Date   : Sat, 10 Oct 2009 21:34:16 +0100
From   : zeem.uk@... (Alex Taylor)
Subject: Electric Dreams last night.

2009/10/10 Rick Murray <rick@...>:

> Protectionism attempts may work if the
> spec or the software can sell the machine, but ultimately it is doomed
> to failure. Like that mostly-for-word-processing machine that only
> wanted odd little 3" discs (Amstrad CPC?)

Both the CPC and the PCW took 3" disks, although the later machines
took 3.5" ones. The PCW was the machine marketed as a word-processor.
As far as I'm aware, and it's certainly in keeping with Suralan's
mentality, the choice of the 3" drive was made because he could buy a
massive quantity of them at a very low price.

The PCW sold very well but often gets forgotten because it's extremely
appliance-like. It wasn't a 'failure' but was quietly dropped when
better things came along. Which was no big deal because unlike many of
the other computing platforms, it was never meant to be 'the next big
thing'. It was a CP/M box produced after the technology was already
considered obsolete, sold mostly to people who wanted something more
versatile than a typewriter.

> Or that one that only talked
> to certain specific printers.

I'm not sure which one you're referring to here, the PCW had a
'built-in' printer that saved cost by having no logic of its own,
being controlled entirely by the Z80 in the machine. This makes the
printers only usable on the PCW. There were a number of serial and
parallel upgrades available, and accompanying software upgrades to
make them work.

-- 
Alex Taylor