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/* Informations */
The machine has a Z80 CPU running at 4 MHz,[2] 64 kB or 128 kB of RAM and 48 kB of ROM containing the EXOS operating system and BASIC. The case is unique for its time, at least in the UK, for containing both a full-sized membrane keyboard with programmable function keys and a joystick. Its overall shape was also notably distinctive compared to the more conservative designs of the time, the designers stating that they wanted break away from the norm although this did tend to polarise opinions in the computing press.
The machine was specifically engineered for games, with display resolutions up to 672×512 pixels and up to 256 colours per pixel, one byte per pixel being particularly easy to program, though full colour capabilities were limited to its 180×80 80×180 pixel mode. Sound was 4 channels, stereo. Coprocessors for graphics and sound take some of the workload off the central processor, called "Nick" and "Dave" respectively, named after their designers: Nick Toop, who had previously worked on the Acorn Atom, and Dave Woodfield.
The machine came with a surprising array of connectors, far beyond what was common on home computers of the time. There is an RGB output, RS232/RS432 serial port, a Centronics printer port, two external joystick ports, two cassette interfaces, a ROM cartridge slot and an ordinary expansion port. To save money, however, the connectors on the rear did not come with sockets but instead had simple edge connectors using the exposed traces on the edge of the printed circuit board.
