At the beginning of the school year, we decided to tell about one of the exhibits in our collection, the image of which remains an important memory for thousands of schoolchildren of the 1980s.
Eight-bit Yamaha KUVT2 is a Russified version of a household computer of the MSX standard, launched in 1983 by the Japanese branch of Microsoft. Such, in fact, gaming platforms based on captured Japan, Korea and China, but were almost unknown in the US and were hard to break through in Europe.
KUVT stands for "a set of educational computing equipment." This formula was developed in the first half of the 1980s during lengthy discussions in academic, ministerial and industrial circles. The answers to questions about the path of development of computer technology and the need for training in information technology did not seem obvious at that time.
On March 17, 1985, the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR adopted a joint resolution "On measures to ensure computer literacy of students in secondary schools and the widespread introduction of electronic computers in the educational process." After that, teaching computer science in schools begins to line up in a more or less coherent system, and in September 1985, even the international conference "Children in the Information Age" takes place.
Cover of the program of the international conference and exhibition "Children in the Age of Information", 06-09.05.1985 (from the archive of A.P. Ershov, BAN)
Of course, the ground for this was prepared for a long time - the modernization of secondary education in various compositions began to be discussed back in the late 1970s.
For the Soviet planned economy, the joint decree was of extreme importance and unequivocally prompted immediate action, but did not contain ready-made solutions. Previously, some schoolchildren could come across computers in their work practice, but there were practically no computers of their own in schools. Now, even if the directors found the money to buy training kits, they had no idea what kind of cars to buy. As a result, many schools were equipped with very different (both Soviet and imported) equipment, sometimes incompatible even within the same class.
A breakthrough in the dissemination of IT in schools was largely determined by Academician Andrei Petrovich Ershov, in whose archive a whole devoted to the problem of technical equipment of informatics classes. The specialized interdepartmental commission conducted an examination of the use of the Agat PC for educational purposes and was dissatisfied: the Agats turned out to be incompatible with other well-known computers and worked on the basis of the 6502 microprocessor, which had no analogue in the USSR. After that, the commission experts considered several options for computers available on the international market - first of all, it was necessary to choose between 8-bit household computers such as Atari, Amstrad, Yamaha MSX and IBM PC compatible machines.
Extract from the memorandum of the secretary of the section of informatics and computer technology in educational institutions of the Interdepartmental Commission on Computer Technology, O. F. Titov, to Academician A. P. Ershov (from the archive of A. P. Ershov, BAN)
In the summer of 1985, the choice was made on computers of the MSX architecture, and by December 4200 sets had been received and distributed throughout the USSR. Implementation was more difficult, as the delivery of both documentation and software lagged behind. Moreover, in 1986 it turned out that the software developed by the Institute of Informatics Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences did not 100% comply with the terms of reference: only some programs can really be used at school, and the contract does not provide for technical support.
So a good idea with a fundamental study, an academic approach, and even an experimentally selected technical base (almost intact delivered to end users) faced the degradation of ties between different organizations and regions. However, despite the difficulties of introducing a new approach, the attempts initiated by academic institutions have yielded results. School teachers of the newly introduced subject of JIHT - the basics of computer science and computer technology - learned how to explain the basics of programming to schoolchildren, and many of them mastered Basic better than English.
Many of those who studied in Soviet schools in the mid-1980s remember the Yamaha with warmth. These machines were originally more of a play machine, and schoolchildren often used them for their original purpose.
Since these were school computers, you wonβt be able to get inside right away - basic protection against inquisitive children is provided. The case does not unscrew, but opens by pressing the latches located in inconspicuous holes.
The board and microcircuits are Japanese, with the exception of the Zilog Z80 microprocessor. And in the case of him, most likely, samples made in Japan were used.
The same Zilog Z80 processor that also powered the ZX Spectrum, the ColecoVision game console, and even the iconic Prophet-5 synthesizer
The computer was Russified, while the keyboard layout turned out to be rather strange in a modern look. Russian letters are in the usual version YTSUKEN, but the letters of the Latin alphabet are arranged according to the JCUKEN transliteration principle.
Our version is a student version, its functionality is slightly limited. Unlike the teacher's one, it has neither a drive controller nor two 3" floppy drives.
In the upper right corner there are ports for a serial connection - educational computing equipment was combined into a local network
The ROM of the machine was originally wired with Basic interpreters and operating systems CP/M and MSX-DOS.
The first computers had a ROM installed from an earlier version of MSX
Monitors were connected to computers, among which the most common were EIZO 3010 with a green glow type. Photo source:
There were two modes of operation: student and student, apparently, this was necessary for the teacher to issue assignments via the local network.
Note that MSX architecture computers were produced not only by Yamaha Corporation, but also by many other Japanese, Korean, and Chinese manufacturers. For example, ads for the Daewoo MSX computer.
Well, for those who are sad about the cozy computer science classes in Soviet schools, there is a separate joy - . Remembered?
Source: habr.com