Mark 1
The Mark I is a computer hardware platform in production by Sei Computing. It features a wide variety of software and realistic, immersive operation.
Origins
The Mark I was first spawned in December 2011 by Nelson Jenkins with assistance from Will Szymborska. The idea of an individual-character display was thrown around for years, but wasn't technically feasible until recently due to newer LSL functions and mesh construction possibilities. Adel Button assisted by designing the character display object, which was scripted in only a few hours late at night. The first design ever displayed on the Mark I display was a grey dialog box for SeiOS on a green background with a drop shadow, listing off the names of the primary developers (Nelson, Adel, and Will). The casing and peripherals were made in the following weeks, along with the core of SeiOS.
Hardware
The Mark I's hardware is as follows (system calls):
- 480-character 16-color display w/ multi-tile sprite support & 8-layer underlay
- 256-color mode available with high-color display driver available with some programs
- 22 kB hard disk
- 22 kB hot-swappable floppy disk drive
- 10 MHz optimum processor clock rate
- 256 kB of RAM
- Dual 9-pin serial ports
- 87-key keyboard with direct (gesture) and indirect (touch) input support
Additionally, add-on components provide the following hardware:
- 60 cps / 60 dpi dot-matrix printer
- Dual 40 kB floppy disk drives + dual 40 kB hard disk "databox" external drive
- 14.4 kbit/s modem compatible with TCP/IP (internet) and SFP (Sei File Protocol)
The DS/200 Server also provides a 40 kB hard disk and 40 kB floppy disk drive for network use.
Software
There are three types of software supported by the Mark I:
- SeiOS system software
- Provides core functionality of the SeiOS system
- Cannot be modified or removed, except by System Core Upgrade Disk (SCUD)
- Does not take up space on disk
- SeiOS programs
- Installable by the user (or pre-installed) using a Program Installer Disk (PID)
- Direct access to system components and large memory use
- Cannot be created by users/developers (except maybe by certified developers in the future)
- Does not take up space on disk
- SeiBASIC programs
- Run directly from hard disk or File Storage Disk (FSD)
- Limited/slower access to system through SeiBASIC functions
- Can be created and distributed by users/developers
- Low memory use
- Takes up space on disk
