Amstrad PCW
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The Amstrad PCW series (Personal Computer Word processor) was British company Amstrad's versatile line of home/personal microcomputers pitched as a complete, integrated home/office solution.
Some models were also affectionately known as Joyce, especially in Germany; the name is that of a secretary of Alan Sugar, the founder of Amstrad, and was the codename of the machine while it was in development.
General features
The PCWs came as complete setups bundled with a full-size word processor keyboard, high resolution monochrome CRT monitor, printers of various types, floppy disk drive(s), LocoScript word processing software, and the CP/M operating system, including the Mallard BASIC dialect of the BASIC programming language.
The floppy disk drives on early models were the relatively obscure 3-inch 'compact floppy' format. Later models replaced these with standard 3½" 'microfloppy' drives.
The machines were built around the 8-bit Zilog Z80 processor, running at 4MHz, and managed the relatively large amount of RAM main memory using a technique known as bank switching (allowing access to more than the Z80's normal 16-bit address bus reach of 64KB). Although the PCWs were not at all designed as games machines, some games were in fact released for the platform, including such titles as Batman, Head Over Heels, and Bounder.
PCW models
- The PCW8256 or Joyce (1985) featured 256 kilobytes of RAM and one 3-inch single-sided floppy drive that could store 180 kilobytes on each side of the disk (the disk had to be turned over, "flipped", to access alternate sides). The 8256 had a green screen monitor.
- The PCW8512 or Joyce Plus (1985) came with 512KB RAM and two 3-inch floppy drives, the second of which could store 720KB on a double-density floppy without needing the disk to be turned over.
- The PCW9512 (1987) was supplied with a daisy wheel printer instead of the 9-pin dot matrix of the 8 series. It had a single 3-inch 720KB floppy drive, and a white-screen monochrome display. The visual appearance was significantly changed. It came with a parallel printer port as standard.
- The PcW9256 (1991) had a modern case design similar to the 9512, but had 256K RAM, a single 3½-inch 720K floppy drive, a dot-matrix printer, and no parallel port.
- The PcW9512+ (1991) upgraded the 9256 by offering 512K RAM and the choice of a daisywheel or Canon Bubblejet printer. The parallel port reappeared.
- The PcW10 (1993) was a 9256 with 512K RAM and a parallel port.
- The PcW16 (1996) was a radical departure from earlier machines. The Z80 CPU was retained, but ran at 16MHz. The system supported 1.44MB 3½-inch floppy disks, and came bundled with an entirely rewritten GUI software suite and a mouse. It did not, however, come with a printer, and nor did it run software designed for the earlier machines.
Market impact
The PCW series was extremely successful in addressing its particular market. These machines were not sold as general-purpose computers but rather as simple word processors. They were not bought in preference to a PC or an Amiga; but rather in preference to an electrical typewriter. The PCW screen displayed 32 lines with 90 characters each (256 lines of 720 pixels), so more text could appear on a single screen simultaneously than on the 80x25 layout used on other machines.
Despite this they were capable microcomputers which were used for database management, online services, spreadsheets, programming, and even graphics and desk top publishing. They introduced a generation of British writers to computers who might not have otherwise become involved with them.
External links
See also: Amstrad CPC
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