# DAI Personal Computer > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/DAI_Personal_Computer > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/DAI_Personal_Computer.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DAI_Personal_Computer > Source revision: 1347196802 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Home computer released in 1980}} {{Infobox information appliance | name = DAI Personal Computer | aka = | logo = | image = DAI Personal Computer.jpg | caption = | developer = | manufacturer = Data Applications International | family = | type = [Home computer](/source/Home_computer) | generation = | release_date = {{Start date|1980}} | lifespan = | price = 1300 € (France, november 1981) | discontinued = 1984 | units_sold = | units_shipped = | media = | os = DAI BASIC, Assembler | power = | system_on_chip = | cpu = [Intel 8080A](/source/Intel_8080) | memory = 48 kB | storage = | memory_card = Audio Cassette | display = [RF](/source/RF_modulator) out; 88 x 65, 176 x 130, 352 x 260, 528 x 240 [pixels](/source/pixels); 4 or 16 colors | graphics = [Thomson EF9369](/source/Thomson_EF9369) | sound = [AY-3-8910](/source/AY-3-8910) | input = | controllers = | camera = | touchpad = | connectivity = Parallel port, RGB video out, RS232c, DCE bus, cassette tape (600 bauds), stereo audio out | platform = | online_services = | dimensions = | weight = | top_game = | compatibility = | predecessor = | successor = | related = | website = | cpu_speed = 2 MHz }} The '''DAI personal computer'''{{Cite web |title=DAI INDATA |url=https://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?st=2&c=470 |access-date=2023-01-09 |website=www.old-computers.com}}{{Cite web |title=Indata DAI |url=http://www.homecomputer.de/pages/f_misc.html?Indata_DAI.html |access-date=2023-01-09 |website=HCM: The Home Computer Museum}}{{Cite journal |date=February 1981 |title=DAI Review |url=http://bruno.vivien.pagesperso-orange.fr/Download/DAI_Review_part.pdf |journal=[Practical Computing](/source/Practical_Computing) |pages=63}} is an early [home computer](/source/home_computer) from the [Belgian](/source/Belgium) company ''Data Applications International''.{{Cite web |title=DAI Personal Computer (1980) |url=https://www.retromobe.com/2020/05/dai-personal-computer-1980.html |access-date=2023-01-09 |website=Retromobe - retro mobile phones and other gadgets |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |title=DAI |url=https://www.1000bit.it/scheda.asp?id=32 |access-date=2023-01-09 |website=1000 BiT}}{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=umNJAQAAIAAJ&q=DAI+Personal+Computer |title=Electronics |date=1979 |publisher=McGraw-Hill Publishing Company |pages=68 |language=en}} The DAI came to market in 1980.{{Cite web |title=DAI |url=https://www.homecomputermuseum.nl/en/collectie/dai/dai/ |access-date=2023-08-15 |website=HomeComputerMuseum |language=en-US}} It provided many pioneering features such as high resolution color graphics, a maths co-processor, and a pre-compiling BASIC interpreter. However, it never became a commercial success.{{cite web|last=Hurel|first=Pierre-Yves|title=DAI in the French magazine “Tilt”: what a limited corpus tells|url=https://dai.hypotheses.org/1|website=Hypotheses}} Contemporary reviews noticed the lack of application packages, with the computer appealing more for programmers.{{Cite news |last=Eisenbach |first=Sue |date=October 1980 |title=DAI PERSONAL COMPUTER |url=https://archive.org/details/PersonalComputerWorld1980-10/page/72/mode/2up |work=[Personal Computer World](/source/Personal_Computer_World) |pages=72–76}} ==History== thumb|right|A later version of the DAI Personal Computer produced by InData. The computer was initially designed by DAI for the [UK](/source/United_Kingdom) subsidiary of [Texas Instruments](/source/Texas_Instruments) for use with the [PAL](/source/PAL) televisions used in Britain. Texas Instruments [US](/source/United_States) did not want to build a PAL version of their [TI-99/4A](/source/TI-99%2F4A) home computer, although they subsequently authorized one after they saw the DAI.{{Cite web |last=Kraan |first=F.J. |date=2012 |title=DAI origin |url=https://fjkraan.home.xs4all.nl/comp/dai/insideInfo.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924064107/https://fjkraan.home.xs4all.nl/comp/dai/insideInfo.html |archive-date=2020-09-24 |access-date=2023-01-09 |website=Webpagina van F.J. Kraan}} The Dutch educational TV broadcast company [Teleac](/source/Teleac_(broadcaster)) wanted to use the DAI to teach computing, some years before the [BBC](/source/BBC)'s similar initiative using the [BBC Micro](/source/BBC_Micro).{{cite book |title=Hacking Europe: From Computer Cultures to Demoscenes |date=2014-09-30 |publisher=Springer |page=30 |isbn=9781447154938 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z8RsBAAAQBAJ&q=%22teleac%22+microprocessors+course&pg=PA30 |accessdate=29 April 2020}} However, they chose the [Exidy Sorcerer](/source/Exidy_Sorcerer) instead, because the DAI was not completely ready.{{Cite web |date=2011-11-21 |title=INDATA's DAI |url=http://www.computer-museum.nl/dai.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111121021313/http://www.computer-museum.nl/dai.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2011-11-21 |access-date=2025-02-23 |website=Computer-museum - ode aan de 8 bitters |language=dutch}} In France the machine sold for €1300 by November 1981, €1365 by November 1982 and €1021 by September 1983. The machine was also used to create graphics for TV programs in the early 1980s.{{Cite book |last=Mikulic |first=Tomislav |url=http://tomislavmikulic.com/PDF/4-TM-1981-DAI.pdf |title=DAI Personal Computer 1981-1988 Low resolution graphics and animation |year=2015}} After DAI filed for bankruptcy in 1982, InData (a Prodata spin-off) continued producing and selling the machine up to 1984. ==Main technical specifications== The DAI was based on a very early 8-bit [microprocessor](/source/microprocessor), the [Intel](/source/Intel) [8080 A](/source/Intel_8080), a CPU that was more advanced than the prior [8008](/source/Intel_8008). It contained on a [single printed circuit board](/source/single-board_computer) all the needed circuitry, some 120 individual [ICs](/source/integrated_circuit). The futuristic-looking white enclosure also held a high quality keyboard, which was uncommon for the time. As a [computer display](/source/computer_display), any [TV](/source/Television) could be used. The DAI could display text and high resolution color pictures and contained a memory controller that enabled it to use up to {{nowrap|48 KB}} of [DRAM](/source/DRAM). This memory was divided in three {{nowrap|16 KB}} regions (memory banks) that could contain either {{nowrap|4 KB}} or {{nowrap|16 KB}} memory chips. By using memory map switching, a total of {{nowrap|72 KB}} of memory was addressable. The DAI also had five programmable interval 64μs - 16ms interval timers that could generate interrupts. The built-in interrupt handler chip could also handle two external interrupt inputs and the interrupts of two serial [RS232](/source/RS-232) UARTS. The DAI featured a DAI/Indata [DCE parallel I/O bus](/source/DCEbus) for parallel high speed I/O. The DAI also had 3 sound generators and 1 noise generator ([AY-3-8910](/source/General_Instrument_AY-3-8910) sound chip), and was capable of generating stereo sound. Graphics capabilities with {{nowrap|48 KB}} RAM installed allowed up to 528 x 240 pixels in 4 out of 16 color palette in 4 successive blobs, leaving {{nowrap|16 KB}} programming space. The graphics modes were controlled by a device called ''Programmable Graphics Generator'' ([Thomson EF9369](/source/Thomson_EF936x) graphics chip), implementing several techniques: * decoupling physical [scan line](/source/scan_line)s from the 'logical' lines. The repeat count of physical scan lines could be 0 to 15 per line (Due to interlacing a physical scan was two pixels high), * configurable horizontal resolution per line, * using [indexed colors](/source/Indexed_color), * limit modifying the color palette to one color per line. In 4 color mode, per logical line one foreground and one background color could be selected, so each line element or logical pixel could be represented by one bit. In 16 color mode, the [color palette](/source/Palette_(computing)) was inherited from the previous line. Only one of the four usable colors could be changed. These graphical limitations were handled by [BASIC](/source/BASIC) "so the user didn't notice his feet were tied together". BASIC allowed only the whole screen in one mode, but [poking](/source/PEEK_and_POKE) directly in memory allowed mixed resolution lines. The whole PGG was implemented with two [PROMs](/source/Programmable_ROM) and standard [TTL](/source/Transistor%E2%80%93transistor_logic) logic. The scheme predated the [Amiga](/source/Amiga) [HAM mode](/source/Hold-And-Modify) by half a decade. The [BASIC](/source/BASIC) interpreter was remarkably fast for the time because it pre-[compiled](/source/compiled_language) to an internal [byte-code](/source/byte-code), unlike the [Microsoft BASIC](/source/Microsoft_BASIC) interpreter which most other systems of the time used. DAI variables could be up to 14 characters long. The internal byte code used pointers to a variable look up table at the bottom of the code, which made the code extremely compact, despite long variable names. This technique was rare (only other known examples are the [ABC 80](/source/ABC_80) and [BK-0010](/source/BK-0010)), and is remarkably similar to that now used for Java. To enhance the mathematical abilities of BASIC, (and assembler programs) an [AMD](/source/AMD) [AM9511](/source/AM9511) [floating point co-processor](/source/Floating_point_unit) (compatible with the [Intel 8231](/source/Intel_8231%2F8232)) could be added. The first working example was produced in less than 3 months, by 3 people, one of whom was taping up the circuit board layout. All {{nowrap|64 KB}} of assembler was the work of one man David Collier, and all the hardware design the work of another David, [David Lockey](/source/David_Lockey). The original decision to use the 8080A 1 MHz processor (already in use by DAI on other products) was forced by the timescale, which itself was dictated by a desire to show the machine to a TI USA board meeting. In the end, only a flight on a Concorde got the machine there on time. However, the slow CPU dictated a huge amount of work on the pre-compiling BASIC and the option for hardware-assisted floating point which might not have been required if the newer Z80 had been chosen. The decision to design the PC to use any old off-the shelf [cassette tape recorder](/source/cassette_deck) made the load and save speeds slow. The need to keep the end-user cost down dictated the need for extra complexity to output a TV signal capable of working with a domestic TV. When Texas Instruments finally did put the 99/4 onto the European market a few months later, it was initially sold only in a pair with an American [NTSC](/source/NTSC) TV because it could not drive European PAL and [SECAM](/source/SECAM) sets. ==Further technical details== * [CPU](/source/Central_processing_unit): [Intel 8080A](/source/Intel_8080) at 2 MHz * Memory: a maximum of {{nowrap|48 KB}} dynamic RAM, {{nowrap|24 KB}} [ROM](/source/Read-only_memory) and 256 Bytes of static RAM (stack RAM) * Keyboard: 56 Keys * Video: [EF9369](/source/Thomson_EF936x),{{Cite web |last=VIVIEN |first=Bruno |date=2023 |title=Liens vers la documentation technique du DAI Indata |url=https://filedn.eu/l8fxcG16N8iQwXfMASdK9c4/DAI/doctechnique.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203143632/https://filedn.eu/l8fxcG16N8iQwXfMASdK9c4/DAI/doctechnique.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-date=December 3, 2023 |access-date=2024-12-30 |website=Paradai - DAI computer, émulation, MAME, réparation, repair, appareils de mesure, électronique et bricolages divers}} [PAL](/source/PAL) compatible [UHF](/source/Ultra_high_frequency) CH 36 color-TV (antenna) output signal with audio ** Text mode: 60 characters × 24 lines (66 characters per line supported) ** Graphics modes: Low - 88 x 65 pixels; Medium - 176 x 130 pixels; High - {{nowrap|352 x 260}} pixels; Very high - {{nowrap|528 x 240}} [pixel](/source/pixel)s (non-square) ** available colors: 4 or 16 colors (16 color mode was actually 4 color palette) * Sound generation: 3 frequency generators + 1 noise generator (General Instrument [AY-3-8910](/source/General_Instrument_AY-3-8910)?) * Game controllers: 2 input interfaces for paddles or [joysticks](/source/joysticks) (DIY). Each can control three 0-5V inputs and a switch. * Storage: 2 separate audio-cassette interfaces, using a cable for data INPUT/OUTPUT and START/STOP switch, (600 [Baud](/source/Baud)) * Alternative main storage systems: **Memocom MDCR-D, Mini Digital Cassette Recorder (which used Philips [minicassette](/source/minicassette)s) **Two 5.25 inch floppy disk drives, 2 x 180K (which enabled the use of [CP/M](/source/CP%2FM)). * Compatible with optional [card rack](/source/Computer_bus), the ("[DAI Real World Card System](/source/DCEbus)"), control system. * I/O Connectors:thumb|InData DAI computer rear I/O connectors ** Serial port [RS-232](/source/RS-232), [DB-25](/source/D-subminiature) female. ** 2 audio-cassette ports, 2 x 6 pin DIN female. ** Parallel port [DCE-Bus](/source/DCEbus), DAI proprietary 3 x 8 bit parallel port, 36 pin DIL male. ** 2 [Paddle](/source/Paddle_(game_controller)) interfaces, 2 x 6 pin [DIN](/source/DIN_connector) female. ** Stereo audio output, 6 pin DIN female. ** UHF video and audio output, [RCA (cinch)](/source/RCA_connector) female. ** AC power input, with voltage selector 220-110 volt, figure 8 shape AC power 2 pins male. * System software: **a [machine code monitor](/source/machine_code_monitor) with the following commands: ***LOOK ***DISPLAY ***GO ***FILL ***SUBSTITUTE ***MOVE ***EXAMINE ***EXAMINE REGISTERS ***VECTOR EXAMINE ***VECTOR EXAMINE BYTES ***READ ***WRITE ** a built in [DAI BASIC](/source/DAI_BASIC) [interpreter](/source/interpreter_(computing)). * the system was also supported with an 8080-[Assembler](/source/Assembly_language). * miscellaneous: a true [random number generator](/source/random_number_generator) implemented in hardware. ==DAI the company== '''Data Applications International''' (DAI) was a company from the end of the 1970s to the early 1980s based at Dreve de Renards 6, Brussels that was specialized in creating "Real World Cards", computer peripheral cards based on their own proprietary [DCEbus](/source/DCEbus), which in essence consists of three groups of eight I/O lines (coming from an [Intel 8255](/source/Intel_8255)) . These were [Eurocard](/source/Eurocard_(printed_circuit_board)) compatible cards in a [19-inch rack](/source/19-inch_rack). Most cards were also based on a single [Intel 8255](/source/Intel_8255) chip. Around 1977 they designed the DAI Personal Computer. On May 6, 1982 the company went bankrupt.{{Cite web |last=Kraan |first=F.J. |date=2020 |title=DAI |url=https://fjkraan.home.xs4all.nl/comp/dai/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220129020531/https://fjkraan.home.xs4all.nl/comp/dai/ |archive-date=2022-01-29 |access-date=2023-01-09 |website=Yet another computer museum}} The Indata company continued manufacturing DAI computer until 1984. ==Video games== There are six known commercially released games for DAI Personal Computer.{{Cite web |title=DAI PC |url=https://www.arcade-history.com/index.php?page=database&listtypes=757&position=1&pirate=0&demo=0&export=1&reissue=1&mamed=1&nongame=0 |access-date=2025-02-23 |website=Gaming-History - The coin-op and global gaming database}} {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="width:50%; font-size:95%;" id="softwarelist" !rowspan="1"|Title !rowspan="1"|Release year !colspan="1"|Publisher |- |Chasse Sous-marine |198? |Data Applications International |- |Daylaxians |1983 |Dialog Informatique |- |De Acrobaten |198? |Data Applications International |- |Jeu de Morpion |198? |Data Applications International |- |Le Chateau des Sortileges |198? |Data Applications International |- |Mensch Ärgere Dich Nicht |1982 |Sigg, M. |} ==References== {{reflist}} == See also == {{Commons category|DAI Personal Computer}} * [TI99/4A](/source/TI-99%2F4A) * [BBC Micro](/source/BBC_Micro) * [Exidy Sorcerer](/source/Exidy_Sorcerer) Category:Home computers Category:Z80-based home computers Category:TI-99/4A Category:Computer-related introductions in 1980 --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [DAI Personal Computer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DAI_Personal_Computer) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DAI_Personal_Computer?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.