.jpg) An Exidy Sorcerer | |
| Manufacturer | Exidy |
|---|---|
| Type | Home computer |
| Release date | 28 April, 1978 |
| Lifespan | 1978–1980 |
| Introductory price | US$895 (equivalent to $4,200 in 2023) |
| CPU | Zilog Z80 @ 2.106 MHz |
| Memory | Mk I: up to 32 KB on-board RAM Mk II: up to 48 KB on-board RAM |
| Display | 64 × 30 character display, monochrome |
| Sound | none (external additions possible) |
| Connectivity | composite video, Centronics parallel, RS-232, sound in/out for cassette use, 50-pin ribbon connector including the S-100 bus |
| Related | Tulip |
The Sorcerer is a home computer system released in 1978 by the video game company Exidy, of Sunnyvale, California, and later marketed as a small business computer system under their Exidy Systems subsidiary.[1] Based on the Zilog Z80 and the general layout of the emerging S-100 standard, the Sorcerer was comparatively advanced when released, and especially when compared to the contemporary and more commercially successful Commodore PET and TRS-80. Sorcerer sales worldwide, of around 20,000 units, is comparable to the TRS-80 model II, both targetting Small or Home Business Computer users. The overall concept originated with Paul Terrell, formerly of the Byte Shop, a pioneering computer store. Coincidentally, the TRS-80 model I was designed by Steve Leininger, a former Byte Shop employee.
Lacking financial investment from its parent company, which was focused on the coin-operated arcade game market, and which, unlike Apple, did not wish to seek venture capital, the Sorcerer was sold primarily through international distributors and technology licensing agreements. Distribution agreements were made with Dick Smith Electronics in Australia and Liveport in the UK, as well as with Compudata in the Netherlands, which included a manufacturing license to build, market and distribute the Sorcerer in Europe. Compudata developed the design into the Tulip line of computers in Europe. The Sorcerer remains relatively unknown outside these markets.
After a deal with Recortec (makers of the TRS-80 clone, called variously "Video Genie" or "PMC-80") fell through in August 1980, Exidy Systems was sold to a Wall Street venture capital firm, Biotech, in summer 1981, which sold it on to Dynasty Computer Corp., Texas, in February, 1982. Dynasty made minor updates and re-branded it as the "Dynasty smart-ALEC".
- ^ Staff writer (March 30, 1981). "Exidy Forms Subsidiary Company". InfoWorld. 3 (6). CW Communications: 3 – via Google Books.