Subject: Re: Legend/Legacy computer- Pre-Apple II? From: supertimer@aol.com (Supertimer) Date: Thu, Aug 06, 1998 4«49 EDT Message-id: <1998080608492501.EAA20248@ladder01.news.aol.com> Gabriel Morales wrote: >Has anyone here ever heard of a Legend or Legacy 128 computer? It is the Laser 128EX/2, a very competent Apple II clone. 1. Make and Model: Video Technology Laser 128EX/2 (refined and extremely popular Apple IIc Plus clone) 2. Released: 1988 3. Follows: Video Technology Laser 3000 4. Followed by: N/A 5. CPU: Western Design Center (not to be confused with Western Digital, the hard drive maker) 65C02 running at 3.6Mhz 6. ROM: 64K -- This includes the only legal Apple compatible ROM by 1988 (Apple lost a lawsuit challenging it) and Microsoft BASIC (the Applesoft compatible version) licensed from Microsoft. 7. RAM: 128K standard with built in sockets for expansion to 1MB using 41256 chips of 120ns or faster (the motherboard is designed to do bank switching, like the IIc Plus). Memory support is controlled by a custom Memory Management Unit (MMU) array...memory size is automatically detected when new chips are put in. 8. Case: Attractive light beige ABS impact resistant plastic. Case has handle that doubles as a prop to raise the rear of the computer for easy typing. 9. Keyboard: Full layout keyboard with numeric keypad and function keys. The copyrighted Open Apple and Closed Apple have been replaced with Open Laser and Closed Laser symbols. The keys have rollover and full travel and a very nice feel. 10. Display: The Laser 128EX/2 has all the graphics modes found on the Apple IIc, with an extra character set for RGB. --Text mode: 40x24 and 80x24. Characters are formed by a 7x8 pixel matrix ON THE COMPOSITE OUTPUT. The 128EX/2's Video Display Generator chip also provided both analog RGB video (for connecting an Apple IIGS, Amiga, or Atari ST monitor) and digital RGB video (for connecting a CGA monitor). In RGB mode, the Video Display Generator (VDG) chip generates a text character set identical to an IBM PC (with the addition of the Open and Closed Triangle characters and MouseText). Text mode is monochrome. --Low Resolution: 40x48 pixels in 16 colors. --Double Low Resolution: 80x48 pixels in 16 colors. --High Resolution: 280x192 pixels in 6 colors --Double High Resolution: 560x192 pixels in 16 colors. --Combinations/Variations: 4 lines of text mode can be mixed with a truncated Low Resolution or High Resolution mode graphic. The text in mixed mode can be either 40 column or 80 column. 11. Audio: Simple beeper driven by the CPU. Because the Laser's motherboard operates at 3.6Mhz (notice that it requires 120ns or faster RAM), sound in programs designed for earlier Apple IIs is often distorted. 12. Media: The Laser 128EX/2 has a built in 3.5" double-sided, double-density floppy drive with a storage space of 800K. The drive and the external daisy-chain floppy "SmartPort" is driven by Video Technology's custom "Universal Disk Controller" (UDC) disk array chip. The SmartPort supports Apple IIe/IIc UniDisks (3.5" and 5.25" models), Macintosh 3.5" drives (the ones without the buttons), Apple IIGS daisy-chain 3.5" drives and Apple 5.25" drives. It is also designed to support the Chinook CT-series 20MB to 100MB SmartPort hard drives. The SmartPort can support two 800K 3.5" drives, two 140K 5.25" drives, and one 100MB CT100 hard drive simultaneously daisy-chained to each other. The Laser 128EX/2 has one Apple bus compatible expansion slot on the side opposite the 3.5" disk drive. This bus can hold an Apple High Speed (DMA) SCSI controller for running additional SCSI based storage devices. 13. Input/Output: Two RS-232C ports One MIDI port (setting Port 2 to MIDI deactivates one serial port) One Centronics parallel port (setting Port 1 to parallel deactivates one serial port) Composite display output (NTSC or PAL depending on the country) LCD output (for flat panel display) RGB monitor output (both analog and digital monitors supported by the Video Display Generator chip with its 64K of VRAM) External Drive "SmartPort" (supports Mac, IIGS, or UniDisks 3.5" drives, Apple 5.25" drives, and CT-series 20MB to 100MB hard drives) Joystick/Mouse port (connecting one precludes connecting the other...mouse is the same mouse used in original Mac to Mac Plus) Headphone connector Speaker volume control One Apple bus (same as Apple IIe) expansion slot 14. Trivia: This unit was so good that Apple Computers was prompted to upgrade the IIc to counter it. The result was the Apple IIc Plus, also released in 1988. The IIc Plus had a 4Mhz Western Design Center 65C02 processor, an 800K 3.5" drive built-in, and an External Drive "SmartPort" capable of the same tricks as the Laser's. Although the two units were similarly matched, Video Technology actively advertised the Laser 128EX/2 while Apple had moved on to advocating Macintosh. The Laser became the most successful Apple II clone ever and this model was 99.8% IIc Plus compatible. The only two software the Apple magazines reported incompatible were The New Print Shop (Borderbund) and HomeWord (Sierra). In North America, the Laser was aggressively marketed in Sears department stores, where it erroded its niche rival's sales, the Commodore 128. This Laser unit's case was also used to make a Turbo XT PC clone. The PC clone and the Laser 128EX/2 shared the same case. They looked identical except for the label. Instead of "Laser 128EX/2," the XT had "Laser XT10" 15. Emphasis: Small business, Home, Education, Gaming, Programming 16. Net Resources: http://ground.ecn.uiowa.edu/ (1.7GB A2 knowledge and software repository) http://www.sequential.con/ (Video cards and storage) http://www.allelec.com/ (Various hardware and software) 17. Picture (see http://ground.ecn.uiowa.edu/ the ground ftp server)