User:Jeffery1003/sandbox
| Industry | Computer hardware |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1980 |
| Defunct | 1984 |
| Fate | No longer in existence (final owner bankrupt) |
| Headquarters | Wales, United Kingdom |
| Products | Dragon 32 and 64 computers |
Dragon Data was a Welsh producer of home computers during the early 1980s. These computers, the Dragon 32 and Dragon 64, strongly resembled the Tandy TRS-80 Color Computer ("CoCo")—both followed a standard Motorola datasheet configuration for the three key components (CPU, SAM and VDG). The machines came in both 32KB and (later) 64KB versions.
The history of Dragon Data in the period 1982–84 was a chequered one. The company was originally set up by a Toy Company called Mettoy, and after initial good sales looked to have a bright future. At its high point it entered negotiations with Rexnord's Tano Corporation to form a North American branch. Mettoy then suffered financial difficulties, casting a shadow on the future of Dragon Data before it was spun off as a separate company. However, a number of circumstances (the delay in introducing the 64K model, poor colour support with a maximum of 4 colours displayable in "graphics mode" and only 2 colours in the highest 256 × 192 pixel mode, the late introduction of the external disk unit and of the supporting OS9-based software) caused the company to lose market share.
To combat this, under the control of GEC, Dragon Data worked on the next generation of Dragon computers - the Dragon Alpha (or Professional) and Beta (or 128). These systems only made it to the prototype stage before the business went into receivership and was sold on to the Spanish startup Eurohard in 1984. Eurohard also suffered financial problems and went into receivership a couple of years later after the release of the Dragon 200.
In addition to the Dragon 32 and 64, an MSX-compatible machine, the Dragon MSX reached the prototype stage.
Originally the Dragon 32 started out as a 16K prototype code named Pippin with a number of them being built by hand. Later, the Dragon 16K or Pippin was remade late into its own production after a decision was made to move to use 32K making it into the Dragon 32.
FarmFax was a join in scheme between Dragon Data and the Welsh government to try to get Farmers to use computers for practical use on their farm. Produced for the Dragon 32, a number of farm related software titles were made. An example of these produced applications is Cash Planner which was priced at £171.25.
Fast Edit was a word processor for the Dragon computer released between March-August 1990, and was updated after a review in a fan magazine named Dragon Update in December 1990 to version 1.01. As of March 23, 2018 Fast Edit is in the public domain released by the author Geir Hovland.
In 1982 Sunshine Publications had produced the British magazine Dragon User, for users of the Dragon 32/64. The production of the computers had ceased in 1985, but the community had remained sufficiently active, causing the publication’s life to last until 1989.
Dragon Data also saw fan produced newsletters, the longest running being Dragon Update. Issue 1 (September 1984) - Issue 130 (April 2000)