http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Topic: Raspberry Pi en Sat, 16 May 2026 23:49:21 +0000 http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=5499#post-58932 Thu, 01 Mar 2012 14:29:47 +0000 Stepdoh 58932@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>This was my joystick of choice though, possibly the most eighties looking device ever made. Even had torque control.</p> <p><img src="http://i42.tinypic.com/3523kvc.jpg"></p> <p>PS, if you're ever feeling nostalgic about the controllers of yore, go here and remember how absoultely guff they all were...</p> <p><a href="http://members.optusnet.com.au/spacetaxi64/MAIN/JOYSTICK-MUSEUM.htm" rel="nofollow">http://members.optusnet.com.au/spacetaxi64/MAIN/JOYSTICK-MUSEUM.htm</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=5499#post-58931 Thu, 01 Mar 2012 14:27:42 +0000 amir 58931@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>We seemed to do a lot of "PEEK"ing and "POKE"ing in those early days </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=5499#post-58929 Thu, 01 Mar 2012 14:21:59 +0000 Stepdoh 58929@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I had that, it was amazing. I think several quickshot joysticks were knackered on that one.</p> <p>Joystick, remember that word kids. Think it has a slightly grubbier meaning these days, but those were innocent times. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=5499#post-58924 Thu, 01 Mar 2012 13:58:10 +0000 cb 58924@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>"Sadly it was a c16 with a bit more (usually unutilised) ram inside"</p> <p>Summer Events and Winter Events by Udo Gertz were probably the pinacle of +4 gaming.<br /> For some strange reason I was able to remember the name of the programmer whilst I can barely remember my own birthday these days. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=5499#post-58914 Thu, 01 Mar 2012 12:58:11 +0000 Stepdoh 58914@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Yay cb, another +4 user! Remember the design was way ahead of anything at the time. Sadly it was a c16 with a bit more (usually unutilised) ram inside an amiga 600 chassis.</p> <p>Getting a 64 after it almost felt like a step back. </p> <p>Very good point on the spec keyboards, not so good for touchtyping, so it's actually quite a neat little solution.</p> <p>WP, when doing basic in Commodore you always had to remember that it was spelled 'COLOR' </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=5499#post-58910 Thu, 01 Mar 2012 12:49:57 +0000 chdot 58910@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>"I doubt the drive belt for the 3" disk drive will still be up to turning the disk..."</p> <p>Other rubber bands are available. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=5499#post-58908 Thu, 01 Mar 2012 12:43:41 +0000 cb 58908@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>It was probably helpful on the rubbish keyboards of the ZX81 and Sinclair Spectrum.</p> <p>My brother had a ZX81 but I don't remember typing much more than<br /> 10 PRINT"HELLO"<br /> 20 GOTO 10</p> <p>Then we had a Plus 4 (Stepdoh must have had the other one) then various Amstrad CPCs. With computers like that you just had to stand back and watch all your friends swap games at school.</p> <p>Keep meaning to drag my old CPC 664 out and see if I can transfer some of the stuff I wrote for it over to an emulator. I doubt the drive belt for the 3" disk drive will still be up to turning the disk... </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=5499#post-58906 Thu, 01 Mar 2012 12:34:13 +0000 wingpig 58906@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>It was the first thing I encountered, so it didn't seem weird. I didn't have any problem with spelling but it made it handier to know that commands were correctly-spelled. Also, many an idle moment could be spent pressing and holding a key so that it printed RANDOMIZE RANDOMIZE RANDOMIZE all the way along and down the screen, increasingly slowly as it filled up... </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=5499#post-58905 Thu, 01 Mar 2012 12:27:55 +0000 Stepdoh 58905@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Geeky question here, but did anyone like the single button shortcut basic model that Spectrums had? </p> <p>I always thought it was rubbish, but was coming from a solidly commodore (Plus 4, 64C, Amiga 1200) background. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=5499#post-58812 Wed, 29 Feb 2012 21:13:30 +0000 LaidBack 58812@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em>If you have an Android smartphone you already have access to a phenomenally powerful Linux based platform </em></p> <p>I was wondering whether a Linux enthusiast might have a 'pure' Linux smartphone without all these annoying little icons on it... ;-)</p> <p>Mind you the key pad wouldn't work would it.....? </p> <p>Anyway I'm a fake  phone user now... able to look at all my emails twice now so I can save time.. (?) </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=5499#post-58804 Wed, 29 Feb 2012 20:32:52 +0000 gembo 58804@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>What the chap said that was telling, before the websites crashed was - if you say "Design your own app" people like the sound of it but if you say "learn how to programme" they don't.</p> <p>R4 Today programme has been trailing this Raspberry Pi before. The whole history of the BBC computers is interesting. Acorn rather than Apple. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=5499#post-58792 Wed, 29 Feb 2012 16:18:06 +0000 crowriver 58792@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I'm considering one for No.1 son. I recall fooling around on various friends' ZX Spectrums in the 1980s. You get an appreciation that it's the code that runs the machine... </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=5499#post-58791 Wed, 29 Feb 2012 15:51:04 +0000 SRD 58791@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Both Mr SRD and I are solid arts/social science folks, and I lay no claim at all to computing skill of any sort but we both said this morning 'maybe we should get one of those'. </p> <p>Maybe it is generational...we had a ZX-81 when I was a bit too young to appreciate it, and I was given an early hand-me-down apple 2+ by family friends when I started University. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=5499#post-58790 Wed, 29 Feb 2012 15:25:22 +0000 Cyclingmollie 58790@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>holisticglint: <em>"If you have an Android smartphone you already have access to a phenomenally powerful Linux based platform with a very good development system."</em></p> <p>I agree, I managed to create a "whack a daughter" game (think whack a rat but with my youngest's head instead of the rat).</p> <p>I'm not sure how exciting the Rapberry Pi will be to children. I saw pupils programming micro-chips at the last school open day I was at so they already have access to quite powerful tools. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=5499#post-58785 Wed, 29 Feb 2012 15:05:35 +0000 steveo 58785@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em>So, you're in the "bubble of tech"(?) </em></p> <p>I'm only more techy than my child by virtue of him being 1. ;)</p> <p>I'm definitely more techy than your average person, potentially because I grew up in the C64/bbc micro generation, but whether i'm more techy than your average 18 year old I don't know. </p> <p>I'm the computer support for my family but there are only a couple of cousins younger than me and the only one who ever asks me any thing is a primary school teacher, not sure what that says... </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=5499#post-58784 Wed, 29 Feb 2012 15:05:17 +0000 holisticglint 58784@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Thinking about it - the processor on these boards is from the previous generation of mobile phones. If you have an Android smartphone you already have access to a phenomenally powerful Linux based platform with a very good development system.</p> <p><a href="http://developer.android.com/index.html" rel="nofollow">http://developer.android.com/index.html</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=5499#post-58783 Wed, 29 Feb 2012 15:04:08 +0000 chdot 58783@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@holisticglint</p> <p>That's sounds like a better assessment (and more optimistic) than technology journalist Michael Rockman" 's quote. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=5499#post-58782 Wed, 29 Feb 2012 15:00:08 +0000 holisticglint 58782@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Sort of true I'd guess. The number of candidates for higher computing has been around 4K for years - not what I would call popular. It could be that there is not enough promotion of computing in schools especially with no clear successor to the BBC Micro and a lack of teachers with a suitable background - which is what the Raspberry Pi is supposed to address.</p> <p>When it comes down to it coding is hard and requires practice, patience and concentration to learn (much like maths) which is not a skill set normally associated with teenagers.</p> <p>It is always going to be a niche subject but efforts like Raspberry Pi are worthwhile to ensure that as many people as possible at least get a chance at trying their hand at it. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=5499#post-58779 Wed, 29 Feb 2012 14:48:27 +0000 chdot 58779@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@steveo </p> <p>So, you're in the "bubble of tech"(?) </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=5499#post-58773 Wed, 29 Feb 2012 14:41:13 +0000 steveo 58773@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I nearly got up to try and order one but figured the servers would melt down. Farnell, one of worlds largest electronics distributors, has only just started to come back to life. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=5499#post-58765 Wed, 29 Feb 2012 14:20:30 +0000 chdot 58765@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>NOTHING to do with cycling - or food...</p> <p>This is all over radio, TV and 'net today - The Raspberry Pi computer goes on general salehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-17190918</p> <p>I know that this forum has a disproportionate number of people with an interest (often professional) in computers.</p> <p>Was wondering if this is 'true' -</p> <p>"<br /> But the Pi does have its doubters, like technology journalist Michael Rockman, who recently wrote: "Today's kids aren't interested (in coding). The world has moved on…what makes their applications work or what is inside the black box is as interesting as the washing machine or vacuum cleaner.</p> <p>"I've long thought that there is a bubble of tech; people of my age are more techie than their children."</p> <p>"</p> <p><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-17192823" rel="nofollow">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-17192823</a> </p>