The Compucolor was an all-in-one computer system, announced in 1977. The machine featured a built-in BASIC programming language, built-in floppy disk storage, and color graphics capability. It was not available for purchase until 1978. The Compucolor II was the first computer with color text, color graphics, and a built-in floppy drive for programs and data storage.

The machine was developed by Intecolor and sold by Compucolor, both were divisions of the Intelligent Systems Corporation (ISC). ISC also produced CRT-based color terminals for computer data display and communications. Their first product was the Intecolor 8001 intelligent terminal, which later evolved into the Compucolor 8001, the first stand-alone color computer. Where the Compucolor 8001 was an industrial computer, the Compucolor II was meant for the consumer market.

There were three models available

• Model 3, 8kB of RAM
• Model 4, 16kB of RAM
• Model 5, 32kB of RAM

The CompuColor II uses a standard color TV as display and computer case; the TV tuner and analog circuitry was removed and replaced with the floppy disk drive and the computer motherboard.

The computer had three different keyboard options, standard, extended, and deluxe. All had color coded keys, but the difference was the inclusion of a numeric keypad and special function keys that made programming easier.

The computer could operate in three modes, CRT or Terminal mode, BASIC, and the FSC or File Control System Operating System to manage files and disks. By default the computer starts up in DISK BASIC 8001.

The Intel 8080 was an 8-bit microprocessor that was designed and manufactured by Intel Corporation. It was the first CPU in the x80 series, and was released in April 1974. The 8080 had a clock speed of 2 MHz and was capable of addressing 64 KB of memory. It had a total of 45 instructions and 7 registers, including the Accumulator, the Flags register and the stack pointer.

One of the key features of the 8080 was its ability to directly execute instructions for input/output operations, allowing for more efficient communication with peripheral devices such as keyboard, display, and storage. This made the 8080 a popular choice for early personal computers like the Altair 8800, the IMSAI 8080 and the first IBM PC.

Additionally, the 8080's architecture was widely adopted in industrial control systems and arcade games. It was also used as the basis for other microprocessors such as the Zilog Z80 which was widely used in home computers of the 1980s.

The 8080 was succeeded by the 8085 microprocessor in 1976, which was similar to the 8080 but had an additional instruction set and an integrated clock generator. The 8080 and the 8085 together with their variants and clones played an important role in the development of the microcomputer industry and the personal computer revolution.