Gallery: The outer limits of vintage technology
by Andy Smith | July 1, 2010 9:09pm PDT | Image 1 of 18
Previous | Next
ZDNet UK was a proud media sponsor for the first vintage computer festival ever held in the UK. ZDNet UK's Rupert Goodwins was at the weekend event at Bletchley Park and captured the sheer geekish joy that 2,000 visitors and 32 exhibitors generated.?
?One exhibit featured the Sinclair ZX81. Seen here to the right of its whiter ancestor, the ZX80, the computer was the first mass-market success for UK home computing.?
?Incorporating a Ferranti ULA (Uncommitted Logic Array), which was the first semi-custom logic chip in a consumer product, the ZX81 cost under £100 and required nothing more than a tape player and a TV to work. The user was expected to program the computer themselves, and it came with a substantial programmer's manual that — for the adventurous — included a complete Z80 instruction set and list of internal memory locations.?
?The game on the screen here, 3D Monster Maze, was one of many that achieved the near-impossible by creating a real gaming experience from the upper-case-only, black-and-white, 32x24 character screen.?
?Reputedly, the ZX81 was the only product that made a profit for Sinclair Research: although the ZX Spectrum sold more, the high rate of returns of the device was expensive to maintain.?
?Also in this picture are the ZX Printer, which spark-eroded patterns onto metallicised paper, and the ZX Microdrives, which are endless loops of tape that frequently consumed more data than they regurgitated.?
Photos and captions: Rupert Goodwins, ZDNet UK
Just In
You didn't even *mention* that it's the Amiga's 25th Anniversary this month.
After seeing the video of the X1000 on amitopiatv.com, I've already started saving up for one.
Why would I want to buy a computer whose ancestor was doing what the xBox and wii are just now bragging about doing? (Google: Amiga Mandala)
That ISN'T really a "co-processor".. it's a "software defined silicon" as they call it. A completely independent reprogrammable processor, at 500mhz. Of course, the Amiga blew Mac and PCs away with its original, dedicated-function co-processors. But let's not that get in the way of a good sneer campaign.
That's in addition to the dual-core 1.8 ghz (possibly G5?) cpu, the Xorro pci-e based bus (which can theoretically provide 256 Xena processors), ATI video, and pretty much modern capabilities.
That programmable, additional cpu will allow for near-perfect emulation, both of old Amiga hardware/software, and other old systems. Or it could be programmed as a physics calculator, or signal processor (then multiply that by 256). Or any number of applications not thought of yet... kind of like what the original Amiga did.
Just because it has an old OS (Amiga OS4.1 won't even *run* on the original Amigas, anymore than OSX will run on original Macs) name, just because it has superior potential, (as did its namesake), DON'T sneer at it. I wouldn't be surprised if you were one of those wall-eyed Mac fanatics who really think their boutique toys are anything new.
I'd suggest anyone else with an open mind and an enthusiasm for computer gadgetry visit http://www.a-eon.com and see for yourself what they're making.
Amiga - Today's technology... yesterday.
Who'd a thunk it back then, throw away electronics
Join the conversation!
The best of ZDNet, delivered
ZDNet Newsletters
Get the best of ZDNet delivered straight to your inbox
Vendor Showcase
Facebook Activity
