The Card That Made the Apple II Serious
Key takeaways
- The Videx Video Term was the 80-column card that turned the Apple II into a business machine.
- This part covers the Videx Video Term’s hardware architecture, the MC6845 CRTC, and why slot 3 is architecturally special.
- In 1977, the Apple II shipped with 40 columns of text.
The Videx Video Term was the 80-column card that turned the Apple II into a business machine. Emulating it on an FPGA means reverse-engineering a 1981 MC6845 CRTC design and understanding why slot 3 is unlike every other slot in the machine.
Part 1 of 2. This part covers the Videx Video Term’s hardware architecture, the MC6845 CRTC, and why slot 3 is architecturally special. Part 2 covers the rendering pipeline, C8 ownership, and the Pascal boot hang.
In 1977, the Apple II shipped with 40 columns of text. That was fine for BASIC programs and games. It was not fine for WordStar, VisiCalc, or the CP/M business software that was reshaping the industry. A serious word processor needed 80 columns. A spreadsheet with real data needed 80 columns. Anyone who wanted to use an Apple II for actual work needed 80 columns.