<s>
The	O
Aster	B-Device
CT-80	I-Device
,	O
an	O
early	O
(	O
1982	O
)	O
home/personal	O
computer	O
developed	O
by	O
the	O
small	O
Dutch	O
company	O
MCP	O
(	O
later	O
renamed	O
to	O
Aster	O
Computers	O
)	O
,	O
was	O
sold	O
in	O
its	O
first	O
incarnation	O
as	O
a	O
kit	O
for	O
hobbyists	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
consisted	O
of	O
several	O
Eurocard	O
PCB	O
's	O
with	O
DIN	O
41612	O
connectors	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
backplane	B-Architecture
all	O
based	O
on	O
a	O
19-inch	B-Application
rack	I-Application
configuration	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Aster	O
computer	O
could	O
use	O
the	O
software	O
written	O
for	O
the	O
popular	O
Tandy	B-Device
TRS-80	I-Device
computer	O
while	O
fixing	O
many	O
of	O
the	O
problems	O
of	O
that	O
computer	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
could	O
also	O
run	O
CP/M	B-Application
software	O
,	O
with	O
a	O
large	O
amount	O
of	O
free	O
memory	O
Transient	O
Program	O
Area	O
,	O
(	O
TPA	O
)	O
and	O
a	O
full	O
80×25	O
display	O
,	O
and	O
it	O
could	O
be	O
used	O
as	O
a	O
Videotext	O
terminal	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
the	O
Aster	O
was	O
a	O
clone	O
of	O
the	O
TRS-80	B-Device
Model	I-Device
I	I-Device
it	O
was	O
in	O
fact	O
more	O
compatible	O
with	O
the	O
TRS-80	B-Device
Model	O
III	O
,	O
and	O
ran	O
all	O
the	O
software	O
of	O
these	O
systems	O
including	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
model	O
(	O
launched	O
June	O
1982	O
)	O
looked	O
like	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
,	O
a	O
rectangular	O
base	O
unit	O
with	O
two	O
floppy	B-Device
drives	I-Device
on	O
the	O
front	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
monitor	O
on	O
top	O
with	O
a	O
separate	O
detachable	O
keyboard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
second	O
incarnation	O
was	O
a	O
much	O
smaller	O
unit	O
the	O
width	O
of	O
two	O
5	O
"	O
floppy	B-Device
drives	I-Device
stacked	O
on	O
top	O
of	O
each	O
other	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
third	O
incarnation	O
looked	O
like	O
a	O
flattened	O
Apple	B-Device
with	O
a	O
built-in	O
keyboard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
units	O
ran	O
much	O
faster	O
than	O
the	O
original	O
TRS-80	B-Device
,	O
at	O
4	O
MHz	O
,	O
(	O
with	O
a	O
software	O
selectable	O
throttle	O
to	O
the	O
original	O
speed	O
for	O
compatibility	O
purposes	O
)	O
and	O
the	O
display	O
supported	O
upper	O
and	O
lower	O
case	O
,	O
hardware	O
snow	O
suppression	O
(	O
video	O
ram	B-Architecture
bus	O
arbitration	O
logic	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
an	O
improved	O
character	O
font	O
set	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
interface	O
supported	O
dual	O
density	O
,	O
and	O
disk	O
capacities	O
up	O
to	O
800	O
KB	O
,	O
more	O
than	O
four	O
times	O
the	O
capacity	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
TRS-80	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
special	O
version	O
of	O
NewDos/80	B-Operating_System
,	O
(	O
an	O
improved	O
TRS-DOS	B-Operating_System
compatible	O
Disk	B-Operating_System
operating	I-Operating_System
system	I-Operating_System
)	O
was	O
used	O
to	O
support	O
these	O
disk	O
capacities	O
when	O
using	O
the	O
TRS-80	B-Device
compatibility	O
mode	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Aster	O
used	O
64	O
KB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
and	O
had	O
the	O
unique	O
feature	O
of	O
supporting	O
two	O
fundamentally	O
different	O
internal	O
architectures	O
:	O
when	O
turned	O
on	O
without	O
a	O
boot	O
floppy	B-Device
or	O
with	O
a	O
TRS-DOS	B-Operating_System
floppy	B-Device
,	O
the	O
Aster	O
would	O
be	O
fully	O
TRS-80	B-Device
compatible	O
,	O
with	O
48	O
KB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
the	O
boot	O
loader	O
detected	O
a	O
CP/M	B-Application
floppy	B-Device
,	O
the	O
Aster	O
would	O
reconfigure	O
its	O
internal	O
memory	O
architecture	O
on	O
the	O
fly	O
to	O
optimally	O
support	O
CP/M	B-Application
with	O
60	O
KB	O
free	O
RAM	B-Architecture
for	O
programs	O
(	O
TPA	O
)	O
and	O
an	O
80	O
x	O
25	O
display	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
dual-architecture	O
capability	O
only	O
existed	O
on	O
one	O
other	O
TRS-80	B-Device
clone	O
,	O
the	O
LOBO	B-Device
Max-80	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
a	O
special	O
configuration	O
tool	O
,	O
the	O
CT-80	B-Device
could	O
reconfigure	O
its	O
floppy	B-Device
drivers	O
to	O
read	O
and	O
write	O
the	O
floppies	B-Device
of	O
about	O
80	O
other	O
CP/M	B-Application
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
third	O
mode	O
was	O
entered	O
with	O
a	O
special	O
boot	O
floppy	B-Device
which	O
turned	O
the	O
Aster	O
into	O
a	O
Videotex	B-Operating_System
terminal	O
with	O
a	O
40x25	O
display	O
and	O
a	O
Videotex	B-Operating_System
character	B-General_Concept
set	I-General_Concept
,	O
The	O
software	O
used	O
the	O
built	O
in	O
RS-232	O
interface	O
of	O
the	O
Aster	O
to	O
control	O
a	O
modem	O
through	O
which	O
it	O
could	O
contact	O
a	O
Prestel	O
service	O
provider	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
Aster	B-Device
CT-80	I-Device
'	O
s	O
(	O
about	O
10	O
thousand	O
of	O
them	O
)	O
were	O
sold	O
to	O
schools	O
for	O
computer	O
education	O
,	O
in	O
a	O
project	O
first	O
known	O
as	O
the	O
"	O
honderd	O
scholen	O
project	O
"	O
(	O
one	O
hundred	O
schools	O
project	O
)	O
,	O
but	O
which	O
later	O
involved	O
many	O
more	O
than	O
just	O
one	O
hundred	O
schools	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
however	O
the	O
Government	O
turned	O
around	O
and	O
gave	O
50%	O
of	O
the	O
order	O
to	O
Philips	O
and	O
their	O
P2000	B-Device
homecomputer	O
even	O
though	O
the	O
P2000	B-Device
did	O
not	O
meet	O
all	O
the	O
technical	O
demands	O
,	O
was	O
made	O
in	O
Austria	O
and	O
did	O
not	O
have	O
network	O
hardware	O
nor	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
also	O
assembled	O
kits	O
for	O
people	O
without	O
soldering	O
skills	O
,	O
especially	O
the	O
"	O
junior	B-Device
Computer	I-Device
"	O
from	O
Elektor	O
(	O
a	O
copy	O
of	O
the	O
KIM-1	B-Device
)	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
ZX80	B-Operating_System
from	O
Sinclair	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Among	O
the	O
kits	O
sold	O
there	O
were	O
also	O
alternative	O
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
drives	I-Device
for	O
TRS-80	B-Device
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
But	O
these	O
needed	O
the	O
infamous	O
TRS-80	B-Device
expansion	O
interface	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
very	O
expensive	O
,	O
and	O
had	O
a	O
very	O
unreliable	O
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
controller	O
because	O
it	O
used	O
the	O
WD1771	B-Device
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
controller	O
chip	O
without	O
an	O
external	O
"	O
data	O
separator	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
fix	O
this	O
problem	O
MCP	O
developed	O
a	O
small	O
plugin	O
board	O
which	O
could	O
be	O
plugged	O
into	O
the	O
socket	O
for	O
the	O
WD1771	B-Device
,	O
and	O
which	O
contained	O
a	O
data	O
separator	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
socket	O
for	O
the	O
WD1791	O
to	O
support	O
dual-density	O
operation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
So	O
they	O
decided	O
to	O
also	O
develop	O
their	O
own	O
alternative	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
an	O
improved	O
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
controller	O
and	O
printer	O
interface	O
that	O
could	O
be	O
built	O
right	O
into	O
a	O
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
enclosure	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
lack	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
expansion	O
offered	O
by	O
this	O
solution	O
was	O
solved	O
by	O
a	O
service	O
in	O
which	O
the	O
16KB	O
RAM	B-Architecture
chips	I-Architecture
inside	O
the	O
base	O
unit	O
would	O
be	O
replaced	O
by	O
64KB	O
RAM	B-Architecture
chips	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
that	O
time	O
MCP	O
did	O
also	O
sell	O
imported	O
home	O
computers	O
like	O
the	O
TRS-80	B-Device
,	O
the	O
Video	B-Device
Genie	I-Device
(	O
another	O
TRS-80	B-Device
clone	O
)	O
,	O
the	O
Luxor	B-Device
ABC	I-Device
80	I-Device
and	O
the	O
Apple	B-Device
II	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
also	O
sold	O
the	O
exotic	O
Olivetti	B-Device
M20	I-Device
,	O
a	O
very	O
early	O
16-bit	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
that	O
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
very	O
few	O
systems	O
to	O
use	O
a	O
Z8000	B-Device
CPU	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
designing	O
their	O
own	O
fully	O
functional	O
replacement	O
for	O
the	O
TRS-80	B-Device
expansion	O
interface	O
(	O
which	O
was	O
never	O
commercialized	O
)	O
the	O
company	O
realized	O
that	O
they	O
could	O
do	O
better	O
than	O
just	O
re-designing	O
the	O
expansion	O
interface	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
observed	O
that	O
the	O
TRS-80	B-Device
was	O
a	O
great	O
computer	O
but	O
it	O
lacked	O
in	O
several	O
areas	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
display	O
logic	O
and	O
resulting	O
display	O
'	O
snow	O
 '	O
was	O
irritating	O
,	O
as	O
was	O
the	O
missing	O
lower	O
case	O
support	O
,	O
the	O
CPU	O
speed	O
could	O
be	O
improved	O
,	O
the	O
quality	O
and	O
layout	O
of	O
the	O
keyboard	O
was	O
bothersome	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
capacity	O
and	O
reliability	O
was	O
low	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
the	O
more	O
interesting	O
software	O
offered	O
for	O
CP/M	B-Application
systems	O
could	O
not	O
run	O
well	O
on	O
a	O
TRS-80	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
So	O
they	O
decided	O
to	O
design	O
a	O
TRS-80	B-Device
and	O
CP/M	B-Application
software-compatible	O
computer	O
system	O
,	O
which	O
(	O
following	O
the	O
lead	O
of	O
Apple	B-Device
Computer	O
)	O
they	O
decided	O
to	O
name	O
after	O
a	O
"	O
typical	O
Dutch	O
flower	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
So	O
they	O
called	O
it	O
the	O
Aster	B-Device
CT-80	I-Device
(	O
CP/M/Tandy	O
-1980	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Remarkably	O
"	O
Aster	O
"	O
was	O
also	O
the	O
name	O
given	O
to	O
a	O
Dutch	O
Supercomputer	B-Architecture
much	O
later	O
,	O
in	O
2002	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
Aster	O
consisted	O
of	O
four	O
"	O
Eurocards	O
"	O
,	O
one	O
Z80	B-General_Concept
CPU	O
card	O
with	O
64KB	O
memory	O
,	O
one	O
Motorola	O
MC6845-based	O
video	O
card	O
,	O
one	O
double	B-Device
density	I-Device
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
controller	O
card	O
and	O
one	O
"	O
keyboard/RS-232/cassette	O
interface	O
"	O
card	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Plus	O
a	O
"	O
backplane	B-Architecture
card	O
"	O
,	O
(	O
which	O
connected	O
all	O
the	O
other	O
cards	O
)	O
and	O
a	O
keyboard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
the	O
original	O
designer	O
had	O
left	O
the	O
company	O
another	O
employee	O
completely	O
redesigned	O
most	O
of	O
the	O
system	O
,	O
(	O
adding	O
a	O
display	O
snow	O
remover	O
circuit	O
,	O
true	O
80/64	O
column	O
text	O
mode	O
support	O
,	O
(	O
with	O
different	O
size	O
letters	O
for	O
TRS-80	B-Device
and	O
CP/M	B-Application
mode	O
,	O
so	O
that	O
in	O
TRS-80	B-Device
mode	O
the	O
full	O
screen	O
was	O
also	O
used	O
,	O
not	O
just	O
a	O
64×16	O
portion	O
of	O
the	O
80×25	O
screen	O
)	O
with	O
an	O
improved	O
font	O
set	O
(	O
adding	O
"	O
gray	O
scale	O
"	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
TRS-80	B-Device
mozaik	O
graphics	O
and	O
many	O
special	O
PETSCII	B-Protocol
like	O
characters	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
more	O
flexible	O
and	O
reliable	O
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
controller	O
and	O
keyboard	O
interface	O
plus	O
many	O
other	O
small	O
improvements	O
)	O
,	O
also	O
an	O
enclosure	O
was	O
developed	O
for	O
the	O
main	O
computer	O
system	O
,	O
(	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
a	O
19-inch	B-Application
rack	I-Application
for	O
the	O
Eurocards	O
)	O
and	O
for	O
two	O
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
drives	I-Device
and	O
the	O
power	O
supply	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
software	O
engineer	O
was	O
hired	O
to	O
write	O
the	O
special	O
"	O
dual	O
boot	O
mode	O
"	O
BIOS	O
and	O
the	O
special	O
CP/M	B-Application
BIOS	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
"	O
dual	O
boot	O
mode	O
"	O
BIOS	O
actually	O
discovered	O
whether	O
a	O
TRS-DOS	B-Operating_System
,	O
or	O
Aster	O
CP/M	B-Application
disk	O
was	O
placed	O
in	O
the	O
drive	O
,	O
and	O
would	O
,	O
depending	O
on	O
the	O
type	O
of	O
disk	O
,	O
reorganise	O
the	O
internal	O
memory	O
architecture	O
of	O
the	O
system	O
,	O
to	O
either	O
be	O
100%	O
TRS-80	B-Device
compatible	O
or	O
optimally	O
support	O
CP/M	B-Application
,	O
with	O
as	O
much	O
"	O
workspace	O
"	O
as	O
possible	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
80×25	O
video	O
mode	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
the	O
Aster	O
having	O
been	O
a	O
few	O
years	O
on	O
the	O
Market	O
Tandy	O
released	O
its	O
own	O
improved	O
model	O
,	O
the	O
TRS-80	B-Device
Model	O
III	O
computer	O
which	O
solved	O
many	O
of	O
the	O
same	O
problems	O
that	O
the	O
Aster	O
also	O
had	O
solved	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
model	O
3	O
still	O
did	O
not	O
fully	O
support	O
CP/M	B-Application
as	O
the	O
Aster	O
did	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
meantime	O
IBM	O
had	O
released	O
its	O
original	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
,	O
which	O
incidentally	O
looked	O
remarkably	O
like	O
the	O
Asters	O
base	O
with	O
floppy	B-Device
drives	I-Device
+	O
separate	O
keyboard	O
set-up	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Aster	O
was	O
chosen	O
for	O
Dutch	O
schools	O
by	O
the	O
Dutch	O
ministry	O
of	O
education	O
,	O
in	O
a	O
set-up	O
with	O
eight	O
disk-less	O
Asters	O
,	O
and	O
one	O
Aster	O
with	O
high-capacity	B-Device
floppy	I-Device
drives	O
all	O
connected	O
by	O
a	O
LAN	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
Aster	O
's	O
high-speed	O
serial	O
port	O
hardware	O
,	O
and	O
special	O
cables	O
that	O
permitted	O
that	O
any	O
single	O
computer	O
on	O
the	O
LAN	O
could	O
broadcast	O
to	O
all	O
other	O
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
floppy	B-Device
based	O
system	O
was	O
operated	O
by	O
the	O
teacher	O
who	O
could	O
send	O
programs	O
from	O
his	O
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
,	O
and	O
data	O
,	O
to	O
the	O
student	O
's	O
disk-less	O
systems	O
thanks	O
to	O
the	O
special	O
BIOS	O
in	O
those	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
of	O
cash	O
flow	O
problems	O
(	O
resulting	O
from	O
growing	O
too	O
fast	O
,	O
insufficient	O
financial	O
backing	O
,	O
technical	O
problems	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
sudden	O
problem	O
with	O
Z80	B-General_Concept
processor	O
deliveries	O
)	O
the	O
company	O
suddenly	O
folded	O
even	O
before	O
it	O
came	O
to	O
full	O
fruition	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Perhaps	O
the	O
Aster	O
computer	O
inspired	O
another	O
Dutch	O
computer	O
firm	O
to	O
name	O
their	O
computer	O
after	O
another	O
typical	O
Dutch	O
flowerthe	O
Tulip	O
's	O
Tulip	B-Device
System-1	I-Device
which	O
appeared	O
about	O
the	O
same	O
time	O
Aster	O
folded	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
of	O
the	O
engineers	O
who	O
designed	O
the	O
hardware	O
and	O
software	O
of	O
the	O
Aster	O
went	O
on	O
to	O
design	O
hardware	O
and	O
software	O
for	O
the	O
(	O
then	O
new	O
)	O
MSX	B-Operating_System
system	O
for	O
a	O
company	O
called	O
"	O
Micro	O
Technology	O
b.v.	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
enhance	O
and	O
modernize	O
the	O
Aster	B-Device
CT-80	I-Device
the	O
company	O
also	O
designed	O
three	O
alternative	O
video	O
display	O
adapters	O
to	O
supplement	O
or	O
replace	O
the	O
TRS-80	B-Device
compatible	O
video	O
card	O
,	O
(	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
modular	O
nature	O
of	O
the	O
Aster	O
it	O
was	O
simply	O
a	O
matter	O
of	O
changing	O
the	O
video	O
card	O
,	O
and/or	O
CPU	O
card	O
to	O
upgrade	O
the	O
system	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
very	O
High	O
resolution	O
monochrome	O
video	O
card	O
with	O
blitter	B-General_Concept
and	O
hardware	O
text	O
line	O
and	O
arc	O
drawing	O
capability	O
,	O
was	O
designed	O
for	O
CAD	B-Application
applications	O
,	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
NEC	B-Device
μPD7220	I-Device
chip	O
designed	O
for	O
graphic	O
terminals	O
,	O
but	O
was	O
also	O
used	O
by	O
some	O
personal	B-Device
computers	I-Device
like	O
the	O
DEC	O
Rainbow	O
,	O
and	O
notably	O
also	O
for	O
the	O
Tulip	O
System	O
I	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
colour	O
video	O
card	O
with	O
sprite	O
capability	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
same	O
video	O
chip	O
(	O
the	O
TMS9918	B-Architecture
)	O
as	O
the	O
TI-99/4	B-Device
and	O
MSX	B-Operating_System
computers	O
,	O
designed	O
for	O
gaming	O
,	O
and	O
more	O
creative	O
and	O
colorful	O
educational	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
replacement	O
card	O
for	O
the	O
original	O
TRS-80	B-Device
compatible	O
video	O
card	O
,	O
software	O
compatible	O
to	O
the	O
original	O
one	O
,	O
but	O
with	O
added	O
color	O
and	O
very	O
high	O
resolution	O
capabilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Based	O
on	O
a	O
newer	O
,	O
slightly	O
more	O
flexible	O
,	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
Asters	O
original	O
Motorola	B-General_Concept
MC6845	I-General_Concept
video	O
chip	O
,	O
the	O
Rockwell	O
6545	O
,	O
it	O
worked	O
by	O
adding	O
a	O
new	O
video	O
mode	O
,	O
one	O
with	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
reprogram	O
an	O
extended	O
,	O
(	O
2048	O
characters	O
instead	O
of	O
256	O
characters	O
)	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
character	B-General_Concept
set	I-General_Concept
,	O
supported	O
by	O
an	O
extended	O
character	O
memory	O
of	O
the	O
video	O
card	O
that	O
did	O
not	O
use	O
one	O
(	O
8	O
bit	O
)	O
byte	O
per	O
character	O
,	O
but	O
an	O
11	O
bit	O
"	O
word	O
"	O
,	O
so	O
it	O
could	O
address	O
each	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
available	O
2048	O
unique	O
programmable	O
characters	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
filling	O
the	O
character	O
pointer	O
memory	O
with	O
values	O
from	O
zero	O
to	O
1999	O
this	O
essentially	O
turned	O
the	O
text	O
mode	O
display	O
into	O
a	O
very	O
high	O
resolution	O
graphics	O
mode	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
"	O
font	O
memory	O
"	O
,	O
acting	O
as	O
the	O
high	O
resolution	O
Raster	B-Algorithm
graphics	I-Algorithm
video	O
memory	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
"	O
double	O
width	O
"	O
mode	O
of	O
the	O
TRS-80	B-Device
was	O
also	O
supported	O
,	O
so	O
256	O
x	O
192	O
pixels	O
(	O
in	O
32x16	O
character	O
mode	O
)	O
,	O
or	O
320	O
x	O
300	O
pixels	O
(	O
in	O
40x25	O
character	O
mode	O
)	O
were	O
also	O
possible	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
video	O
card	O
also	O
supported	O
16	O
foreground	O
and	O
16	O
background	O
colors	O
per	O
character	O
,	O
by	O
providing	O
one	O
byte	O
per	O
character	O
position	O
(	O
2K	O
)	O
of	O
"	O
color	O
ram	B-Architecture
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
nibble	O
of	O
such	O
a	O
byte	O
then	O
controlled	O
the	O
foreground	O
color	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
other	O
nibble	O
controlled	O
the	O
background	O
color	O
,	O
a	O
system	O
very	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
ZX	B-Operating_System
Spectrum	I-Operating_System
,	O
in	O
fact	O
in	O
the	O
256x192	O
mode	O
the	O
display	O
mode	O
was	O
virtually	O
identical	O
to	O
the	O
video	O
of	O
the	O
ZX	B-Operating_System
Spectrum	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
color	O
memory	O
was	O
also	O
available	O
in	O
the	O
"	O
normal	O
"	O
TRS-80	B-Device
and	O
CP/M	B-Application
text	O
modes	O
,	O
which	O
meant	O
that	O
existing	O
TRS-80	B-Device
and	O
CP/M	B-Application
software	O
could	O
be	O
easily	O
modified	O
to	O
add	O
color	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
hard	O
disk	O
interface	O
was	O
also	O
in	O
the	O
works	O
,	O
which	O
would	O
,	O
add	O
a	O
SCSI	B-Architecture
interface	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
necessary	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
the	O
software	O
front	O
,	O
work	O
was	O
being	O
done	O
to	O
implement	O
the	O
replacement	O
for	O
the	O
aging	O
"	O
user	O
interface	O
"	O
of	O
CP/M	B-Application
,	O
(	O
the	O
Command	O
Console	O
Processor	O
CCP	O
)	O
with	O
the	O
more	O
modern	O
ZCPR	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Finally	O
a	O
replacement	O
for	O
the	O
aging	O
Z80	B-General_Concept
processor	O
was	O
being	O
developed	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
an	O
Intel	B-General_Concept
8086	I-General_Concept
board	O
,	O
and	O
additional	O
512K	O
16	O
bit	O
memory	O
boards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Such	O
replacements	O
of	O
CPU	O
and	O
memory	O
system	O
components	O
were	O
possible	O
because	O
the	O
Aster	B-Device
CT-80	I-Device
was	O
designed	O
to	O
use	O
a	O
backplane	B-Architecture
that	O
was	O
designed	O
to	O
support	O
both	O
8	O
and	O
16	O
bit	O
processors	O
,	O
and	O
used	O
a	O
modular	O
Eurocard	O
based	O
design	O
with	O
slots	O
to	O
spare	O
for	O
expansion	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
theory	O
the	O
system	O
could	O
support	O
the	O
Z80	B-General_Concept
and	O
the	O
8086	B-General_Concept
simultaneously	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Plans	O
were	O
formulated	O
to	O
support	O
CP/M	B-Application
-86	O
and	O
even	O
MS-DOS	O
.	O
</s>
