yann64andClaude Opus 5.5
b274874139
1,289 discussions, 9,527 archived comments; pages no longer carry the comments themselves. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com> Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01YDRjtmAiNpo5mK5N3d7QwZ
412 lines
18 KiB
Markdown
412 lines
18 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: Oric ATMOS
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categories:
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- Computers
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types:
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- Home Computer
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origins:
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- United Kingdom
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years:
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- '1984'
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cpus:
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- 6502A
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params:
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name: ATMOS
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image: /media/museum/photos/oric_atmos_system_s1.jpg
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company: /companies/oric
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company_name: Oric
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specs:
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- label: NAME
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value: ATMOS
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- label: MANUFACTURER
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value: Oric
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- label: TYPE
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value: Home Computer
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- label: ORIGIN
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value: United Kingdom
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- label: YEAR
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value: February 1984
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- label: BUILT IN LANGUAGE
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value: Tangerine Basic (made by Microsoft)
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- label: KEYBOARD
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value: |-
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QWERTY, mechanical keyboard, 58 keys. 4 arrow keys.\
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ESC, CTRL, DEL, RETURN, SHIFT (x 2), FUNCT.
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- label: CPU
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value: 6502A
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- label: SPEED
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value: 1 mHz
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- label: RAM
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value: 16 KB or 48 KB
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- label: ROM
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value: 16 KB
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- label: TEXT MODES
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value: 40 chars x 28 lines
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- label: GRAPHIC MODES
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value: 240 x 200 (+ 3 text lines)
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- label: COLORS
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value: '8'
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- label: SOUND
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value: |-
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Programmable Sound Generator AY-3-8912 (from General Instruments)\
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3 voices, 8 octaves + white noise
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- label: SIZE / WEIGHT
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value: 28 (W) x 17,5 (D) x 5,5 (H) cm
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- label: I/O PORTS
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value: Power supply, Expansion port, Printer/Centronics port, Tape-recorder DIN plug, RGB video out, RF TV out
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- label: POWER SUPPLY
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value: External PSU 9V 600 mA - -(o- +
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- label: PERIPHERALS
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value: 3'' floppy disc unit, 4 colour printer-plotter
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- label: PRICE
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value: |-
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365 (France, december 84)\
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150 (France, december 85)
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tabs:
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- photos
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- adverts
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- hardware
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- software
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- emulators
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- links
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- docs
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- videos
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forum_thread: 94
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photos:
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- title: LARGE VIEW
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subtitle: ''
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text: ''
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image: /media/museum/photos/oric_atmos_system_s2.jpg
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- title: FRONT VIEW
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subtitle: ''
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text: ''
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image: /media/museum/photos/oric_atmos_frontview_s1.jpg
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- title: BOTH SIDES
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subtitle: ''
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text: ''
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image: /media/museum/photos/oric_atmos_sides_s1.jpg
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- title: KEYBOARD CLOSE-UP
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subtitle: ''
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text: ''
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image: /media/museum/photos/oric_atmos_keyboard_s1.jpg
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- title: ATMOS LOGO
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subtitle: ''
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text: ''
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image: /media/museum/photos/oric_atmos_oriclogo_s1.jpg
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- title: REAR CONNECTORS
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subtitle: ''
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text: |-
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**(1)** RF/TV jack\
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**(2)** RGB video output\
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**(3)** Sound output and tape recorder In/Out\
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**(4)** Parallel printer connector\
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**(5)** Expansion bus connector, mainly intended for the floppy disk unit\
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**(6)** Power input jack
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image: /media/museum/photos/oric_atmos_connectors_s1.jpg
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- title: INSIDE THE ATMOS
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subtitle: ''
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text: |-
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The Atmos motherboard bears a striking resemblance with the Oric-1's one. Some modifications were made to the cassette interface, the RAM memory was increased to 64 Kb and now only one ROM chip holds the new version of the Basic interpreter.
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**(1)** A new FUNCT key is added to the keyboard, but is not used for anything ! You have to program it yourself.\
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**(2)** 5 volts regulator with its cooler.\
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**(3)** Unique 16 Kb ROM chip holding the improved version of the Microsoft (not official) Basic interpreter.\
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**(4)** MOS 6502A 8 bits microprocessor.\
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**(5)** AY-9512 sound chipset (3 voices, 7 octaves).\
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**(6)** Eight 4164 memory chips (64000 cells x 1 bit) holding the 64 Kb. RAM memory used for user programs and text / graphic display.\
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**(7)** Internal loudspeaker. Sound was one of the good features of the Oric systems, though there were no way to control the volume of this internal speaker.\
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**(8)** TV signal modulator.\
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**(9)** RGB video out connector (DIN) for a monochrome or colour monitor.\
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**(10)** Cassette interface connector (DIN) with remote control.\
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**(11)** Parallel / Centronics port (not standard) used to connect printers.\
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**(12)** Expansion connector, used for example by the numerous disk-drives available for the Oric.
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image: /media/museum/photos/oric_atmos_inside_1.jpg
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- title: THE BOX
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subtitle: ''
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text: ''
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image: /media/museum/photos/oric_atmos_box_s1.jpg
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- title: 'BOX #2'
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subtitle: ''
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text: ''
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image: /media/museum/photos/oric_atmos_box_2.jpg
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- title: 'BOX #3'
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subtitle: ''
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text: ''
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image: /media/museum/photos/oric_atmos_box_3.jpg
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- title: YOUGOSLAV NOVA64
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subtitle: ''
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text: |-
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A Yugoslavian company, Avtotehna of Ljubljana got a licence from Oric to make 5000 machines. All the parts were shipped from the UK. Some people in Yugoslavia suggest that more than 5000 were made, mostly for local schools.\
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The Nova64 was same machine as the 48K Oric Atmos, apart from the power supply unit that could power both the computer and an separate 3.5" 2x400 KB FDD unit.\
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A Yugoslav version of the manual was also available.
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Thanks to **Ranko Vukcevic**
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image: /media/museum/photos/oric_nova64_system_s1.jpg
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- title: INSIDE THE NOVA64
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subtitle: ''
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text: |-
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The mainboard is same as the last Atmos board produced in the UK.
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Thanks to **Ranko Vukcevic**
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image: /media/museum/photos/oric_nova64_inside_s1.jpg
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adverts:
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- title: FRENCH ADVERT
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subtitle: ''
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text: |-
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''Stop everything !''\
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''Atmos from Oric : the definitive computer''
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image: /media/museum/pubs/oric_atmos_pub_arrettez-tout.jpg
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- title: 'FRENCH ADVERT #2'
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subtitle: ''
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text: |-
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''It's time''\
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''ATMOS from Oric : the definitive computer''
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image: /media/museum/pubs/oric_atmos_ordinateur_definitif.jpg
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- title: 'FRENCH ADVERT #3'
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subtitle: ''
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text: |-
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''Atmos from Oric : the definitive computer''\
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''Now, go !''
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image: /media/museum/pubs/oric_atmos_pub_3.jpg
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- title: FRENCH ADVERT (JULY 1985)
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subtitle: ''
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text: '"compare!"'
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image: /media/museum/pubs/oric_atmos_pub_comparez.jpg
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- title: FRENCH ADVERT (JULY 1985)
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subtitle: ''
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text: '"Why paying more ?"'
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image: /media/museum/pubs/oric_atmos_pub_payer-plus-cher.jpg
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- title: FRENCH (STUPID) PROMOTIONAL PICTURE
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subtitle: ''
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text: |-
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Family life scene in front of a complete Atmos system carefully lined up on the coffee table in the living room, with a minimum of visible cables.
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The flaw?... No, it is not that it is rather difficult to use such a serious configuration for hours sitting on the floor. The flaw comes rather from the photographer who forgot to do the housework before taking the picture and left to posterity his accessories cartons right behind the low dresser.
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image: /media/museum/pubs/oric_atmos_pub_4.jpg
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- title: FRENCH BROCHURE FRONT
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subtitle: ''
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text: |-
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Description of the complete Atmos system.
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Thanks to **Jacques Sorro**
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image: /media/museum/pubs/oric_atmos_frbrochure_s1.jpg
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- title: FRENCH BROCHURE BACK
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subtitle: ''
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text: |-
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"Oric opens a full world to you"
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Thanks to **Jacques Sorro**
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image: /media/museum/pubs/oric_atmos_frbrochure_s2.jpg
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- title: UK ADVERT (1984)
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subtitle: ''
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text: Thanks to Tony Mattson for this picture
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image: /media/museum/pubs/oric-atmos_pub-uk_1.png
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hardware:
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- title: JASMIN II F.D. UNIT
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subtitle: ''
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text: The Jasmin II was a 3" double-sided floppy drive unit. It was released in 1985, designed by T.R.A.N. and manufactured by Dattel, two french companies. Up to four units could be connected in chain. Each one featured an operating system called T.DOS then FT.DOS. Each diskette had a 357 KB capacity (2 sides x 41 tracks x 17 sectors x 256 bytes)
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image: /media/museum/hardware/oric_jasmin2_1.jpg
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- title: CUMANA EXPANSION BOX
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subtitle: ''
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text: This expansion holds a power supply unit and a dual expansion port allowing the floppy disk unit and another expansion device to be connected simultaneously.
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image: /media/museum/hardware/oric_atmos_cumanaexp_s1.jpg
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- title: VOCAL SYNTHESIZER
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subtitle: ''
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text: ''
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image: /media/museum/hardware/oric_synth_vocal.jpg
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- title: LIGHT PEN
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subtitle: ''
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text: ''
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image: /media/museum/hardware/oric_lightpen.jpg
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- title: 8 IN/OUT BOARD
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subtitle: ''
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text: ''
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image: /media/museum/hardware/oric_8_io.jpg
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- title: SOME ATMOS PERIPHERALS
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subtitle: ''
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text: We can see here the Oric Disk-drive and the Oric plotter (4 colors).
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image: /media/museum/hardware/oric_atmos_complete.jpg
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- title: JOYSTICKS INTERFACE
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subtitle: ''
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text: ''
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image: /media/museum/hardware/oric_atmos_joyinterf_s1.jpg
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- title: ATMOS MICRODISC
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subtitle: ''
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text: |-
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The official Oric disk-drive. Soooo beautiful...
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Disc drive uses 320 Kb. formatted, double side 3'' diskette. In the first versions, operating system only managed sequential files.
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image: /media/museum/hardware/oric_atmos_microdsic_1.jpg
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- title: ATMOS PLOTTER
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subtitle: ''
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text: This is the same as the MCP-40 for the Oric-1. This type of plotter (4 colors) was widely used for the micro-computers...
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image: /media/museum/hardware/oric_atmos_mcp40_1.jpg
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- title: INSIDE ATMOS PLOTTER
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subtitle: ''
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text: |-
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The MCP-40 plotter uses a Japanese printing mechanism manufactured by Sharp. It's a little mechanical marvel able to print extremely precise four colour texts and graphics. Text is printed with 40 or 80 characters per line, at 10 characters per second speed. Characters size and printing direction may be modified (horizontal, vertical or diagonal).
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**(1)** Paper used is a roller of 115 mm width.\
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**(2)** Printer command buttons.\
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**(3)** Electromagnet that pushes the pen against paper for writing.\
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**(4)** The print head moves laterally right across the paper width and swivels to carry out a pen colour change.\
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**(5)** The head is connected through a cable to an engine which ensures its side moving by 0.2 mm steps.\
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**(6)** A second engine controls top and bottom paper moving, also by 0.2 mm steps.
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image: /media/museum/hardware/oric_atmos_mcp40_2.jpg
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emulators:
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- title: Euphoric
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url: http://oric.ifrance.com/oric/emulator.html
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platform: MS DOS
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text: The best ORIC emulators
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- title: Oric/MacOS
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url: http://www.bannister.org/software/oric.htm
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platform: Apple
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text: Oric/MacOS is an Oric emulator for the Macintosh.
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- title: Xeuphoric
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url: http://www.teaser.fr/~amajorel/xeuphoric/
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platform: Unix / Linux
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text: Oric emulator for X11 platforms
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- title: AmOric
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url: http://oric.ifrance.com/oric/EMULATORS/Amoric.lha
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platform: Amiga OS
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text: Oric emulator for the Amiga systems
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- title: ArcOric
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url: http://oric.ifrance.com/oric/EMULATORS/ArcOric12
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platform: RISC OS
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text: Oric emulator for RISC/OS
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- title: AtOric
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url: http://oric.ifrance.com/oric/EMULATORS/atoric09.zip
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platform: Atari
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text: works with all Atari & Compatibles (Hades, Milan)
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- title: Oriculator
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url: http://code.google.com/p/oriculator/
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platform: Multiplatform
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text: Oricutron (formerly known as Oriculator) is an emulator for the Oric series of computers. It is written in plain C, and uses SDL. It is designed to be portable.
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links:
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- title: Club Europe Oric Home Page
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url: http://ceo.oric.org/
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text: Club Europe Oric (or CEO for short) is an Oric user group
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- title: Defence Force Oric
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url: http://www.defence-force.org/computing/oric/index.htm
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text: Some very interesting info here
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- title: Marc's Oric Page
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url: http://mapage.cybercable.fr/marcpage/oric.htm
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text: Personal home page with some original programs to download
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- title: My nostalgia Oric page
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url: http://www.geffers.demon.co.uk/oricpage.html
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text: From an old Tansoft programmer
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- title: ORIC International
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url: http://www.oric.org
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text: I think this is where you must go first. There is among other things, a huge software database
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- title: Oric WebRing
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url: http://v.webring.com/hub?ring=oric
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text: Everything for the Oric
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- title: Oric World
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url: http://oric.iFrance.com/oric/index_french.html
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text: The site of the famous Fabrice Frances (includes the Oric Story book)
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- title: Pascal's Oric Page
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url: http://pleclerc.free.fr/Oric/OricPage.html
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text: in french, with ROM file to make your Oric Euro-Compatible !
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- title: Rhetoric
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url: http://www.rhetoric.8k.com/
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text: The last remaining British Oric magazine.
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- title: Swedish Oric Homepage
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url: http://come.to/oric
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text: Home of the Swedish software archive
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- title: The Reluctant Dragon
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url: http://freespace.virgin.net/james.groom/index.htm
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text: Home of the Oric FAQ, the Oric Cheats Directory and more
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- title: TheSpider's Oric Web
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url: http://oricspider.home.insightbb.com/
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text: Personal site dedicated to the Oric Atmos
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- title: Twilighte
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url: http://twilighte.oric.org
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text: Site of the excellent Oric programmer of Magnetix. Many useful info and impressive works !
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- title: Web Wiz CAPTCHA
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url: http://www.webwizcaptcha.com
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text: Discussion about Oric computers
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docs:
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- title: ORIC-1 BASIC PROGRAMMING MANUAL
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url: http://www.defence-force.org/computing/oric/library/lib_manual_oric/index.htm
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cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/oric-1_basic-programming-manual.jpg
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text: |-
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[**ORIC-1 BASIC PROGRAMMING MANUAL**](http://www.defence-force.org/computing/oric/library/lib_manual_oric/index.htm)written by John SCRIVEN
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compiled/archived by Unknown\
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type of document : PDF\
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source : [Defence Force](http://www.defence-force.org/)
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- title: MANUEL DE L'ATMOS (FRENCH MANUAL)
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url: http://www.defence-force.org/computing/oric/library/lib_manual_oric/index.htm
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cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/oric-atmos_manuel.jpg
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text: |-
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[**MANUEL DE L'ATMOS (FRENCH MANUAL)**](http://www.defence-force.org/computing/oric/library/lib_manual_oric/index.htm)written by Ian Adamson / Oric International
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compiled/archived by William Saint-Cricq\
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type of document : PDF\
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source : [Defence Force](http://www.defence-force.org)
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- title: ORIC ATMOS & ORIC-1 - GRAPHICS AND MACHINE CODE TECHNIQUES
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url: http://www.1000bit.net/support/manuali/manuali.asp
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cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/oric-1-atmos_geoff-philips_1.jpg
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text: |-
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[**ORIC ATMOS & ORIC-1 - GRAPHICS AND MACHINE CODE TECHNIQUES**](http://www.1000bit.net/support/manuali/manuali.asp)written by Geoff Phillips
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compiled/archived by Geoff Phillips\
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type of document : PDF\
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source : [1000Bit](http://www.1000bit.net/)
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- title: MANUEL D'UTILISATION DU SEDORIC (FRENCH)
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url: http://www.defence-force.org/computing/oric/library/lib_dos/manuel_microdisc_et_sedoric/index.htm
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cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/oric_microdsic-manuel.jpg
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text: |-
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[**MANUEL D'UTILISATION DU SEDORIC (FRENCH)**](http://www.defence-force.org/computing/oric/library/lib_dos/manuel_microdisc_et_sedoric/index.htm)written by Fabrice BROCHE & Denis SEBBAG
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type of document : HTML\
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source : [Defence Force](http://www.defence-force.org)
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- title: MICODISC MANUAL
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url: http://www.defence-force.org/computing/oric/library/lib_dos/index.htm
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cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/oric_microdisc_manual.jpg
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text: |-
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[**MICODISC MANUAL**](http://www.defence-force.org/computing/oric/library/lib_dos/index.htm)written by Oric Products International Limited
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type of document : PDF\
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source : [Defence Force](http://www.defence-force.org)
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- title: ORIC MCP-40 COLOUR PRINTER OPERATION MANUAL
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url: /media/museum/docs/oric_printer-mcp40_manual.pdf
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cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/oric_mcp40_manual.jpg
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text: |-
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[**ORIC MCP-40 COLOUR PRINTER OPERATION MANUAL**](/media/museum/docs/oric_printer-mcp40_manual.pdf)written by Oric Products International Limited
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type of document : PDF\
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source : [Defence Force](http://www.defence-force.org)
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videos:
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- title: Oric Atmos 48K Computer advert
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url: http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=-7974860455467320376&hl=fr
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text: 'Length: 32 s'
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related:
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- /museum/oric-1
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- /museum/oric-nova-64
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software:
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- /software/aigle-d-or-l
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- /software/manoir-du-docteur-genius-le
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- /software/moria-also-known-as-the-mines-of-moria
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- /software/retour-du-docteur-genius-le
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- /software/xenon-1
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- /software/zorgons-revenge
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oc_id: 79
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source:
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url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230609053334/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=79
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date: '2023-06-09'
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---
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The Oric Atmos was the successor of the [Oric 1](/museum/oric-1/) and had almost the same features. Its main difference with the Oric 1 was the keyboard and the debugged ROM (the ORIC 1 had several bugs). Although improved, the loading process from tape was still very uncertain. The real mechanical keyboard was really better.
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Two versions were available, with 16 or 48 KB of RAM. 16 KB version couldn't be upgraded, very few of them were sold.
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There were also new Basic instructions and above all the Scart power supply was integrated on French models from 85! Fantastic, when you know that the Oric had the world record of cables and power supplies you had to use (1 for the computer, 1 for the tape recorder, 1 for the peritel supply and 1 more plug for the TV!).
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The Atmos had really large success in France like its little brother the [Oric-1](/museum/oric-1/). A lot of videogame companies got off the ground thanks to this machine, and quite a lot of people have a tender thought when then remember their Atmos.
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In 1985, Eureka Informatique, a french company, bought back Oric. The Atmos then lived a bit longer thanks to some improvements (peritel power supply and better tape reliability) and cheap prices policy.
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The Atmos was somehow legally licenced in Yugoslavia as the [Nova 64](/museum/oric-nova-64/).\
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The [Pravetz 8D](/museum/pravetz-8d/) was a bulgarian clone of the Atmos.
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