History of video games/Platforms/FM Towns
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![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ad/Expo85_fujitu.jpg/220px-Expo85_fujitu.jpg)
The Fujitsu pavilion at Expo 85.
![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/22/Intel_80386_DX_die.JPG/220px-Intel_80386_DX_die.JPG)
The die of an Intel 80386DX processor, similar to the one used in the FM Towns.
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The FM Towns
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Two models of the FM Towns II.
History
[edit | edit source]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ad/Expo85_fujitu.jpg/220px-Expo85_fujitu.jpg)
The FM Towns was a Fujitsu computer that excelled at gaming and released in Japan in February 1989 for 338,000 yen.[1][2]
The Towns part of the name is said to be a reference to Charles Hard Townes, who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1964.[2][3] As Charles Hard Townes invented the laser[4] , the name is perhaps appropriate for the CD-ROM based computer, which uses a laser to read optical media.
Technology
[edit | edit source]Compute
[edit | edit source]The FM Towns is powered by a 32 bit Intel 80386dx processor clocked at 16 megahertz, with a 80387 coprocessor.[2]
The FM Towns contained between 1 and 6 megabytes of RAM depending on the configuration.[1]
Hardware
[edit | edit source]The FM Towns contained a built in CD-ROM drive standard.[1]
Software
[edit | edit source]The FM Towns ran the custom Towns OS made by Fujitsu.[1]
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ a b c d "FM TOWNS (1989) - Fujitsu Global". www.fujitsu.com. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ↑ a b c "OLD-COMPUTERS.COM : The Museum". www.old-computers.com. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ↑ "Charles H. Townes Facts". Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ↑ "Nobel laureate and laser inventor Charles Townes dies at 99". Retrieved 25 November 2020.