Binary Dinosaurs Computer Museum
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Digital GIGI
GIGI (General Imaging Generator and Interpreter) was an Intel 8085 powered PC that could either connect to a host VAX, PDP or DECSYSTEM to display text and ReGIS (Remote Graphics Instruction Set) graphics or could be programmed locally or off-line using the ROM based GIGI BASIC interpreter, though not much outside the likes of TPU (text processing utility) actually supported the GIGI in text mode, particularly as it didn't emulate possibly the world's most prolific terminal - the VT100. GIGI was stuck in the land of the VT52.
You also needed your own monitor - the documentation only talks about everyone's favourite after-market colour monitor (*cough*), the Barco GD33. I remember Barco monitors, but only from the late 1980s when they produced some excellent quality large screens for presentations etc.....
Unfortunately this one decided to blow it's mains smoothing capacitors when I powered it up (see pictures), so despite the fact it should still run without 'em I'm leaving it powered off until I get spares. In the pix you can also see the rusting to the chip legs and obvious water damage to the sticker on the back caused by long-term storage in a damp environment....
Pictures

All images and text © Adrian Graham 1999-2024 unless otherwise noted using words. Also on