Manufactured between 1984 and 1990, the Amstrad CPC is a series of Z80-based home computers. The CPCs competed with ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64 for a market share in the promising 8-bit home computing market. The 464/6128 CPC sold very well in Europe, especially in France and the United Kingdom.
Manufactured by Fujitsu from early 1989 to 1997, FM Towns is a Japanese multimedia computer based on x86 Intel CPUs and a CD-ROM drive. The computer offered a 24-bit color palette, hardware graphics, and sound capabilities similar to arcade systems.
Manufactured from 1986 until 1992, the Apple IIGS was the first truly multimedia Apple computer. Steve Wozniak was involved in the design and layout of the computer. Based on a 16-bit CPU, the IIGS offers significantly improved graphics and sound compared to earlier Apple II models, while being fully compatible with them (via the Mega II chip). The computer was sold for $999 or about $2,640 in today’s money.
Designed in 1972 and released in March 1973, Xerox Alto is a revolutionary machine built by Xerox PARC (Palo Alto Research Center). The innovations brought by Alto included the first-ever Graphical User Interface, LAN, optical mouse, and high-res bitmapped display. The Alto was also the first computer to use a laser printer, an invention also by Xerox. The Xerox Alto wasn’t a commercial computer, it was a research prototype used by universities and the Xerox PARC itself.
Released in April 1987, the Amiga 500 is a legendary multimedia home computer manufactured by Commodore until 1992. The A500 offered the same CPU and chipset as the original Amiga 1000, however, it had a considerably lower price tag.
