<s>
The	O
Newbear	B-Device
77-68	I-Device
was	O
a	O
kit	O
of	O
parts	O
from	O
which	O
a	O
purchaser	O
could	O
construct	O
a	O
first	O
generation	O
home	O
computer	O
based	O
around	O
a	O
Motorola	B-Device
6800	I-Device
microprocessor	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
it	O
was	O
designed	O
to	O
be	O
assembled	O
by	O
its	O
owner	O
at	O
home	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
also	O
a	O
homebuilt	B-Device
computer	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Newbear	B-Device
77-68	I-Device
was	O
both	O
a	O
home	O
computer	O
and	O
a	O
homebuilt	B-Device
computer	I-Device
,	O
since	O
it	O
was	O
designed	O
to	O
not	O
only	O
be	O
used	O
at	O
home	O
(	O
hence	O
a	O
home	O
computer	O
)	O
,	O
but	O
also	O
be	O
assembled	O
at	O
home	O
by	O
its	O
owner	O
(	O
hence	O
a	O
homebuilt	B-Device
computer	I-Device
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
basic	O
77-68	O
comprised	O
an	O
8-inch	O
square	O
printed	O
circuit	O
board	O
accommodating	O
the	O
microprocessor	B-Architecture
,	O
Static	B-Architecture
RAM	I-Architecture
of	O
256	O
8	O
bit	O
words	O
and	O
the	O
bare	O
essentials	O
in	O
terms	O
of	O
input/output	O
and	O
timing	O
logic	O
to	O
make	O
a	O
working	O
computer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
microprocessor	B-Architecture
's	O
operation	O
suspended	O
in	O
"	O
HALT	O
"	O
mode	O
,	O
memory	O
words	O
could	O
be	O
accessed	O
and	O
their	O
contents	O
observed	O
in	O
binary	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Once	O
a	O
complete	O
program	O
had	O
been	O
"	O
toggled	O
in	O
"	O
using	O
this	O
method	O
,	O
the	O
"	O
HALT	O
"	O
condition	O
could	O
be	O
removed	O
using	O
another	O
switch	O
and	O
the	O
microprocessor	B-Architecture
would	O
look	O
for	O
an	O
address	O
at	O
which	O
to	O
start	O
executing	O
the	O
program	O
in	O
the	O
last	O
two	O
words	O
of	O
the	O
address	O
space	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
technique	O
,	O
called	O
Direct	B-General_Concept
Memory	I-General_Concept
Access	I-General_Concept
was	O
typical	O
for	O
many	O
early	O
computers	O
using	O
volatile	B-General_Concept
memory	I-General_Concept
that	O
did	O
not	O
retain	O
its	O
contents	O
when	O
the	O
power	O
was	O
switched	O
off	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Even	O
early	O
mainframe	B-Architecture
computers	I-Architecture
required	O
their	O
operators	O
to	O
"	O
toggle	O
"	O
or	O
"	O
dial	O
"	O
in	O
a	O
bootstrap	B-Operating_System
program	I-Operating_System
by	O
hand	O
to	O
get	O
things	O
going	O
on	O
power-up	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Expanded	O
with	O
additional	O
memory	O
,	O
the	O
77-68	O
was	O
quite	O
capable	O
of	O
running	O
software	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
TSC	O
BASIC	O
interpreter	O
and	O
users	O
wrote	O
software	O
that	O
offered	O
a	O
wide	O
range	O
of	O
applications	O
at	O
a	O
time	O
when	O
even	O
word	B-General_Concept
processors	I-General_Concept
were	O
a	O
novelty	O
and	O
spreadsheets	B-Application
were	O
largely	O
unknown	O
.	O
</s>
