The Cat was a rebadged version of the Laser 3000, made in Hong-Kong.
It was partially compatible with the Apple II computer in its basic version, but quite fully compatible when the Apple II emulator cartridge was inserted.
It ran Apple DOS 3.3 operating system or CP/M 2.2 with an optional Z80 card.
Thanks to Murray Moffatt for information and pictures.
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I had the vtech 3000 version sold in the USA. It didn''t support Low-Res Apple II mode$this would show garble on the screen..Lots of freeware/Public domain software used this mode. Also, some of the ads in computer shopper implied it had 192k of RAM, when in reality, it only had 64k, so any 128K //c-//e software was out too.
The Up arrow key didn''t work in Apple II software, although it did seem to work in the enclosed "Magic //e" word processor. It also came with MagicMemory Database and MagicCalc spreadsheet. I couldn''t get Ultima V to load on it, even though the box said 64k. I''d say most high-res 64k games did work though.
Wednesday 10th August 2022
TB99 (Asia)
It was not fully compatible with the Apple 2. I had this computer and there were games that it would not play.
Saturday 18th July 2020
Andrew.
This was the first computer I owned - was an amazing experience being able to play the original Sub Logic Flight Simulator despite being limited to a black and white monitor with almost no graphic capability
Wednesday 2nd July 2014
Martin (Brisbane - Australia)
NAME
Cat
MANUFACTURER
Dick Smith
TYPE
Professional Computer
ORIGIN
Australia
YEAR
1984
END OF PRODUCTION
Unknown
BUILT IN LANGUAGE
Basic interpreter
KEYBOARD
Full stroke 81 keys with numeric keypad and 8 function keys
CPU
6502A
SPEED
2 MHz
RAM
64 KB up to 192 KB
VRAM
Unknown
ROM
32 KB
TEXT MODES
40 or 80 columns x 24 lines
GRAPHIC MODES
280 x 192 (8 colours), 560 x 192 (6 colours)
COLORS
8
SOUND
Four voices (AY-8912 sound chip)
SIZE / WEIGHT
Unknown
I/O PORTS
Tape recorder, Bus expansion, TV aerial, composite video, joystick, Parallel, Serial
BUILT IN MEDIA
None
OS
DOS 3.3, CP/M 2.2
POWER SUPPLY
Built-in power supply unit
PERIPHERALS
5.25 floppy disk drives, Apple II emulator cartridge
