Sprinter (computer)
Encyclopedia
The Sprinter is a microcomputer
made by Russian Peters Plus, Ltd.
; it is the last model of ZX Spectrum
being produced in a factory. It's built using what the company calls a "Flex architecture". This uses an Altera
PLD
as part of the core logic, allowing the machine's hardware to be reconfigured on the fly for several ZX-Spectrum models' compatibility or its own enhanced native mode (hardly used). This is comparable to the design of Jeri Ellsworth
's C-One
reprogrammable computer.
The Sprinter in one of its modes runs the Estex operating system
but mainly it works in many modes of the Sinclair ZX Spectrum
home computer
of the 1980s (with TR-DOS Spectrum system on-board).
Microcomputer
A microcomputer is a computer with a microprocessor as its central processing unit. They are physically small compared to mainframe and minicomputers...
made by Russian Peters Plus, Ltd.
Peters Plus, Ltd.
Peters Plus, Ltd. is a Russian company producing the Sprinter line of enhanced computers based on a clone of the Sinclair ZX Spectrum design. Earlier they also made the Peters MC64.-External links:* - dead link...
; it is the last model of ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
being produced in a factory. It's built using what the company calls a "Flex architecture". This uses an Altera
Altera
Altera Corporation is a Silicon Valley manufacturer of PLDs . The company offered its first programmable logic device in 1984. PLDs can be reprogrammed during the design cycle as well as in the field to perform multiple functions, and they support a fairly fast design process...
PLD
Programmable logic device
A programmable logic device or PLD is an electronic component used to build reconfigurable digital circuits. Unlike a logic gate, which has a fixed function, a PLD has an undefined function at the time of manufacture...
as part of the core logic, allowing the machine's hardware to be reconfigured on the fly for several ZX-Spectrum models' compatibility or its own enhanced native mode (hardly used). This is comparable to the design of Jeri Ellsworth
Jeri Ellsworth
Jeri Ellsworth is an American entrepreneur and self-taught computer chip designer. She is best known for creating a Commodore 64 emulator within a joystick, in 2004, called Commodore 30-in-1 Direct to TV...
's C-One
C-One
The C-One is a single-board computer designed by Jeri Ellsworth, a self-taught designer, and Jens Schönfeld from Individual Computers, who manufactured the boards themselves...
reprogrammable computer.
The Sprinter in one of its modes runs the Estex operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
but mainly it works in many modes of the Sinclair ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
home computer
Home computer
Home computers were a class of microcomputers entering the market in 1977, and becoming increasingly common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a single nontechnical user...
of the 1980s (with TR-DOS Spectrum system on-board).