Micro Five system

[Chuck Guzis]

On 3 Dec 2007 at 12:35, Doc Shipley wrote:

>    I'm not even sure why I'm interested - he's not going to give it up - 
> but I am curious about it.  I'm especially curious about the memory.  If 
> his recollection of the memory options is right, this thing supports 
> 34MB or so.  How is that possible on a 286?

Time to dig out my PC Tech Journal product guides.

Well, I see a System 5000 and a System 6000 in the 1988 guide and 
only the System 5000 in the 1987 one.  Both are described as follows:

System 5000

Multiuser, multiprogramming Memory: 512K-16M
CPU: 80286 Graphics:  Monochrome, Color 
Interface(s): 1 RS-232C, 1 Centronics
Units sold: 5,000 since 1985
Cost: $2,450-$3,895

There's also a System 6000 with the same description but for:

Units sold: 400 since 1986
Cost: $1,595-$3,005

The 1985 issues of IEEE Computer contain a couple of product 
annoucements for the System 5000, but nothing more recent.

There's a System 3000 box in the Freeman PC Museum at 
http://www.pcmuseum.net; just select "Micro Five" from the 
"Manufacturers" search box.

A little web research shows that the company hit hard times around 
1987, ultimately being acquired by Samsung in 1988.  Their chairman 
during that time appeared to be a "turnaround specialist" who later 
went on to head up Pick Systems.

That's all I've got here.  I suspect that those memory expansion 
slots could accommodate 16M tops.  Another remote possibility is that 
they were LIM/EMS type memory or that they were otherwise 
bankswitched.

Cheers,
Chuck