Thomson

El MO5 es un microordenador creado por la empresa Thomson SA y lanzado en 1984. Es vágamente compatible con el TO7, siendo realizada, por ejemplo, la grabación en casete a distinta velocidad. Esto llevó a que un cierto número de juegos salieran con una cara con la versión para el TO7 y el TO7/70 y la otra para el MO5.

Consta de un procesador de 8 bits Motorola 6809E a 1 MHz, una ROM de 16 KB y 48 KB de RAM, de la que 32 KB están disponibles para el usuario. Emplea una resolución de pantalla de 320x200 píxels en 16 colores (con contrastes de proximidad) para el modo gráfico y 25 líneas de 40 columnas para el modo texto.

Debido a que su distribución fue escasa en Francia, el MO5, como su hermano mayor el TO7, participó en un programa nacional de equipamiento informático de escuelas e institutos a principios de los años 80 en Francia: el Plan Informático Para Todos. Esto aseguró un volumen de producción importante a su fabricante, y una gran visibilidad que le permite marcar los recuerdos de muchos estudiantes franceses. Pero las dificultades que implicaron una fabricación en serie extraordinariamente importante para la época le dio también una reputación de ser una máquina poco fiable.

Años después y debido a unas ventas cercanas al medio millón de unidades, Thomson Micro rediseña su placa madre.

Fue usado notablemente en el área de nanoredes.

The Thomson MO5 NR is a special version of the MO5, developped especially for the educative network called NanoReseau, hence the NR. The NanoRéseau was initially composed of several original MO5 systems with their NanoRéseau expansions (64 KB RAM + Network features). The MO5 NR includes the network expansion and much more.

The Thomson MO6 was an 6809E-based computer introduced in France in 1986. It featured 128 KB of RAM, a 40×25 text display, and built-in Microsoft BASIC. The MO6 was available until January 1989.

In Italy it was sold by Olivetti with little aesthetic changes, and named Olivetti Prodest PC128.

The Thomson MO 6 was the successor of the Thomson MO 5. This machine was widely used in French schools. It was compatible with the MO 5 and the other members of its family (TO 7, TO 8, TO 9 and TO 9 plus).

It has two versions of BASIC on ROM, one to be compatible with MO5 and BASIC 128 (both made by Microsoft). Almost all memory (101 KB) was accessible with BASIC thanks to a transparent 16 KB bank switching mechanism. An optional 3.5 floppy disk drive (640 KB) was available.

It had a short life because soon after it was launched, the TO 8 came and challenged to it.

The MO5 was also sold in Italy by Olivetti under the name Prodest PC-128

The Thomson TO 7 is the first micro computer conceived by Thomson and the first French micro-computer. This computer, also called Thomson 9000 was mainly used in french schools and had somehow a great success in France. TO stands for Tele Ordinateur (ordinateur meaning computer in French).

The Thomson TO8 is a home computer introduced by French company Thomson SA in 1986. It replaces its predecessor, the Thomson TO7/70 while remaining essentially compatible.

The new features of the TO8, like larger memory and better graphics modes, are shared with the other third generation computers (Thomson MO6 and TO9+). The TO8 has a tape drive and Microsoft BASIC 1.0 (both a standard and a 512 KB version) on its internal ROM, and there is optionally an external floppy drive.

An improved version, the Thomson TO8D, includes a built-in 3.5 floppy drive.