Nicole gets a real computer – the Microsoft Z80 SoftCard (2020) | Hacker News Reader

Nicole gets a real computer – the Microsoft Z80 SoftCard (2020)

nicole.express

144 pointshomarp20 comments

> "Now, when is Microsoft going to release a PCI Express card that lets me boot my x64 Windows PC into RISCOS running on ARM?"

Can't tell if the author is referencing this or it's a coincidence, but 25 years ago there was a RISCOS machine popular in schools in the UK with a plugin x86 card to boot Windows 3.1 and run other IBM PC compatible software. Acorn Computers, the Archimedes range of desktops, and the card was from Aleph One using a Cyrix 486 chip. When Acorn was broken up, ARM Holdings was one of their subsidiaries which carried on.

http://www.riscos.com/the_archive/acorn/products/riscpc/pcca... and http://chrisacorns.computinghistory.org.uk/docs/Mags/PCW/PCW... (PDF) and http://chrisacorns.computinghistory.org.uk/docs/Aleph1/Aleph... (PDF) and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acorn_Computers

Semi-relatedly (mixed computer architectures in one case) there was a half-PC/half-Sega-Megadrive machine in 1993 ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amstrad_Mega_PC )

And to bring this all full-circle, part of the reason why Acorn was broken up was that Apple specifically was interested in using ARM2 as a low-power chip for the Newton. ARM Holdings was originally an Acorn/VLSI/Apple joint venture.

Worth mentioning, you can buy small-run, newly-manufactured Apple II Z80 cards now in the 16-20MHz range (way faster than the host system), some even have a TMS9918 VDP chip for compatibility with MSX-1/Colecovision/SG1000 stuff.

Never suspected there are current Z80 cards with a VDP. Need to find one.

Here they have an up to 20 MHz z80 card (and other Apple II stuff): https://www.tindie.com/products/gglabs/gz80-turbo-cpm-softca...

This has a VDP: http://www.apple2.net/

With an MSX2 VDP, it’d have 80 columns as well.

Yeah, Ian's cards are the ones I was thinking of. There's an APMSX available on eBay, it introduced me to MSX gaming (and some colecovision and SG1000 conversions).

I think MSX-DOS can run CP/M binaries natively. Still, an MSX2 card for the Apple II, even if it’d be the über Z80 card, feels like heresy…

Only one nit: The "heavy metal" Microsoft logo silkscreened onto that card was introduced in early 1980, not the 70s, and hung around for less than two years before being replaced by the "Blibbet" logo in 1982.

Heavy Metal Microsoft will always be my favorite of their logos.

And it is so strikingly different from the Apple logo! I wonder if it was, ahem, by design.

Wow, learned a lot from this post. I had a generic 80 column and Z80 card and never knew about all the Microsoft involvement in the Z80 stuff. I did always prefer the 6502 but being able to run Turbo Pascal and WordStar on my Apple ][ was a nice addition.

Same here. Captain Zilog is new to me and I haven’t seen that Microsoft logo in 35 years.

Microsoft’s hardware was always great. I don’t know why they insist on making terrible operating systems ;-)

I think I recognize the logo from Flight Sim ~1983.

Where does the zume fit?

The Zune was the best hardware by far

It was the software that was awful.

Related: The PC Transporter, an 8086 card for the Apple II http://ae.applearchives.com/all_apple_iis/pc_transporter/

Crikey. The only 6502/x86 mashup I was hitherto aware of was the curious BBC Master 512: http://www.cowsarenotpurple.co.uk/bbccomputer/master512/inde...

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27798683

And its converse:

http://www.applelogic.org/Trackstar.html

https://www.diskman.com/presents/trackstar/

Wow, super interesting history here!

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