<s>
The	O
Z-100	B-Device
computer	I-Device
is	O
a	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
made	O
by	O
Zenith	O
Data	O
Systems	O
(	O
ZDS	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
a	O
competitor	O
to	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Zenith	O
Data	O
Systems	O
Z-100	B-Device
is	O
a	O
pre-assembled	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
Heathkit	B-Device
H100	I-Device
electronic	O
kit	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
same	O
family	O
,	O
the	O
Z-120	O
is	O
an	O
all-in-one	O
model	O
with	O
self-contained	O
monitor	B-Device
,	O
and	O
the	O
Z-110	B-Device
(	O
called	O
the	O
low	O
profile	O
model	O
)	O
is	O
similar	O
in	O
size	O
to	O
the	O
cabinet	O
of	O
an	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dual	O
processors	O
:	O
8085	B-General_Concept
and	O
8088	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Available	O
with	O
CP/M	B-Application
and	O
Z-DOS	B-Operating_System
(	O
non-IBM	O
compatible	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
variant	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Five	O
S-100	B-Architecture
expansion	O
slots	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Two	O
320	O
KB	O
40-track	O
double-sided	O
5.25-inch	O
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
drives	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Socket	O
enabled	O
direct	O
plug-in	O
of	O
external	O
8-inch	O
floppies	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
2×	O
serial	O
ports	O
(	O
2661	O
UART	O
)	O
,	O
one	O
Centronics	B-Device
printer	I-Device
port	I-Device
(	O
discrete	O
TTL	O
chips	O
)	O
,	O
light	B-Device
pen	I-Device
port	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Base	O
128	O
KB	O
RAM	O
,	O
expandable	O
to	O
192	O
KB	O
on	O
board	O
,	O
to	O
768	O
KB	O
with	O
S-100	B-Architecture
cards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Z-100	B-Device
is	O
partially	O
compatible	O
with	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
,	O
using	O
standard	O
floppy	B-Device
drives	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
runs	O
a	O
non-IBM	O
version	O
of	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
,	O
so	O
generic	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
programs	O
run	O
,	O
but	O
most	O
commercial	O
PC	O
software	O
use	O
IBM	B-Operating_System
BIOS	I-Operating_System
extensions	O
and	O
do	O
not	O
run	O
,	O
including	O
Lotus	B-Application
1-2-3	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
companies	O
offered	O
software	O
or	O
hardware	O
solutions	O
to	O
permit	O
unmodified	O
PC	O
programs	O
to	O
work	O
on	O
the	O
Z-100	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Z-100	B-Device
has	O
unusually	O
good	O
graphics	O
for	O
its	O
era	O
,	O
superior	O
to	O
the	O
contemporary	O
CGA	B-Device
(	O
640×200	O
monochrome	O
bitmap	O
or	O
320×200	O
4-color	O
)	O
,	O
IBM	B-Device
Monochrome	I-Device
Display	I-Device
Adapter	I-Device
(	O
MDA	B-Device
)	O
(	O
80×25	O
monochrome	O
text-only	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
with	O
8	O
colors	O
or	O
grayscales	O
available	O
at	O
a	O
lower	O
resolution	O
than	O
the	O
Hercules	B-Device
Graphics	I-Device
Card	I-Device
(	O
720×348	O
monochrome	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Early	O
versions	O
of	O
AutoCAD	B-Algorithm
were	O
released	O
for	O
the	O
Z-100	B-Device
because	O
of	O
these	O
advanced	O
graphics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Aftermarket	O
vendors	O
also	O
released	O
modifications	O
to	O
upgrade	O
mainboard	O
memory	O
and	O
permit	O
installation	O
of	O
an	O
Intel	B-Device
8087	I-Device
math	O
coprocessor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1983	O
,	O
Clarkson	O
College	O
of	O
Technology	O
(	O
now	O
Clarkson	O
University	O
)	O
became	O
the	O
first	O
college	O
in	O
the	O
nation	O
to	O
give	O
each	O
incoming	O
freshman	O
a	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
model	O
issued	O
to	O
them	O
was	O
the	O
Z-100	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1986	O
,	O
the	O
US	O
Air	O
Force	O
awarded	O
Zenith	O
Data	O
Systems	O
a	O
$242	O
million	O
contract	O
for	O
90,000	O
Z-100	B-Device
desktop	O
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Jerry	O
Pournelle	O
in	O
1983	O
praised	O
the	O
Z-100	B-Device
'	O
s	O
keyboard	O
,	O
and	O
wrote	O
that	O
it	O
"	O
had	O
the	O
best	O
color	O
graphics	O
I	O
've	O
seen	O
on	O
a	O
small	O
machine	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
forced	O
to	O
buy	O
a	O
real	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
because	O
of	O
the	O
Z-100	B-Device
and	O
other	O
computers	O
 '	O
incomplete	O
PC	O
compatibility	O
,	O
he	O
reported	O
in	O
December	O
1983	O
that	O
a	O
friend	O
who	O
was	O
inexperienced	O
with	O
electronic	O
kits	O
was	O
able	O
to	O
assemble	O
a	O
H100	O
in	O
a	O
day	O
,	O
with	O
only	O
the	O
disk	B-General_Concept
controller	I-General_Concept
needing	O
soldering	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Skier	O
concluded	O
that	O
those	O
who	O
"	O
want	O
a	O
well-designed	O
,	O
well-built	O
,	O
well-documented	O
system	O
that	O
runs	O
the	O
best	O
of	O
8-bit	O
and	O
16-bit	O
worlds	O
"	O
should	O
"	O
consider	O
the	O
Zenith	B-Device
Z-100	I-Device
"	O
.	O
</s>
