This mini forum is intended to provide a simple means of discussion about the Basis  BASIS 108 computer. If you want to share your own experience or memories, or add relevant information about this system: post a message!

But I did get some money for recycling the huge and thick Basis aluminum cases!!! One could pretty much drive a car over them without damage - and I stood on the cases several times to reach something on a high shelf.

I had two Basis 108s, each with the two floppy drives. I was also in the user group, communication over a telephone handset modem. I needed CP/M for Wordstar, and the 6502 to run programs colleagues had written. I really did like those Basis machines, but eventually I needed more computing power, so switched to a PC (I might have stayed with Apple, had they not locked everything up with the Lisa - I need to be able to choose my own hardware and software, not have Jobs do it for me).

I used my Basis 108 for two or three years. The 16 MB retro-fit hard disk, and everything. There was a "Basis Users Group" with about 125 members (peak). I moved from Apple DOS to p-system, then to CP/M. Almost everything worthwhile I did under CP/M - including a command processor replacement whose name I don''t recall. I upgraded the 2 MHz 8080 CPU on the motherboard with an 8 MHz Z80 card. Centronics port to a dot-matrix printer. Serial port to a Hayes modem.

Eventually Basis got shut out for copyright infrigement on Apple DOS in ROM.

I too had a Basis 108. I visited a nice couple in Munster, Germany and got the first upgrade z80 card to run at 4.5
Also a very smart audio engineer, a Mr. Smith, in Cali, adapted a $995 hard drive to work with the Basis. The hard drive Co. failed in their attempt.

I had one of theses that was built under a licence in Hong Kong, known as Medfly. I belonged to a US based user''s group and learned a lot about computing using this PC. I ran both Applesoft and CPM on it for many years.

I remember playing Karatika on this computer. I think Lotus 123 was used as well.

The Basis 108 was my first personal computer. Bought it in spring, 1982, so that I''d have a unit at home compatible with the Apple II in my office. It served me well!

Why did Basis fail?