Dragon joins MSX bandwagon

DRAGON Data is soon to announce a new home computer which will conform to the Japanese MSX design standard.

The company will be the first UK manufacturer to acquire a licence for the MSX system.

At least seven other European manufacturers are known to be negotiating with systems house Microsoft for MSX licences including the Dutch electronics giant Philips, which is soon expected to announce it will adopt the system.

Dragon’s new machine will have 64K Ram, a Z80 processor and a built-in 3 1/2inch disc drive unit. And Dragon will work hard to get the machine out into shops like Boots before the first of the Japanese MSX machines makes its debut here in September.

Commented Dragon’s Managing director Brian Moore: “MSX could well dominate major sections of the home computer market and comparisons with VHS and video recorders can be readily drawn.”

Said Dragon’s Kevin Stephens: “Our view at the moment is that MSX is the way we will go. If so, we will almost certainly also be doing software for MSX.” It is not clear at this stage if Dragon will offer a hardware upgrade for the MSX machine to enable it to run the company’s present range of 0S9 software.

GEC McMichael, Dragon’s marketing arm, declined to comment on the possibility of Dragon embracing the MSX standard. So far, eight of Japan’s largest electronics companies have opted for MSX.

• Dragon has announced that it will be bundling the Dragon 32 in two special ’starter packs’. Both include a data recorder — one with Logic3’s Basic Tutor package, the other with four game cassettes and a Rom cartridge