rde@ukc.UUCP (R.D.Eager) (06/20/84)
I just answered a query from the net on the Advance 86b micro,
manufactured for Advance by Ferranti in the UK. I thought it might be
of general interest, so here it is.
I bought an Advance 86b three weeks ago. I am very pleased with it.
It seems pretty IBM compatible; I borrowed a PC-DOS diskette and it
booted and ran first time. All PC software I have tried (not a great
deal) runs with no problems. It comes with integral colour graphics,
does all the ANSI escapes, etc. You also get a Centronics port, a
cassette interface, RS232 port, joystick port for no extra charge! 128K
of memory on board, socketed for another 128K. RGB, UK TV and comp sync
video outputs.
Software is MS-DOS 2.11, with BASICA etc. Also Perfect Writer,
Perfect Calc, Perfect Speller and Perfect Filer.
It is quite well built, considering the price. It is BIG; plenty of
space inside (in fact a door at the front hinges down to expose storage
for the keyboard). The keyboard looks electrically compatible with the
PC, and physically very similar. The backslash key has been moved to
the top RH corner, and the numeric pad is slightly separated from the
QWERTY part. F1 to F10 in same place as the PC.
There are two Shugart DS/DD drives, 360K each, totally PC
compatible. There are four expansion slots, PC compatible, and also two
16 bit slots (it is an 8086 machine).
The price is 1500 pounds sterling through retail outlets, slightly
less from the manufacturer. Equivalent PC would cost over 3000 pounds
here. Monitor not included. User manual included, but tech manual
costs extra.
Ask me if you need more info.
Bob Eager University of Kent UK
(...ukc!rde)