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91-819: The design of the TMS34010 was led by Karl Guttag, who previously worked on the TMS9918 video chip. Development took place at TI facilities in Bedford (UK) and Houston (US). First silicon was working in Houston in December 1985, with shipment of development boards to IBM 's workstation facility in Kingston, New York , in January 1986. Midway Games was a prolific user of the chip in arcade video games beginning with

182-518: A 60 Hz video signal , while the TMS9929A outputs 50 Hz. The difference between '1' and the '2' in 'TMS9918A' and 'TMS9928A' is that the '1' version outputs composite NTSC video, while the '2' versions (including the TMS9929A) outputs analog Y luminance and R-Y and B-Y colour difference signals. The need for the latter was predominant in the 50 Hz world , including Europe, due to

273-442: A TV set or an appropriately sized computer display , and is often used as a digital photo viewer, music and video player, TV receiver, and digital video recorder. HTPCs are also referred to as media center systems or media servers . The goal is to combine many or all components of a home theater setup into one box. HTPCs can also connect to services providing on-demand movies and TV shows. HTPCs can be purchased pre-configured with

364-928: A clone called the T6950 and does not support the undocumented pattern / color table masking feature in graphics 2 mode. Later, Toshiba released the T7937A MSX-Engine with a built-in VDP and fixed the masking features. Both VDPs by Toshiba feature a slightly different palette than the Texas VDPs, with more vivid colors. The TMS9918 was the basis for the VDP chips in the Master System , Game Gear , and Mega Drive (Genesis) . They use additional display modes and registers, and added hardware scrolling capabilities and other advanced features. The Ricoh PPU chip in

455-581: A composite video palette. Colors were generated based on a combination of luminance and chrominance values for the TMS9918A and Y , R-Y and B-Y values are for the TMS9928A/9929A . The TMS9918 has a fixed 16-color palette , composed of 15 displayed colors and a "transparent" color. According to "Table 2.3 - Color Assignments" on the datasheet outputs levels are the following: Notes: Colors are merely illustrative, and were converted from

546-541: A gamma . The TMS9918 series chips had been designed to work with televisions and their CRTs had a gamma of 1.6 (remark: CRTs of Macintosh monitors had 1.8 and the CRTs of PC monitors had 2.2). Flat screens do not have gamma . For this reason the colors of the TMS9918 look somewhat pale here as you can see in the first table above. The below table uses the gamma-corrected values, which are (written in hexadecimal because this

637-401: A kit form and in limited volumes, and were of interest mostly to hobbyists and technicians. Minimal programming was done with toggle switches to enter instructions, and output was provided by front panel lamps. Practical use required adding peripherals such as keyboards, computer displays , disk drives , and printers . Micral N was the earliest commercial, non-kit microcomputer based on

728-511: A multitasking operating system . Eventually, due to the influence of the IBM PC on the personal computer market , personal computers and home computers lost any technical distinction. Business computers acquired color graphics capability and sound, and home computers and game systems users used the same processors and operating systems as office workers. Mass-market computers had graphics capabilities and memory comparable to dedicated workstations of

819-662: A personal computer , using a small TMS34010 adapter card called "The Flippy" . The Flippy was designed as the basis of a game development system for consoles and as an IBM PC compatible gaming card in its own right. Texas Instruments engineer Michael Denio wrote The Adventures of Captain Pixel as a demo for the system. In 1988, he released a similar game, The Adventures of Captain Comic , as shareware for MS-DOS. TI made an unsuccessful effort in 1987 and 1988 to convince games makers such as Nintendo and Sega to write 3D games and create

910-553: A portable computer prototype called SCAMP (Special Computer APL Machine Portable) based on the IBM PALM processor with a Philips compact cassette drive, small CRT , and full function keyboard. SCAMP emulated an IBM 1130 minicomputer in order to run APL/1130. In 1973, APL was generally available only on mainframe computers, and most desktop sized microcomputers such as the Wang 2200 or HP 9800 offered only BASIC . Because SCAMP

1001-469: A touchscreen display, which can be controlled using either a stylus pen or finger. Some tablets may use a hybrid or convertible design, offering a keyboard that can either be removed as an attachment, or a screen that can be rotated and folded directly over top the keyboard. Some tablets may use desktop-PC operating system such as Windows or Linux, or may run an operating system designed primarily for tablets. Many tablet computers have USB ports, to which

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1092-609: A 1980 presentation by Karl Guttag (one of the designers): All of the ICs in this family are usually referred to by the TMS9918 name, sometimes with an 'A' postfix. The 'A' indicates a second version of the chip which added new features, most prominently the addition of a bitmap mode (Graphic II). The TMS9918 was only used in the TI-99/4; the TI-99/4A and the other computers had the A version VDC. The TMS9918A and TMS9928A output

1183-835: A 4096-color palette, stereo sound, Motorola 68000 CPU, 256 KB RAM, and 880 KB 3.5-inch disk drive, for US$ 1,295. IBM's first PC was introduced on 12 August 1981 setting what became a mass market standard for PC architecture. In 1982 The Computer was named Machine of the Year by Time magazine. Somewhat larger and more expensive systems were aimed at office and small business use. These often featured 80-column text displays but might not have had graphics or sound capabilities. These microprocessor-based systems were still less costly than time-shared mainframes or minicomputers. Workstations were characterized by high-performance processors and graphics displays, with large-capacity local disk storage, networking capability, and running under

1274-427: A computer expert or technician . Unlike large, costly minicomputers and mainframes , time-sharing by many people at the same time is not used with personal computers. The term home computer has also been used, primarily in the late 1970s and 1980s. The advent of personal computers and the concurrent Digital Revolution have significantly affected the lives of people. Institutional or corporate computer owners in

1365-410: A computer that could fit on a desk was remarkably small, leading to the desktop nomenclature. More recently, the phrase usually indicates a particular style of computer case . Desktop computers come in a variety of styles ranging from large vertical tower cases to small models which can be tucked behind or rest directly beneath (and support) LCD monitors . While the term desktop often refers to

1456-557: A computer with a vertically aligned computer tower case , these varieties often rest on the ground or underneath desks. Despite this seeming contradiction, the term desktop does typically refer to these vertical tower cases as well as the horizontally aligned models which are designed to literally rest on top of desks and are therefore more appropriate to the desktop term, although both types qualify for this desktop label in most practical situations aside from certain physical arrangement differences. Both styles of these computer cases hold

1547-510: A desk, including a keyboard, a small one-line display, and printer. The Wang 2200 microcomputer of 1973 had a full-size cathode ray tube (CRT) and cassette tape storage. These were generally expensive specialized computers sold for business or scientific uses. 1974 saw the introduction of what is considered by many to be the first true personal computer, the Altair 8800 created by Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS) . Based on

1638-415: A few years before. Even local area networking, originally a way to allow business computers to share expensive mass storage and peripherals, became a standard feature of personal computers used at home. An increasingly important set of uses for personal computers relied on the ability of the computer to communicate with other computer systems, allowing interchange of information. Experimental public access to

1729-432: A graphics card installed. For this reason, desktop computers are usually preferred over laptops for gaming purposes. Unlike desktop computers, only minor internal upgrades (such as memory and hard disk drive) are feasible owing to the limited space and power available. Laptops have the same input and output ports as desktops, for connecting to external displays, mice, cameras, storage devices and keyboards. Laptops are also

1820-628: A hardware blitter and a customizable palette . The V9938 was designed for the MSX2 standard of computers, and later used in a third-party upgrade to the TI-99/4A : the Geneve 9640 "computer-on-a-card". The V9938, in turn, was succeeded by the V9958 , which added some additional high-colour modes and a horizontal two-page scroll register, these chips were used in the MSX2+/ turboR systems. Toshiba made

1911-487: A hinged second panel containing a flat display screen. Closing the laptop protects the screen and keyboard during transportation. Laptops generally have a rechargeable battery , enhancing their portability. To save power, weight and space, laptop graphics chips are in many cases integrated into the CPU or chipset and use system RAM, resulting in reduced graphics performance when compared to desktop machines, that more typically have

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2002-408: A keyboard or mouse can be connected. Smartphones are often similar to tablet computers , the difference being that smartphones always have cellular integration. They are generally smaller than tablets, and may not have a slate form factor. The ultra-mobile PC (UMPC) is a small tablet computer . It was developed by Microsoft , Intel and Samsung , among others. Current UMPCs typically feature

2093-540: A larger screen or use with video projectors. IBM PC-compatible suitcase format computers became available soon after the introduction of the PC, with the Compaq Portable being a leading example of the type. Later models included a hard drive to give roughly equivalent performance to contemporary desktop computers. The development of thin plasma display and LCD screens permitted a somewhat smaller form factor, called

2184-465: A little more expensive compared to desktops, as the miniaturized components for laptops themselves are expensive. Notebook computers such as the TRS-80 Model 100 and Epson HX-20 had roughly the plan dimensions of a sheet of typing paper ( ANSI A or ISO A4 ). These machines had a keyboard with slightly reduced dimensions compared to a desktop system, and a fixed LCD display screen coplanar with

2275-739: A microprocessor, the Intel 8008 . It was built starting in 1972, and a few hundred units were sold. This had been preceded by the Datapoint 2200 in 1970, for which the Intel 8008 had been commissioned, though not accepted for use. The CPU design implemented in the Datapoint 2200 became the basis for x86 architecture used in the original IBM PC and its descendants. In 1973, the IBM Los Gatos Scientific Center developed

2366-571: A new console market. The successor to the TMS34010, the TMS34020 (1988), provides several enhancements including an interface for a special graphics floating point coprocessor, the TMS34082 (1989). The primary function of the TMS34082 is to allow the TMS340 architecture to generate high quality three-dimensional graphics. The performance level of 60 million vertices per second was advanced at

2457-481: A new naming scheme: devices without an integrated phone are called Windows Mobile Classic instead of Pocket PC, while devices with an integrated phone and a touch screen are called Windows Mobile Professional. Palmtop PCs were miniature pocket-sized computers running DOS that first came about in the late 1980s, typically in a clamshell form factor with a keyboard. Non-x86 based devices were often called palmtop computers, examples being Psion Series 3 . In later years

2548-406: A number of screen modes that control the characteristics of the characters. There are four documented screen modes available in the TMS9918A (as mentioned before, the TMS9918 lacks mode Graphic 2): Technically, mode 2 is a character mode with a colorful character set. The screen is horizontally divided into three 256×64 pixel areas, each of which gets its own character set. By sequentially printing

2639-406: A preview of features that would later become staples of personal computers: e-mail , hypertext , word processing , video conferencing , and the mouse . The demonstration required technical support staff and a mainframe time-sharing computer that were far too costly for individual business use at the time. Early personal computers‍—‌generally called microcomputers‍—‌were often sold in

2730-615: A shared mainframe computer system was demonstrated as early as 1973 in the Community Memory project, but bulletin board systems and online service providers became more commonly available after 1978. Commercial Internet service providers emerged in the late 1980s, giving public access to the rapidly growing network. In 1991, the World Wide Web was made available for public use. The combination of powerful personal computers with high-resolution graphics and sound, with

2821-402: A single scanline; any additional sprites' horizontal pixels are dropped. Sprites with a higher priority are drawn first. The VDP reports in a status register the number of the first dropped sprite. The CPU can get around this limitation by rotating sprite priorities so that a different set of sprites is drawn on every frame; instead of disappearing entirely, the sprites will flicker. This technique

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2912-655: A television already in the home as the computer display, with low-detail blocky graphics and a limited color range, and text about 40 characters wide by 25 characters tall. Sinclair Research , a UK company, produced the ZX Series‍—;‌the ZX80 (1980), ZX81 (1981), and the ZX Spectrum ; the latter was introduced in 1982, and totaled 8 million unit sold. Following came the Commodore 64 , totaled 17 million units sold,

3003-406: A time, they are commonly connected to a local area network and run multi-user operating systems . Workstations are used for tasks such as computer-aided design , drafting and modeling, computation-intensive scientific and engineering calculations, image processing, architectural modeling, and computer graphics for animation and motion picture visual effects. Before the widespread use of PCs,

3094-546: A wide range of users, not just experienced electronics hobbyists who had the soldering skills to assemble a computer kit. The Apple I as delivered was still technically a kit computer, as it did not have a power supply, case, or keyboard when it was delivered to the Byte Shop. The first successfully mass-marketed personal computer to be announced was the Commodore PET after being revealed in January 1977. However, it

3185-542: Is a desktop computer that generally comprises a high-performance video card , processor and RAM, to improve the speed and responsiveness of demanding video games . An all-in-one computer (also known as single-unit PCs) is a desktop computer that combines the monitor and processor within a single unit. A separate keyboard and mouse are standard input devices, with some monitors including touchscreen capability. The processor and other working components are typically reduced in size relative to standard desktops, located behind

3276-495: Is a portable computer that provides the full capabilities of a desktop computer . Such computers are currently large laptops. This class of computers usually includes more powerful components and a larger display than generally found in smaller portable computers, and may have limited battery capacity or no battery. Netbooks , also called mini notebooks or subnotebooks , were a subgroup of laptops suited for general computing tasks and accessing web-based applications . Initially,

3367-478: Is known as sprite multiplexing. Automatic sprite movement is not handled by the VDP. Instead, in practice, the CPU will pick up on the VDP's vertical interrupt - a standard VDP output, which is triggered automatically once every 50th or 60th of a second (depending on chip variant), at the start of the VBI ( vertical blanking interval ). The CPU then jumps to a sprite-handling routine in the software, which in turn tells

3458-437: Is needed by Misplaced Pages's coding): Note: The used steps are: Round all values to two decimal places, then raise to the power of 1.6 for gamma correction and finally transform the range of values from 0...100 to 0...255. Texas Instruments' TMS9918A was succeeded by Yamaha's V9938 , which added additional bitmap modes, more colorful sprites , a vertical full-screen scroll register, vertical and horizontal offset registers,

3549-585: Is speculation and there is no sign of it so far. In the history of computing , early experimental machines could be operated by a single attendant. For example, ENIAC which became operational in 1946 could be run by a single, albeit highly trained, person. This mode pre-dated the batch programming, or time-sharing modes with multiple users connected through terminals to mainframe computers. Computers intended for laboratory, instrumentation, or engineering purposes were built, and could be operated by one person in an interactive fashion. Examples include such systems as

3640-405: Is to create a second copy of some or all of the display data to eliminate flickering and tearing, a technique known as double buffering . The CPU communicates with the VDP through an 8-bit bus . A pin controlled by the CPU separates this bus into two "ports", a control port and a data port. To write or read a byte of video memory, the CPU first has to write two bytes on the VDP's control port to

3731-478: Is used to contrast with Mac, an Apple Macintosh computer. Since none of these Apple products were mainframes or time-sharing systems, they were all personal computers but not PC (brand) computers. In 1995, a CBS segment on the growing popularity of PC reported: "For many newcomers PC stands for Pain and Confusion." The "brain" [computer] may one day come down to our level [of the common people] and help with our income-tax and book-keeping calculations. But this

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3822-536: The Apple I computer circuit board, which was fully prepared and contained about 30 chips. The Apple I computer differed from the other kit-style hobby computers of era. At the request of Paul Terrell , owner of the Byte Shop , Jobs and Wozniak were given their first purchase order, for 50 Apple I computers, only if the computers were assembled and tested and not a kit computer. Terrell wanted to have computers to sell to

3913-590: The Bendix G15 and LGP-30 of 1956, and the Soviet MIR series of computers developed from 1965 to 1969. By the early 1970s, people in academic or research institutions had the opportunity for single-person use of a computer system in interactive mode for extended durations, although these systems would still have been too expensive to be owned by a single person. The personal computer was made possible by major advances in semiconductor technology. In 1959,

4004-526: The ColecoVision , CreatiVision , Memotech MTX , MSX , NABU Personal Computer , SG-1000 / SC-3000 , Spectravideo SV-318 , SV-328 , Sord M5 , Tatung Einstein , TI-99/4 , Casio PV-2000 , Coleco Adam , Hanimex Pencil II , PECOS and Tomy Tutor . The TMS9918 generates both grid-based character graphics (used to display text or background images) and sprites used for moving foreground objects. The key features of this chip are, as highlighted in

4095-656: The Galaksija (1983) introduced in Yugoslavia and the Amstrad CPC series (464–6128). In the same year, the NEC PC-98 was introduced, which was a very popular personal computer that sold in more than 18 million units. Another famous personal computer, the revolutionary Amiga 1000 , was unveiled by Commodore on 23 July 1985. The Amiga 1000 featured a multitasking, windowing operating system, color graphics with

4186-500: The Nintendo Entertainment System (Famicom) is also based on the TMS9918. Personal computer A personal computer , often referred to as a PC , is a computer designed for individual use. It is typically used for tasks such as word processing , internet browsing , email , multimedia playback, and gaming . Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user , rather than by

4277-405: The lunchbox computer. The screen formed one side of the enclosure, with a detachable keyboard and one or two half-height floppy disk drives, mounted facing the ends of the computer. Some variations included a battery, allowing operation away from AC outlets. A laptop computer is designed for portability with clamshell design, where the keyboard and computer components are on one panel, with

4368-607: The macOS operating system), and free and open-source , Unix-like operating systems, such as Linux . Other notable platforms until the 1990s were the Amiga from Commodore , and the PC-98 from NEC . The term PC is an initialism for personal computer. While the IBM Personal Computer incorporated the designation into its model name, the term originally described personal computers of any brand. In some contexts, PC

4459-460: The silicon integrated circuit (IC) chip was developed by Robert Noyce at Fairchild Semiconductor , and the metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) transistor was developed by Mohamed Atalla and Dawon Kahng at Bell Labs . The MOS integrated circuit was commercialized by RCA in 1964, and then the silicon-gate MOS integrated circuit was developed by Federico Faggin at Fairchild in 1968. Faggin later used silicon-gate MOS technology to develop

4550-661: The "1977 trinity". Mass-market, ready-assembled computers had arrived, and allowed a wider range of people to use computers, focusing more on software applications and less on development of the processor hardware. In 1977 the Heath company introduced personal computer kits known as Heathkits , starting with the Heathkit H8 , followed by the Heathkit H89 in late 1979. With the purchase of the Heathkit H8 you would obtain

4641-456: The '2' version does not. The original variants of the TMS9918 were depletion load NMOS and manufactured on a 4.5 μm process; it was one of the first depletion load NMOS chips Texas Instruments manufactured in contrast to the TMS9900 microprocessor which used the older enhancement load NMOS process that required three supply voltages. Due to the large die size and relatively high internal speed,

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4732-444: The 1960s had to write their own programs to do any useful work with computers. While personal computer users may develop their applications, usually these systems run commercial software , free-of-charge software (" freeware "), which is most often proprietary, or free and open-source software , which is provided in ready-to-run , or binary form. Software for personal computers is typically developed and distributed independently from

4823-499: The 1989 Texas Instruments Graphics Architecture (TIGA) standard, and in the early 1990s were used in professional-level video coprocessor boards for MS-DOS , Microsoft Windows , and SCO Unix . In a 1991 article on graphics adapters, PC Magazine reported that the fastest boards for regenerating AutoCAD test images were based on the TMS34010. The Aura Scuzzygraph , Radius PowerView , and Radius SuperView external SCSI graphics cards for Apple Macintosh computers are based on

4914-555: The 8-bit Intel 8080 Microprocessor, the Altair is widely recognized as the spark that ignited the microcomputer revolution as the first commercially successful personal computer. The computer bus designed for the Altair was to become a de facto standard in the form of the S-100 bus , and the first programming language for the machine was Microsoft's founding product, Altair BASIC . In 1976, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak sold

5005-894: The TMS34010 was central. A follow-up processor, the TMS34020 , can be used with a floating point coprocessor to render three-dimensional graphics. It is used in Midway's 1994 Revolution X , even though the game is not fully 3D. The TMS34010 is a bit addressable, 32-bit processor, with two register files , each with fifteen registers and sharing a sixteenth stack pointer . The instruction set supports drawing into two-dimensional bitmaps, arbitrary variable-width data, conversion of pixel data to different bit depths, and arithmetic operations on pixels . Positions in bitmaps can be specified either as X, Y coordinates or as addresses. The PIXBLT instruction handles drawing pixels, including Boolean and other operations for combining pixel data, and most of

5096-857: The TMS34010. One of the graphics options for the 1988 Sun386i workstation, the CG5 video card, uses the TMS34010. The Amiga A2410 graphics card uses the TMS34010 and was sold in Commodore Amiga UNIX workstations, the Amiga 2500UX and 3000UX. It was developed in conjunction with the University of Lowell . When running Amiga UNIX, the card supports the X Window System and gives a high resolution 8-bit display. The card can also be used when running Amiga OS , with support libraries and some Retargetable Graphics implementations. In 1987, TI demonstrated real-time 3D games with stereo sound effects on

5187-528: The TMS9918 ran warm enough to necessitate a heat sink; some devices such as the Taiwanese DINA console (a hybrid Colecovision/SG-1000) neglected to install sinks and suffered from malfunctions of the chip. By 1983 Texas Instruments had shrunk the die size to 3 μm which ran cooler and no longer required a sink; MSX machines and the Sega SG-1000 used the newer 3 μm TMS9918 while most Colecovisions had

5278-587: The TMS99xx needs. Otherwise the chips are completely identical to the TMS9918A, TMS9928A and TMS9929A respectively. The VDP has 16K × 8 bits of external video memory. This memory is outside the address space of the CPU . Having a separate address space means that the CPU has to do more work to write or read this memory, but it also means that the VDC doesn't slow the CPU down when it periodically reads this memory to generate

5369-562: The VDC's internal address register . Next, the CPU performs the actual write or read on the VDP's data port. As a data byte is written or read, the TMS9918 automatically increments the internal address register. This auto-increment feature accelerates writes and reads of blocks of data. The control port is also used to access various internal registers. The TMS9918 has two separate and distinct graphics types: characters and sprites . Characters are typically used to create text or background images. They appear behind sprites. The TMS9918 has

5460-453: The VDP where to reposition the sprites. The sprite collision flag is set when non-zero pattern bits of two sprites coincide, even if either sprite has transparent colour. This is useful for triggering more advanced collision detection routines inside the software which can then determine the exact location of the collision and act upon it, as the VDP is itself incapable of reporting which two sprites have collided. The TMS9918 family chips used

5551-549: The Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Linux operating system , and low-voltage Intel Atom or VIA C7-M processors. A pocket PC is a hardware specification for a handheld-sized computer ( personal digital assistant , PDA) that runs the Microsoft Windows Mobile operating system . It may have the capability to run an alternative operating system like NetBSD or Linux . Pocket PCs have many of

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5642-648: The YPrPb values (MS9928A/9929A) to sRGB taking into account Gamma correction . SMPTE C colorimetry was not taken into account - see the next section for alternate color conversions. In order to convert Y, R-Y and B-Y to RGB you need to consider how Y originated, namely: Thus you need to use the following formulas: But at first you need to spend attention to the fact that for all colors that have no chrominance - thus black, gray and white - R-Y and B-Y are not 0% but all have an offset of 47%. So you need to subtract this offset from all R-Y and B-Y values at first. Due to

5733-473: The ability to be programmed in both APL and BASIC for engineers, analysts, statisticians, and other business problem-solvers. In the late 1960s such a machine would have been nearly as large as two desks and would have weighed about half a ton. Another desktop portable APL machine, the MCM/70 , was demonstrated in 1973 and shipped in 1974. It used the Intel 8008 processor. A seminal step in personal computing

5824-477: The capabilities of desktop PCs . Numerous applications are available for handhelds adhering to the Microsoft Pocket PC specification, many of which are freeware . Microsoft-compliant Pocket PCs can also be used with many other add-ons like GPS receivers , barcode readers, RFID readers and cameras. In 2007, with the release of Windows Mobile 6, Microsoft dropped the name Pocket PC in favor of

5915-489: The characters 0 through 255 in all three areas, the program can simulate a graphics mode where each pixel can be set individually. However, the resulting framebuffer is non-linear. The program can also use three identical character sets, and then deal with the screen like a text mode with a colorful character set. Background patterns and sprites then consist of colorful characters. This was commonly used in games, because only 32×24 bytes would have to be moved to fill and scroll

6006-577: The chassis and CPU card to assemble yourself, additional hardware such as the H8-1 memory board that contained 4k of RAM could also be purchased in order to run software. The Heathkit H11 model was released in 1978 and was one of the first 16-bit personal computers; however, due to its high retail cost of $ 1,295 was discontinued in 1982. During the early 1980s, home computers were further developed for household use, with software for personal productivity, programming and games. They typically could be used with

6097-458: The different video signal standards PAL and SECAM . It was more cost-effective to output Y, R-Y and B-Y and encode them into PAL or SECAM in the RF modulator , than to try to have a different console for every different color standard. The '1' version also features an external composite video input which made it a handy chip to use in video "titlers" that could overlay text or graphics on video, while

6188-442: The display. Additionally, it leaves more address space available to the CPU for other memory and memory-mapped hardware. Depending on the screen mode being used, not all of the video memory may be needed to generate the display. In these cases, the CPU may use the extra video memory for other purposes. For example, one use is as a scratch-pad for uncompressing graphics or sound data stored in cartridge ROM into. Another popular use

6279-556: The entire screen. The challenge of using TMS9918 mode 2 was that every 8×1 pixel area could have only two colors, foreground and background. They could be freely picked out of the 16 color palette, but for each 8×1 area, only two colors could exist. When manipulating the screen in BASIC with the LINE command, one easily could exceed the maximum 2 colors per 8×1 area and end up with " color spill ". Texas Instruments originally only documented

6370-408: The fact that in practice this one step will never be done alone, it's no problem that some results will be negative: Now you can do the conversion to RGB. All results must be in the range from 0% to 100%: You might come to the conclusion that the erroneous value of 113% for R of color "light red" results out of a typo within the datasheet and there R-Y must not be greater than 80%. But if you measure

6461-479: The first single-chip microprocessor , the Intel 4004 , in 1971. The first microcomputers , based on microprocessors, were developed during the early 1970s. Widespread commercial availability of microprocessors, from the mid-1970s onwards, made computers cheap enough for small businesses and individuals to own. In what was later to be called the Mother of All Demos , SRI researcher Douglas Engelbart in 1968 gave

6552-943: The four modes listed above. However the bit that enables mode 2 is more interesting than initially let on. It is best described as a modifier bit for the other modes. Enabling it does three things: With this in mind, three additional modes are possible. Note that although genuine TMS9918A chips support these modes, clones and emulators may not. The TMS9918 does not have any scroll registers, so scrolling must be done by software. Furthermore, scrolling can only be done on character boundaries, not pixel by pixel. Sprites are typically used to create moving foreground objects. They appear in front of characters (tiles). Modes 1, 2, and 3 can render sprites. There can be up to 32 monochrome sprites of either 8×8 or 16×16 pixels on screen, each sprite with its own, single color. The illusion of multicolor sprites can be created by stacking multiple sprites on top of each other. There can be no more than 4 sprites on

6643-399: The hardware or operating system manufacturers. Many personal computer users no longer need to write their programs to make any use of a personal computer, although end-user programming is still feasible. This contrasts with mobile systems, where software is often available only through a manufacturer-supported channel, and end-user program development may be discouraged by lack of support by

6734-556: The infrastructure provided by the Internet, and the standardization of access methods of the Web browsers , established the foundation for a significant fraction of modern life, from bus time tables through unlimited distribution of free videos through to online user-edited encyclopedias. A workstation is a high-end personal computer designed for technical, mathematical, or scientific applications. Intended primarily to be used by one person at

6825-519: The introduction of the IBM PC, portable computers consisting of a processor, display, disk drives and keyboard, in a suit-case style portable housing, allowed users to bring a computer home from the office or to take notes at a classroom. Examples include the Osborne 1 and Kaypro ; and the Commodore SX-64 . These machines were AC-powered and included a small CRT display screen. The form factor

6916-549: The keyboard. These displays were usually small, with 8 to 16 lines of text, sometimes only 40 columns line length. However, these machines could operate for extended times on disposable or rechargeable batteries. Although they did not usually include internal disk drives, this form factor often included a modem for telephone communication and often had provisions for external cassette or disk storage. Later, clamshell format laptop computers with similar small plan dimensions were also called notebooks . A desktop replacement computer

7007-458: The manufacturer. Since the early 1990s, Microsoft operating systems (first with MS-DOS and then with Windows ) and Intel hardware – collectively called Wintel – have dominated the personal computer market, and today the term PC normally refers to the ubiquitous Wintel platform. Alternatives to Windows occupy a minority share of the market; these include the Mac platform from Apple (running

7098-484: The microcode for graphics functions is to support it. The TMS34010 can execute general purpose programs and is supported by an ANSI C compiler. Most of the arcade video games that use the processor were written in native assembly language , not C. The TMS34010 is used in many coin-operated arcade video games manufactured from 1988–1997. Several games use the TMS34020. Atari Games Williams / Midway MicroProse Games Other The TMS chips are compliant with

7189-455: The monitor, and configured similarly to laptops. A nettop computer was introduced by Intel in February 2008, characterized by low cost and lean functionality. These were intended to be used with an Internet connection to run Web browsers and Internet applications. A Home theater PC (HTPC) combines the functions of a personal computer and a digital video recorder . It is connected to

7280-460: The original 4.5 μm variant (the final run of the consoles produced in 1985 had the newer model TMS9918). A later variant of the TMS9918 series chips, the TMS9118 , TMS9128 , and TMS9129 , were released in the mid-late 1980s, but were never very popular. The function of one pin is changed, and the mapping of the video memory allows two 16K×4-bit chips to be used instead of the eight 16K×1-bit chips

7371-414: The output signals of the chip with an oscilloscope , you'll find that all values in the table are correct. So the error is inside the chip and drives the red signal into saturation. For this reason this value is to be corrected to 100%. Furthermore, you need to consider that up to that time only cathode ray tubes have been available for computer monitors as well as for televisions, and that these CRTs had

7462-503: The primary defining characteristic of netbooks was the lack of an optical disc drive, smaller size, and lower performance than full-size laptops. By mid-2009 netbooks had been offered to users "free of charge", with an extended service contract purchase of a cellular data plan. Ultrabooks and Chromebooks have since filled the gap left by Netbooks. Unlike the generic Netbook name, Ultrabook and Chromebook are technically both specifications by Intel and Google respectively. A tablet uses

7553-498: The required hardware and software needed to add television programming to the PC, or can be assembled from components. Keyboard computers are computers inside of keyboards, generally still designed to be connected to an external computer monitor or television . Examples include the Atari ST , Amstrad CPC , BBC Micro , Commodore 64 , MSX , Raspberry Pi 400 , and the ZX Spectrum . The potential utility of portable computers

7644-631: The run and gun Narc in 1988. Subsequent releases include Smash TV (1990), Mortal Kombat (1992), and NBA Jam (1993). The 3D driving simulator Hard Drivin' (1989) from Atari Games contains two of the processors. Atari Games used the chip in other flat-shaded 3D games: S.T.U.N. Runner (1989), Race Drivin' (1990), and Steel Talons (1991). TI developed the Texas Instruments Graphics Architecture (TIGA) specification for professional-level video accelerator cards for IBM PC compatibles , of which

7735-418: The systems hardware components such as the motherboard , processor chip and other internal operating parts. Desktop computers have an external monitor with a display screen and an external keyboard, which are plugged into ports on the back of the computer case. Desktop computers are popular for home and business computing applications as they leave space on the desk for multiple monitors . A gaming computer

7826-480: The time. The TMS34020 is used in some arcade games, such as Revolution X (1994). The Rambrandt Amiga extension card from Progressive Peripherals & Software supported up to four TMS34020, for use in virtual reality simulations. TMS9918 The TMS9918 is a video display controller (VDC) manufactured by Texas Instruments , in manuals referenced as "Video Display Processor" (VDP) and introduced in 1979. The TMS9918 and its variants were used in

7917-508: Was apparent early on. Alan Kay described the Dynabook in 1972, but no hardware was developed. The Xerox NoteTaker was produced in a very small experimental batch around 1978. In 1975, the IBM 5100 could be fit into a transport case, making it a portable computer, but it weighed about 50 pounds. Such early portable computers were termed luggables by journalists owing to their heft. Before

8008-705: Was back-ordered and not available until later that year. Three months later (April), the Apple II (usually referred to as the Apple) was announced with the first units being shipped 10 June 1977, and the TRS-80 from Tandy Corporation / Tandy Radio Shack following in August 1977, which sold over 100,000 units during its lifetime. Together, especially in the North American market, these 3 machines were referred to as

8099-401: Was intended to allow these systems to be taken on board an airplane as carry-on baggage, though their high power demand meant that they could not be used in flight. The integrated CRT display made for a relatively heavy package, but these machines were more portable than their contemporary desktop equals. Some models had standard or optional connections to drive an external video monitor, allowing

8190-453: Was the 1973 Xerox Alto , developed at Xerox 's Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) . It had a graphical user interface ( GUI ) which later served as inspiration for Apple's Macintosh , and Microsoft's Windows operating system. The Alto was a demonstration project, not commercialized, as the parts were too expensive to be affordable. Also in 1973 Hewlett Packard introduced fully BASIC programmable microcomputers that fit entirely on top of

8281-500: Was the first to emulate APL/1130 performance on a portable, single user computer, PC Magazine in 1983 designated SCAMP a "revolutionary concept" and "the world's first personal computer". This seminal, single user portable computer now resides in the Smithsonian Institution , Washington, D.C.. Successful demonstrations of the 1973 SCAMP prototype led to the IBM 5100 portable microcomputer launched in 1975 with

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