Xerox 820
Xerox 820
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| Manufacturer | Xerox |
|---|---|
| Release date | 1981 |
| Discontinued | 1985 |
| Media | 96kb 5¼-inch floppy disks, 300kb 8-inch floppy disks |
| Operating system | CP/M 2.2 |
| CPU | Zilog Z80A clocked at 2.5MHz |
| Memory | 64kB RAM, 4kb to 8kb ROM |
| Input | Keyboard |
| Dimensions | 32.8 × 38.1 × 34.3cm |
| Weight | 13.6kg |
The Xerox 820 was an 8-bit desktop computer sold by Xerox in the early 1980s. The computer ran under the CP/M operating system and used floppy disk drives for mass storage. The microprocessor board was a licensed variant of the Big Board computer.
The original Xerox 820 used a Zilog Z80 processor clocked at 2.5 MHz, and had 64 kiB of RAM.
Xerox chose CP/M for the computer because of the large software library for the operating system. Dealers reportedly were pleased to sell a computer from a well-known Fortune 500 company but the Rosen Electronics Letter unfavorably reviewed the 820 in June 1981, describing it as a disappointing, "me too" product for a leading technology company like Xerox. In November it stated that the new IBM PC was much more attractive; "we think the bulk of the sales will go to IBM".
The Xerox 820-II followed in 1982, featuring a Z80A processor clocked at 4.0 MHz. Pricing started at $3000.
Hardware: The processor board was located inside the CRT unit, and included the Z80A, 64 kiB of RAM and a boot ROM which enabled booting from any of the supported external drives in 8-bit mode.
Screen: The display was a 24-line, 80-character (7×10 dot matrix) white-on-black monochrome CRT, with software-selectable variations such as reverse video, blinking, low-intensity (equivalent to grey text), and 4×4-resolution graphics.
Communication ports These included two 25-pin RS-232 serial ports (including one intended for a Xerox 620 or 630 printer or compatible, and one intended for a modem), and two optional parallel ports which could be added via an internal pin header, usable with a Xerox-supplied or other cable.
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