yann64andClaude Opus 5.5
cf3a03350c
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com> Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01YDRjtmAiNpo5mK5N3d7QwZ
22 lines
2.1 KiB
HTML
22 lines
2.1 KiB
HTML
{
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"title": "EXIDY ANNOUNCES ITS SORCERER",
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"date": "1978-04-01",
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"years": [
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"1978"
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],
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"topics": [
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"Hardware"
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],
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"params": {
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"when": "APRIL 1978",
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"image": "/media/history/images/timeline_0478_sorcerer_2.jpg",
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"oc_id": 3,
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"source": {
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"url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20211018201426/http://www.old-computers.com/history/detail.asp?n=3",
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"date": "2021-10-18"
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}
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}
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}
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<img src="/media/history/images/timeline_0478_sorcerer_2.jpg"/> <br/><br/> <p>Exidy, Incorporated, was founded in 1974 by <b>H.R. Kaufman</b> at Sunnyvale, California, and became a leading manufacturer of arcade type video games.<br/> Their first release was TV Pinball, followed by Mouse Trap or Boulder Dash which became worldwide hits when licensed to Coleco. <br/><br/> While developing the Sorcerer hardware, Exidy designers closely examined all-in-one competitor systems released a few months earlier, the Commodore PET and Tandy TRS-80. The Sorcerer was thus a combination of best features they offered plus an innovative idea, the software ROM cartridge called <b>ROM PAC</b>, making the Sorcerer the first Home Computer to support ROM cartridge use, even if these ROM PAC's were enclosed into 8-track audio housings! <br/><br/> In spite of marketing and production problems, first sales occurred in the USA about 5 months after the machine was announced. The Sorcerer was then introduced in Europe and in Australia by <b>Dick Smith Electronics</b> making it the first personal computer available in this country. <br/><br/> In Holland, <b>Compudata</b> produced the Sorcerer under licence for several years, and sold a lot of them to educational market with several hardware and software improvements: CP/M operating system, S-100 bus support allowing various mass storage systems - including hard discs - to be connected. <br/><br/> Despite obvious qualities, the Sorcerer - and the Sorcerer II launched in 1980 - never met a real success. Exidy ceased production and closed its doors in 1982, but the CompuData version was still produced in Europe until 1984. <br/><br/> </p><img src="/media/history/images/timeline_0478_sorcerer_1.jpg"/>
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