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Late-model Interact Model One with mechanical keyboard (U.S. government asset tag applied)
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| Also known as | The Interact Family Computer, Interact Model One Home Computer |
|---|---|
| Developer | Interact Electronics Inc. |
| Type | Home computer |
| Release date | 1978; 46 years ago (1978) |
| Introductory price | $449.99 |
| Units sold | Thousands sold |
| Media | Built-in cassette recorder (1200 Bps) |
| Operating system | Microsoft BASIC V4.7 or EDU-BASIC (loaded from tape) |
| CPU | Intel I8080 @ 2.0 MHz |
| Memory | 8 KB RAM |
| Display | 17 x 12 text in eight colors, 112 x 78 graphics in four colors |
| Sound | SN76477 (one voice, four octaves) |
| Input | Keyboard |
The Interact Home Computer (also called The Interact Family Computer[1][2]) is a 1978 American home computer made by Interact Electronics, Inc., of Ann Arbor, Michigan.[3][4][5] It sold under the name "Interact Model One Home Computer".[6] The original Interact Model One computer was designed by Rick Barnich and Tim Anderson at 204 E. Washington in Ann Arbor, then moving to the Georgetown Mall on Packard St. in Ann Arbor.
Interact Electronics Inc was a privately held company that was funded by Hongiman, Miller, Swartz and Cohn, a law firm out of Detroit. The President/Founder of Interact Electronics Inc was Ken Lochner, who was one of the original developers of the BASIC language based out of Dartmouth College. Ken had started Interact Electronics Inc after founding the successful computer time-sharing company Cyphernetics in Ann Arbor, which was purchased by ADP in 1975.
The Interact Model One Home Computer debuted at the Consumer Electronics ShowinChicago in June 1978, at a price of US$499 (equivalent to $2,300 in 2023). Only a few thousand Interacts were sold before the company went bankrupt in late 1979.[6] Most were sold by the liquidator Protecto Enterprizes of Barrington, Illinois, through mail order sales. It was also sold at Highland Appliance in the Detroit area, Newman Computer Exchange in Ann Arbor, and Montgomery Ward in the Houston, Texas, area.
The computer didn't come with any operating system, but Microsoft BASIC V4.7 or EDU-BASIC (supplied with the computer) could be loaded from tape.[4][7][8][6]
Probably the most successful application available for the Interact was a program called "Message Center".[9] With it, a store could program a scrolling message which appeared on a TV screen (such as advertisements, or a welcome message to guests).
Although it was mostly a game machine (with games such as Showdown, Blackjack and Chess),[10][11] users could also create their own programs using the BASIC computer language. Customers began hooking up the Interact to control everything from lights in their house, doors, windows, smoke detectors, to a Chevrolet Corvette.[citation needed]
Later on the design was sold to a French company, Lambda Systems, and re-branded as the "Victor Lambda" for the French market.[12][13]
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