The Card That Made the Apple II Serious

The Videx VideoTerm, introduced in 1980, was a crucial expansion card that enabled the Apple II to display 80 columns of text, making it viable for business applications like WordStar and VisiCalc that required this capability. The card used a Motorola MC6845 CRT Controller chip to generate display timing signals and dominated the 80-column market until Apple built this feature directly into the IIe in 1983. Understanding the VideoTerm's success requires understanding how the MC6845 programmed display parameters to drive CRT monitors with proper synchronization signals.