself. Dedicated silicon performs display-list processing, graphics composition and audio — an idea that would become increasingly important.

Configurations varied by model revision and region; this exhibit describes the architecture most relevant to the emulated system.

Emulation profile

Host

Modern browser; no emulator installation.

Portability

Interface designed for PCs, tablets and smartphones.

Controls

Machine-specific virtual keyboard/controls are used where practical rather than a generic input shell.

Display

Machine-appropriate CRT, television or LCD presentation and scaling are used where applicable.

Media

Original ROM/BIOS/software remains user-supplied where copyright requires it.

Fidelity

No artificial accuracy percentage is claimed; hardware coverage and limitations are exhibit-specific.

Sources & research notes →

1983 · 8-bit console

Nintendo Entertainment System

NES emulation with cartridge loading, controller input mapped to the PC keyboard, PPU graphics and APU sound.

NO INSTALLPC · TABLET · PHONELOCAL ROM / MEDIA

Launch emulator

Museum exhibit · history, silicon and market context

The machine

Nintendo’s Famicom launched in Japan in 1983; the redesigned Nintendo Entertainment System reached North America later. It was not simply another 8-bit console. Nintendo treated hardware, cartridges, licensing, retail presentation and software approval as one controlled platform.

Inside the silicon

The Ricoh 2A03/2A07 contains a modified 6502-compatible CPU core plus audio hardware. A separate PPU generates tile and sprite graphics. Crucially, cartridges could contain mapper chips that extended addressing, graphics banking and sometimes sound, so the console’s practical capabilities grew during its lifetime without replacing the base hardware.

Ricoh 2A03/2A07Ricoh 2C02/2C07 PPUcartridge mapper ASICs2 KB CPU RAM

The market battle

Nintendo entered the US after the 1983 crash, when retailers were wary of videogames. It rebuilt the category with strong first-party software, strict cartridge licensing, controlled manufacturing and a distinctive product identity. Sega and Atari challenged it, but Nintendo established the dominant console ecosystem in Japan and North America during the generation.

Why it matters

The NES made platform governance part of console architecture. The lesson was that controlling quality, distribution and developer access could matter as much as CPU or graphics specifications.

Configurations varied by model revision and region; this exhibit describes the architecture most relevant to the emulated system.

Emulation profile

Host

Modern browser; no emulator installation.

Portability

Interface designed for PCs, tablets and smartphones.

Controls

Machine-specific virtual keyboard/controls are used where practical rather than a generic input shell.

Display

Machine-appropriate CRT, television or LCD presentation and scaling are used where applicable.

Media

Original ROM/BIOS/software remains user-supplied where copyright requires it.

Fidelity

No artificial accuracy percentage is claimed; hardware coverage and limitations are exhibit-specific.

Sources & research notes →

1983 · 8-bit

MSX1

MSX1 Z80 home-computer emulation with BIOS/BASIC ROM loading, cartridge ROMs, DSK disk images and full keyboard controls.

NO INSTALLPC · TABLET · PHONELOCAL ROM / MEDIA

Launch emulator

1984 · 8-bit

Amstrad CPC 464

CPC 464 emulation with firmware ROM loading, CDT/TZX cassette support, a complete virtual keyboard and raster-exact display scaling.

NO INSTALLPC · TABLET · PHONELOCAL ROM / MEDIA

Launch emulator

1984 · 8-bit

Commodore 16

Commodore 264-series emulation centred on the C16, with TED video, the original keyboard layout, program loading and disk-drive support.

NO INSTALLPC · TABLET · PHONELOCAL ROM / MEDIA

Launch emulator

Museum exhibit · history, silicon and market context

The machine

The C16 belongs to Commodore’s 264 family, an attempt to create a lower-cost successor line beneath the C64. It looks related to Commodore’s earlier machines but is deliberately incompatible with them, a decision that made its market position difficult from the beginning.

Inside the silicon

The 7501/8501 CPU is a 6502-family derivative. The TED chip is unusually multifunctional: it generates video, produces two-channel sound, manages timers and participates in memory control. TED can display a much broader palette than the C64, but it has no hardware sprites and far less sophisticated audio. The C16 shipped with only 16 KB of RAM.

MOS 7501/8501TED 7360/836016 KB RAM121-colour palette

The market battle

Commodore intended the 264 family to fight very inexpensive computers, but the company already had the hugely successful and increasingly cheap C64. Software incompatibility fragmented Commodore’s own audience, while the C16’s limited RAM reduced its appeal. It found more success in parts of Europe than in North America.

Why it matters

The C16 is an instructive example of product-line strategy colliding with technical design. A new architecture can be elegant yet commercially awkward when it breaks compatibility with a dominant sibling.

Configurations varied by model revision and region; this exhibit describes the architecture most relevant to the emulated system.

Emulation profile

Host

Modern browser; no emulator installation.

Portability

Interface designed for PCs, tablets and smartphones.

Controls

Machine-specific virtual keyboard/controls are used where practical rather than a generic input shell.

Display

Machine-appropriate CRT, television or LCD presentation and scaling are used where applicable.

Media

Original ROM/BIOS/software remains user-supplied where copyright requires it.

Fidelity

No artificial accuracy percentage is claimed; hardware coverage and limitations are exhibit-specific.

Sources & research notes →

1985 · BASIC pocket computer

Texas Instruments TI-74 BASICALC

A calculator-sized QWERTY BASIC computer descended from TI’s Compact Computer 40 work, with persistent RAM, cartridge expansion and a long alphanumeric LCD.

NO INSTALLPC · TABLET · PHONELOCAL ROM / MEDIA

Launch emulator

1985 · 8-bit

Commodore 128

Commodore 128 emulation with 8502 and Z80 modes, 128 KB RAM, 40/80-column video, C64 compatibility, CP/M support and Commodore floppy-drive operation.

NO INSTALLPC · TABLET · PHONELOCAL ROM / MEDIA

Launch emulator

Museum exhibit · history, silicon and market context

The machine

The C128 was Commodore's ambitious attempt to move beyond the C64 without abandoning the huge installed base that made the C64 successful. It effectively presents three personalities: a faster and more capable native C128 environment, a highly compatible C64 mode, and a CP/M mode for business software. A full keyboard, numeric keypad and dedicated 40/80-column display controls reinforced its more serious positioning.

Inside the silicon

The main processor is the MOS 8502, a 6502-family CPU able to run at 1 or 2 MHz, paired with a Zilog Z80A used for CP/M. The machine contains 128 KB of RAM managed through the 8722 MMU. It also has two distinct video paths: VIC-IIe for the familiar 40-column Commodore display and the 8563 VDC for an independent 80-column RGB display. SID audio and the dual-CIA peripheral architecture preserve strong continuity with the C64.

MOS 8502 @ 1/2 MHzZilog Z80A128 KB RAMVIC-IIe + 8563 VDCSID + 8722 MMU

The market battle

The C128 was technically sophisticated and sold well, but it arrived just as the market was shifting toward 68000-based graphical machines and increasingly standardised PCs. Its greatest commercial strength — near-C64 compatibility — also meant many owners continued to use it primarily as a C64, while the native 128-mode software library remained much smaller.

Why it matters

Few mass-market computers expose the transition between eras as clearly. One case contains a 6502-family home computer, a Z80 CP/M machine, two video architectures and backward compatibility with the best-selling C64. It is both a culmination of Commodore's 8-bit engineering and a snapshot of the moment that architecture was being overtaken.

This exhibit focuses on the original Commodore 128 architecture. Behaviour can vary with ROM revision, 40/80-column mode, C64 compatibility mode, CP/M software and the attached Commodore disk-drive configuration.

Emulation profile

Host

Modern browser; no emulator installation.

Portability

Interface designed for PCs, tablets and smartphones.

Controls

Machine-specific virtual keyboard/controls are used where practical rather than a generic input shell.

Display

Machine-appropriate CRT, television or LCD presentation and scaling are used where applicable.

Media

Original ROM/BIOS/software remains user-supplied where copyright requires it.

Fidelity

No artificial accuracy percentage is claimed; hardware coverage and limitations are exhibit-specific.

Sources & research notes →

1985 · 16/32-bit

Atari ST

Motorola 68000-based Atari ST emulation with selectable TOS images, GEM desktop, mouse and floppy-disk image support.

NO INSTALLPC · TABLET · PHONELOCAL ROM / MEDIA

Launch emulator

Museum exhibit · history, silicon and market context

The machine

The Atari ST brought a 68000 CPU, a graphical desktop, high-resolution display options and serious I/O to a much lower price band than many professional systems. Developed rapidly after Jack Tramiel took control of Atari’s consumer business, it was positioned as a powerful “personal” alternative to both Macintosh and IBM-compatible PCs.

Inside the silicon

A Motorola 68000 at 8 MHz is supported by Atari custom logic traditionally identified as Shifter, GLUE and MMU, plus DMA circuitry and a Yamaha YM2149 sound chip. The architecture is less exotic than the Amiga’s but efficient, relatively straightforward and inexpensive. Built-in MIDI ports became unexpectedly decisive in music production.

Motorola 68000 @ 8 MHzShifterGLUEMMU/DMAYM2149 PSG

The market battle

The ST and Amiga became the defining 16/32-bit home-computer rivalry in much of Europe. Atari reached market early and competed aggressively on price; Commodore answered with more advanced custom multimedia hardware. Meanwhile Macintosh held a premium graphical niche and IBM-compatible PCs kept gaining business scale.

Why it matters

The ST proves that an ecosystem can form around one seemingly minor hardware choice: integrated MIDI ports turned it into a studio standard long after raw computing specifications ceased to be exceptional.

Configurations varied by model revision and region; this exhibit describes the architecture most relevant to the emulated system.

Emulation profile

Host

Modern browser; no emulator installation.

Portability

Interface designed for PCs, tablets and smartphones.

Controls

Machine-specific virtual keyboard/controls are used where practical rather than a generic input shell.

Display

Machine-appropriate CRT, television or LCD presentation and scaling are used where applicable.

Media

Original ROM/BIOS/software remains user-supplied where copyright requires it.

Fidelity

No artificial accuracy percentage is claimed; hardware coverage and limitations are exhibit-specific.

Sources & research notes →

1985–1986 · 8-bit console

Sega Master System

Master System emulation with SMS/BIN/ROM and ZIP cartridge loading, optional BIOS support, cartridge RAM and virtual controller input.

NO INSTALLPC · TABLET · PHONELOCAL ROM / MEDIA

Launch emulator

Museum exhibit · history, silicon and market context

The machine

Sega’s Mark III and international Master System were designed to challenge Nintendo with strong colour graphics, clean industrial design and an arcade company’s software heritage. The hardware evolved from Sega’s earlier SG-1000 line but substantially improved the video system.

Inside the silicon

A Z80A at about 3.58 MHz is paired with Sega’s enhanced VDP, descended conceptually from the TMS9918 family but expanded with more colours and console-oriented graphics features. Audio normally uses an SN76489-compatible PSG; Japanese hardware could add YM2413 FM synthesis. The console has separate video RAM, freeing graphics data from the CPU’s main address space.

Zilog Z80ASega VDPSN76489 PSGoptional YM2413 FM16 KB VRAM

The market battle

On paper the Master System could outperform the NES in several visual areas, but markets are not won by specifications alone. Nintendo’s developer relationships and installed base limited Sega in Japan and North America. Sega performed far better in Europe and, through Tec Toy, Brazil, where the platform developed an unusually long commercial life.

Why it matters

The Master System is one of the clearest examples of regional market history: the same hardware can be a distant second in one country and a defining platform in another.

Configurations varied by model revision and region; this exhibit describes the architecture most relevant to the emulated system.

Emulation profile

Host

Modern browser; no emulator installation.

Portability

Interface designed for PCs, tablets and smartphones.

Controls

Machine-specific virtual keyboard/controls are used where practical rather than a generic input shell.

Display

Machine-appropriate CRT, television or LCD presentation and scaling are used where applicable.

Media

Original ROM/BIOS/software remains user-supplied where copyright requires it.

Fidelity

No artificial accuracy percentage is claimed; hardware coverage and limitations are exhibit-specific.

Sources & research notes →

c. 1986 · Graphing calculator

Casio fx-8000G

A second-generation Casio graphing calculator with a 96×64 LCD, formula programming and the hardware lineage that followed Casio's pioneering fx-7000G.

NO INSTALLPC · TABLET · PHONELOCAL ROM / MEDIA

Launch emulator

Museum exhibit · history, silicon and market context

The machine

Casio's fx-7000G of 1985 established the handheld graphing-calculator category. The fx-8000G followed in that first wave, expanding program/data capacity and adding external I/O while retaining a compact scientific-calculator body. The crucial shift was visual: functions could now be explored directly on a 96×64 pixel LCD instead of being reduced to tables of numbers.

Inside the silicon

Casio built the fx-8000G around the NEC μPD1007G-005 CPU, with a μPD23C256 program ROM, μPD4364 RAM, HD44352A01 and HD44353A01 LCD drivers, and a μPD65005G-045-22 gate array. The 96×64 dot-matrix LCD gave programs a true graphical workspace rather than a multi-line numeric display.

NEC μPD1007G-005HD44352A01 + HD44353A01μPD65005G gate array96×64 LCD

The market battle

Graphing transformed the scientific-calculator market into an ecosystem contest. Screen resolution, plotting speed, program memory, classroom familiarity and peripheral support mattered alongside numerical accuracy. Casio had the early technical lead in handheld graphing; HP and especially Texas Instruments would turn the 1990s into a much more visible three-way contest.

Why it matters

The fx-8000G is the point where the calculator stops being only a numeric terminal. Once the display becomes a general graphics surface, a calculator can host plots, menus, editors and increasingly computer-like interaction without becoming a general-purpose computer.

The fx-8000G belongs to Casio's early graphing generation; specifications and firmware details differ from the earlier fx-7000G and later POWER GRAPHIC models.

Emulation profile

Host

Modern browser; no emulator installation.

Portability

Interface designed for PCs, tablets and smartphones.

Controls

Machine-specific virtual keyboard/controls are used where practical rather than a generic input shell.

Display

Machine-appropriate CRT, television or LCD presentation and scaling are used where applicable.

Media

Original ROM/BIOS/software remains user-supplied where copyright requires it.

Fidelity

No artificial accuracy percentage is claimed; hardware coverage and limitations are exhibit-specific.

Sources & research notes →

1986 · Programmable calculator

Texas Instruments TI-95 PROCALC

TI’s large keystroke-programmable professional calculator combines an alphanumeric display, soft-key menu labels, file/register memory and ROM/RAM cartridge expansion.

NO INSTALLPC · TABLET · PHONELOCAL ROM / MEDIA

Launch emulator

1986–1987 · Motorola 68k

Macintosh Plus / Macintosh II

Classic Macintosh emulation with selectable hardware profiles, ROM loading, floppy drives and HFV hard-disk images.

NO INSTALLPC · TABLET · PHONELOCAL ROM / MEDIA

Launch emulator

Museum exhibit · history, silicon and market context

The machine

The Macintosh Plus matured the compact black-and-white Macintosh into a practical professional system with more memory and SCSI expansion. The Macintosh II then broke the all-in-one mould with a modular desktop chassis, colour graphics through expansion cards and a faster 32-bit-capable processor.

Inside the silicon

The Plus uses an 8 MHz Motorola 68000 together with Apple’s IWM floppy controller, Zilog SCC serial communications and an NCR 5380 SCSI controller. The Macintosh II moves to a Motorola 68020 at 16 MHz, adds NuBus expansion and supports colour framebuffers; the 68881 floating-point unit gave the platform strong technical and scientific credentials.

68000 @ 8 MHzNCR 5380 SCSIZilog SCC68020 @ 16 MHzNuBus

The market battle

Apple did not fight the home-computer price war directly. Macintosh sold an integrated graphical environment, typography and desktop publishing at a premium. The LaserWriter/PageMaker ecosystem gave it a powerful professional niche, while increasingly capable IBM-compatible PCs attacked from below with lower prices and a much larger hardware vendor base.

Why it matters

The Plus and II show Apple moving from “the Macintosh” as one sealed appliance to Macintosh as a scalable platform — while maintaining the GUI and software identity that justified its premium.

Configurations varied by model revision and region; this exhibit describes the architecture most relevant to the emulated system.

Emulation profile

Host

Modern browser; no emulator installation.

Portability

Interface designed for PCs, tablets and smartphones.

Controls

Machine-specific virtual keyboard/controls are used where practical rather than a generic input shell.

Display

Machine-appropriate CRT, television or LCD presentation and scaling are used where applicable.

Media

Original ROM/BIOS/software remains user-supplied where copyright requires it.

Fidelity

No artificial accuracy percentage is claimed; hardware coverage and limitations are exhibit-specific.

Sources & research notes →

1987 · 16/32-bit

Commodore Amiga 500

A Motorola 68000-based home computer with custom graphics and sound hardware. Load a Kickstart ROM and ADF floppy images to explore Amiga software.

NO INSTALLPC · TABLET · PHONELOCAL ROM / MEDIA

Launch emulator

Museum exhibit · history, silicon and market context

The machine

The A500 turned the Amiga architecture into a mass-market home computer. The original Amiga 1000 had demonstrated extraordinary multimedia hardware; the 500 repackaged that capability into a keyboard computer priced to compete directly with Atari ST and high-end 8-bit owners looking to upgrade.

Inside the silicon

A Motorola 68000 shares work with three famous custom chips. Agnus controls DMA, memory arbitration, the blitter and Copper display co-processor. Denise generates display output and sprites. Paula handles four-channel 8-bit sampled audio, floppy I/O and other functions. The result is a machine where custom processors move data while the CPU continues executing code.

Motorola 68000AgnusDenisePaulablitter + Copper

The market battle

In Europe the Amiga 500 and Atari ST fought one of the era’s most intense platform wars. Atari had price, an early launch and MIDI; Amiga had stronger graphics and sampled audio. Both were eventually squeezed by rapidly improving and standardising PCs, while Commodore’s own strategic problems prevented the Amiga from converting technical distinction into long-term platform dominance.

Why it matters

The Amiga made hardware-accelerated graphics and sampled sound feel normal years before they became routine on mainstream PCs. Its architecture anticipates the modern idea that specialised processors should work in parallel with the CPU.

Configurations varied by model revision and region; this exhibit describes the architecture most relevant to the emulated system.

Emulation profile

Host

Modern browser; no emulator installation.

Portability

Interface designed for PCs, tablets and smartphones.

Controls

Machine-specific virtual keyboard/controls are used where practical rather than a generic input shell.

Display

Machine-appropriate CRT, television or LCD presentation and scaling are used where applicable.

Media

Original ROM/BIOS/software remains user-supplied where copyright requires it.

Fidelity

No artificial accuracy percentage is claimed; hardware coverage and limitations are exhibit-specific.

Sources & research notes →

Casio PB-2000C pocket computer, representative of the PB-1000 / PB-2000C / FX-870P exhibit

1987–1990s · Pocket computers

Casio PB-1000 / PB-2000C / FX-870P

Three HD61700-family pocket-computer profiles showing the move from BASIC and assembly to C-language programming on a battery-powered 192×32 LCD machine.

NO INSTALLPC · TABLET · PHONELOCAL ROM / MEDIA

Launch emulator

Museum exhibit · history, silicon and market context

The machines

The PB-1000 pushed Casio's pocket-computer idea toward a miniature workstation: a 192×32 LCD, QWERTY keyboard, BASIC, machine-language access and even fixed touch zones on the display. The PB-2000C and related FX-870P generation made the programming language itself the headline feature rather than treating programmability as a secondary calculator function.

From BASIC to C

The PB-1000 uses Casio BASIC and exposes the HD61700 for assembly work. The PB-2000C, released in 1989, made an ANSI C interpreter the built-in language and could use ROM cards for other languages and teaching environments. The FX-870P continued the C-language pocket-computer idea. This was unusually ambitious for machines powered by small batteries and storing programs in tens of kilobytes rather than megabytes.

Hitachi HD61700 family192×32 LCDBASIC / assemblyC language

The market battle

Casio and Sharp were competing over what a pocket computer should be. One path emphasised calculator functions with programmability; another gave users a recognisable programming language, QWERTY keyboard, expandable RAM and serial or disk peripherals. The boundary between scientific calculator, programming trainer and tiny personal computer became deliberately fuzzy.

Why they matter

These machines prove that the history of portable programming did not jump directly from BASIC pocket computers to PDAs. There was a remarkable intermediate phase in which C, assembly, data communications and even multiple language environments were squeezed into calculator-sized hardware.

This exhibit supports PB-1000, PB-2000C and FX-870P/VX-4 profiles. ROM, RAM-card and language-card requirements differ by profile.

Emulation profile

Host

Modern browser; no emulator installation.

Portability

Interface designed for PCs, tablets and smartphones.

Controls

Machine-specific virtual keyboard/controls are used where practical rather than a generic input shell.

Display

Machine-appropriate CRT, television or LCD presentation and scaling are used where applicable.

Media

Original ROM/BIOS/software remains user-supplied where copyright requires it.

Fidelity

No artificial accuracy percentage is claimed; hardware coverage and limitations are exhibit-specific.

Sources & research notes →

1989 · Handheld

Nintendo Game Boy

Emulation of the original monochrome handheld. Insert a Game Boy cartridge image and use the keyboard as the directional pad and buttons.

NO INSTALLPC · TABLET · PHONELOCAL ROM / MEDIA

Launch emulator

Museum exhibit · history, silicon and market context

The machine

Game Boy looked conservative beside colour handheld rivals, and that was largely the point. Nintendo optimised for affordability, battery life, robustness and a software library that could be played anywhere. The result turned portability from a technical demonstration into a mass market.

Inside the silicon

The custom Sharp/Nintendo CPU is often casually called a Z80, but it is its own 8-bit design with an instruction set influenced by the 8080/Z80 family. It runs at about 4.19 MHz and works with integrated LCD, timing, input and audio logic. The 160×144 display offers four shades rather than colour, drastically reducing power consumption.

Sharp LR35902-family CPU~4.19 MHz160×144 LCD4-channel audio

The market battle

Atari Lynx and later Sega Game Gear offered colour and, in some respects, more impressive specifications. Game Boy answered with much longer battery life, lower cost, compact cartridges and Nintendo’s software strength. Bundling Tetris broadened the audience far beyond children and traditional console players.

Why it matters

Its market victory is a classic engineering lesson: optimisation is about the whole product. A slower monochrome machine can beat technically superior rivals when power, price, size, software and usability are balanced better.

Configurations varied by model revision and region; this exhibit describes the architecture most relevant to the emulated system.

Emulation profile

Host

Modern browser; no emulator installation.

Portability

Interface designed for PCs, tablets and smartphones.

Controls

Machine-specific virtual keyboard/controls are used where practical rather than a generic input shell.

Display

Machine-appropriate CRT, television or LCD presentation and scaling are used where applicable.

Media

Original ROM/BIOS/software remains user-supplied where copyright requires it.

Fidelity

No artificial accuracy percentage is claimed; hardware coverage and limitations are exhibit-specific.

Sources & research notes →

1989 · 16-bit palmtop

Atari Portfolio

Atari Portfolio emulation with ZIP or individual system-ROM loading, memory-card images, full keyboard input and LCD-style scaling.

NO INSTALLPC · TABLET · PHONELOCAL ROM / MEDIA

Launch emulator

1990s · x86

DOS 486 PC

A browser-based 486-class PC for DOS programs and games, with floppy and hard-disk images plus selectable legacy video hardware.

NO INSTALLPC · TABLET · PHONELOCAL ROM / MEDIA

Launch emulator

Museum exhibit · history, silicon and market context

The machine

A “486 PC” is not one machine but an ecosystem. By the early 1990s the IBM-compatible architecture had escaped IBM’s control: dozens of manufacturers could combine CPUs, chipsets, graphics cards, sound cards, storage and memory into systems that all targeted the same enormous body of DOS and Windows software.

Inside the silicon

Intel’s 80486 integrates features that had previously required separate chips, including an on-chip cache and — on DX models — floating-point hardware. It is a 32-bit x86 processor with a pipelined core. Around it, third-party chipsets increasingly collapse motherboard logic, while VGA/SVGA graphics, IDE disks and Sound Blaster-compatible audio become practical standards of their own.

Intel 80486on-chip cacheDX integrated FPUVGA/SVGAISA / VLB / PCI era

The market battle

This is where many proprietary home-computer wars effectively end. Commodore, Atari and others could design distinctive hardware, but the PC clone industry could spread R&D across many vendors while preserving software compatibility. Competition shifted from “which computer architecture?” to “which compatible CPU, graphics card and price?”

Why it matters

The 486 era created the recognisable modular PC: upgradeable, standardised enough to preserve software investment, yet competitive enough that no single manufacturer had to build the whole machine.

Configurations varied by model revision and region; this exhibit describes the architecture most relevant to the emulated system.

Emulation profile

Host

Modern browser; no emulator installation.

Portability

Interface designed for PCs, tablets and smartphones.

Controls

Machine-specific virtual keyboard/controls are used where practical rather than a generic input shell.

Display

Machine-appropriate CRT, television or LCD presentation and scaling are used where applicable.

Media

Original ROM/BIOS/software remains user-supplied where copyright requires it.

Fidelity

No artificial accuracy percentage is claimed; hardware coverage and limitations are exhibit-specific.

Sources & research notes →

1992–2004 · Z80 graphing family

TI Z80 Graphing Family

One clean-room emulator covers eight closely related TI graphing-calculator profiles, from the TI-85 and TI-82 through the flash-based TI-83 Plus family and TI-84 Plus Silver Edition.

NO INSTALLPC · TABLET · PHONELOCAL ROM / MEDIA

Launch emulator

Museum exhibit · history, silicon and market context

The machine

Texas Instruments built a long-lived educational platform from several related graphing-calculator lines. The classroom-oriented TI-82/83 branch, the more advanced TI-85/86 branch and later flash-based models share a recognisable keyboard/software culture even where memory maps and LCD widths differ.

Inside the silicon

Most of this family is built around Z80-compatible CPU cores. The TI-82/83-style machines use 96×64 LCDs; TI-85 and TI-86 expand the display to 128×64. Later Plus/Silver Edition models add flash memory, application support and higher clock rates while preserving substantial software and user-interface continuity.

Z80 family96×64 / 128×64 LCDTI-BASICflash on Plus modelslink-port software ecosystem

The platform story

TI’s educational success was not merely technical. Textbooks, teachers, link cables, downloadable programs, exam rules and classroom familiarity made the calculator itself a platform. Backward familiarity became a competitive asset, explaining why the basic interface survived many hardware revisions.

Why it matters

This family makes software ecosystem lock-in visible in a pocket device. It also gives the museum a direct contrast between Casio’s early graphing leadership, TI’s classroom standardisation and HP’s engineering-oriented RPN/RPL tradition.

Selectable profiles in this emulator: TI-73, TI-82, TI-83, TI-83 Plus, TI-83 Plus Silver Edition, TI-84 Plus Silver Edition, TI-85 and TI-86. ROM images remain external.

Emulation profile

Host

Modern browser; no emulator installation.

Portability

Interface designed for PCs, tablets and smartphones.

Controls

Machine-specific virtual keyboard/controls are used where practical rather than a generic input shell.

Display

Machine-appropriate LCD presentation and scaling are used where applicable.

Media

Original ROM/firmware/software remains user-supplied where copyright requires it.

Fidelity

No artificial accuracy percentage is claimed; hardware coverage and limitations are exhibit-specific.

Sources & research notes →

1993 · Graphing calculator

HP 48GX

HP 48GX emulation with the Saturn CPU architecture, RPL operating environment, 131×64 LCD, full calculator keyboard and expandable-memory model.

NO INSTALLPC · TABLET · PHONELOCAL ROM / MEDIA

Launch emulator

Museum exhibit · history, silicon and market context

The machine

The HP 48GX represents a different branch of personal computing: a pocket-sized machine built for engineers, scientists and students rather than general-purpose desktop use. Its stack-oriented interface, soft menus and RPL programming system made the calculator feel less like a disposable appliance and more like a compact interactive computer.

Inside the silicon

The 48GX uses Hewlett-Packard's nibble-oriented Saturn architecture in the Yorke implementation at about 4 MHz. It combines 128 KB of built-in RAM with a 512 KB ROM and a 131×64 monochrome LCD. Two rear expansion slots allow RAM or ROM cards, with the second port supporting much larger bank-switched cards than the first.

Saturn / Yorke @ 4 MHz128 KB RAM512 KB ROM131×64 LCD

The market battle

Graphing calculators formed their own highly competitive ecosystem, led by Hewlett-Packard, Texas Instruments and Casio. HP differentiated the 48 series through RPN/RPL, strong programmability, expansion, infrared and serial communications, and an engineering-oriented software culture rather than by chasing desktop-computer conventions.

Why it matters

The 48GX shows how much computing depth could be packed into a long-lived specialist handheld before fast 32-bit embedded processors became inexpensive. Its Saturn instruction set, object system and persistent user environment also make it an unusually rich emulation target.

Configurations varied by production revision and installed expansion cards; this exhibit describes the standard HP 48GX architecture.

Emulation profile

Host

Modern browser; no emulator installation.

Portability

Interface designed for PCs, tablets and smartphones.

Controls

Machine-specific virtual keyboard/controls are used where practical rather than a generic input shell.

Display

Machine-appropriate CRT, television or LCD presentation and scaling are used where applicable.

Media

Original ROM/BIOS/software remains user-supplied where copyright requires it.

Fidelity

No artificial accuracy percentage is claimed; hardware coverage and limitations are exhibit-specific.

Sources & research notes →

Texas Instruments TI-92 graphing calculator

1995–2002 · 68000 CAS handhelds

TI-92 / TI-92 Plus / Voyage 200

The wide QWERTY branch of TI’s 68000 calculator platform: a 240×128 symbolic mathematics environment spanning the original TI-92, flash-upgradable TI-92 Plus and Voyage 200.

NO INSTALLPC · TABLET · PHONELOCAL ROM / MEDIA

Launch emulator

3Com Palm III personal digital assistant

1998–2000 · PDA

Palm III / IIIc

Dual Palm emulator supporting the monochrome Palm III and colour Palm IIIc, with Palm OS, 160×160 touch input, Graffiti area and physical application buttons.

NO INSTALLPC · TABLET · PHONELOCAL ROM / MEDIA

Launch emulator

Museum exhibit · history, silicon and market context

The machines

The emulator represents two closely related generations of Palm's classic PDA line. The 1998 Palm III refined the original PalmPilot formula around a monochrome 160×160 touchscreen, Graffiti handwriting area and dedicated application buttons. The 2000 Palm IIIc kept the familiar Palm interface and form factor but introduced a backlit colour display, making it Palm's first colour handheld.

Inside the silicon

The monochrome Palm III is built around Motorola's MC68328 DragonBall, a 68000-family system-on-chip running at 16 MHz, with 2 MB of RAM and 2 MB of Flash ROM. The Palm IIIc moves to the DragonBall EZ family at 20 MHz, expands memory to 8 MB of RAM and drives a 160×160 colour TFT display. Both machines retain the low-power, tightly integrated hardware philosophy that made Palm devices responsive despite modest clock speeds.

Palm III: MC68328 @ 16 MHzPalm III: 2 MB RAMPalm III: 160×160 monochrome LCDPalm IIIc: DragonBall EZ @ 20 MHzPalm IIIc: 8 MB RAMPalm IIIc: 160×160 colour TFT

Palm OS and input

The Palm III originally shipped with Palm OS 3.0, while the Palm IIIc arrived with Palm OS 3.5 and colour-aware system software. In both profiles the emulator reproduces the stylus-driven touchscreen, Graffiti input area and the four physical application buttons rather than treating them as ordinary desktop mouse controls.

The market battle

Palm's advantage was disciplined product design. While many Windows CE handhelds tried to miniaturise the desktop-PC experience, Palm concentrated on instant access, long battery life, simple synchronisation and an interface designed specifically for a stylus-operated pocket device. The IIIc added colour without abandoning that deliberately lightweight model.

Why they matter

Taken together, the Palm III and IIIc show the transition from the monochrome organiser-style PDA to the richer colour handhelds that preceded smartphones. Their application model, touch-first interface, personal-information databases, infrared exchange and desktop synchronisation established patterns that later mobile platforms would absorb and expand.

This emulator supports both the monochrome Palm III profile and the colour Palm IIIc profile. ROM capabilities and Palm OS version depend on the ROM image loaded by the user.

Emulation profile

Host

Modern browser; no emulator installation.

Portability

Interface designed for PCs, tablets and smartphones.

Controls

Machine-specific virtual keyboard/controls are used where practical rather than a generic input shell.

Display

Machine-appropriate CRT, television or LCD presentation and scaling are used where applicable.

Media

Original ROM/BIOS/software remains user-supplied where copyright requires it.

Fidelity

No artificial accuracy percentage is claimed; hardware coverage and limitations are exhibit-specific.

Sources & research notes →

2001 · Handheld

Nintendo Game Boy Advance

Game Boy Advance emulation with ARM-based CPU, colour graphics, audio and keyboard-mapped handheld controls for GBA cartridge images.

NO INSTALLPC · TABLET · PHONELOCAL ROM / MEDIA

Launch emulator

Museum exhibit · history, silicon and market context

The machine

The Game Boy Advance closes this museum with a striking change in scale. A mass-market handheld now contains a 32-bit RISC processor, sophisticated 2D graphics hardware and enough memory bandwidth to reproduce effects that once required an entire home computer.

Inside the silicon

The main processor is an ARM7TDMI running at about 16.78 MHz. Nintendo’s graphics hardware supports tile maps, sprites, affine transformations and bitmap modes on a 240×160 colour LCD. Audio combines Game Boy-style programmable channels with higher-quality direct sound channels. The architecture is optimised around fast internal working RAM and slower external RAM.

ARM7TDMI @ 16.78 MHzNintendo 2D graphics engine240×160 colour LCD32 KB IWRAM + 256 KB EWRAM

The market battle

Nintendo again chose evolutionary compatibility and battery-conscious design rather than competing as a miniature home console. Its main rivals were far weaker than in the original Game Boy era, and the GBA inherited a huge audience and developer ecosystem before Nintendo moved handhelds toward the dual-screen DS concept.

Why it matters

The ARM7TDMI provides a satisfying historical loop: ARM began at Acorn during the BBC Micro era, and by 2001 an ARM processor was at the centre of one of the world’s most successful handheld game systems.

Configurations varied by model revision and region; this exhibit describes the architecture most relevant to the emulated system.

Emulation profile

Host

Modern browser; no emulator installation.

Portability

Interface designed for PCs, tablets and smartphones.

Controls

Machine-specific virtual keyboard/controls are used where practical rather than a generic input shell.

Display

Machine-appropriate CRT, television or LCD presentation and scaling are used where applicable.

Media

Original ROM/BIOS/software remains user-supplied where copyright requires it.

Fidelity

No artificial accuracy percentage is claimed; hardware coverage and limitations are exhibit-specific.

Sources & research notes →

2004 · CAS graphing calculator

TI-89 Titanium

Texas Instruments' 68000-based symbolic graphing line in traditional calculator form, descended from the QWERTY TI-92 and centred on CAS, TI-BASIC and assembly programmability.

NO INSTALLPC · TABLET · PHONELOCAL ROM / MEDIA

Launch emulator

Museum exhibit · history, silicon and market context

The machine

The TI-89 Titanium is the calculator-shaped descendant of the TI-92 family. TI's 1995 TI-92 had already combined a Motorola 68000, large 240×128 display, QWERTY keyboard and computer algebra system in a wide handheld. The TI-89 brought that software lineage into the conventional vertical calculator format; the 2004 Titanium increased flash storage and added USB.

Inside the silicon

The Titanium retains the Motorola 68000 architecture that distinguishes TI's high-end symbolic line from its Z80-based school calculators. It uses a 160×100 monochrome LCD, 256 KB RAM and flash-resident AMS software, with TI-BASIC, assembly support and installable applications. The result is much closer to a small specialised computer than a fixed-function calculator.

Motorola 68000256 KB RAM160×100 LCDCAS / AMS

The calculator war

By the 1990s and 2000s Casio, Texas Instruments and Hewlett-Packard were fighting on several fronts at once: graphing, symbolic algebra, programming, connectivity, classroom adoption, exam rules and software ecosystems. TI made the school-oriented graphing calculator a platform; HP defended an engineering culture built around RPN/RPL; Casio competed with broad model ranges, early graphing leadership and aggressive educational products.

Why it matters

The TI-89 lineage shows the convergence of calculator and computer architectures from the opposite direction to the pocket computers. Instead of shrinking BASIC into a calculator body, TI brought a 68000 system, symbolic algebra, downloadable software and a substantial operating environment into one.

This emulator targets the TI-89 Titanium hardware/AMS environment; the TI-92 is included here as historical lineage rather than as a separate playable profile.

Emulation profile

Host

Modern browser; no emulator installation.

Portability

Interface designed for PCs, tablets and smartphones.

Controls

Machine-specific virtual keyboard/controls are used where practical rather than a generic input shell.

Display

Machine-appropriate CRT, television or LCD presentation and scaling are used where applicable.

Media

Original ROM/BIOS/software remains user-supplied where copyright requires it.

Fidelity

No artificial accuracy percentage is claimed; hardware coverage and limitations are exhibit-specific.

Sources & research notes →

2006 · Graphing calculator

HP 50g

HP 50g emulation with ARM9-class hardware, monochrome graphics, calculator keyboard, RPL environment and the ROM/boot behaviour of HP's late high-end graphing-calculator line.

NO INSTALLPC · TABLET · PHONELOCAL ROM / MEDIA

Launch emulator

Museum exhibit · history, silicon and market context

The machine

The HP 50g is the mature endpoint of the classic HP 48/49/50 RPL lineage. It keeps the dense keyboard, stack-based workflows and programmable object environment familiar to HP calculator users, but moves the underlying hardware into the ARM era and adds modern storage and computer connectivity.

Inside the silicon

At its core is a Samsung S3C2410A with an ARM920T processor, used at 75 MHz in the calculator. The machine provides 512 KB of RAM, 2 MB of flash memory and a 131×80 monochrome LCD. USB, infrared, serial connectivity and an SD-card slot make it far more connected and expandable than the Saturn-based 48GX.

S3C2410A / ARM920T75 MHz512 KB RAM + 2 MB Flash131×80 LCD

The market battle

By 2006 graphing calculators were competing not only on mathematics but on classroom adoption, symbolic algebra, connectivity, programmability and established software ecosystems. The 50g preserved HP's RPL identity while adding the faster processor and removable storage expected from a modern high-end technical calculator.

Why it matters

The 50g makes the architectural transition visible: a user environment descended from Saturn-era calculators now runs on an ARM-based embedded platform. That continuity across radically different processors is exactly the kind of hardware/software boundary that makes emulator development historically interesting.

Clocking and firmware behaviour can vary by operating mode and revision; this exhibit describes the standard HP 50g hardware platform.

Emulation profile

Host

Modern browser; no emulator installation.

Portability

Interface designed for PCs, tablets and smartphones.

Controls

Machine-specific virtual keyboard/controls are used where practical rather than a generic input shell.

Display

Machine-appropriate CRT, television or LCD presentation and scaling are used where applicable.

Media

Original ROM/BIOS/software remains user-supplied where copyright requires it.

Fidelity

No artificial accuracy percentage is claimed; hardware coverage and limitations are exhibit-specific.

Sources & research notes →

40 exhibits you can launch — inside a much larger history.

CP/M Computer

The machine

Inside the silicon

The market battle

Why it matters

Emulation profile

MOS KIM-1

The machine

Inside the silicon

The market battle

Why it matters

Emulation profile

Atari VCS / 2600

The machine

Inside the silicon

The market battle

Why it matters

Emulation profile

Commodore PET 4032

The machine

Inside the silicon

The market battle

Why it matters

Emulation profile

Commodore VIC-20

The machine

Inside the silicon

The market battle

Why it matters

Emulation profile

Sinclair ZX81

The machine

Inside the silicon

The market battle

Why it matters

Emulation profile

HP 10C / 11C / 12C / 15C / 16C

The family

Inside the silicon

The market battle

Why it matters

Emulation profile

Sharp PC-1500 / PC-1350

The machines

Inside the silicon

The market battle

Why they matter

Emulation profile

Texas Instruments TI-99/4A

The machine

Inside the silicon

The market battle

Why it matters

Emulation profile

IBM PC / XT (5150 / 5160)

The machines

Inside the silicon

The market battle

Why it matters

Emulation profile

BBC Micro Model B

The machine

Inside the silicon

The market battle

Why it matters

Emulation profile

Commodore 64

The machine

Inside the silicon

The market battle

Why it matters

Emulation profile

Sinclair ZX Spectrum 48K

The machine

Inside the silicon

The market battle

Why it matters

Emulation profile

GCE Vectrex