Tiki 100
 | |
| Also known as | Kontiki-100 |
|---|---|
| Developer | Tiki Data |
| Manufacturer | Tiki Data |
| Type | Desktop computer |
| Release date | April 1984 |
| Introductory price | NOK 12,000 (1984) (~US$1,350) |
| Discontinued | 1989 |
| Media | 5.25" Floppy disks |
| Operating system | TIKO, BBC BASIC, COMAL (Tiki-100) TIKOS (8/16) |
| CPU | Z80 @ 4MHz (Tiki-100) Z80 & 8088 @ 4MHz (8/16 & Rev. D) |
| Memory | 64KB RAM, 32KB VRAM, 8KB ROM 256 to 736 KB RAM (8/16 & Rev. D) |
| Storage | Hard drive (8/16) |
| Graphics | 256-color palette; 256x256x16, 512x256x4 or 1024x256x2 simultaneous colours (Tiki-100) CGA (Rev. D) |
| Sound | AY-3-8912 |
| Connectivity | RS-232, Centronics |
| Successor | Tiki 200 |
Tiki-100 was a desktop home/personal computer manufactured by Tiki Data of Oslo, Norway. The computer was launched in the spring of 1984 under the original name Kontiki-100, and was first and foremost intended for the emerging educational sector, especially for primary schools. Early prototypes had 4 KB ROM, and the '100' in the machine's name was based on the total KB amount of memory.
Development[1]
It was decided by the Norwegian government that Norwegian schools should all use the same standardized computer in education. The Tiki-100 was developed as a direct response to this decision, and was as such greatly influenced by the specifications laid out by the government.[2] One of the most influential of these specifications was compatibility with CP/M and the Z80 CPU.
Being designed as a computer intended for education, interactivity was prioritized. The machine was given good audiovisual capabilities for its time. While other educational computers at the time had a main focus on BASIC and simple computer-science, the Tiki-100 had more focus on being a tool to aid in education and everyday-life situations. This put forth the need and memory requirements to run more complex applications.
The first prototype was built using
Tiki-100 was released under the original name 'Kontiki-100' in the spring of 1984.
Specifications
Specifications for the basic Tiki-100 model:
- CPU: Zilog Z80 running at 4 MHz.
- Memory: 64 KB of RAM (main memory), 32 KB of graphical memory and 8 KB of ROM.
- keyboard: A n-key rollover mechanical keyboard integrated into the computer case
- Graphics: The has no text-mode as it used bitmapped graphics only. However, terminal emulators provided options of 40, 80 or 160 by 25 characters, each option using one of the three modes. All of the graphics modes have hardware vertical scroll.
- Audio: An polyphonic sound generator
- Storage: One or two integrated 5¼ inch floppy disk drives
- Interfaces: Two RS-232 serial ports, One Centronics printer port
Software included:
- TIKO, a CP/M 2.2-compatible operating system
- A version of the BBC BASIC programming language interpreter
- A COMAL interpreter
Optional expansions:
- A harddisk controller, replacing one of the floppy disk stations with a 8MB harddisk.[5]
- A bespoke network-hub that allowed up to 16 computers to connect in a network, sharing disks and printers. The server was a Tiki-100 with harddisk, running the MP/M operating system, serving up to 3 different printers simultaneously.
8/16 upgrade
An 8/16 upgrade was possible, consisting of a secondary CPU card with a 4 MHz 8088 processor.[3] With this upgrade the machine is capable of running TIKOS(a CP/M-86 clone) and MS-DOS 2.11, with RAM being expanded up to 736 KB.[5] Although running MS-DOS, the expansion does not provide PC-compatibility. When programs are running on the 8088, the Z80 CPU is serving as an I/O processor, handling disk I/O, graphics etc.
Rev. D
Later, an
Tiki-200
After the commercial failure of the Tiki-100 rev. D, it was succeeded by the Tiki-200. This was a standard IBM PC-clone, with imported hardware which did not make any attempt at maintaining backward-compatibility with the Tiki-100. Despite these attempts at adapting to the personal-computer market, due to steep competition Tiki-Data was unable to maintain a stable foothold in it and went into gradual decline. In 1996 the company along with its deficit was bought by Merkantildata.
References
- ^ "Selected user-group posts from no.it.nostalgi". Asbjørn Djupdal. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
- ^ "Encyclopedia entry on Lars Monrad-Krohn". Norsk biografisk leksikon. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
- ^ a b "Tiki-100 Tiki-Data".
- ^ "Videokretsen i TIKI-100 Rev C". Asbjørn Djupdal.
- ^ a b Jakobsen, Remi (August 8, 2017). "Tiki-100".
External links
- Tiki 100 Archived 2010-11-21 at the Wayback Machine
- Details about Tiki 100 including an emulator