★ PEOPLES ★ THE PCW IS REBORN ★ |
| Amstrad's Secret PCWs! (New Computer Express) |
Express exclusive - Amstrad's new launches expected in September Amstrad is to launch two new PCWs, the 9512 Plus and the 9256. It is also to kill off the 8000 range of machines, the 8256 and 8512, Express can exclusively reveal. 3.5-INCH DRIVES Although few details are available as yet, a spokesman for Amstrad's public relations company, Michael Joyce Associates told Express: “The new machines are the 9512 Plus and the 9256. The main changes to the range will be that the 3-inch drives will be dropped in favour of Sony standard 3.5-inch drives manufactured by Citizen. There will also be a new styling". While final release dates for the machines have not been confirmed, it is expected that the Business Computing ‘91 Exhibition in September will be the venue for the launch. ONE ALREADY SIGHTED It is known the machines are well past the development stages, and are already in production awaiting final shipment early in 1992. One development machine has already been seen in the UK. The main change to the PCW, the addition of 3.5-inch disk drives, is not unexpected. The 3-inch floppy drives used in the older PCWs, and also used in the Amstrad CPC and Spectrum ranges, have been in short supply for well over a year. Far Eastern manufacturers have turned production lines over to the 3.5-inch versions which are commonly used in PCs, Macs, STs and Amigas. CP/M RETAINED In terms of software support, the cheap-to-licence CP/M operating system, seen by most people in the industry as archaic has been retained albeit in its latest version. This version is able to support both the new floppies, and hard drives. Prices for the new machines have not, as yet, been confirmed. Bundled software, according to the spokesman: "... will be LocoScript which will be loaded from disk'. YES, WE HAVE NO COMMENT Locomotive Software's technical director, Richard Clayton, offered a strong "No comment” on the possibility of a Locomotive/Amstrad collaboration on the new machines. “If Amstrad was launching new machines, and we were working on A spokesman for Michael Joyce Associates said: ‘The decision as to when to launch the machines has not been made. And, although this is unconfirmed, post-September looks likely”. IT'S GOODBYE TO THE 8000S So what is there in terms of the future, or lack of it, for the 8256 and 8512 PCWs the spokesman for Michael Joyce Associates told Express: "It looks as if the 8000 series is being dropped”.
New Computer Express
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