website/content/museum/corvus-systems-concept.md

title, categories, types, origins, years, cpus, params

title	categories	types	origins	years	cpus	params
CORVUS SYSTEMS Concept	Computers	Professional Computer	U.S.A.	1982	Motorola 68000	name company company_name specs tabs photos comments oc_id source Concept /companies/corvus-systems CORVUS SYSTEMS label value NAME Concept label value MANUFACTURER Corvus Systems label value TYPE Professional Computer label value ORIGIN U.S.A. label value YEAR 1982 label value BUILT IN LANGUAGE None label value KEYBOARD Full-stroke 91 keys with 10 function keys and numeric keypad label value CPU Motorola 68000 label value SPEED 8 Mhz. label value RAM 256 KB expandable to 512 KB label value VRAM VRAM was mapped in main memory. So each pixel on screen was a bit in the main memory label value ROM 4 KB label value TEXT MODES 90 chars x 63 lines (Portrait mode)\ 117 chars x 47 lines (Landscape mode) label value GRAPHIC MODES 707 * 479 dots label value COLORS Monochrome label value SOUND Sound generator label value SIZE / WEIGHT 35 Kgs label value I/O PORTS 2 x RS-232 - 4 x Apple II compatible slots - 1 x RS 422 label value BUILT IN MEDIA None label value OS CCOS, P-System, Unix, CP/M emulation label value POWER SUPPLY Built-in power supply label value PERIPHERALS Shared 6 to 40 MB hard-disks, VHS tapes backup label value PRICE $4995 (256 KB) - $5995 (512 KB) photos title subtitle text image TWO CONCEPT'S AT WORK Two Concept's linked to a 6 MB hard-disk drive (center) via an Omninet local-area network. An 8" F.D. drive is connected to a controller board installed in the Apple II compatible expansion slot of the Concept on the right. The video display on the right is set up in the portrait format, almost the exact size and shape of a sheet of paper. The monitor on the left has been rotated 90 degrees for viewing in the landscape format. Byte magazine null author date text The Great Pretender Saturday 4th February 2017 I surrender myself two the law! I did it! I stole a dirty filty pirated copy of "The Operating System" for The Corvus Concept Computer. I "Copied that Floppy", and then did an R$B dance to "The Police" station. And when I met with Captain Sting he said: "We are all just spirits in the material world." It''s just so tragic that I did not pay any pennies to Heaven because you see... "The Operating System" is no longer supported. The company that made it is out of business. The guy who wrote it is dead. And the sourcecode of the operating system is now available at www.computerhistory.org. Of course I am talking about Windoze 10, um I mean CP/M. author date text Mike Friday 18th May 2012 Hi Kirby! A guy called Curt is building a ''Corvus Systems Museum'' site and I''m sure he might be interested in your Corvus system manual... curt at atarimuseum dot com author date text Kirby (USA) Wednesday 14th March 2012 I keep clearing out "junk" and finding strange things. Does anyone have a use for a 1980 Corvus Systems manual titled,"CORVUS UTILITIES FOR CP/M Reference $ Installation." It is 5.5" by 8.5" and spiral bound, approximately 100 pages. Let me know soon or it goes in recycle. author date text peter sandilands (Australia) Thursday 9th June 2011 VRAM was mapped in main memory. So each pixel on screen was a bit in the main memory author date text Cool (USA) Tuesday 11th May 2004 Wow, this thing is cool! It looks like an alto! 653 url date https://web.archive.org/web/20230604051759/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=653 2023-06-04

The Concept system was intended to be an individual diskless workstation operating within a Local Area Network (LAN). Each user could use the ressources of the computer and share both data and peripheral devices, including mass storage devices. The network connected computers offered some attractive cost advantages and allowed several people to work simultaneously on the same task.

Users' data were shared through the Corvus OmniNet networking system which was the core product of Corvus Company and the first affordable and reliable network system for small computers. OmniNet could handle up to 63 workstations with a maximum cable length of 1200 metres. The theoretical speed was at 1 MB per second. The Omninet interface was designed by Corvus, used a 6502 processor and NEC custom chips. An Omninet card was available during two years for IBM-PC, Apple II and S-100 BUS systems.As the Concept featured four Apple II compatible slots, the lan card was inserted in one of them in the first systems, then Omninet was on the motherboard of the Corvus.

The graphic bitmap display could be rotated and switch from portrait mode for the word processor to landscape mode for the spreadsheet. Software and hardware handled the change smoothly! The user could choose between several supplied type fonts or/and create his own caracter sets. Like the Apple Lisa, the display could be divided into independant windows, each with its own attributes. However, no mouse was used

The Concept ran CCOS, its own operating system (Corvus Concept Operating System), or P-System, the Java-like O.S. of the early 80'. A word processor (EdWord) and a spreadsheet (Logicalc) were available. They were specially adapted to the graphic features specific to the Concept. Several developpement tools could also be used: PASCAL and FORTRAN-77 compilers, 68000 assembler and a CP/M emulator.

Corvus manufactured several hard-disk drives, from 6 MB to 40 MB, and a stange mirror unit that allowed the user to backup a drive to a real video recorder using real video tapes - there was even a Panasonic (?) video recorder that the system knew how to drive remotely so it managed and recorded tapes, all by itself - pretty magic to watch in those days!! It could store up to 200 MB at the speed of 600 KB per minute. There were at least two versions of Corvus Bank Tape, the CBT-100 and the CBT-200 certified 100 and 200 Megabyte.

A second backup unit called The Bank also used video type tape, but it was built into a special (roughly square) cartridge that popped out of the top and held the tape in a continuos loop so there was no rewinding or stuff to do.

Like many other original computers, the Concept has sunk into oblivion in 1984, mainly due to the IBM-PC advent.