ql

QL

   <computer> (Quantum Leap) Sir {Clive Sinclair}'s first
   {Motorola 68008}-based {personal computer}, developed from
   around 1981 and released about 1983.  The QL ran Sinclair's
   {QDOS} {operating system} which was the first {multitasking}
   OS on a home computer, though few programmers used this
   feature.  It had a structured, extended {BASIC} and a suite of
   integrated {application programs} written by {Psion}.  It
   featured innovative "{microdrives}" which were random-access
   tape drives.  It was not a success.

   The microdrives were innovative but probably a mistake.
   Though reliable and quite quick, they sounded like they were
   going to jam and explode, releasing a shower of plastic
   shavings and tape into your face.

   The QL and QDOS only supported two graphics modes - ominously
   named high res and low res.  High res had four (fixed) colours
   at a resolution of 512 by 256 {pixels}.  Low res had 8 colours
   (black, blue, red, magenta, green, cyan, yellow, white) plus a
   flash mode with 256 by 256 pixels.  The sound was next to
   useless - single channel single oscillator with various
   parameters for fuzz, pitch change.  There was one internal
   {font}, scalable to 2 heights and 3 widths.

   Peripherals and enhancements included a {GUI} on a plug-in
   {ROM}, accelerator cards ({Motorola 68020}, 4 MB RAM), {floppy
   disks} and {hard disks}.

   In 1996 there is still some interest in the QL, spread by the
   Internet of course.  {Emulation} software, {source code}, "The
   QL Hackers Journal" and similar are still available, and many
   QLs are on the net.

   (http://imaginet.fr/~godefroy/english).

   (1996-08-01)
    

QL
       Query Language