Jupiter Ace

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A Jupiter Ace from above
Jupiter Ace with screen

The Jupiter Ace was a home computer from Jupiter Cantab that was released in September 1982. It was developed and marketed by two former Sinclair employees: Richard Altwasser and Steven Vickers. It was named after the British computer from the early 1950s, the ACE pilot .

It has many similarities to the Sinclair ZX81 , such as the Z80 A-CPU with 3.5 MHz clock frequency, the 8192 byte ROM and the simple black and white graphics. The case and keyboard of the production models are strongly reminiscent of the ZX Spectrum , some pre-series copies were delivered in the case of the Sinclair ZX80 to editors of computer magazines. The main memory was very tight at 3 Kb, but there were 16Kb and 32 Kb memory expansions, so that these can be expanded up to a maximum of 51 Kb. The typical rubber keyboard could be exchanged for a more stable one made of plastic.

Special feature: Instead of the BASIC programming language , which was usually used in the early 8-bit computers, FORTH was implemented in the Jupiter Ace . This made it three to ten times faster than an identical computer with BASIC as the programming language.

In Germany, the Jupiter Ace manual could be purchased separately in advance; the purchase price was offset against the later purchase of the hardware. As with the Sinclair models, the implemented dialect of the programming language was described in detail and didactically prepared in a small Vickers course. In spite of these marketing measures and positive reviews in the computer magazines, the device was not able to establish itself - mainly because of the insufficient working memory. Other reasons were also that at that time BASIC had already become the quasi-standard for home computers as a problem-oriented higher language and there was hardly any commercial software for the Jupiter Ace. Economically, the device was a flop and after a short time (in 1983) disappeared from the market again. A new attempt was made in June 1983 with the presentation of the Jupiter Ace 16+ ; this model should be equipped with an additional 16 Kb of RAM and, according to advertisements, is aimed at people who want to do robotics with this computer . Due to the bankruptcy of Jupiter Cantab in November 1983, however, this computer was never sold.

price

When it was launched in September 1982, the calculator was priced at £ 89.95 . In the period that followed, when it became clear that the computer would not be a real success, the computer was offered with slogans such as "The cheapest complete computer system in the world" at much lower prices.

Peripherals

Peripheral devices such as printers were also offered for the Jupiter Ace to communicate with the outside world .

Emulators

A number of emulators have been developed for the Jupiter Ace that allow this computer to be reproduced and tested on other systems. Due to its hardware-related similarity to the Sinclair ZX81, most emulators are based on this and, as a by-product, also provide a simulation of the Jupiter Ace.

Eighty One is one of the most accurate emulators, and it emulates almost all home computers from Sinclair as well as replicas such as the Timex 1000 and the Ace. ZEsarUX, which has a very active developer community, also offers a very good and precise emulation.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Center for Computing History
  2. ↑ Jupiter ACE peripherals
  3. ↑ Manual for the built-in Jupiter Ace 4000 Forth
  4. ↑ Jupiter Ace 16+
  5. ↑ Advertisement for the Jupiter Ace
  6. ↑ Advertising in the mid-1980s
  7. ↑ A Spanish print ad from 1983
  8. ↑ ZesarUX

Web links

Commons : Jupiter Ace  - collection of images, videos and audio files