Creative Micro Designs
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Computer hardware |
| Founded | 1987 |
| Founder | Doug Cotton, Mark Fellows |
| Defunct | 2009 |
| Fate | Discontinued Commodore product line and licensed manufacturing to Click Here Software Co |
| Headquarters | United States |
| Products | JiffyDOS, SuperCPU, RAMLink, FD series disk drives, HD series SCSI hard drives, SwiftLink/Turbo232 modems, 1750 XL REUs, SuperRAMCard, SmartTRACK/SmartMOUSE |
Creative Micro Designs, Inc. (CMD) was established in 1987 by Doug Cotton and Mark Fellows. The firm concentrated on creating and distributing technology products tailored for the Commodore 64 and Commodore 128 8-bit personal computers. Post-2001, CMD redirected its business towards offering IBM PC compatible hardware and associated accessories.
History
The company's first offering, JiffyDOS, originated in 1985 through the efforts of Mark Fellows. This upgraded disk operating system preserved full compatibility with Commodore floppy drives while delivering a substantial boost in data transfer speeds.
In 2001, CMD discontinued its Commodore product line, granting exclusive manufacturing and sales rights to programmer Maurice Randal's Click Here Software Co, which continued to provide these items until approximately 2009.
Beginning in 2010, Jim Brain acquired the license to distribute JiffyDOS, promoting it via his online store Retro Innovations.
Products
- SuperCPU – A CPU upgrade based on the 65816 processor for the C64 and C128 platforms, initially released in 1997 with a version supporting the C128 following in 1998.
- RAMLink – A solid-state RAM disk device that expands memory capacity from 1 MB up to 16 MB through the cartridge port on C64/C128 machines.
- FD series – Disk drives such as the FD2000 (1.6 MB High Density) and FD4000 (3.2 MB Enhanced Density) models.
- HD series – SCSI hard drives ranging between 20 MB and 4.4 GB, utilizing CMD’s proprietary partitioning system featuring 16 MB partitions.
- JiffyDOS – An enhanced disk operating system incorporating additional commands for improved functionality at the BASIC prompt.
- SwiftLink/Turbo232 – Modem interface devices offering dial-up speeds up to 38.4 kbit/s (SwiftLink) or 56.6 kbit/s (Turbo232).
- 1750 XL – Cloned Commodore RAM Expansion Units (REUs) available with either 512 KB or 2 MB of additional memory.
- SuperRAMCard – Memory expansion ranging from 1 MB to 16 MB designed for use alongside the SuperCPU.
- SmartTRACK/SmartMOUSE – Sophisticated input peripherals equipped with onboard RAM and a battery-backed real-time clock compatible with GEOS.
External links
- The unofficial homepage of CMD—Creative Micro Designs
- JiffyDOS at Brain Innovations — officially licensed JiffyDOS products
- http://www.go4retro.com/products/jiffydos/ — Authorized sources for purchasing JiffyDOS
- American companies established in 1987
- American companies disestablished in 2009
- Commodore 64
- Commodore 64 peripheral manufacturers
- Computer companies established in 1987
- Computer companies disestablished in 2009
- Defunct computer companies of the United States
- Defunct computer hardware companies
- Home computer hardware companies