<s>
MicroBee	B-Device
(	O
or	O
Micro	B-Device
Bee	I-Device
)	O
was	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
networkable	O
home	O
computers	O
by	O
Applied	O
Technology	O
,	O
which	O
became	O
publicly	O
listed	O
company	O
MicroBee	B-Device
Systems	O
Limited	O
soon	O
after	O
its	O
release	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
original	O
Microbee	B-Device
computer	O
was	O
designed	O
in	O
Australia	O
by	O
a	O
team	O
including	O
Owen	O
Hill	O
and	O
Matthew	O
Starr	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
MicroBee	B-Device
's	O
most	O
distinctive	O
features	O
are	O
its	O
user	O
configurable	O
video	O
display	O
(	O
capable	O
of	O
mimicking	O
the	O
displays	O
of	O
other	O
computers	O
and	O
devices	O
including	O
the	O
TRS-80	O
,	O
Sorcerer	O
and	O
SOL20	O
with	O
later	O
colour	O
and	O
graphic	O
models	O
40	O
and	O
80	O
column	O
terminals	O
,	O
Super-80	O
,	O
ZX	B-Operating_System
Spectrum	I-Operating_System
,	O
early	O
arcade	O
machines	O
,	O
Amstrad	O
CPC	O
464	O
)	O
and	O
its	O
battery	O
backed	O
non-volatile	O
RAM	B-Architecture
and	O
small	O
size	O
allowing	O
it	O
to	O
be	O
powered	O
off	O
,	O
transported	O
,	O
and	O
powered	O
back	O
on	O
and	O
resume	O
activities	O
on	O
the	O
currently	O
loaded	O
program	O
or	O
document	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
drive	I-Device
unit	O
and	O
S-100	O
Bus	O
expansion	O
unit	O
were	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
connected	O
to	O
a	O
microbee	B-Device
by	O
a	O
50	O
way	O
ribbon	O
cable	O
to	O
the	O
System	O
Expansion	O
port	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
microbee	B-Device
had	O
two	O
networking	O
options	O
-	O
BeeNet	O
and	O
StarNet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
BeeNet	O
was	O
a	O
low	O
cost	O
low	O
speed	O
LAN	O
(	O
Local	O
Area	O
Network	O
)	O
for	O
16-32K	O
ROM	B-Device
Models	O
and	O
the	O
StarNet	O
was	O
for	O
the	O
64K	O
and	O
larger	O
DRAM	O
models	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
microbee	B-Device
was	O
the	O
integration	O
,	O
simplification	O
and	O
modernisation	O
of	O
the	O
following	O
S-100	O
cards	O
sold	O
by	O
Applied	O
Technology	O
,	O
Microworld	O
BASIC	O
and	O
DGOS	O
Monitor	O
for	O
their	O
System	O
Z.A.T.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
removal	O
of	O
the	O
S-100	O
bus	O
support	O
and	O
configuration	O
hardware	O
and	O
some	O
other	O
features	O
made	O
the	O
microbee	B-Device
much	O
simpler	O
and	O
cheaper	O
than	O
its	O
ancestors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
utilisation	O
of	O
higher	O
density	O
memory	O
devices	O
made	O
also	O
the	O
microbee	B-Device
smaller	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
HM6116	O
(	O
2K	O
x	O
8	O
bit	O
)	O
were	O
instead	O
of	O
the	O
earlier	O
2101	O
(	O
1K	O
x	O
1bit	O
)	O
and	O
2114	O
(	O
1K	O
x	O
4bit	O
)	O
static	B-Architecture
RAMS	I-Architecture
and	O
2732	O
(	O
4K	O
x	O
8	O
bit	O
)	O
ROMs	O
instead	O
of	O
2516	O
(	O
2K	O
x	O
8	O
)	O
ROMs	O
as	O
program	O
ROM	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Subsequent	O
models	O
used	O
the	O
even	O
denser	O
HM6264	O
(	O
8K	O
x	O
8	O
bit	O
)	O
static	B-Architecture
RAMs	I-Architecture
,	O
4164	O
(	O
64K	O
x	O
1	O
bit	O
)	O
dynamic	O
RAM	B-Architecture
and	O
27128	O
(	O
16K	O
x	O
8	O
bit	O
)	O
2764	O
(	O
8K	O
x	O
8	O
)	O
program	O
ROMs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
ROM	B-Device
held	O
the	O
MicroWorld	O
BASIC	O
interpreter	O
written	O
by	O
Matthew	O
Starr	O
and	O
DGOS	O
(	O
David	O
Griffiths	O
Operating	O
System	O
)	O
compatible	O
System	O
Monitor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
to	O
the	O
there	O
is	O
additional	O
ROM	B-Device
socket	O
for	O
optional	O
programs	O
such	O
as	O
WORDBEE	O
(	O
Word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
)	O
or	O
EDASM	O
(	O
a	O
Z80	B-General_Concept
Editor/Assembler	O
that	O
was	O
written	O
by	O
Ron	O
Harris	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Original	O
MicroBees	B-Device
ran	O
at	O
a	O
clock	O
speed	O
of	O
,	O
with	O
a	O
video	O
dot	O
clock	O
of	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
sufficient	O
to	O
display	O
(	O
)	O
on	O
a	O
modified	O
television	O
or	O
composite	O
monitor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
original	O
machines	O
were	O
supplied	O
with	O
of	O
static	B-Architecture
RAM	I-Architecture
,	O
and	O
stored	O
programs	O
on	O
cassette	B-Device
,	O
using	O
300	O
or	O
1200	O
Baud	O
encoding	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
also	O
included	O
a	O
"	O
Telcom	O
"	O
terminal	O
emulator	O
ROM	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
based	O
machine	O
was	O
also	O
released	O
in	O
1983	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Early	O
disk	O
machines	O
used	O
of	O
static	B-Architecture
RAM	I-Architecture
,	O
with	O
a	O
BIOS	B-Operating_System
ROM	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
ran	O
CP/M	B-Application
2.2	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
disk	B-General_Concept
controller	I-General_Concept
,	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
Western	O
Digital	O
WD1793	O
Floppy	B-Device
Disk	I-Device
Controller	I-Device
chip	O
was	O
contained	O
in	O
an	O
add-on	O
card	O
that	O
connected	O
to	O
the	O
core	O
board	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
machine	O
used	O
5.25	B-Device
"	I-Device
floppy	B-Device
disks	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dynamic	O
RAM	B-Architecture
disk	O
machines	O
with	O
followed	O
soon	O
after	O
,	O
with	O
a	O
WD2793	O
Floppy	B-Device
Disk	I-Device
Controller	I-Device
incorporated	O
on	O
the	O
core	O
board	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
added	O
a	O
second	O
byte	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
for	O
each	O
character	O
position	O
,	O
allowing	O
each	O
character	O
to	O
have	O
2	O
colours	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
background	O
colours	O
were	O
made	O
up	O
from	O
the	O
remaining	O
3	O
bits	O
of	O
the	O
colour	O
RAM	B-Architecture
byte	O
(	O
8	O
colours	O
)	O
and	O
another	O
3	O
bits	O
on	O
a	O
colour	O
control	O
port	O
that	O
controlled	O
the	O
RGB	O
background	O
intensity	O
level	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
later	O
colour	O
design	O
was	O
largely	O
compatible	O
with	O
the	O
Color	B-Device
Graphics	I-Device
Adapter	I-Device
used	O
on	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
where	O
4	O
bits	O
were	O
used	O
for	O
the	O
foreground	O
and	O
another	O
4	O
bits	O
for	O
the	O
background	O
colours	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
B-ETI	O
was	O
a	O
Microbee-based	O
serial	O
terminal	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
could	O
emulate	O
either	O
an	O
ADM-3A	B-Device
or	O
Televideo	O
912	O
terminal	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Emulation	O
:	O
ADM-3A	B-Device
and	O
TVI	O
912C	O
(	O
except	O
for	O
attributes	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microprocessor	O
:	O
Z80A	B-General_Concept
at	O
3.375MHz	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
new	O
mainboard	O
had	O
of	O
screen	O
RAM	B-Architecture
,	O
of	O
"	O
attribute	O
"	O
RAM	B-Architecture
(	O
raising	O
the	O
possible	O
number	O
of	O
PCG	O
characters	O
to	O
)	O
,	O
of	O
colour	O
RAM	B-Architecture
,	O
and	O
up	O
to	O
(	O
installed	O
)	O
of	O
PCG	O
RAM	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
PCG	O
RAM	B-Architecture
was	O
sufficient	O
to	O
allow	O
full	O
mapped	O
displays	O
with	O
a	O
limited	O
colour	O
palette	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Standard	O
MicroBee	B-Device
Tapes	O
are	O
encoded	O
at	O
using	O
its	O
own	O
variation	O
of	O
Processor	O
Technology	O
's	O
SOLOS/CUTER	O
Tape	O
protocol	O
that	O
consists	O
of	O
a	O
300	O
baud	O
metadata	O
header	O
followed	O
by	O
data	O
payload	O
blocks	O
encoded	O
at	O
the	O
desired	O
transfer	O
rate	O
using	O
CUTS	O
(	O
Computer	O
Users	O
Tape	O
System	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
software	O
converts	O
audio	O
data	O
into	O
Microbee	B-Device
files	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
few	O
books	O
were	O
written	O
about	O
the	O
Microbee	B-Device
,	O
including	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Games	O
for	O
the	O
MicroBee	B-Device
include	O
both	O
original	O
titles	O
and	O
clones	O
of	O
pre-existing	O
games	O
,	O
including	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
final	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
MicroBee	B-Device
,	O
released	O
in	O
1987	O
,	O
was	O
the	O
256TC	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
increased	O
the	O
memory	O
to	O
of	O
dynamic	O
RAM	B-Architecture
and	O
had	O
a	O
new	O
keyboard	O
with	O
numeric	O
keypad	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bundled	O
software	O
included	O
"	O
Videotex	B-Operating_System
"	O
(	O
a	O
videotex	B-Operating_System
terminal	O
program	O
)	O
,	O
"	O
Simply	O
Write	O
"	O
(	O
a	O
word	B-General_Concept
processor	I-General_Concept
)	O
and	O
"	O
Telcom	O
"	O
(	O
a	O
serial	O
terminal	O
emulator	O
program	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MicroBee	B-Device
Systems	O
also	O
designed	O
a	O
PC	O
clone	O
,	O
called	O
the	O
"	O
Matilda	O
"	O
,	O
or	O
640TC	O
,	O
which	O
ran	O
an	O
NEC	O
V40	O
(	O
see	O
NEC	B-Device
V20	I-Device
chip	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
emulated	O
the	O
MicroBee	B-Device
CP/M	B-Application
systems	O
in	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
advanced	O
next	O
generation	O
model	O
code	O
named	O
"	O
Gamma	O
"	O
,	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
Motorola	B-Device
68010	I-Device
and	O
two	O
Zilog	B-General_Concept
Z80	I-General_Concept
processors	O
,	O
was	O
designed	O
but	O
never	O
made	O
it	O
to	O
the	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
almost	O
20	O
years	O
,	O
the	O
Microbee	B-Device
brand	O
was	O
re-launched	O
in	O
2012	O
by	O
Microbee	B-Device
Technology	O
Pty	O
Ltd	O
,	O
run	O
by	O
a	O
Microbee	B-Device
employee	O
from	O
the	O
1980s	O
,	O
Ewan	O
Wordsworth	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
new	O
version	O
was	O
still	O
Z80-based	O
and	O
followed	O
the	O
original	O
two-board	O
design	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
had	O
dual-processor	O
architecture	O
,	O
with	O
some	O
enhancements	O
such	O
as	O
floppy	B-Device
emulation	O
of	O
the	O
SD	O
memory	O
card	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
'	O
80s	O
parody	O
movie	O
Kung	O
Fury	O
,	O
Hackerman	O
is	O
hacking	O
the	O
timeline	O
with	O
MicroBee	B-Device
computers	O
(	O
along	O
with	O
a	O
ZX	B-Operating_System
Spectrum	I-Operating_System
and	O
a	O
Power	B-General_Concept
Glove	I-General_Concept
)	O
and	O
Kung	O
Fury	O
himself	O
also	O
rides	O
in	O
the	O
cyberspace	O
on	O
a	O
MicroBee	B-Device
.	O
</s>
