=== Pace serial interface (1986) ===
As a result, Amstrad dropped their original design and instead chose to remanufacture a [[PacePACE]] design. This included significantly improved hardware (a more compact interface and no external PSU) and vastly superior software.
The software was a ROM version of the [[Commstar]] terminal utility from [[HoneySoft]]. This was a user-friendly program with standard [[XModem]] file transfer functions. However, one foolish design decision was the idea of using a 24x80 screen with a single-line status display - though presenting a good user interface, this forced the use of software rather than hardware scrolling, making the interface unusable for terminal emulation at any speed above 2400 baud.