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from Wikipedia:

The Amiga 500 – also known as the A500 (or its code name ‘Rock Lobster’) – was the first “low-end” Commodore Amiga 16/32-bit multimedia home/personal computer. It was announced at the winter Consumer Electronics Show in January 1987 – at the same time as the high-end Amiga 2000 – and competed directly against the Atari 520ST. Before Amiga 500 was shipped, Commodore suggested that the list price of the Amiga 500 was 595.95 USD without a monitor. At delivery in 1987, Commodore announced that the Amiga 500 would carry a 699 USD list price.

The Amiga 500 represented a return to Commodore’s roots by being sold in the same mass retail outlets as the Commodore 64 – to which it was a spiritual successor – as opposed to the computer-store-only Amiga 1000.

The original Amiga 500 proved to be Commodore’s best-selling Amiga model, enjoying particular success in Europe. Although popular with hobbyists, arguably its most widespread use was as a gaming machine, where its advanced graphics and sound for the time were of significant benefit.

The Amiga 500 series was discontinued in mid-1992 replaced by the similarly specified and priced Amiga 600, although this new machine had originally been intended as a much cheaper budget model, which would have been the A300. In late 1992, Commodore released the “next-generation” Amiga 1200, a machine closer in concept to the original Amiga 500, but featuring significant technical improvements. Despite this, neither the A1200 nor the A600 replicated the commercial success of its predecessor as, by this time, the market was definitively shifting from the home computer platforms of the past to commodity Wintel PCs and the new “low-cost” Macintosh Classic, LC and IIsi models.

source: wikipedia

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The full review and the autopsy of the console can be found here.

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from Wikipedia:

The Atari XE Video Game System (Atari XEGS) is a video game console released by Atari Corporation in 1987. Based on the Atari 65XE computer, the XEGS is compatible with the existing Atari 8-bit computer software library.

Additionally, it is able to operate as a stand alone console or full computer with the addition of its specially designed keyboard. In computer mode, it’s able to use the full line of peripherals released for the 8-bit computer line. Shipping in a console with joystick only and a deluxe model with a separate keyboard, joystick and light gun, the console failed in the marketplace, and was succeeded by the Atari Jaguar.

The XEGS shipped with the Atari 8-bit version of Missile Command built in, Flight Simulator II, and Bug Hunt which was compatible with the light gun. As the XEGS is compatible with the earlier 8-bit software, many games released under the XEGS banner were simply older games rebadged, to the extent that some games were shipped in the old Atari 400/800 packaging, with only a new sticker to indicate that they were intended for the XEGS.

The XEGS was released in a basic model with a grey colored standard CX-40 joystick, and the deluxe model bundled with the joystick and two peripherals: a keyboard, which allowed it to function as a home computer, and the XG-1 light gun – the first light gun produced by Atari, which is also compatible with the Atari 7800 and Atari 2600. Packages containing only a console and a joystick were also available, with the keyboard and the lightgun available separately.

source: wikipedia

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This is a rare collection of software for MZ-80 and Mz-700 Sharp Personal Home Computers.

Software titles:

Space Invaders, Suicide run and Space Fighters (Corsa suicida – Guerre Stellari), Exploding Atoms, Trap of Doom and Cave Adventure, American Bowling, Couter Reverse and Caterpillar Craws, Le Mans Turbo, Cribbage, Gate Crasher and Jungle Jiks, Rescue Plane, Wizard Castle, Cosmic Invasion and Bomb Run, Battle Game, Super Packman, Sinus Star, Moving Searcher, Painful Man, Man-Hunt, Land Escape, Round Shoot, Send 1, Snake & Snake, Giant Maths, Othello, Vicious Viper, Dragon Caves (Il drago degli Abissi), Super-Mouse (Topolino), Backgammon and Basic v1.0a & Applications.

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Matra 3600 Console is a Atari 2600 Jr Clone distributed in Italy by GRA.DI. S.r.l. Milan.

from Wikipedia:

The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977 by Atari, Inc. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in.

The first game console to use this format was the Fairchild Channel F; however, the Atari 2600 receives credit for making the plug-in concept popular among the game-playing public.

source: wikipedia

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from Wikipedia:

The Thomson TO7 is a home computer introduced by Thomson SA in November 1982.

The TO7 is built around a 1 MHz Motorola 6809 processor. ROM cartridges, designed as MEMO7, can be introduced through a memory bay. The user interface uses Microsoft BASIC, included in the kit cartridge. The keyboard features a plastic membrane, and further user input is obtained through an optical pen. Cooling is provided by a rear radiator. Standard TV screens can be used as output through a Peritel connector.

An upgraded version, the Thomson TO7-70, was later released. Among improvements was an increased RAM of 64KB instead of 8KB.

source: wikipedia

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from Wikipedia:

The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977 by Atari, Inc. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in. The first game console to use this format was the Fairchild Channel F; however, the Atari 2600 receives credit for making the plug-in concept popular among the game-playing public.

The console was originally sold as the Atari VCS, for Video Computer System. Following the release of the Atari 5200, in 1982, the VCS was renamed “Atari 2600″, after the unit’s Atari part number, CX2600. The 2600 was typically bundled with two joystick controllers, a conjoined pair of paddle controllers, and a cartridge game—initially Combat and later Pac-Man.

The Atari 2600 was wildly successful, and during much of the 1980s, “Atari” was a synonym for this model in mainstream media and, by extension, for video games in general.

The Atari 2600 was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame at The Strong in Rochester, New York in 2007. In 2009, the Atari 2600 was named the second greatest video game console of all time by IGN, who cited its remarkable role as the console behind both the first video game boom and the video game crash of 1983, and called it “the console that our entire industry is built upon.”

For the first year of production, the VCS was manufactured in Sunnyvale, California. The consoles manufactured there had thick internal RF shielding, and thick plastic molding around the sides and bottom. These added weight to the console, and because all six switches were on the front, these consoles were nicknamed “Heavy Sixers”. After this first year, production moved to Hong Kong, and the consoles manufactured there had thinner plastic molding. In 1978, only 550,000 units from a production run of 800,000 were sold, requiring further financial support from Warner to cover losses. This led directly to the disagreements that caused Atari Inc. founder Nolan Bushnell to leave the company in 1978.

source: wikipedia

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The Everdrive is essentially an interface which allows your ageing console to communicate with an SD card. Using software loaded directly onto the device, the Everdrive boasts a simple menu which allows you to navigate your way around your SD card and load one of hundreds of ROMs into its flash memory. This takes only a few seconds and once the process is complete it’s as if you’ve slotted the original cartridge into your machine.

The Everdrive itself is manufactured in the Ukraine by a talented guy known as Krikzz. He only sends out the bare circuit board so you may want to cannibalize an existing cartridge to create a suitable case. Setting up the Everdrive is relatively straightforward; you simply format your SD card in FAT32 and then drop your ROMs into organised files. One thing you have to note is that each folder cannot have more than 512 items in it, so it’s a good idea to create a folder for each letter of the alphabet and then transfer the files into each.

The Everdrive can be ordered direct from its creator via his website or via resellers on various auction sites.

Everdrive Video Review:

source: krikzz.com meanmachinesmag.co.uk gp2x.de 8bitplus.co.uk

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from Wikipedia:

The Super Scope, or Nintendo Scope in Europe and Australia, is the official Super Nintendo light gun. It was released in the European and North American markets, with a limited release in Japan due to a lack of consumer demand.

It is a wireless gun and uses an infrared receiver which plugs into the right port of the console, comparable to the Menacer for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. It has two action buttons, a pause button, a power switch and is powered by six AA batteries.

source: wikipedia

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from Wikipedia:

The Nintendo 64 (ニンテンドウ64 Nintendō Rokujūyon?), often referred to as N64, is Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market.

Named for the 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil. It is Nintendo′s last home console to use ROM cartridges to store games (Nintendo switched to a MiniDVD-based format for the successor GameCube); handhelds in the Game Boy line, however, continued to use Game Paks. It was discontinued in 2002 in Japan, North America and PAL regions by the launch of Nintendo′s GameCube.

The N64 was released with two launch games, Super Mario 64 and Pilotwings 64, and a third in Japan, Saikyō Habu Shōgi. The N64′s suggested retail price was US$199 at its launch and it was later marketed with the slogan “Get N, or get Out!”. The console was released in at least eight variants with different colors and sizes. An assortment of limited edition controllers were sold or used as contest prizes during the N64′s lifespan. The N64 sold 32.93 million units worldwide, and in 2009 it was named the 9th greatest video game console by IGN, out of a field of 25. The N64 was a very popular main prize on Double Dare 2000.

source: wikipedia

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from Old-Computers Museum homepage:

The Sharp MZ 700 series replaced the aging MZ 80 (MZ 80K, MZ 80A and MZ 80B) series. Moreover, the MZ 700 was compatible with the MZ 80K and MZ 80A. The MZ 700 series is composed of four machines: the first three models were launched in 1983 (November 1982 in Japan) and the last one was launched in late 1985 (in fact, this one is the “ancestor” of the MZ 800): MZ 711 was the “naked” model (without any peripheral).

Model description:

• MZ 721, has an integrated tape recorder
• MZ 731, has built-in plotter and tape recorder).
• MZ 780 which was actually a MZ 731 with a 80 columns card, a floppy disk drive and a Centronics port. It worked under CP/M.

There was no language in ROM (the ROM size is only 2 KB, it is just used for boot and OS calls), it has to be loaded from tape. So there was a lot of languages adapted for this machine (more than five versions of BASIC, assemblers, Pascal, Lisp, C, Fortran, Comal, Forth, & others). The games were a bit poor because of the low resolution (which was actually graphical characters), but there were 512 graphic characters in ROM, which can be used to offset it (sort of).

Later this model it will be replaced with the MZ 800.

source: old-computers.com wikipedia

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from Old-Computers Museum:

Radiola and Schneider became Philips subsidiaries in 1990 when Philips bought the French Schneider TV assembly plant located in Le Mans – the West of France – and then named Radiotechnique (RTC). The Radiola, Schneider and Philips VG-5000 were exactly same machines, apart from the case colour. They were conceived and manufactured in the RTC Le Mans factory and only intended for the French market.

At the time, RTC also made the “Minitel”, a phone video terminal almost each French family owned. To save costs, the VG-5000 keyboard was thus taken from the Minitel and slightly altered. Several Philips computer were also sold under Radiola and Schneider names, among them, the VG-8000 and VG-8020. Although it was sold under three brand names, the VG-5000 didn’t sell well, because of its limited capacities, rare and expensive peripherals, and lack of good software.

source: old-computers.com vg5k.free.fr

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Many years have passed since i sold my Amiga 1000 with Memory Expansion and Harddisk but with some patience and thanks to a friend i have found an Amiga 1000 in good condition for my RetroComputer museum.

As you can see from the photos i have changed the yellowed keyboard cover with a new one that was sold many years ago for Commodore spare parts.

from Wikipedia:

The A1000, or Commodore Amiga 1000, was Commodore’s initial Amiga personal computer, introduced on July 23, 1985 at the Lincoln Center in New York City. Machines began shipping in September with a base configuration of 256 kB of RAM at the retail price of 1,295 USD. A 13-inch (330 mm) analog RGB monitor was available for around 300 USD bringing the price of a complete Amiga system to 1,595 USD. Before the release of the Amiga 500 and A2000 models in 1987, the A1000 was simply called Amiga.

In the US, the A1000 was marketed as The Amiga from Commodore, however the Commodore logo was omitted from the casing. Additionally the Amiga 1000 was exclusively sold in computer stores, rather than the various non computer-dedicated department and toy stores the VIC20 and Commodore 64 were retailed in. These measures were an effort to avoid Commodore’s “toy-store” computer image created during the Tramiel era.

The A1000 had a number of characteristics that distinguished it from later Amiga models: It was the only model to feature the short-lived Amiga “checkmark” logo on its case; the case was elevated slightly to give a storage area for the keyboard when not in use (a “keyboard garage”); and the inside of the case was engraved with the signatures of the Amiga designers (similar to the Macintosh), including Jay Miner, and the paw print of his dog Mitchy. The A1000′s case was designed by Howard Stolz As Senior Industrial Designer at Commodore, Stolz was the mechanical lead and primary interface with Sanyo in Japan, the contract manufacturer for the A1000 casing.

source: wikipedia

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from Wikipedia:

The Sega Genesis is a fourth-generation video game console developed and produced by Sega. It was originally released in Japan in 1988 as Mega Drive (メガドライブ Mega Doraibu?), then in North America in 1989 as Sega Genesis, and in Europe, Australia and other PAL regions in 1990 as Mega Drive.

The reason for the two names is that Sega was unable to secure legal rights to the Mega Drive name in North America. The Sega Genesis is Sega’s third console and the successor to the Sega Master System with which it has backward compatibility when the separately sold Power Base Converter is installed.

The console was released in Japan as Mega Drive on October 29, 1988. Sega announced a North American release date for the system (as Sega Genesis) on January 9, 1989. Sega initially attempted to partner with Atari Corporation for distribution of the console in the US, but the two could not agree to terms and Sega decided to do it themselves. Sega was not able to meet the initial release date and US sales began on August 14, 1989 in New York City and Los Angeles. The Sega Genesis was released in the rest of North America later that year on September 15, 1989 with the suggested retail price of $189.99, $10 less than originally planned, and also $10 less than the competing TurboGrafx-16.

The Mega Drive’s CPU is a 16/32-bit Motorola 68000. The maximum addressable memory is 16 MB from the ROM ($00000000-00400000 – 4 MB), to the RAM ($00FF0000-00FFFFFF – 64 KB). The 68000 runs at 7.61 MHz in PAL consoles, 7.67 MHz in NTSC consoles. The Mega Drive also includes a Zilog Z80, which serves as secondary processor along with allowing complete Master System compatibility with only a passive adapter. The initial Mega Drive models used a Hitachi-made HD68HC000, while the Mega Drive 2 and later models used a Motorola MC68HC000, both fabricated in CMOS.

source: wikipedia

In the gallery you can found some Sega Megadrive (Genesis) games Cartridges and the famous Honey Bee adaptor. The Cartridge adaptor which enables the playing of import Japanese and Genesis games on a PAL Sega Mega Drive.