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Description: When Zenith acquired Heathkit in 1979 and entered the computer business, Heathkit’s computer division was renamed by Zenith into Zenith Data Systems (ZDS). With its headquarters in Benton Harbor, Michigan, the company now sells personal computers under the brand names Heath/Zenith and Zenith Data System.

Zenith has entered a partnership with Microsoft. Under this agreement, the software giant licenses all Microsoft languages for use in all Heath/ Zenith 8-bit computers. The first computers with Heath/Zenith names were Z80 processor-based and compatible with CP/M or HDOS operating systems.

In mid-1981, Zenith released the innovative Z-100 computer with 8-bit Z80 processor, S100 bus, high quality color graphics, and a 16-bit 8088 processor. The Z-100 was especially designed for professionals. In 1983, Zenith Data Systems won a joint contract with the United States Navy and Air Force. Under this contract, the US Navy and Air Force purchased computers under Zenith’s 6000 Z-100 series and the IBP PC compatible machines such as Z-150, Z-2xx, and Z-3xx. The Army’s United States Military Academy based in New York, distributed the Zenith 248 SX computers to the class of 1990 for the very first time in 1986.

In October 1989, Groupe Bull, a French company, acquired Zenith’s computer division. The sale of Zenith Data Systems’ personal computers continued until Zenith Data Systems merged with NEC and Packard Bell in 1996. Packard Bell NEC, Inc. was created.

Since 1987, Zenith has been developing laptop computers. The Zenith 181 and Zenith 183, both based on Intel 8088, were the very first laptops with built-in hard disks to be introduced to the market. This was followed by a hybrid laptop, the Zenith 171, built by Vadem Corporation. MinisPORT was the original laptop using a 2-inch floppy disk. It was designed for still video cameras.

A remarkable feature of various Zenith computers is the Ctrl-Alt-Ins key combination. This command interrupts a running program while displaying a machine-language monitor. This monitor program enables the user to resume execution of the program, run regular diagnostic, change the settings or even boot from any chosen device.

The MACHINE.EXE program is one of the Zenith’s later models, aside from laptops. This program enables the user to make changes to its hardware-specific settings using other programs like batch files. It was the most modern system during its time, along with the APM and ACPI standards, which also provided the same function in advanced systems.

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