Oric Atmos

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Oric Atmos
Oric Telestrat

The Oric Atmos was a home computer that appeared mainly in the UK and France in 1984 . It was manufactured by the British computer manufacturer Tangerine Computer Systems , based in St Ives , Cambridgeshire , and was the successor to the Oric 1 and the predecessor of the Oric Telestrat .

Technical specifications

It was based on the 8-bit processor 6502 A with a clock frequency of 1.75 MHz and had 16 kB or 48/64 kB of RAM (16 kB was reserved for DOS ). The resolution in text mode was 40 × 28 and in graphics mode 200 × 240 pixels and could display eight colors. The sound produced by the Oric Atmos had a bandwidth of 15 Hz - 62 kHz , i.e. 7 octaves , 3 channels and it had four built-in sound effects (ZAP, PING, SHOOT, EXPLODE) via sound amplifiers. A loudspeaker was built in. The 16 KB variant could not be expanded.

Oric controllers and DOS variants

The processor operating system was Oric Extended Basic V1.1, a Microsoft BASIC that was housed in a 16 KB RAM chip. The version 1.0, used in the Oric 1, has a reputation for being very error-prone and so the bug-fixed and slightly improved version 1.1 was used in the Atmos. The last officially published version is version 1.13.

The various peripheral devices were partially addressed and controlled with special DOS . This procedure made the entire available 64 kB usable. (See graphic on the right)

Interfaces

Rear view of the Oric Atmos

The Oric Atmos was equipped with interfaces to the outside world that were common in the 1980s for western home computers. This included:

Peripherals (selection)

There were of course a whole range of peripheral devices for the Atmos, including a .:

It was the successor to the Oric-1 that was released a year earlier. The big difference between the two was the keyboard: The Oric 1 used a keyboard with small hard plastic buttons (similar to a pocket calculator ), while the Oric Atmos had a normal typewriter keyboard. With the successor Oric Telestrat , the two module bays are particularly striking.

price

At the time of its publication, the Oric Atmos was offered in the 64Kb version in Germany at a price of 748 DM . The magazine Telematch spoke in their test report published in issue 7/8 1984 of a sales price of 600 DM.

Replicas

Prawez 8D

Prawez 8D with manual

In Bulgaria , the Oric Atmos was completely rebuilt by the combine for microprocessor technology Prawez starting from 1985 and offered as Prawez 8D . Its case was larger than the Atmos, white, and contained a comfortable, standard-sized keyboard. The power supply was built in. Instead of the 6502A, the 6502 clone CM630 (1 MHz) and an AY-3-8912 as a sound generator were installed. Like the original, the Prawez 8D was delivered with 48 kB RAM and 16 kB ROM. Production stopped in 1991.

The 8D Prawetz DOS was named 8D DOS . It was written by Borislav Zahariev between 1986 and 1989. It is 100% compatible with the Apple DOS version 3.3 of the Apple II and Apple II + . This compatibility served to be able to easily exchange software, text and graphics between the Apples and the Prawez 8D, since the former could exchange data with seven of the models of the 8-series of Prawez computers. Like DOS 3.3, DOS 8D is also written in 6502 assembler, with extensions and improvements for faster loading and more. a.

Nova 64

The Yugoslav company Avtotehna , based in Ljubljana , acquired the license in 1984 to manufacture 5000 Oric Atmos. They used parts that were shipped from the UK. The Nova 64 was identical to the Oric Atmos except for differences in the RAM layout and a different logo. Many of the computers were used in schools.

Well-known programmers

Jonathan Bristow

One of the most famous programmers for the Oric Atmos was Jonathan Bristow. He wrote or ported at least ten games and almost twice as many applications for this computer and also ported some games to the Oric 1, such as Impossible Mission , Pulsoids and Stormlord , which was released in 2010. He died on May 28, 2013 at the age of 45.

Eric Chahi

Another well-known programmer who developed games for the Oric Atmos was Éric Chahi . Chahi developed some games for the Oric Atmos, especially in the first few years after the computer appeared.

Programs for the Oric Atmos (selection)

Due to the fact that the Oric Atmos was based on the 8-bit microprocessor 6502 , a microprocessor that is also used by many other home computers, such as the Apple II or the C 64 , a large number of programs was always available from the outset, after appropriate adjustments, can also be used by the Oric Atmos. In addition, programs are largely interchangeable between the Oric 1 and the Oric Atmos. These included:

Games

Screenshot of the game Karate (1986) for Oric-1 / Atmos

Incidentally, over 90% of the programs for the Oric's were delivered on cassette.

Applications

  • Tunesmith 2
  • Oric Base , 1984, Tansoft
  • Oric CAD , 1984 ?, Tansoft
  • Oric Calc , 1984, Tansoft
  • Oricmon , 1984, Tansoft

Programming languages

  • Assembler
  • DBug - Debugger, Monitor, 1984, No mans Land
  • Oric-Basic Plus 1 , 1984, Cobra Soft
  • FIG Forth , FORTH83
  • Oric- LISP

Magazines

A main print medium for the Oric was RhetOric . It was published every two months by post and provided the reader with everything there was to know about computers, even the c't occasionally dealt with this computer. The longest published magazine, however, was Oric User Monthly with a total of 145 issues. It was discontinued in October 1999.

The Oric Owner magazine, published bimonthly by Tansoft between 1983 and 1985, was also very well received . The main features were interviews with people about the orics and listings of applications and games

Emulators

There are emulators for Windows , Mac OS , Linux , AmigaOS , MorphOS , Haiku and Android , with the Oricutron emulator being the one that is still being continuously developed.

literature

Web links

Commons : Oric Atmos  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Oric Extended DOS V.1.13
  2. ↑ Advertisement
  3. ↑ Test report of the Oric Atmos in Telematch
  4. ^ Old Computers.com
  5. ↑ Homepage of Jonathan Bristow
  6. ↑ Retromagazine.eu
  7. ^ Announcement of death by Jonathan Bristow
  8. ↑ Scans from the Oric Owner
  9. ↑ Emulation Camp
  10. ↑ Oricutron developer versions