Thomson computers

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Thomson TO7 computer on display at the Musée Bolo, Lausanne

In the 1980s the French Thomson company produced a range of 8-bit computers based on the 6809E CPU.[1]

They were released in several variations (mostly concerning the keyboard or color of the casing) covering the MO and TO series[2] from late 1982 to 1989. While MO and TO models are incompatible in software, most of the peripherals and hardware were compatible.

These machines were common in France due to the 1980s governmental educational program Computing for All (Informatique pour Tous).[3][4][5] Around 100,000 MO5 and TO7/70 computers were ordered and installed in schools.[6] Export attempts to Germany, Italy, Algeria, USSR, India, Argentina and Spain were unsuccessful. By 1988 Thomson had only sold 60,000 of the predicted 150,000 computers, abandoning computer development the following year.[6]

First generation

  • Thomson MO5
    Thomson MO5
  • Thomson MO5 "Michel Platini" edition
    Thomson MO5 "Michel Platini" edition
  • Thomson TO7
    Thomson TO7
  • Thomson TO7-70
    Thomson TO7-70

Second generation

  • Thomson TO9
    Thomson TO9
  • Thomson MO6
    Thomson MO6
  • Thomson TO9+
    Thomson TO9+
  • Thomson TO8D
    Thomson TO8D

Unix systems

  • Micromega 32: released in 1982, it was a Motorola 68000-based machine running Version 7 Unix,[23][24][25][26][27] based on the Fortune 32:16, developed by Fortune Systems Corp.[28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35]
  • Micromega 32000: A 1986 Alcatel branded machine with a tower layout, supporting Unix SV. The CPU is a 68020 at 16.5 MHz (68881 optional) with 1 to 4 MB of RAM. It features a 70MB hard drive, supports QIC-24 cartridges and offers Arcnet network connection.[36][37]
  • Micromega PC: a 1986 workstation supporting Unix and MS-DOS, and developed based on the PC 7000 XP.[36]
  • Micromega SX and Micromega SX/T - This machines have a similar box but with a diferent floppy drive location. The CPU is a 68000 at 11 MHz and RAM is expandable to 2 MB. It supports 45 and 70 MB hard drives and QIC-11 cartridges on the SX/T.

PC compatible

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Thomson computers.

See also

References

  1. ^ "OLD-COMPUTERS.COM : The Museum - Thomson". Archived from the original on 25 February 2021.
  2. ^ Thomson 8-bit computer emulation with MESS
  3. ^ Ina.fr, Institut National de l’Audiovisuel-. "Plan informatique : conférence de presse Fabius". Ina.fr.
  4. ^ "Près du radiateur...l'ordinateur !". Les Echos. October 2, 1991.
  5. ^ "Le Nanoréseau". sites.google.com. Retrieved 2022-11-08.
  6. ^ a b "Thomson". www.obsolete-tears.com.
  7. ^ "Thomson TO7". www.obsolete-tears.com.
  8. ^ Thomson MO5 MESS driver
  9. ^ Wolf, Mark J. P. (May 27, 2015). Video Games Around the World. MIT Press. ISBN 9780262527163 – via Google Books.
  10. ^ Thomson TO7/70 MESS driver
  11. ^ "OLD-COMPUTERS.COM : The Museum". www.old-computers.com.
  12. ^ "Thomson TO9". www.obsolete-tears.com.
  13. ^ "Thomson MO5NR MESS driver". Archived from the original on 2021-06-05.
  14. ^ "Le Nanoréseau". sites.google.com. Retrieved 2022-11-08.
  15. ^ "Spécification du chip graphique Intel i82716 utilisée dans le prototype TO16". logicielsmoto.com.
  16. ^ "Thomson 16 bits - forum.system-cfg.com". forum.system-cfg.com.
  17. ^ "Thomson TO16". forum.system-cfg.com.
  18. ^ Thomson MO6 MESS driver
  19. ^ "Thomson MO6". www.old-computers.com.
  20. ^ Thomson TO8 MESS driver
  21. ^ "Thomson TO9+". December 27, 2020.
  22. ^ "OLD-COMPUTERS.COM : The Museum". www.old-computers.com.
  23. ^ "OLD-COMPUTERS.COM : The Museum - Thomson Micromega32". www.old-computers.com.
  24. ^ "Thomson Micromega 32". www.silicium.org. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  25. ^ "Thomson Micromega 32". www.system-cfg.com. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  26. ^ Holmes, Lewis (May 1982). "Hanover: power and electronics fare". Electronics & Power: 368.
  27. ^ Etheridge, James (March 1984). "FOREIGN VENTURES: FOREIGN VENTURES - TWO FOR THE ROAD" (PDF). Datamation (84): 115.
  28. ^ "32:16 Fortune". www.old-computers.com. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  29. ^ "Thomson Micromega 32". www.silicium.org. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  30. ^ "Fortune advert: Fortune 32:16 - Minicomputer Performance at Microcomputer Price". nosher.net. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  31. ^ "Fortune Systems". Rare & Old Computers. 2016-06-05. Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  32. ^ Enterprise, I. D. G. (1984-02-20). Computerworld. IDG Enterprise.
  33. ^ "Fortune 32:16 - System Details. The Freeman PC Museum... Largest Collection of Vintage Computers On The Web". www.thepcmuseum.net. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  34. ^ "Fortune 32:16 - The Personal Computer Museum, Brantford, Ontario, CANADA - Recycle, donate, and browse your old computers, electronics, video games, and software". web.archive.org. 2020-01-03. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  35. ^ "Biochemical laboratory management with a microcomputer" (PDF). Journal of Automatic Chemistry. 8 (4): 211. October–December 1986.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date format (link)
  36. ^ a b "Micro Systèmes n°75 mai 1987 - Page 32 - 33 - Micro Systèmes n°75 mai 1987 - Micro Systèmes - informatique grand public - informatique et réseaux - Sciences et Techniques - 1001mags - Magazines en PDF à 1 € et GRATUITS !". fr.1001mags.com. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  37. ^ "INFORMATIQUE (01) no:935 15/12/1986 | Musée de la presse". museedelapresse.com. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  38. ^ "Thomson Micromega 16". www.silicium.org. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  39. ^ "Thomson - TO16 PC". www.system-cfg.com.

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