SAGE Computer Technology
Encyclopedia
SAGE Computer Technology was a computer company based in Reno, Nevada
, United States
.
Founded in 1981 by Rod Coleman, Bill Bonham and Bob Needham; it went through several name changes. The change from Sage computer came about when "Sage Software" in Maryland
demanded the cease of using the name Sage in the computer segment.
Managed multitasking with 6 serial ports in real time with 1 MByte of RAM in 1983. Used by scientists and engineers for more than ten years when it was popular. "running over 10 years with zero admin, and maybe even zero reboot." "13 times faster than the Apple II
" (when introduced).
Sage IV were used for the development
of the Amiga
prototype computer system "Lorraine". The Sage system got the nickname "Agony".
Access was through a serial video terminals. Graphics capability was possible with the addition of a 3rd-party colour graphics system from Robinson Systems which plugged directly into the Sage 68000 bus and provided output compatible with a range of colour monitors (e.g. Cotron Sword, Electrohome 1301).
The included operating system was the UCSD p-System
. Many other operating systems were available including CP/M
-68K, Idris, PDOS, HyperFORTH Plus, BOS, TRIPOS, Mirage, and MOSYS. Programming languages available included Pascal, Modula-2, C, FORTRAN77, BASIC, 68000 macro assembler, APL, LISP and Forth.
The MC68000 CPU were introduced in 1979 by Motorola
.
bus was used.
device that Wilbur and Rod came up with one afternoon in about 1983. It works by putting a special reflective pencil behind your ear and a quadrature detector that track its movement. The point was to be able to use the keyboard while you used the mouse cursor. It had a RS-232
C interface and cost $400 USD.
Apple Inc. were presented with a prototype but the project it was intended for got canceled.
Reno, Nevada
Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Founded in 1981 by Rod Coleman, Bill Bonham and Bob Needham; it went through several name changes. The change from Sage computer came about when "Sage Software" in Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
demanded the cease of using the name Sage in the computer segment.
- SAGE Computer Technology
-
- - created the Sage II and Sage IV computers based on the Motorola 68000Motorola 68000The Motorola 68000 is a 16/32-bit CISC microprocessor core designed and marketed by Freescale Semiconductor...
microprocessor.- SAGE Computer
- Stride Micro
- MicroSage Computer Systems (a wholly owned subsidiary, 1987)
- - created the Stride 420, Stride 440, Stride 460 (VMEVMEbusVMEbus is a computer bus standard, originally developed for the Motorola 68000 line of CPUs, but later widely used for many applications and standardized by the IEC as ANSI/IEEE 1014-1987. It is physically based on Eurocard sizes, mechanicals and connectors , but uses its own signalling system,...
), Stride 660 and Stride 740 computers.
- - created the Sage II and Sage IV computers based on the Motorola 68000
SAGE IV
Released in 1983. Hardware:- Board0: CPU: MC68000Motorola 68000The Motorola 68000 is a 16/32-bit CISC microprocessor core designed and marketed by Freescale Semiconductor...
@ 8 MHz, 2× serial RS-232 ports 19.2 kbps, Parallel input/output (PIO) for printers, GPIBIEEE-488IEEE-488 is a short-range digital communications bus specification. It was created for use with automated test equipment in the late 1960s, and is still in use for that purpose. IEEE-488 was created as HP-IB , and is commonly called GPIB...
, Floppy disc controllerFloppy disk controllerA floppy disk controller is a special-purpose chip and associated disk controller circuitry that directs and controls reading from and writing to a computer's floppy disk drive . This article contains concepts common to FDCs based on the NEC µPD765 and Intel 8072A or 82072A and their descendants,...
, 512 KByte DRAMDynamic random access memoryDynamic random-access memory is a type of random-access memory that stores each bit of data in a separate capacitor within an integrated circuit. The capacitor can be either charged or discharged; these two states are taken to represent the two values of a bit, conventionally called 0 and 1...
. Same as in SAGE II. - Board1: 4× serial RS-232 ports 19.2 kbit/s, Hard disk controller, 512 KByte DRAMDynamic random access memoryDynamic random-access memory is a type of random-access memory that stores each bit of data in a separate capacitor within an integrated circuit. The capacitor can be either charged or discharged; these two states are taken to represent the two values of a bit, conventionally called 0 and 1...
. - Memory consist of 64 Kbit 150 ns memory modules. Parity errorRAM parityRAM parity checking is the storing of a redundant parity bit representing the parity of a small amount of computer data stored in random access memory, and the subsequent comparison of the stored and the computed parity to detect whether a data error has occurred.The parity bit was originally...
protected setup. - Minimum system memory is 256 KByte.
- Storage: 1× 5¼" 800 KByte F.D. drive. 1× 5 - 40 MByte Winchester harddisk.
- Built-in multi-user BIOSBIOSIn IBM PC compatible computers, the basic input/output system , also known as the System BIOS or ROM BIOS , is a de facto standard defining a firmware interface....
.
- Introduced in November 1982
- Price: 3600 USDUnited States dollarThe United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
(for the single-floppy entry-level configuration)
Managed multitasking with 6 serial ports in real time with 1 MByte of RAM in 1983. Used by scientists and engineers for more than ten years when it was popular. "running over 10 years with zero admin, and maybe even zero reboot." "13 times faster than the Apple II
Apple II series
The Apple II series is a set of 8-bit home computers, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977 with the original Apple II...
" (when introduced).
Sage IV were used for the development
History of the Amiga
The following history of the Amiga documents the development and commercial history of the Amiga, a home computer product line manufactured from the middle 1980s up to today.- Amiga Corporation :...
of the Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
prototype computer system "Lorraine". The Sage system got the nickname "Agony".
Access was through a serial video terminals. Graphics capability was possible with the addition of a 3rd-party colour graphics system from Robinson Systems which plugged directly into the Sage 68000 bus and provided output compatible with a range of colour monitors (e.g. Cotron Sword, Electrohome 1301).
The included operating system was the UCSD p-System
UCSD Pascal
UCSD Pascal was a Pascal programming language system that ran on the UCSD p-System, a portable, highly machine-independent operating system. UCSD Pascal was first released in 1978...
. Many other operating systems were available including CP/M
CP/M
CP/M was a mass-market operating system created for Intel 8080/85 based microcomputers by Gary Kildall of Digital Research, Inc...
-68K, Idris, PDOS, HyperFORTH Plus, BOS, TRIPOS, Mirage, and MOSYS. Programming languages available included Pascal, Modula-2, C, FORTRAN77, BASIC, 68000 macro assembler, APL, LISP and Forth.
The MC68000 CPU were introduced in 1979 by Motorola
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
.
System bus
An "m68k" bus was used up to the Stride series of computers (Sage VI). Later a VMEVMEbus
VMEbus is a computer bus standard, originally developed for the Motorola 68000 line of CPUs, but later widely used for many applications and standardized by the IEC as ANSI/IEEE 1014-1987. It is physically based on Eurocard sizes, mechanicals and connectors , but uses its own signalling system,...
bus was used.
NOD
NOD is a head-motion operated mouseMouse (computing)
In computing, a mouse is a pointing device that functions by detecting two-dimensional motion relative to its supporting surface. Physically, a mouse consists of an object held under one of the user's hands, with one or more buttons...
device that Wilbur and Rod came up with one afternoon in about 1983. It works by putting a special reflective pencil behind your ear and a quadrature detector that track its movement. The point was to be able to use the keyboard while you used the mouse cursor. It had a RS-232
RS-232
In telecommunications, RS-232 is the traditional name for a series of standards for serial binary single-ended data and control signals connecting between a DTE and a DCE . It is commonly used in computer serial ports...
C interface and cost $400 USD.
Apple Inc. were presented with a prototype but the project it was intended for got canceled.