<s>
The	O
Stratos	B-Device
was	O
a	O
Z80-based	O
microcomputer	B-Architecture
introduced	O
by	O
Symbiotic	O
Systems	O
,	O
Inc.	O
,	O
in	O
1981	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Stratos	B-Device
was	O
designed	O
by	O
Stewart	O
Earnest	O
and	O
Ray	O
McKaig	O
of	O
Symbiotic	O
Systems	O
,	O
Inc.	O
,	O
a	O
company	O
originally	O
based	O
out	O
of	O
Woodland	O
,	O
California	O
,	O
and	O
later	O
relocated	O
to	O
Santa	O
Cruz	O
,	O
California	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Symbiotic	B-Device
Systems	I-Device
previously	O
released	O
the	O
Syncron	O
8	O
,	O
a	O
S-100	B-Architecture
bus	I-Architecture
–	O
based	O
computer	O
running	O
the	O
Intel	B-General_Concept
8080	I-General_Concept
microprocessor	O
and	O
featuring	O
a	O
backplane	O
motherboard	O
with	O
twenty	O
card	O
slots	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
8080	B-General_Concept
is	O
housed	O
on	O
a	O
card	O
that	O
features	O
PROMs	O
,	O
one	O
of	O
which	O
has	O
a	O
bootstrap	O
loader	O
allowing	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
load	O
software	O
via	O
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
or	O
data	O
cassette	O
,	O
while	O
the	O
other	O
has	O
a	O
512-KB	O
PROM	B-General_Concept
flashable	O
by	O
the	O
user	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Syncron	O
8	O
can	O
take	O
up	O
to	O
12KB	O
of	O
RAM	B-Architecture
and	O
has	O
a	O
keyboard	O
interface	O
allowing	O
users	O
to	O
directly	O
interact	O
with	O
the	O
computer	O
without	O
the	O
need	O
for	O
a	O
terminal	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
television	O
could	O
be	O
used	O
as	O
a	O
display	O
for	O
the	O
computer	O
with	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
a	O
composite	B-Protocol
cable	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Stratos	B-Device
by	O
contrast	O
is	O
a	O
general-purpose	O
,	O
turnkey	O
,	O
single-board	B-Device
computer	I-Device
,	O
built	O
from	O
a	O
six-layer	O
printed	O
circuit	O
board	O
and	O
powered	O
by	O
a	O
Zilog	B-General_Concept
Z80	I-General_Concept
microprocessor	O
clocked	O
at	O
4MHz	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
computer	O
comes	O
with	O
64KB	O
of	O
conventional	O
RAM	B-Architecture
and	O
16KB	O
of	O
additional	O
RAM	B-Architecture
,	O
the	O
latter	O
programmable	O
as	O
either	O
disk-cache	B-General_Concept
memory	O
,	O
as	O
conventional	O
memory	O
(	O
as	O
the	O
zero	B-Operating_System
page	I-Operating_System
in	I-Operating_System
CP/M	I-Operating_System
)	O
,	O
as	O
video	O
memory	O
,	O
or	O
as	O
a	O
RAM	B-Application
disk	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
computer	O
also	O
comes	O
with	O
a	O
2-KB	O
EPROM	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
computer	O
's	O
BIOS	B-Operating_System
chip	I-Operating_System
was	O
custom	O
written	O
by	O
Symbiotic	B-Device
Systems	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
included	O
software	O
package	O
comprises	O
CP/M	B-Application
version	O
2.2	O
,	O
the	O
Spellbinder	O
word	O
processor	O
,	O
either	O
CBASIC	B-Language
or	O
a	O
Pascal	B-Application
compiler	O
,	O
Reminder	O
,	O
Autophone	O
,	O
a	O
personal	O
financing	O
application	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
medley	O
of	O
bespoke	O
programs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Autophone	O
is	O
an	O
auto-dialer/answering	O
utility	O
that	O
can	O
issue	O
DTMF	O
signals	O
or	O
pulses	O
through	O
a	O
telephone	O
line	O
to	O
automatically	O
(	O
and	O
repeatedly	O
,	O
if	O
desired	O
)	O
place	O
phone	O
calls	O
;	O
it	O
can	O
also	O
automatically	O
answer	O
incoming	O
calls	O
if	O
it	O
detects	O
one	O
on	O
the	O
line	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
of	O
the	O
Stratos	B-Device
 '	O
bespoke	O
programs	O
is	O
Font	O
,	O
a	O
bitmapped	O
font	O
editor	O
that	O
can	O
redefine	O
any	O
of	O
the	O
256	O
memory-mapped	O
8-by-9-matrix	O
characters	O
of	O
the	O
on-screen	O
font	O
to	O
any	O
shape	O
,	O
either	O
with	O
a	O
keyboard	O
or	O
with	O
an	O
optional	O
light	B-Device
pen	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Stratos	B-Device
was	O
optioned	O
with	O
either	O
one	O
or	O
more	O
5.25-inch	O
or	O
8-inch	B-Device
floppy	I-Device
disk	O
drives	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
can	O
address	O
up	O
to	O
5MB	O
of	O
floppy	B-Device
storage	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Stratos	B-Device
was	O
released	O
in	O
September	O
1981	O
for	O
at	O
least	O
$6350	O
;	O
the	O
price	O
was	O
higher	O
depending	O
on	O
the	O
configuration	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
computer	O
was	O
previously	O
previewed	O
at	O
the	O
6th	O
West	O
Coast	O
Computer	O
Faire	O
in	O
June	O
1981	O
,	O
where	O
Marlin	O
Ouverson	O
,	O
editor	O
of	O
Dr.	O
Dobb	O
's	O
Journal	O
,	O
wrote	O
that	O
its	O
real-time	O
clock	O
and	O
16KB	O
of	O
programmable	O
RAM	B-Architecture
"	O
set	O
it	O
apart	O
from	O
other	O
CP/M	B-Application
compatible	O
systems	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
computer	O
saw	O
modest	O
industrial	O
use	O
,	O
with	O
a	O
real	O
estate	O
company	O
in	O
Santa	O
Cruz	O
using	O
it	O
to	O
generate	O
income	O
analysis	O
reports	O
of	O
their	O
clientele	O
,	O
while	O
a	O
book	O
publisher	O
and	O
printing	O
broker	O
out	O
of	O
San	O
Francisco	O
used	O
the	O
Stratos	B-Device
to	O
compose	O
and	O
design	O
brochures	O
.	O
</s>
