The company demonstrated the emulator by booting IBM PC DOS and running Lotus 1-2-3. When Commodore introduced the Amiga 1000 in July 1985 it also unexpectedly announced a software-based IBM PC emulator for it. It was later improved so it could emulate VGA.

Later third party cards also appeared for the Amiga 500 and Amiga 600 expansion slot such as the KCS Powerboard, and Vortex released full-length cards for the Amiga 2000+ based on the 8036 CPUs called the Golden Gate.Įventually, full-software emulators, such as PC-Task and PCx allowed Amigas to run MS-DOS programs, including Microsoft Windows, without additional hardware, at the costs of speed and compatibility.ĭutch Amiga Kolff Computer Supplies built a similar expansion for the A500. The Bridgeboard card and the Janus library made the use of PC expansion cards and harddisk/floppydisk drives possible. Bridgeboard models based on the Intel 8026 CPUs were later released by Commodore as the A2286 and A2386. Later the Sidecar was implemented on an expansion card named 'Bridgeboard' and was released as the A2088XT for Amiga 2000+ models.

At the introduction of the Sidecar the crowd was stunned to see the MS-DOS version of Microsoft Flight Simulator running at full speed in an Amiga window on the Workbench. Clever programming (a library named Janus, after the two-faced Roman god of doorways) made it possible to run PC software in an Amiga window without use of emulation. In order to run the MS-DOS operating system, Commodore released the Sidecar for the Amiga 1000, basically an 8088 board in a closed case that connected to the side of the Amiga. MS-DOS compatibility was a major issue during the early years of the Amiga's lifespan in order to promote the machine as a serious business machine. MS-DOS on Amiga via Sidecar or Bridgeboard The Amiga computer can be used to emulate several other computer platforms, including legacy platforms such as the Commodore 64, and its contemporary rivals such as the IBM PC and the Macintosh.

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