{"id":21220,"date":"2025-05-21T14:23:13","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T18:23:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/?page_id=21220"},"modified":"2025-05-21T15:09:56","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T19:09:56","slug":"vin75","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/vintage-computing\/item\/vin75\/","title":{"rendered":"Zenith Z-Star 433VL"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Zenith Z-Star 433VL<\/h2>\n<p>The Zenith Z-Star 433VL was a notable 1990s notebook computer recognized for its compact design, portability, and impressive processing power for its time, featuring a 33 MHz 486SLC microprocessor that offered strong performance and efficient power management. Its claim to fame included innovative features such as the &#8220;J-Mouse&#8221; (a keyboard-integrated mouse control) and a removable nickel-cadmium battery that provided up to three hours of use, making it especially attractive for mobile professionals.<a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20250521_190151772-scaled.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright size-large wp-image-21223\" src=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20250521_190151772-400x533.jpg\" alt=\"Z-Star 433VL\" width=\"400\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20250521_190151772-400x533.jpg 400w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20250521_190151772-240x320.jpg 240w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20250521_190151772-160x213.jpg 160w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20250521_190151772-768x1023.jpg 768w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20250521_190151772-1153x1536.jpg 1153w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20250521_190151772-1538x2048.jpg 1538w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20250521_190151772-360x479.jpg 360w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-content\/uploads\/PXL_20250521_190151772-scaled.jpg 1922w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Manufacturer<\/strong>: Zenith<\/li>\n<li><strong>Type<\/strong>: Laptop<\/li>\n<li><strong>Release Date<\/strong>: 1993<\/li>\n<li><strong>Cost at release<\/strong>: USD $1,500 (CAD ~$3,650 adjusted for inflation)<\/li>\n<li><strong>MIPS<\/strong>: 8-10<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span class=\"TextRun SCXW36078203 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW36078203 BCX0\">Hardware Specifications<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>CPU<\/strong>: Cyrix Cx486SLC, 33 MHz<\/li>\n<li><strong>Memory (RAM):<\/strong> 4 MB standard, expandable up to 12 MB<\/li>\n<li><strong>Storage<\/strong>: Hard Drive 200 MB, 3.5-inch, 1.44 MB floppy drive<\/li>\n<li><strong>Display<\/strong>: 9.5-inch monochrome or color LCD (model dependent)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Graphics<\/strong>: VGA-compatible<\/li>\n<li><strong>Pointing Device<\/strong>: Integrated J-Mouse (keyboard-based pointing device)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Battery<\/strong>: Removable nickel-cadmium, up to 3 hours usage<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ports<\/strong>: Serial, parallel, external VGA, PS\/2 keyboard\/mouse<\/li>\n<li><strong>Weight<\/strong>: Approximately 7 pounds (3.2 kg)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span class=\"TextRun SCXW136206418 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW136206418 BCX0\">Operating System &amp; Programming Languages<\/span><\/span><span class=\"EOP SCXW136206418 BCX0\" data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559685&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"my-0\"><strong>Operating System<\/strong>: Shipped with MS-DOS 6.0 and Windows 3.1<\/li>\n<li class=\"my-0\"><strong>Supported Languages<\/strong>: BASIC (such as GW-BASIC, QBasic), Pascal (Turbo Pascal, Borland Pascal), C and C++ (Borland C++, Microsoft C), Assembly language (using MASM, TASM), FORTRAN, COBOL, and other DOS\/Windows compilers and interpreters of the era<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Notables<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The Zenith Z-Star 433VL was also sold as the Packard Bell Statesman, highlighting its dual branding and market reach.<\/li>\n<li>It featured the unique &#8220;J-Mouse,&#8221; which allowed the &#8220;J&#8221; key on the keyboard to function as a built-in mouse, an unusual and innovative pointing device for laptops at the time.<\/li>\n<li>The Z-Star 433VL used a Cyrix 486SLC processor, notable for its power efficiency and hybrid 386\/486 architecture, making it advanced for early 1990s notebooks.<\/li>\n<li>Its modular design included a removable nickel-cadmium battery and PCMCIA slot, supporting portability and expandability.<\/li>\n<li>The system was recognized for its durability and reliability, with many units reportedly lasting several years without major issues.<\/li>\n<li>While not a mainstream icon, the Z-Star 433VL holds a place in computing history as a representative of early affordable, portable 486-based notebooks and for its innovative input device, preceding more famous solutions like IBM&#8217;s TrackPoint<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Zenith Z-Star 433VL The Zenith Z-Star 433VL was a notable 1990s notebook computer recognized for its compact design, portability, and impressive processing power for its time, featuring a 33 MHz 486SLC microprocessor that offered strong performance and efficient power management. Its claim to fame included innovative features such as the &#8220;J-Mouse&#8221; (a keyboard-integrated mouse control) [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"parent":19704,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Zenith Z-Star 433VL - 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