Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ukma!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!ECNCDC.BITNET!MSER001
From: MSER001@ECNCDC.BITNET
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple
Subject: Basis 108...ugh!
Message-ID: <8902092043.aa05633@SMOKE.BRL.MIL>
Date: 10 Feb 89 00:42:00 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 30

For those that have never heard of a Basis 108...you probably dont want
to look at one..pretty ugly!  They have a cast iron case, weigh in at
a lively 25lbs or more..kludged up hardware..slow keyboard..no cpm card,
but z80 build into the main logic board(still like motherboard better!),
along with a 6502.  80 columns simular to Apples 80 column card, but
sort of kludged onto the mother board.

It was the first machine to steal Apple ROMS from software.  It used a pascal
program to take some stuff off the pascal directory of the old 3.2 Boot disk.

I dont know if they ever got in trouble for it like franklin( but franklin
had a chance to pay apple under the table for the roms..per machine, but
choose not too..to bad, would have been cheaper for them!), but should have!

Keyboard...slowest keyboard I have ever seen!  Have to pound the sucker to
get anything out of it!

It was fun to play around with, memory i/o to turn on z80 and back to 6502.
So..you could write some 6502 code...soft switch the z80 in gear..and have
a small amount of z80 code..not quite that easy...

Also came with 128k...not bad for the time, since apple was still producing
the 64k Apple II+.  But...a normal user couldnt use the extra memory.
The Basis Rep( I think he was owner or part owner..?) had the nerve to say
that Apple Stole the 80column card concept from them!

Ahh..what goes on when people are starting up.  ( I think that apple and
basis came out with the 80col card around the same time..close to it).

I have great Franklin stories..and basis stories..must be a war pup eh?