JULY 1984 - Einstein TC-01 is introduced in Great Britain. A fairly powerful and rich 8- bit PC and one of the first - and few - with a 3-inch Disk Drive built-in . Although Einstein is manufactured by the Taiwanese Tatung , it was designed and implemented in England and intended for the European market. If the Tatung people had a clearer goal and better pricing policy, then perhaps Einstein could have competed with the Amstrad CPC released at the same time, with similar specifications. But Einstein went down in history as a very interesting home computerwhich failed due to wrong choices and unfortunate circumstances. The Taiwanese Tatung invaded Great Britain in 1981 with aggressive sentiment. The largest electronics maker in Taiwan, with a history since 1918 , was already an established player in the television and monitor market . Its entry into England was made for convenience, as European patent holders such as e.g. for the PAL system they created barriers to the use of these technologies by companies in the Far East , which produced cheaper products. Acquisition of the Decca plant for £ 1min Bridgnorth, Shropshire, UK, it has been able to obtain a European identity, thus making these patents easier to access. Within two years, Tatung also acquired a second factory in Stroopshire (Telford) as well as a development center in Bradford, West Yorkshire. With a British identity, Tatung did not just expand its market, but wanted to take part in the explosive growth of the British microcomputer industry . Why not? They even tried and Tatung had both the know-how and the means and the power. The company had been involved in the field of computers and in particular word processing systems since 1973, while its facilities in England were capable of designing and manufacturing boards. Tatung Einstein TC-01 Identity Crisis The design of Einstein was organized by the head of the British branch of Tatung himself, Dr. GT Lin , with a team of five engineers . Team leader Roy Clark and the other four, two for the software, one for the hardware and another for the flow supervisor. The fact that just one engineer worked on the computer hardware is due to the fact that both ready and tested solutions were used and there was a limitation to utilizing the existing infrastructure.in the manufacture of boards. Generally, no material experiments were performed. On the contrary, Einstein's software did much more work and some of its components were useful and separate (for the home computer), without departing from simplicity. Its composition was primarily based on that of the standard MSX , with the same processor, graphics and audio chips. Coincidentally, its specifications were close to those of the Amstrad CPC 464 , which was released the same summer as Einstein's. The difference is that the 3-inch disk drive that Amstrad offered as an extra was integrated into Tatung's computer. The operating system was a variant of CP / M and compatible with it. Dr. Lynn initially wanted to give the model a name for some fruit , something particularly "fashionable" in the early '80s. But with apples (Apple), tangerine and acorn (Acorn) having flooded the market, the most compatible, but at the same time the most audacious, name was Einstein . Something that referred directly to the concept of ' technological genius ', though the danger was that it could cause excessive expectations from a system whose technology had been carrying it for almost a decade. "Although initially there was the idea of ​​naming fruit because it was "overused" in computers, the rather verbalist Einstein preferred the genius." The sharp edges of the system bear the signature of industrial designer John Lo . Its large surface area is due to the incorporation of an extremely high quality switching adapter inside. This at the same time gave him the opportunity to use his back as a base for Tatung's monitor. The base angle and position of the keyboard were designed so that the screen would be at a perfect distance and angle from the user's eyes. Einstein's design also gave Lo a patent for this very characteristic. "Einstein's "aerodynamic" design is a creation by English industrial designer John Lo. Its volume and weight are due to the integration of the power supply. The base of the screen is designed so that its angle and height are ideal for the user's eye." The computer was implemented at the Tatung Laboratories in Bradford , UK , and was produced at the Telford plant . HARDWARE Einstein 's technology does not justify its name, being stapled from home computers of the time. However, excluding the disk drive in the basic configuration, a rarity for a home computer, though - as mentioned above - Tatung also expected sales to professionals. The system had 80 KB of memory , 16 KB of which is dedicated to graphics. Its specifications were almost identical to those of the first generation MSX , with a common Zilog Z80A processor clocked slightly higher at 4 MHz and a combination of General Instrument AY-3-8910 audio generator with TI TMS9129 graphics chip (newer version of TMS9918 ). That translates into 3 octave audio channels , 16-color palette , 256 × 192 pixels maximum bitmap resolution , and 32 sprites supportat hardware level. However, beyond the similarity in capabilities, Einstein was not compatible with the MSX standard. In addition, some hardware details brought him one step above the MSX. In particular, as mentioned above, Eistein borrowed hardware and philosophy from various computers of that time. Tatung did not target the cheap introductory models of the home computer, such as Spectrum or Electron , but the more powerful, complete and expensive ones, which managed to penetrate the professional market as well. The most prominent such sample in the UK market was the BBC Micro . Acorn's computer also had a high price tag, but its popularity in its country's schools provided a very good market share. Its main weapon was scalability, and in this area Tatung followed Acorn 's practice . Einstein had a plethora of doorsfor every use. In addition to the parallel Centronics printer type and the serial RS232C , there was also the so-called "Tube" which provided a connection to the system bus, acting as an extension port. Where Einstein outperformed competition, there was the use of analog and digital ports of general use . On the one hand, the user port provided an 8-bit two-way channel for digital devices. It was controlled by a Z80 PIO (Parallel Input-Output) chip. On the other hand, the two analog DIN inputs could be connected to analog inputs, such as e.g. temperature, pressure, voltmeters, etc. They were combined with an analog converter(ADC - Analog to Digital Convertor). Such a possibility was provided by the BBC Micro only as extras. Analogue ports were also used for equal joysticks. Beyond that, Einstein could also be connected to a TV or a third-party monitor. There was also a small 250mWatt speaker built into the computer . Tatung was the second company to place the rare 3-inch disk drive on a home computer. At one time, Amstrad preceded a semester in integrating the drive into the computer. In addition, Einstein could accept a second FDD inside without conversion. Whereas, it could drive up to two 3.5 " or 5.25" external drives . Possibilities unimaginable for the home computer of the time. The selected Teac drive achieved a switching speed of 50 Kbit / sec and an average access time of 171 msec . It received 3 "dual-sided 500 KB floppy disks, which left 200 KB of available space on each side after the format. "Einstein took over the CPC 664 for a semester, being the first on the European market with a 3-inch built-in disk drive. In addition, the TC-01 could also accept a second drive inside. In the photo, the Matsushita Einstein 256 disk drive" Although Tatung had a reputation for "cheap Oriental" construction, Einstein made no concessions. The system both looked and was quality . The stability of its power supply was renowned , and the plastics were also of good quality. At the same time, despite its volume, the ergonomic details were also unique to home computer data. As for the full-size mechanical keyboard in particular , they did not have a separate numeric key, but there were eight programmable keys . In addition, the user had immediate access to most of the special graphics characters through the GRAPH key . At this point, let's mention that the 256-character set was divided into 96 alphanumeric digits and 160 "graphics" . All were programmable via software. "The Graph key was there to enter special characters-graphics from the keyboard." Overall, Einstein could be described as a rich 8-bit home computer , analogous to the BBC Micro, but without innovating anywhere. But whether it could meet professional needs is mainly a matter of software… TATUNG EINSTEIN TC-01 Processor : 8 bit Zilog Z80A at 4 MHz RAM / VRAM / ROM : 64 KB / 16 KB / 8 KB (expandable to 32 KB) Graphics : TI TMS9129, 256 × 192 pixels, 16 colors Audio : GI AY-3-8910 PSG, 3 channels, 8 octaves Display : Color or monochrome CRT, 14 "(optional) Keyboard : mechanical QWERTY, 67 keys, 8 F-keys Media : 1 or 2x FDD 3" TEAC (500 KB) Ports : RGB, TV- out, RS232C, Parallel, External floppy disk, 2x Joystick, User port, Tube (bus) OS / Applications : MOS, Xtal DOS, Xtal BASIC 4 Dimensions: 43.5 × 51.5 × 11.5 cm SOFTWARE In its basic version, Einstein had no ROM chip, only a 16 KB EPROM (programmable ROM) with Firmware and a system control program called MOS (Monitor Operating System). The computer was running at the MOS command line and both the operating system and the programming languages ​​were loaded from floppy disk. The fact that BASIC was not permanently stored on a ROM chip left the programming options free to the user. In addition to the standard Xtal BASIC , other versions such as BBC BASIC , as well as alternative languages ​​such as FORTH, PASCAL etc. were offered.. This flexibility, however, also had a downside, as loading from disk to memory meant that just over 40 KB of 64 KB of RAM was left for programming . "H Einsoft , one of the official software designers to Einstein, offered various programming languages for computer Tatung. Among them the fastest FORTH." Einstein's real asset - and a little bit of help to users - was the basic MOS control program . Through this, it was possible to control the system at the machine level by changing the contents of the memory blocks, registers and disk tracks. Few systems provided such a feature, but its undoubted utility only concerned developers. The irony is that while the developers didn't support Tatung's PC because of the MOS, they used Einstein to develop machine-based routines for other computers , such as Atari ST and Amiga copy protection . MOS was stored in Einstein's EPROM, but the other two basic applications came with the floppy disk package. We are referring to DOS and BASIC. Both designed by Crystal Research . Hence the Xtal DOS and Xtal BASIC titles , where the prefix Xtal was pronounced Crystal. "Tatung's (monochrome) 80-page text card was required to run CP / M applications. It was fitted externally to the rear of the Einstein and provided an extension of the Tube door." The Xtal DOS from Tatung advertised as compatible with the most popular operating system at that time for the personal computer, the CP / M . The truth is that with the basic computer setup, very few CP / M applications could run. The most significant limitation was the analysis of the text . As Tatung used the TMS9129 chip without further modifications, it meant that Einstein could only display two text modes. A 32 × 24 with 8 × 8 pixels and a 40 × 24 with 6 × 8 pixels. Therefore the majority of applications for CP / M running on 80-page text, required the addition of an external card. This raised the already high cost of the machine further. BASIC 's version was also among the top of the competition . It was very reminiscent of BBC BASIC both in structure and in capabilities. At its core, the Xtal BASIC 4 was another variant of the original Dartmouth BASIC . However, it had plenty of extra commands. Among them, graphics commands (dots, lines, ellipses), sprites control, audio and music. It was also possible to add machine language to the BASIC code. Consequently, Einstein's package had everything you would expect from an expensive home computer. But for the professional , where Tatung was targeted, there were significant shortcomings . Einstein could then be persuaded to persuade the demanding audience if software makers supported the machine. Despite its intended use (home / personal computer), however, support for the games was a prerequisite for success . Something that never happened. "Much of Einstein's applications were made by Kuma. In the photo music composition program." Tatung has made a very generous effort to support its system in all forms of applications. Initial collaboration with Crystal Research , Kuma and other smaller companies provided the timing needed to launch Einstein. In the summer of 1984 , nearly 50 titles of applications, programming languages, and games were immediately available next to the computer . But there was no continuity. Although the platform was generally ideal for developers, allowing easy ports from MSX and Spectrum , no major company provided Einstein support. Einstein 's few games were either variants of well-known arcades designed by the company itself, or transfers from other Z80 processors. Their total did not exceed 120 . The professional software , primarily manufactured by Kuma , covering the typical needs of an office. Other applications include music, graphics and animations, assemblers, BASIC, FORTH, PASCAL, LOGO programming languages. Although the list of programsEinstein's had no major shortcomings; their growth was limited to a handful of small companies. But the main problem had to do with the medium. As Einstein's software was only available on floppy disks and even 3 inches, the price of even the simplest program was pretty stingy. Games cost from 7 to 15 pounds , while in professional applications the price climbed to 250 pounds . "Out of just over 100 Einstein games, the most notable were ports from other computers. Pictured is the platform game Chuckie Egg, originally designed for Spectrum." SPECULATOR: SPECTRUM EMULATOR One device that might have helped Einstein's sales was the Speculator . A simulator of the ZX Spectrum 48K , which was released very slowly and was anything but easy to use, to make a difference. In addition, it was one of the few Einstein products not made by Tatung herself. The Speculator was a device designed by hobbyist engineer Tony Brewer and made available by Syntaxsoft to allow Spectrum games to run on Einstein and Memotech MTX, which had similar hardware. The box contained two custom chips and 2 KB of memory to simulate the Spectrum ports and graphics circuitry. The Speculator was connected to the Einstein Tube port on one side and a cassette player on the other. The device user did not have to load the games from the cassette every time, but they could be recorded to a floppy disk. But here's the speculator's facilities. This peripheral was not intended for single users, as each Spectrum game required different management (software level) for the program loader to run. In the 50-pound trade package, the Speculator was accompanied by three disks of 20 Spectrum games, for which the appropriate modifications had been made. Beyond that, however, either the owner would have to have the knowledge to pass on any other Spectrum game to Einstein, or just be content with the new floppy disks released by Syntaxsoft, with more Spectrum games "Einstein" in the market The Einstein TC-01 was introduced a week after the Amstrad CPC 464 in the spring of 1984 and was launched about two weeks later by Amstrad's PC in July of the same year. Something that probably played a very big part in his trading career, as we will see below. Despite the staggering £ 500 price tag for the basic model with a disk drive and no monitor, Tatung's management was optimistic. The sales manager Michael Bailey told the magazine Home Computing Weekly , in May 1984 , that Einstein may have been expensive at 100 pounds from competitiveBBC Micro , but if Acorn installed Einstein's equipment then the price of its PC would be raised to £ 850. He compared the Tatung model with the Apple IIe , which then cost over £ 1,000. The big obstacle, of course, was also the newer, more complete, and much cheaper Amstrad CPC 464. Asked by a reporter, Bailey simply stated that Einstein provided more free memory to the user. He pointed out that Einstein was intended to fill the gap between the £ 200 home computers and the £ 1,000 personal computers . He believed that the first release would close with 50,000 sales . But reality denied him solemnly. The first and foremost thing that struck Einstein was his honor . The comparisons made by Tatung's sales manager shortly before his launch were unrealistic because they ignored the elephant in the room. This elephant was none other than Amstrad . Compared to the CPC 664 , to get to the level of composition - and capabilities - of the Amstrad computer the cost went up to £ 900 . This means a 14 "color monitor and 80 column card so it can run CP / M applications. That is, twice as much as its competitor's price and threateningly close to the cheapest professional PCs. But even if compared to CPC 464, with which they were released in parallel, taking into account the cost of an external floppy disk 3 ', the composition of the Tatung was 300 pounds more expensive . "If the buyer of the Einstein TC-01 wanted to install equipment similar to the CPC 664, then the price of the Tatung computer would be 100% higher. When Tatung started its bidding policy, it now had the even more powerful and cheap CPC 6128 facing it." Tatung quickly realized this fundamental difference from its main competitor. While it expected sales of 50,000 pieces in the first year and 200,000 by the end of 1985 , they did not exceed 14,000 and 5,000 of them were promoted to Taipei by the end of 1984 . Tatung made corrections very late in the summer of 1985. Reduced the base model by 150 pounds and offered a color monitor package, second drive 3 "and 190 pounds software, up to £ 500. But it no longer had the CPC 664 in front of it, but the even stronger, richer equipment, and a cheaper CPC 6128 (400 pounds of color screen, 128 KB of memory and two versions of the original CP / M). Einstein then had to deal with the few criticisms of issues such as the large volume that made it difficult to place himself in the office and most notably the largely false promise of CP / M compatibility . Two crucial elements of the gap that Tatung wanted to fill in the import professional category. The Einstein TC-01 was very expensive for a home computer and with many weaknesses for a professional system . That the MOS made the developer happy (eg, used for gaming ports on gaming machines with Z80 processors), did not do enough to secure him massive sales, not even the glamor of a capable PC. "The promise that XtalDOS would be compatible with CP / M was largely false. Einstein lifted a 40-column resolution, leaving out the majority of CP / M's professional applications." Just as significant a problem with the price was that the software companies did not support Einstein . Although its platform favored the practice of ports from the already commercially successful 8-bit computer models, application development remained largely within Tatung itself and a handful of low-power companies. There are about 500 total titles in each category, but the quality of most was just marginal. It also had to address the issue of the rare size of the floppy disk which translates into a 50% to 200% increase in shelf price compared to the tape. Finally, there is the question of the juncture . In 1984 it was too late for the British home computer industry. The market had been saturated since 1983 and the smaller companies were beginning to "canonize". Even powerful players like Sinclair and Acorn were in financial trouble and their unsold stock was growing every day. Tatung's "outsider", despite the brave effort to support her computer with software and peripherals, found it very difficult to survive in this context. In any case, with the exception of Amstrad, the whole of the British microcomputer industry did not come out of recession. "Tatung has made generous efforts to support its system with peripherals and software. Pictured is the Emsoft design application that came with the mouse for Einstein." Since 1985 , with sales rising to just 10% of expectations, Tatung has begun designing the Einstein successor of the TC-01, again following the MSX technology paths (this time the MSX2 standard ). Rumors of a new machine have further reduced sales of the existing model. The Einstein 256 was completed very late in 1986. Despite the relative donor in the UK, Tatung was no longer willing to promote her new home computer. It was enough to cut costs on military sites, make the targeting of the home market clearer and keep the price list reasonably reasonable, but still remain marginally accurate. Now the company was much more interested in the new thriving market for compatible PCs , leaving 256 more or less in luck, a course even more frustrating than its predecessor. Einstein 256 The last attempt The Einstein 256 (full title Einstein TCS-256 ) was the successor to the TC-01, but it came too late and with no practical support to make a difference. Once again, Tatung followed in the footsteps, choosing the typical MSX second generation hardware . While the sound generator remained the same ( AY-3-8910 of General Instrument ), the graphics chip was now that of the Yamaha of MSX2 ( V9938 ). In combination with the 192 KB of Video RAM , graphics capabilities were launched to the level of the 16 bit home computer of the time. Thus, 80-page text was supported, high resolution512 × 424 pixels and the palette is perched on 512 colors , with 256 of them being able to be displayed simultaneously on the screen. In addition, the graphics were completely bitmap , with no limitation of two colors per block of 8 × 8 pixels. Only those possibilities remained on paper. Note that the 256 in the title of the new model referred to the total memory, as RAM remained at 64 KB . "Tatung Einstein 256: While RAM Stays at 64 KB, Adding 192 KB VRAM Raises Total Memory to 256 KB" Tatung wanted to maintain backward compatibility to lure in the small customer base created by its predecessor Einstein 256. The basic architecture remained the same and upgrades to the operating system and BASIC ensured 98% compatibility with TC- 01. These new versions of EDOS and EBASIC, respectively, were a development of XtalDOS 1.31 and Xtal BASIC 4 . Now the OS was fully CP / M compliant, and BASIC had even more commands approaching 200 in total. In addition, some bugs observed in the TC-01 were fixed. In Einstein 256, Tatung corrected the problems and errors of the previous model, as identified by the specialist press and its customers. The computer was now much smaller in size , with its power supply moving to the monitor (a practice practiced by Amstrad). It also reduced the size of the board as many of the integrated circuits were merged into a custom Hitachi chip to control memory, inputs / outputs and interrupts. But the doors were also limited to those deemed necessary. There were no longer two analog inputs and the Tube was replaced by the VAMP port , which was an acronym for the expression "Video / Audio, Mouse, Light Pen interface". "Paying the same price as the TC-01, that is 500 pounds, the buyer of the Einstein 256 also acquired the color monitor." All of the above was done to limit the retail price of the new model. The Einstein 256 was, after all, a home computer, and Tatung did not repeat the mistake of the past with the professional market, where he had started operating IBM-PC compatible anyway. The appearance of the machine was reminiscent of the CPC 664 and the large steering wheel layout shouted from a distant MSX. Tatung's overhead has kept the price at £ 500 , with the package also featuring a redesigned and upgraded 14-inch color monitor . The market performance of the Einstein 256 was even more disappointing than that of the TC-01. In an era of dominance of the 16-bit giants Amiga and Atari ST, it would be no luck to have an 8-bit MSX2 level system, without even being compatible with MSX. Worst of all, its true technological evolution has not been exploited by software makers and mainly toys. In its short run, Einstein 256 relied on its predecessor's title library and a few game ports from the first generation of MSX. TATUNG EINSTEIN TCS-256 Processor : 8 bit Zilog Z80A at 4 MHz RAM / VRAM / ROM : 64 KB / 192 KB / 16 KB (up to 32 KB) Graphics : Yamaha V9938 VDP, 256 × 192 pixels as 512 × 424 pixels, 512 color palette, 32 sprites Audio : GI AY-3-8910 PSG, 3 channels, 8 octaves Screen : Color CRT, 14 " Keyboard : mechanical QWERTY, 69 keys, 8 F-keys Media : FDD 3" Matsushita (500 KB) Ports : TV-out , RGB, Audio (stereo), RS232C, Parallel, Ex. FDD, Tape recorder, 2x Joystick, User port, VAMP (video, mouse, light pen) OS / Applications : EDOS, EBASIC Nosher.next "A Complete Colour Micro With No Hidden Extras for Around £499" Designed entirely by Tatung UK, an offshoot of Taiwan's largest company, the Einstein was aimed vaguely at the business market, but with a Zilog Z80A processor could also emulate the 48K ZX Spectrum, via an add-on. It was also popular as a development machine, thanks to its reliability and ease of use - the pseudonymous Joff, a programmer for games software-house Ocean, who was using an Einstein to port Konami's arcade titles to Z80-based machines, said of it that "the assembler is brilliant, a pleasure to use"[1]. It had a 40-column display, 3-channel sound and, apart from its 3" 500K Teac floppy drive, could almost have been an MSX machine . Its retail price put in the expensive end of the market - £500 would be around £1,600 in 2019 terms, but in the summer of 1985 Tatung joined in with the price wars raging at the time by chopping £150 (£450) off the price of the 64K model. There was even a bundle containing the Einstein plus 3" drive, colour monitor and £190-worth of software for £500, putting it up against Amstrad's CPC 664[2]. Both the Tatung and the Amstrad had limitations when it came to running the venerable CP/M operating system - the Amstrad had too little memory and the Einstein only had a 40-column screen, which meant CP/M was unusable. However Tatung fixed its shortcomings with the release of an 80-column module, and with the price cut was finally giving the Amstrad a run for its money. This seemed to spur some interest in the market, so much so that Geoff Lynch of Southampton-based CP/M specialists Xitan was taken to grumble about having to field calls from Dixons branch managers wanting software for the 10,000 Einsteins the High-Street retailer had bought in the previous two months, all of which happened after Xitan had already "gently run down" its CP/M output[3]. Back in the spring of 1985, Tatung was vigorously denying rumours of a new machine - a confession which could sometimes be fatal to the prospects of an existing computer. Tatung's Tony Adams said of the current Einstein that if was selling "quite happily", even though sales had only been about 14,000 up to that point, which was well short of the company's expected output of 200,000 machines through the year. The company had also recently announced 70 redundancies, following the merger of its computer and television divisions, although that left 800 people still employed in Telford[4]. However, by the end of 1985, Tatung finally admitted that it was working on a new machine, but insisted that it would be backwards-compatible with its current model. The new machine would have 80-column display and have 128, 256 or 512K memory. By the spring of 1986 the new machine still hadn't appeared, although its spec was now refined to 256K RAM, stereo sound and 512 colors[5]. It was now due to be out by the end of summer, and was expected to be "competitive with Amstrad", which had very much become the company's competition thanks to their shared heritage in the Z80. The add-on which allowed the Einstein to run Spectrum programs was also released at the end of 1985 and cost around £30 (£91 in 2019 money)[6]. Unrelated to any of this, Tatung was also having to fend off questions about its recently-exposed "no smiling or laughing" policy at the factory in Bridgenorth where Einsteins were made. Somewhat lost in translation, the Taiwanese management apparently meant simply that the workforce should have a serious attitude when using dangerous machinery[7]. The Bridgenorth factory in Shropshire was formerly that of Decca's consumer electronics division, which Tatung had bought in 1981 Sources 1 "The Ocean wave", Your Computer, December 1985, p. 49 2 "Cheap Tatung", Your Computer, June 1985, p. 20 3 "Brains before beauty", Newsprint, Personal Computer World, June 1985, p. 110 4 "Tatung denies spring launch for new machine", Personal Computer News, April 20th 1985, p. 1 5 "Memotech and Tatung to launch micros", Popular Computing Weekly, 15th May 1986, p. 5 6 "New Einstein. Is it a Bohr?", Your Computer, December 1985, p.20 7 "Hard News Diary", Your Computer, December 1985, p.23 8 "Tatung micro", Popular Computing Weekly, 19th April 1984, p. 5