The Tatung Einstein is an eight-bit home/personal computer produced by Taiwanese corporation Tatung, designed in Bradford, England at Tatung's research laboratories and assembled in Bridgnorth and Telford, England. It was aimed primarily at small businesses.
History
The Tatung Einstein TC-01 was released in the United Kingdom in the summer of 1984, and 5,000 were exported to Taipei later that year. A Tatung monitor (monochrome or colour) and dot matrix printer were also available as options, plus external disc drives and an 80 column display card. It was also capable of running ZX Spectrum software with the "Speculator" addon.
More expensive than most of its rivals, the Einstein was popular with contemporary programmers as a development machine but was commercially unsuccessful.
A later revised version, called the Tatung Einstein 256 and released in 1985, suffered a similar fate.
Design The machine was physically large, with an option for one or two built-in three-inch floppy disk drives manufactured by Hitachi. At the time, most home computers in the UK used ordinary tape recorders for storage. Another unusual feature of the Einstein was that on start-up the computer entered a simple machine code monitor, called MOS (Machine Operating System).
A variety of software could then be loaded from disk, including a CP/M-compatible operating system called Xtal DOS (pronounced 'Crystal DOS', created by Crystal Computers in Torquay), and a BASIC interpreter (Xtal BASIC). More than 400 software titles were released for the system, including about 120 games. Versions of popular software like DBase or WordStar were available.
Thanks to the reliability of the machine, and ample memory, the machine proved useful by many software houses to use for programming, and then porting the code to the machines they were made for, namely the Spectrum 48k, Amstrad CPC, and Commodore 64. Eventually, it was superseded by the PC and Atari ST as the development systems of choice.
The follow on machine, the Einstein 256, basically was the same as the original, with improved video (Yamaha V9938) and a more slimline black case.
Technical specifications The machines were quite similar.
The Tatung Einstein TC-01 specifications are similar to the MSX standard.
CPU: Zilog Z80A @ 4 MHz ROM: 8K to 32K RAM: 64 KB system; 16 KB video Video: Texas Instruments TMS9129, 16 colours, 32 sprite planes Audio: AY-3-8910 (also reads the keyboard matrix) Z84C30 CTC Z84C20 PIO Intel 8251 SIO 1770 FDC 3'' floppy disk controllers Z80 'Tube' bus/interface Analogue joystick ports
The Tatung Einstein 256 was similar to the original with improved video (Yamaha V9938) and more RAM.
RAM: 64K user; 192K video Video: Yamaha V9938, 512 colours
Games
There are known commercial games released for the Tatung Einstein.
Title Publisher Year 256 Games Pack for Einstein 256 Merlin 1986 3D Noughts and Crosses Solo Software 6 in One Solo Software Agrovator Syntax Software Alice and the March Hare Orion Software 1986 Alien 8 A.C.G. Attack of the Killer Tomatoes Merlin Ballyhoo Infocom Bat Attack Kuma Software Batman Ocean Beach Head 1 + 2 Tatung Einsoft Bell Super Six Games Bell Software Bell Super Ten Games Bell Software Boardello Bubble Bus Software 1985 Bumper Games Pack Tatung Einsoft Buzz Off/Shark Hunter Electric Software C.T.C Games Pack Fydler Card Sharp Emsoft Casino Emsoft Castle Quest + Quest Kuma Software Channel Tunnel Solo Software Chuckie Egg Tatung Einsoft Cluedo Leisure Genius 1984 Colour Fantasia Kuma Software 1984 Commando Plain/Nightmare Park Solo Software Cursed Chambers + ZRIM Kuma Software Cursed Chambers/Zrim Kuma Software Cyfax Solo Software Dan Diamond Trilogy Tatung Einsoft Deadline Infocom Deadzone Merlin Disco Dan Tatung Einsoft 1984 Doom Manor Fydler Dr Frankie Syntax Software Dragon's Lair Merlin/Software Projects Druid Merlin Einjong Merlin Eliminator/Reversi Merlin Elite Firebird Software Escape from Merlin 8 Merlin Family Pack 1 Solo Software Fathom's Deep Merlin Flight Path 737 Anirog Flight Simulation ScreenSoft 1985 Football Manager/Pinball Sharward Services Fruckles/Toado Merlin Fu-Kung in Las Vegas Tatung Einsoft 1985 Fydler Six Game Pack P.C.S Games Compendium Solo Software Games Night Emsoft Get Lost + Mr Fixit Solo Software 1984 Gloop Merlin Gronks Tatung Einsoft Heli-Maths ScreenSoft 1985 Highway Encounter Orion Software 1985 Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Infocom House of Usher Merlin Hunchback Ocean Hustler Bubble Bus Software 1985 Hyperball Merlin Hyperball II Merlin Icem Orion Software Impossible Mission Tatung Einsoft Infidel Infocom Interstella Explorer/Miner Dick Merlin Island of Artuan Kuma Software Jet Set Willy Software Projects, Ltd. Jet Set Willy 2/Manic Miner Software Projects Jet Set Willy/Harvey Smith Showjumping Software Projects/Team Sanyo Jetpack Merlin Jump Mania Merlin Kid's Stuff Merlin Knight Lore Tatung/Ultimate Konami Four Disk Arcade Konami Konami Four Game Arcade Konami Lazy Jones Terminal Software 1985 Le Mans Electric Software Leather Godesses of Phobos Infocom Les Flics Electric Software 1985 Manic Miner Software Projects, Ltd. 1985 Manik Panik + Galaxoids Solo Software Manik Panik/Galaxoids Solo Software Mathe-Magic + Scoop Solo Software Maths Quest + Alphabet Quest Solo Software Maxima Solo Software 1985 Mayhem Solo Software Mazeman Sharwood Services Maziacs Einsoft 1985 Merlin Games Compendium Merlin Miner Dick Merlin 1984 Minnesota Fats' Pool Challenge Bubble Bus Software 1985 Monopoly Leisure Genius Music Composer Kuma Software Nightmare Park + Commando Plain Solo Software Norseman/Backgammon Electric Software Oh Mummy! Tatung Einsoft 1984 One man and his droid Tatung Einsoft Pakman + Millipede Kuma Software Pakman/Millipede Kuma Software Panzer Attack MC Lothlorien 1985 Planetfall Infocom Polaris Solo Software Punchy Tatung Einsoft 1985 Qoko 2 Orion Software Quantum Merlin Quest/Castle Quest Kuma Software Rebound Everco Reversi Merlin River Bandit Merlin Rocket + Giant Maths + Mighty Writer Solo Software Roverball Merlin Sasa Mass Tael Ltd Scrabble Leisure Genius 1985 Seastalker Infocom Soho Emsoft Sorcerer Infocom Soul of a Robot/F1 Simulator Merlin Southern Belle Merlin Space Trap Solo Software 1985 Space Traveller/Reversi Merlin Special Operations MC Lothlorien Speculator Disks 1,2 and 3 Syntax Software Spell n' Build Solo Software Spellbreaker Infocom 1985 Sprog Merlin Starbase Merlin Starcross Infocom Starquake Merlin Stepper KH Scriven 1986 Stock Tycoon Screensoft Super 6 Games Bell Software Super Cobra Konami/Sharwood Services Super Six Game Pack Tatung Einsoft Superchess Kuma Software 1984 Superstore Kuma Software Suspended Infocom Telebunnie Mass Tael Ltd The Computer Edition of Scrabble Brand Crossword Game Leisure Genius 1985 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Infocom 1984 The Kingdom in Chess Fydler The Ultra Solo Software 1985 The Wreck Electric Software Theatre Europe Merlin Time Bandits Orion Software Time Trap Tatung Einsoft 1984 Toado + Fruckles Syntax Software 1986 Tombs of Karnak + Encounter Solo Software Tombs of Karnak/Encounter Solo Software Tournament Snooker Hard Software Tracker Solo Software Traditional 16+ Maths + Cyfax Solo Software Turbo Chess/Draughts Screensoft Tycoon/Pelmanism Kuma Software Wishbringer Infocom Witness Infocom Xanagrams + Quadrax Kuma Software Xanagrams/Quadrax Kuma Software Zexl Everco Zork I - The Great Underground Empire Infocom Zork II Infocom Zork III - The Dungeon Master Infocom
See also
References
Notes
External links
Tatung Einstein Computer Group Tatung Einstein Reborn Tatung Bytes