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G0SYR > IBM 17.04.06 11:31l 64 Lines 2648 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 31185G0SYR
Read: GUEST DC9BM
Subj: Re: BBC micro
Path: DB0FHN<DB0RGB<DB0AAB<DB0ZKA<DB0FSG<I4UKI<IZ0AWG<IW2OAZ<IW2OHX<I0TVL<
CX2SA<GB7YFS<GB7CIP<GB7CIP<GB7CIP
Sent: 060417/1023Z @:GB7CIP.#32.GBR.EU $:31185G0SYR
T:From: g0syr <g0syr@gb7cip.ampr.org>
T:Newsgroups: ampr.comp.pc
T:Message-Id: <u43wmou00wvd$.1ij4j9122vtf9.dlg@40tude.net>
Hi All,
Sorry for delay in joining in
On Wed, 12 Apr 2006 17:43:00 +0000, m1byt%gb7fcr.#16.gbr.eu@gb7cip.ampr.org
wrote:
> From: M1BYT@GB7FCR.#16.GBR.EU
> To : IBM@WW
>
>
> GM7HUD Opined with considerable skill:-
>> M1BYT wrote:-
>>> I do
>>> regret there is nothing quite similar to it today.
>>
>> Surely you jest Harry ?
>
> No, it was a rather unique machine and very accessible for the user in both
> its harware and software. A PC is just a PC, with little user involvement -
> nostalgia aint what it used be :-)
>
I'm very much with Harry on this, it was a unique machine and it was its
accessibility that appealed to normal engineers. I supect that the majority
of engineers working in the corporation, mentioned in its name, owned one
of these machines at some time.
Often sitting round on a wet Sunday afternoon you'd hear someone say
" we could do that with a beeb micro " and they did.
Until then it was only a few sad people that sat in corners playing
with their nascoms etc. The beeb micro with its ease of access and teletext
compatibility soon appeared in all sorts of local engineering projects
around the corporation.
The one project I was most involved with, though not with its developement,
involved producing and editing subtitles from teletext screen which were
downloaded to a broadcast quality character generator correctly kerned for
transmission, but the BBC B was used in probably hundreds of applications
from driving automated test gear to stock control and bookings.
The machines were used reliably for many years thoughout the corporation
and you don't persuade hundreds of engineers to invest their time in
something over many years with just sales hype. It was a machine built by
engineers for engineers.
It was SO easily accessible via its well documented OS calls and assembler
that even I could write an RTTY terminal programme, which after modifying
it to decode AX25 eventually became a terminal for my kit built TNC200.
And who remembers Cambridge packet from the tape casette port?
I still use it regularly today so I can't complain about reliability
as it's been running since 1981 and I seem to remember cost around 250 UK
pounds over here.
I have to smile at Andy's assertion that PCs are accessible
I think Harry meant accessible to us normal people :-)
One last question, why am I posting this to IBM@WW ??
--
73 de Bryan g0syr.ampr.org [ 44.131.244.60 ]
Amprnet mail g0syr@gb7cip.ampr.org
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