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Vintage Computers Any vintage computer systems, calculators, video games etc., but with an emphasis on 1980s and earlier equipment.

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Old 27th Apr 2018, 1:16 pm   #1
SiriusHardware
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Default Rick Dickinson, ZX designer, R.I.P.

It has sadly been reported that Rick Dickinson, the designer responsible for the appearance of the Sinclair ZX computers, has passed away.

https://www.theguardian.com/games/20...ers-dies-in-us

I've always thought that the ZX81 in particular was a really nice looking bit of equipment, although the addition of the official 16K memory 'brick' which was required to make the machine generally usable did it no favours.

Dickinson's original idea was for the RAM pack to extend out horizontally from the main console continuing the same outline, as indeed some third party memory add ons, notably those by Memotech, tried to do.

With the passing of time it has become much easier to install the 16K RAM internally by replacing the original 1K internal RAM with a larger SRAM like a 62256, thus making the machine usable -and stable- without spoiling Dickinson's classic lines.
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Old 29th Apr 2018, 3:34 am   #2
IanBland
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Default Re: Rick Dickinson, ZX designer, R.I.P.

Oh, that's sad.

I was one of the eager teenage buyers of a ZX81 and while it is considered naff today, and was even by people with "better" computers, it was amazing at the time. I'd never dreamed an ordinary lad could ever own a computer.

Despite being small it had (to me at least) a kind of reassuring weight to it in that little package that initially at least gave me a sense of awe. That sounds kind of ridiculous now I know, but it wasn't a toy like a TV game. You could program it! I still know my Z80 assembler off by heart (real men, er, bedroom nerds) write it on paper and hand assemble it you know, heh.

I find programming microcontrollers today- I use 8 bit PICs quite a lot- has some of that close-to-the-metal feel that has been lost on mainstream computing.

Dickinson was a major part of a revolution. Sadly missed.
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Old 29th Apr 2018, 4:31 pm   #3
electronicskip
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Default Re: Rick Dickinson, ZX designer, R.I.P.

My first ever "video game" was orbit , on the ZX81 .
I still have it and my original ZX81 in my workshop/shed today .
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Old 29th Apr 2018, 6:14 pm   #4
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Default Re: Rick Dickinson, ZX designer, R.I.P.

What a shame. The ZX81 was indeed a smart little thing, even if you could see the lack of budget.
How I wish I'd kept mine. It was my first experience of a programmable computer and I was amazed by how I could talk to it in (almost) English! It was slow, but fast enough to do some nifty things on. Even with just the 1k of memory, it was possible to learn Basic and get some enjoyment. I wrote a reaction timer - this drew a series of black blocks across the screen, taking about half a second to complete. For/next loops determined the speed.
I also managed to make a *very* basic Space Invaders type game which ran at a snail's pace but I was enthralled. Those were the days. I graduated to a BBC-B which knocked the 81 into a cocked hat but somehow didn't have the cheeky character of the little Sinclair.
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Old 30th Apr 2018, 10:27 am   #5
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Default Re: Rick Dickinson, ZX designer, R.I.P.

I lived just down the road from him in my Sinclair days, lovely chap. Lost contact when I moved from Cambridge.
 
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