Bletchley Park Vintage Computer Festival - pictures
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From: SteveH on 21 Jun 2010 13:54 Rowland McDonnell <real-address-in-sig(a)flur.bltigibbet.invalid> wrote: > > That is understandable. The dragon was bad enough, why would you want to > > expand on that? > > <cough> The Dragon had some interesting features that made is a lot > better than is apparent from the basic specs. Or most common usage, for > that matter... It had (has) a very good keyboard - remember, it was priced up as a Spectrum competitor, so it was a bit of a revalation to get a proper keyboard, rather than squidgy bits of rubber. Going with 6809 processors rather than Z80 gave it a technologial edge, but very few applications seemed to take advantage of this. It was the only 'home' computer to support analogue joysticks and have an 'industry standard' parallel printer port, too. Oh, and you could run it at double clock speed with a simple POKE. ISTR it's POKE 65535,1 <mine's the green anorak with a red dragon on the back> > Me? Oh, I never really used one - but I've looked into them a bit, and > I think my dad probably has one in a cupboard somewhere (a boring normal > Dragon 32; if so, I might get it one day). I still have mine. And the dot matrix printer bought soon after. Way back in the day I wrote a very simple 'notepad' type application so I could type up my homework on it. -- SteveH
From: Jim on 21 Jun 2010 14:37 Rowland McDonnell <real-address-in-sig(a)flur.bltigibbet.invalid> wrote: > > They're -incredibly- rare. > > Lots of things are incredibly rare. What's the sense in having one of > these rare things? I think this is one of those areas where if I have to explain it then you're probably not going to get it (not through any fault of yours). But it's got a lot to do with my being interested in the era. Jim -- "Microsoft admitted its Vista operating system was a 'less good product' in what IT experts have described as the most ambitious understatement since the captain of the Titanic reported some slightly damp tablecloths." http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/
From: SteveH on 21 Jun 2010 14:44 Jim <jim(a)magrathea.plus.com> wrote: > SteveH <italiancar(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > > It was the only 'home' computer to support analogue joysticks and have > > an 'industry standard' parallel printer port, too. > > I assume you're discounting the BBC Micro and Apple 2 in this category? When I say 'home' computer, I mean something that the average person would have bought - ie. the same market segment as the Spectrum / Vic 20 / C64 etc. Can't remember how much our Dragon cost - think it was �179 at Christmas in 1982. A BBC was double that - and an Apple II even more, as I recall. Even the Acorn Electron was a lot more expensive. -- SteveH
From: Jim on 21 Jun 2010 14:49 SteveH <italiancar(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > I assume you're discounting the BBC Micro and Apple 2 in this category? > > When I say 'home' computer, I mean something that the average person > would have bought - ie. the same market segment as the Spectrum / Vic 20 > / C64 etc. > > Can't remember how much our Dragon cost - think it was �179 at Christmas > in 1982. > > A BBC was double that - and an Apple II even more, as I recall. > > Even the Acorn Electron was a lot more expensive. No they weren't - Electrons went for about �199. But I see where you're coming from on the others. Jim -- "Microsoft admitted its Vista operating system was a 'less good product' in what IT experts have described as the most ambitious understatement since the captain of the Titanic reported some slightly damp tablecloths." http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/
From: Woody on 21 Jun 2010 17:26
Jim <jim(a)magrathea.plus.com> wrote: > SteveH <italiancar(a)gmail.com> wrote: > >>> I assume you're discounting the BBC Micro and Apple 2 in this > > > category? >> >> When I say 'home' computer, I mean something that the average person >> would have bought - ie. the same market segment as the Spectrum / Vic > > 20 >> / C64 etc. >> >> Can't remember how much our Dragon cost - think it was £179 at > > Christmas >> in 1982. >> >> A BBC was double that - and an Apple II even more, as I recall. >> >> Even the Acorn Electron was a lot more expensive. > > No they weren't - Electrons went for about £199. > > But I see where you're coming from on the others. I bought a BBC b, and I really was not rich at the time. It was way nicer to use. -- Woody |