››Atari CP/M Module›-----------------››     One of many new peripherals announced at the Summer Consumer Electronics Show was the Atari CP/M Module.  It was designed to run with all Atari 8-bit computers, not just the new XL line it was shown with, which showed that Atari was designing downward compatible products that were still on the cutting edge of Atari 8-bit power.››     The module was connected to the computer using the SIO port, so no additional hardware or interface was required.  The module offered built-in 80 column video and contained 64K RAM.  The catch was that you needed compatible software to use both of these features.  Only programs that were written in CP/M would automatically be setup to use the memory and the 80 columns.  Atari did plan to provide full support for these new features so that they could be accessed through the computer directly.  The 64K RAM looked like a disk drive to the computer, so it could not be accessed like internal memory.››     The CP/M module also has its own Z80 microprocessor, which unfortunately is not accessible by the user, only through CP/M software.  Because of this, the CP/M module is actually a seperate entity in the system, and the Atari is actually a terminal housing the CP/M operating system.  When the CP/M program is loaded in, it is loaded into the module, freeing the computers memory for program data storage and usage.››     The module was easily installed, it just plugs straight in through the SIO port, and the device handler was booted into the computer upon power up, much like the 850 and 1030.››     A third party company, Add-On Software, Inc., who helped Atari develop the module, will be offering many CP/M programs in Atari disk format.  Software agreements have already been made, and a partial list of programs that will be available for the CP/M module include Wordstar, dBase II, Peachpak, Pascal/MT+, CBASIC, SuperWriter, SuperCalc, Multiplan, MBASIC, MicroSort, Supersoft FORTH, and the Personal Pearl Database Manager (used on the Osborne computer).›››This article was written using information that appeared in Analog Computing Magazine issue no.13, September/October 1983.›››The original article "The New Atari Peripherals" by Lee Pappas, pages 33 to 37.›››File written by Don Rogers, February 8, 1988.››     An additional note about the Atari CP/M module.  Atari decided against production and release of this module because of the existence of the ATR-8000 Interface made by SWP, Inc., which did essentially the same thing and also took the place of an 850, and allowed more peripherals to be added, like industry standard disk drives.››