Introduction - Computer Busses - page 17

transistors (thus, its derived name).
Radio Shack continued development of their TRS-80 computer (Figure 1.8), with the
TRS-80 Model II, and Texas Instruments introduced
the TI-99/4 personal computer ($1500). Atari also
started to distribute Atari 400 (8 KB memory, $550)
and Atari 800 ($1000) personal computers.
In the UK, Clive Sinclair created Sinclair Re-
search, and was distended to develop classic com-
puters, such as the ZX81 and the Sinclair Spectrum.
He had already been a major innovator in the 1960s
and the 1970s, with watches, audio amplifiers and
pocket calculators. In the main these were extremely
successful however, he was also destined to develop
an electric car (Sinclair C5), which had the opposite
effect on sales as he had had with his computer sys-
tems.
A key to the acceptance, and the sales of a com-
puter was its software. This was in terms of its oper-
ating systems and its applications. Initially it was
games that were used with the PCs, but three impor-
tant application packages were released, these were:

Figure 1.8 TRS-80 Color

• Spreadsheet . The VisiCalc software was released for the Apple II at a cost of $100. Ap-

ple Computer eventually tried to buy the company, which developed VisiCalc, for $1
million in Apple stock, but Apple's president refuses to approve the deal. Its eventual
rights would have been worth much more than this small figure.

• Wordprocessor . MicroPro released the WordStar word processor (written by Rob Ba-

rnaby). It is available for Intel 8080A and Zilog Z80-based CP/M-80 systems. Apple
Computer also released AppleWriter 1.0. The following year (1980) would see the re-
lease of the popular WordPerfect (from Satellite Software International).

• Database . The Vulcan database program, which become known at dBase II.

Two new companies were created in 1979, which would become important industry leaders
in peripherals. These were Seagate Technologies (founded by Alan Shugart founded in
Scotts Valley, California), and Hayes Microcomputer Products who produced the 110/300-
baud Micromodem II for the Apple II ($380).
The following year (1979) saw Radio Shack
(with their TRS-80 range), Commodore (with the
PET range), Apple Computer (with their Apple
II/III) and Microsoft at the forefront of the personal
computer market. Two new companies joined the
growing personal computer market, at different
ends of technology. At the bottom end, which
covered the games and hobby market, Sinclair Re-
search appeared, and at the top end of the market,
the workstation end, which was aimed at serious
applications, came Apollo. Clive Sinclair in the
UK had started Sinclair Research. He had already

Figure 1.9 TRS-80 Model III