{{Short description|1977 computer model}} {{Infobox computer | name=Noval 760 | logo= | image=Noval 760 Byte advertisment June 1977 page 4 of 4 (cropped).jpg | caption=A Noval 760 in use | developer=Noval, Inc. (Gremlin Industries) | release_date={{start date and age|1977|06}} | discontinued={{end date and age|1979}} | cpu={{ubl|Intel 8080A|Zilog Z80 (later revision)}} | memory=16–32 KB of RAM | type=Home computer }} The '''Noval 760''' (also known as the '''Noval 760P'''<ref name=ncc />) was a home computer<ref name=kb />{{rp|7}} developed by '''Noval, Inc.''', a subsidiary of Gremlin Industries, in 1977. The Noval 760 sports a unique form factor, in which the computer is built into a wooden office desk, with the computer portion of the desk's top able to pivot in and out of view. The Noval 760 ran off an 8080A and features 16 KB of RAM stock, an editor/assembler in ROM, and a data tape drive. The computer sold poorly and was discontinued in 1979, after Sega had purchased Noval's parent company Gremlin.<ref name=sega>{{cite book | last=Horowitz | first=Ken | date=2018 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7qZhDwAAQBAJ | title=The Sega Arcade Revolution: A History in 62 Games | publisher=McFarland | page=33 | isbn=9781476631967 | via=Google Books}}</ref>
==Development and specifications== The Noval 760 was developed by Noval, Inc., a subsidiary of Gremlin Industries. Gremlin was at the time a successful coin-operated game company who had recently entered the video arcade game industry with a number of successful titles, including ''Blockade'' (1976).<ref name=sega /> Gremlin launched the Noval, Inc., subsidiary, in early 1977, in order to compete in the nascent microcomputer industry.<ref name=sega /><ref name=kb />{{rp|5}} They tasked James D. Nash (senior systems programmer),<ref>{{cite journal | last=Hauck | first=Lane T. | author2=James D. Nash | date=September 1977 | url=https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1977-09/page/n103/ | title=System Description: The Noval 760 | journal=Byte | publisher=Byte Publications | volume=2 | issue=9 | pages=102–108 | via=the Internet Archive}}</ref> Agoston "Ago" Kiss (VP and general manager), George Kiss (Ago's son and software manager), Lane Hauck (director of research and development) and Terry Sorenson (chief engineer) to develop the flagship Noval 760.<ref name=kb>{{cite journal | last=Craig | first=John | date=May 1978 | url=https://archive.org/details/kilobaudmagazine-1978-05/page/n5 | title=The Noval 760: Here It Comes! | journal=Kilobaud Microcomputing | publisher=1001001 | issue=17 | pages=6–7, 20–21 | via=the Internet Archive}}</ref>{{rp|20}}<ref name=sega />
Unique to the Noval 760 is its form factor, in which the computer is built into a rosewood office desk.<ref name=new /> The desk's top is split lengthwise down the middle, with the 12-in monitor,<ref name=new /> data tape drive, a built-in, 32-column printer, and control panel forming a monolithic assembly occupying the back half.<ref name=collectible /><ref name=sega /> The back computer half lifts into view via a pivot point and handle when the operator wants to use the computer, and lowers back into the desk when the operator wants to utilize the whole of the desk's top.<ref name=collectible /><ref name=pc>{{cite journal | date=March 1978 | url=https://archive.org/details/PersonalComputing197803/page/n85/ | title=Systems | journal=Personal Computing | publisher=Benwill Publishing | volume=II | issue=3 | page=88 | via=the Internet Archive}}</ref> Similarly, the computer's built-in keyboard slides in and out of the central drawer.<ref name=Gorner />
Otherwise, the Noval 760 originally ran off an Intel 8080A and features 16 KB of RAM (expandable to 32 KB), a built-in line editor and assembler in ROM, and 3K of programmable ROM. It also sports a proprietary digital data tape drive system, dubbed Phi-Deck,<ref name=collectible>{{cite book | last=Nadeau | first=Michael | date=2002 | page=97 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WXZNAAAACAAJ | title=Collectible Microcomputers | edition=Illustrated | series=Schiffer Book for Collectors | publisher=Schiffer Publishing | isbn=9780764316005 | via=Google Books}}</ref> that is software controlled.<ref name=new>{{cite journal | date=March 1978 | url=https://archive.org/details/Kilobaud197803/page/n7/ | title=New Noval 760 Computer | journal=Kilobaud Microcomputing | publisher=1001001 | issue=15 | page=8 | via=the Internet Archive}}</ref> The Noval 760 is capable of displaying graphics (in color on a separate external monitor) in 256 × 224 pixels and is capable of generating audio with a sound chip and internal speaker built into the desk chassis.<ref name=new />
The computer has eight I/O ports on the rear for external peripherals. Optional was an EPROM burner, a paper tape reader, a filmstrip viewer,<ref name=pc /> dual handheld keyboards for two-player video games,<ref name=pc /><ref name=kb />{{rp|7}} and BASIC on PROM or cassette.<ref name=pc />
As the computer was based on the same hardware as their arcade cabinets, the Noval 760 is capable of directly running Gremlin's arcade games, at least up to their 1978 roster. Noval also collaborated with the San Diego Unified School District to develop a number of educational software titles for grades 2 through 6.<ref name=kb />{{rp|7}} Although first announced in ''Byte'' magazine in June 1977, it took until mid-1978 for the computer to receive a wide release. Cited as a major difficulty in development was the company's choice of vendors for the actual desk itself—the hardware and software was mostly locked down by early 1977. Noval went through three furniture suppliers before they found an adequate supply of desks.<ref name=kb />{{rp|6}} In the meantime, the computer received a hardware refresh in early 1978: the 8080A replaced with the Zilog Z80, and the stock RAM was bumped up to the 32-KB ceiling.<ref name=new />
==Sales and reception== The Noval 760 was publicly unveiled at the inaugural Midwest Personal Computing Show in June 1977. The ''Chicago Tribune'' writer Peter Gorner wrote that it was the most visually striking computer unveiled at the event, finding that it "resembled a finely crafted stereo console".<ref name=Gorner>{{cite journal | last=Gorner | first=Peter | date=October 31, 1977 | url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-will-the-computer-age-co/138766519/ | title=Will the Computer Age come home to roost? | journal=Chicago Tribune | page=2.1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-will-the-computer-age-co/138766526/ 2.6] | via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Former ''Byte'' writer and computer collector Michael Nadeau wrote that the computer looked sharp but was conceptually flawed and destined to sell poorly: "How many people would be looking for a desk and a computer at the same time? And what happens when you wanted to upgrade to a new computer?"<ref name=collectible />
Indeed, the Noval 760 sold sluggishly and sporadically.<ref name=sega /> Besides the sales to San Diego Unified, Noval also sold the computer to a traffic school in San Diego.<ref name=ncc>{{cite book | date=1978 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dt_vAAAAMAAJ | title=Personal Computing Digest | publisher=National Computer Conference | page=56 | via=Google Books}}</ref> After Sega acquired Gremlin Industries, the company ended development of the computer and shuttered the Noval subsidiary. Noval 760 systems continued to be used internally within Gremlin as a development workstation for several years, however.<ref name=sega />
An intact Noval 760 still survives in the custody of the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California.<ref>{{cite web | last=Williams | first=Al | date=July 24, 2023 | url=https://hackaday.com/2023/07/24/retro-gadgets-the-real-desktop-computer/ | title=Retro Gadgets: The Real Desktop Computer | work=Hackaday | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230905180833/https://hackaday.com/2023/07/24/retro-gadgets-the-real-desktop-computer/ | archivedate=September 5, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | date=2008 | url=https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102692780 | title=Noval 760 computer in a desk (Catalog Number 102692780) | publisher=Computer History Museum | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725220721/https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102692780 | archivedate=July 25, 2020}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist|colwidth=30em}}
==External links== * [https://allincolorforaquarter.blogspot.com/2015/09/ History of Gremlin Industries and the Noval 760] by Keith Smith at ''The Golden Age Arcade Historian'', featuring interviews by key developers of the Noval 760
Category:Computer-related introductions in 1977 Category:Gremlin Industries Category:Home computers Category:Z80-based home computers