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The CyberVision 2001 (commonly referred to as CyberVision Home Computer) is an early 8-bit home computer, distributed by Montgomery Ward in the late 1970s. Software is contained on stereo cassettes, allowing synchronized transmission of narrated audio recordings and sound effects from one channel and program data from the other. Home television sets are used for its display using an RF connector. The Spring/Summer 1978 Montgomery Ward catalog featured CyberVision 2001 in a two-page opening spread, with a retail launch price of $399. Accompanying literature described the RCA 1802-powered system as "the revolutionary home computer... Programmed to talk... play games, teach math, or help with your tax return." Although a reported 10,000 units were shipped, limited traction coupled with manufacturing problems and rising competition resulted in discontinuation by the early 1980s and cancelation of the prototyped CyberVision 4001. History The Authorship Resource, Inc. ("ARI") was founded in April 1977 by John Powers and Joe Miller in Franklin, Ohio. As part of contractual work on the QUBE project for Warner Media, the two drove to a local computer shop to purchase a Compucolor 8001. On arrival, they met hardware engineers Jim McConnell and John McMullin who were actively working on a computer prototype to pitch to Montgomery Ward. Powers and Miller were formally hired to develop the CyberVision operating system on July 16, 1977, and had completed a functional version of the ROM by July 18 after an all-weekend development crunch. ARI assembled a close team of additional designers and developers including Brenda Laurel, Ken Balthaser, Jeff Schwamberger and Janey Powers to produce additional software programs and demonstration tapes. On August 10, 1977, Miller conceived the name CyberVision as a juxtaposition of cybernetics and television and two days later the computer concept was presented in Chicago. On August 19, 1977, Montgomery Ward confirmed the computer would be the lead-in product for their 1978 Spring General catalog and expressed intent on ordering thousands of units for $250 wholesale. The CyberVision 2001 received an two-page opening spread in the 1978 Spring General, the copy prominently advertising it as a "home computer". With this, according to Kilobaud, the CyberVision 2001 was the first home computer available to the American public through a major mail order catalog. CyberVision 2001 appeared in select Montgomery Ward stores starting on June 2, 1978. Since the facilities did not have dedicated electronic areas, the units were sold within the sporting goods department instead. According to Miller, an order for 10,000 units was placed for the CyberVision 2001 and a second round of orders arrived for the 3001 variant. By July 1980, the system had been largely liquidated, with its catalog price diminishing to $88 for the computer and $1 per data tape. United Chem-Con Corp. was tasked with manufacturing the computer and subsequently began marketing the 3001 edition as an attempted reboot in Pennsylvania in December 1980. According to Ken Balthaser, production was plagued from the beginning by manufacturing problems and lack of experience by Chem-Con, which at the time specialized in military equipment. In 1983, James Christian of Chem-Con was asked what happened to CyberVision and remarked: "We ranked in the top 20 in a survey conducted by Popular Mechanics magazine, but sales have diminished quite a bit...We built specifically to purchase orders and not to speculation." Powers, Miller, Laurel and other core members of ARI ultimately moved to California to work at Atari and other technical ventures following the discontinuation of CyberVision. Technical specifications CPU: RCA 1802, 2.517483 MHz Memory: 4 KB RAM (2 KB data, 2 KB video) Operating system: 1 KB ROM bootloader Input: 40-button alphanumeric keypad controllers (TI Scientific Calculator membranes) Display: 128 × 96; at four colors (white, yellow, green, red) Characters: 6 × 9 alphanumeric Graphics: TI SN76430N video and sync generator Sound: Left-channel audio to internal speaker, basic tone generator Ports: RF out, two keypads Built-in stereo cassette recorder (2000 baud) PSU: External 12V AC transformer Price: US$399 (1978) Hardware The physical enclosure is made out of structural foam. It includes an embedded stereo cassette deck and inset storage space for housing up to twelve caseless data cassette tapes. A power toggle switch, reset button, power LED and volume control are integrated into the cabinet. Two 24-pin joystick input ports and an RF output port complete the exterior. An enclosed speaker and amplifier provide audio output from the cassette data's left channel. Internally, 91 integrated circuits power the system. An RCA 1802 CPU running at approximately 2.52 MHz drives the 1 KB system ROM alongside four distinct CDP1852 input/output chips and a CD4034B bidirectional parallel bus, to handle peripheral interfacing. 4 KB of SRAM is contained across 32 P2101 chips, allocating 2 KB for video display and 2 KB for program data. The video signal is constructed using a TI SN76430N video and sync generator. No dedicated sound chip exists, but simple tones can be generated programmatically to output to an internal speaker. An internal ROM/CPU edge connector is present on the logic board, which would become a dedicated expansion slot in the 3001 model and the 4001 prototype. Two replaceable 40-button plastic controller keypads are supplied for the unit, as the only means of accepting user input. These hand controllers lack any joystick or navigation keys common in other systems, but feature the full uppercase English alphanumeric character set along with four action buttons (On, Off, Clear, Enter). The membranes used inside of these controllers are provided by Texas Instruments, and match the ones used in their 40-key scientific calculators popularized in the 1970s. The prototyped CyberVision 4001 demonstrated a full mechanical keyboard accompaniment but was discontinued before production. Construction of the CyberVision 2001 changed subtly over the course of its release. The system photographed for inclusion in Montgomery Ward and other advertisements had reversed arrangement of the logo and reset/LED mounts, as well as a top-mounted cassette deck with its own volume control. A more integral cassette player was furnished for the consumer product with a separate volume control mounted to the cabinet. Software The CyberVision 2001 contains rudimentary bootloader code in the computer's 1 KB ROM. All programs are distributed on specially formatted stereo cassettes, marketed as Cybersettes, for playback within the embedded cassette deck. These commercially released cassettes were programmed in 1802 assembly.: 35  Cybersettes The CyberVision 2001 uses a unique dual-channel, hybrid analog and digital data cassette format, dubbed Cybersettes. In this scheme, an internal speaker outputs soun.... Discover the Dave Cenker popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Dave Cenker books.