• Tag Archives Japan

  • Seiko Matsuda for Sony HiT BiT HB-55 (1984)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    MSX is a standard computer architecture that was developed by Microsoft and ASCII. Despite Microsoft’s involvement, MSX was virtually unheard of in the U.S. Though there were a couple of MSX computers released here, they did not do well. However, in some markets they did very well, especially in Japan where 9 million MSX computers were sold.

    The original MSX standard called for a Zilog Z80A CPU running at 3.58 MHz, at least 8 KB of RAM (though most machines had 32 KB to 64 KB with some having up to 128 KB), a Texas Instruments TMS9918 video display processor, an AY-3-8910 sound chip and two cartridge ports among other features. Cassette and floppy drives were available but at least with the original MSX standard most software came on cartridge or cassette. MSX-DOS was the primary OS and it was similar to CP/M and early versions of MS-DOS, using the same file system for disks.

    The first MSX computers were released in 1983 and there were quite a large number of companies that released computers based on the MSX standard including Sony, Yamaha, Canon, Casio, Daewoo, Dragon Data, Fujitsu, GoldStar, Hitachi, JVC, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Philips, Pioneer, Sanyo, Samsung, Sharp, SpectraVideo, Toshiba, and others. Before the Famicom (A.K.A. the Nintendo Entertainment System) came along, the MSX was the primary platform for games in Japan. Many popular franchises got their start on the MSX including Bomberman, Metal Gear, Parodius, Aleste and others. Many other franchises saw releases on the MSX platform including Castlevania, Contra, Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, Gradius, R-Type, Wizardry, Xevious, Ys, and many others.

    The MSX standard was enhanced over the years with the MSX2, MSX2+ and MSX TurboR (which was originally to be the MSX3). The newer standards had newer built in software (e.g. newer versions of BASIC) and upgraded sound and video capabilities, larger amounts of standard RAM on average, and other upgrades. Only the TurboR had an upgraded CPU. It had an R800 running at 7.16 MHz but had an embedded Z80 for backwards compatability. By the time the MSX TurboR came along in 1989, Panasonic was the only manufacturer of MSX computers. They continued to make them up until 1993 when they stopped making them to focus on the 3DO instead.

    The Sony HiT BiT HB-55 released in 1984 was an early Sony MSX computer (their first I believe) and was fairly typical of computers following the MSX standard. It featured 16 KB of RAM (plus 16 KB of video RAM), included RF video output, composite video output and mono analog sound output. One unique feature of the HB-55 was a battery backed-up SRAM cartridge that could be used for storing data instead of a cassette or disk. It could store a whopping 4 KB of data. Japan was much better at making their computers seem sexy and futuristic. The fact that J-Pop star Seiko Matsuda was used to advertise the HiT BiT probably helped with that first part for Sony. The HB-55 also came in red and grey when computer makers in the U.S. could only even think in various shades of beige.

    Sony produced a number of other MSX computers over the years and most of them weren’t beige. There were black ones, blue ones, grey ones, and of course red which seemed to be a recurring color choice. The last MSX computer Sony produced was the MSX2+ based HB-F1XV which was released in October 1989 though that one only came in black. Most MSX computers and the Sony ones in particular looked like they were made for the future.

    The MSX is a computer I’ve never had the chance to use personally but it is one that I’ve always kind of wanted. I would love to have that red HB-55 from Sony along with the matching red Sony monitor. Maybe it’s because red is my favorite color…or maybe it’s just because of the advertising. Don’t get me wrong, I had a Commodore 64 and I wouldn’t have traded it for anything at the time but it was about as futuristic looking as a potato. Maybe from the 1960s it would have looked futuristic. However, I would argue that it did have better graphics and sound than the MSX.

    https://darth-azrael.tumblr.com/post/696670783077072896/contac-seiko-matsuda-for-sony-hit-bit-hb-55


    📂This entry was posted in Computer Arcana 📎and tagged

  • Japan’s lost black hole satellite is back online, still tumbling through space

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    In late February, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA, launched its next-generation X-ray observatory. This satellite, Hitomi, was designed to be the sixth in a series X-ray satellites whose operational histories stretch back to 1979. Hitomi could measure objects an order of magnitude fainter than its predecessor. The initial February 17 launch went smoothly, but Japan announced on March 27 that communication with the satellite had failed just as it was scheduled to begin its operational cycle. Initial attempts to reestablish communication with the satellite failed, but scientists were able to make brief contact with the craft as of Wednesday, March 30.

    Hitomi (originally referred to as Astro-H pre-launch) is designed to explore how matter behaves when falling into black holes, the distribution of dark matter across galactic clusters, and to keep an eye on supernovae if and when they are detected. X-ray astronomy is one of the types of astronomy that can’t be performed on Earth, since our atmosphere absorbs X-rays before they reach the surface. Since no one has figured out a way to lift Mauna Kea into geosynchronous orbit, we have to do this kind of observation with specialized satellites, and Hitomi was meant to be a critical next-generation observatory. After the satellite went dark three days ago, it was thought to have been destroyed — except now it’s making intermittent contact with JAXA.

    x-ray_mirror

    The current thinking is that the satellite is now spinning wildly — an opinion lent credence by a video shot by astronomer Paul Maley and reported by Gizmodo. That video shows the satellite moving at fairly high speed, but with wildly irregular brightness, as though it were caught in a tumble. The irregularity in its brightness is caused by light reflecting off different areas of the observatory, possibly including its solar panels. According to Maley, the damaged [satellite] appears to undergo one full rotation every 23.5 seconds.

    Can Hitomi be saved?

    At first, it was believed that Hitomi had fragmented into multiple smaller pieces; US radar picked up five separate fragments that were believed to be the satellite. There’s no evidence that the satellite was struck by other, already existing debris. It’s theorized that a sudden gas leak from one of its cooling tanks acted as a thruster, blowing the craft off course. Alternately, it’s possible that one of Hitomi’s rocket thrusters stuck open, sending the satellite spinning.

    Full article: Japan’s lost black hole satellite is back online, still tumbling through space | ExtremeTech


    📂This entry was posted in Space 📎and tagged

  • Fukushima leak is ‘much worse than we were led to believe’

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    A nuclear expert has told the BBC that he believes the current water leaks at Fukushima are much worse than the authorities have stated.

    Mycle Schneider is an independent consultant who has previously advised the French and German governments.

    He says water is leaking out all over the site and there are no accurate figures for radiation levels.

    Meanwhile the chairman of Japan’s nuclear authority said that he feared there would be further leaks.

    The ongoing problems at the Fukushima plant increased in recent days when the Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) admitted that around 300 tonnes of highly radioactive water had leaked from a storage tank on the site.

    Moment of crisis

    The Japanese nuclear energy watchdog raised the incident level from one to three on the international scale that measures the severity of atomic accidents.

    This was an acknowledgement that the power station was in its greatest crisis since the reactors melted down after the tsunami in 2011.

    But some nuclear experts are concerned that the problem is a good deal worse than either Tepco or the Japanese government are willing to admit.

    They are worried about the enormous quantities of water, used to cool the reactor cores, which are now being stored on site.

    Some 1,000 tanks have been built to hold the water. But these are believed to be at around 85% of their capacity and every day an extra 400 tonnes of water are being added.

    “The quantities of water they are dealing with are absolutely gigantic,” said Mycle Schneider, who has consulted widely for a variety of organisations and countries on nuclear issues.

    “What is the worse is the water leakage everywhere else – not just from the tanks. It is leaking out from the basements, it is leaking out from the cracks all over the place. Nobody can measure that.

    “It is much worse than we have been led to believe, much worse,” said Mr Schneider, who is lead author for the World Nuclear Industry status reports.

    At news conference, the head of Japan’s nuclear regulation authority Shunichi Tanaka appeared to give credence to Mr Schneider’s concerns, saying that he feared there would be further leaks.

    “We should assume that what has happened once could happen again, and prepare for more. We are in a situation where there is no time to waste,” he told reporters.

    The lack of clarity about the water situation and the continued attempts by Tepco to deny that water was leaking into the sea has irritated many researchers.

    Dr Ken Buesseler is a senior scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution who has examined the waters around Fukushima.

    “It is not over yet by a long shot, Chernobyl was in many ways a one week fire-explosive event, nothing with the potential of this right on the ocean.”

    “We’ve been saying since 2011 that the reactor site is still leaking whether that’s the buildings and the ground water or these new tank releases. There’s no way to really contain all of this radioactive water on site.”

    “Once it gets into the ground water, like a river flowing to the sea, you can’t really stop a ground water flow. You can pump out water, but how many tanks can you keep putting on site?”

    Several scientists also raised concerns about the vulnerability of the huge amount of stored water on site to another earthquake.

    New health concerns

    The storage problems are compounded by the ingress of ground water, running down from the surrounding hills. It mixes with radioactive water leaking out of the basements of the reactors and then some of it leaches into the sea, despite the best efforts of Tepco to stem the flow.

    Some of the radioactive elements like caesium that are contained in the water can be filtered by the earth. Others are managing to get through and this worries watching experts.

    “Our biggest concern right now is if some of the other isotopes such as strontium 90 which tend to be more mobile, get through these sediments in the ground water,” said Dr Buesseler.

    “They are entering the oceans at levels that then will accumulate in seafood and will cause new health concerns.”

    There are also worries about the spent nuclear fuel rods that are being cooled and stored in water pools on site. Mycle Schneider says these contain far more radioactive caesium than was emitted during the explosion at Chernobyl.

    “There is absolutely no guarantee that there isn’t a crack in the walls of the spent fuel pools. If salt water gets in, the steel bars would be corroded. It would basically explode the walls, and you cannot see that; you can’t get close enough to the pools,” he said.

    Full article: http://www.bbc.co.uk … environment-23779561


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