Portal R2E CCMC was a portable microcomputer designed and marketed by the Réalisation et Études électroniques department of the French firm R2E Micral,[1] and officially appeared in September 1980 at the Sicob show in Paris.[2][3] Osborne 1, the first commercially successful portable computer, was only released eight months later, on 3 April 1981.[4][5]
 | |
| Developer | François Gernelle |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | R2E Micral |
| Type | Portable computer |
| Release date | September 1980 |
| Discontinued | 1983 |
| Units sold | Hundreds |
| Operating system | Prologue, Basic Assembly Language (BAL) |
| CPU | Intel 8085 @ 2 MHz |
| Memory | 64 kB RAM |
| Removable storage | Floppy disk |
| Display | 32-character one-line screen |
| Power | 220-volt |
| Dimensions | 45 × 45 × 15 cm |
| Mass | 12 kg |
The machine was designed with a focus on payroll and accounting. Several hundred Portal computers were sold between 1980 and 1983.
Extremely rare, no museum has a Portal, and only two are in private collections.[6][7]
The company R2E Micral is also known to have designed "the earliest commercial, non-kit computer based on a microprocessor", the Micral N.[8] One of these machines was sold for 62,000 euros to Paul G. Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft (with Bill Gates), by the auctioneer Rouillac on June 11, 2017, for Allen's Seattle museum, Living Computers: Museum + Labs.[9][10][7]
Specifications edit
The Portal was based on an Intel 8085 processor, 8-bit, clocked at 2 MHz.[1][11]
It was equipped with 64 kB of main RAM, a keyboard with 58 alphanumeric keys and 11 numeric keys (in separate blocks), a LED 32-character one-line screen, a floppy disk (capacity - 140000 characters), a thermal printer (speed - 28 characters/second), an asynchronous channel, a synchronous channel, and a 220-volt power supply.[1][11]
It came with two operating systems: Prologue and Basic Assembly Language (BAL).[1]
Designed for an operating temperature of 15 °C to 35 °C, it weighed 12 kg and its dimensions were 45 × 45 × 15 cm.[1][11]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b c d e "Base de données - R2E Portal". System.cfg. 2018. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
- ^ "Portal au Sicob". blog.museeinformatique.fr. Archived from the original on 16 August 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
- ^ Lilen, Henri. la saga du micro-ordinateur.
- ^ "Pièce comptable Portal". Archived from the original on 16 August 2017.
- ^ Spector, Lincoln (31 May 2010). "A History of Portable Computing". PC World. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
- ^ Rouillac, Aymeric (21 August 2017). "Cet exemplaire en état de marche sera vendu aux enchères le 22 septembre 2017". Facebook.
- ^ a b "Vente aux enchères du Centre de Création Contemporaine Olivier Debré à Tours" (PDF). 21 August 2017.
- ^ "R2E Micral N". www.system-cfg.com. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
- ^ "The Micral N, the First Microcomputer, to be Sold at Auction in June". Life in France. 13 May 2017. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
- ^ "C'est maintenant officiel: Paul G.... - Aymeric Rouillac". Facebook.
- ^ a b c "Plaquette Portal". blog.museeinformatique.fr. Archived from the original on 16 August 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
Bibliography edit
François Gernelle, Portal designer
Sources edit
This article is derived partly from the page of old-computers.com and feb-patrimoine.com.