Some person on your staff is well acquainted with the technical aspects of computers, but is totally incapable of teaching others what he knows; his writing is obscure; he fails to give examples which would enable the tyro to make sense out of what he is saying. These remarks apply aptly to recent articles on addressing and keyboard scanning, to mention just two. A suggestion: show the article to a tyro before publication; his questions will serve as a guide to fuller and simpler explanations.
A Reader, Clifton Park, NY
Syntax opted, at its founding, to serve a continuing audience. Novices rapidly progress to more knowing states. Much of what goes in Syntax builds on previously published material (our collected back issues are available as The Works II–see our order blank on page 11). Tyros should also use books and users’ groups to learn fundamentals. Syntax does take care to present programs in recipe form–you need not understand, you may simply use. But when you reach understanding, Syntax wants you to see value still.
The Timex pullout was a disappointment, but one I felt I could live with. What I see as the real threat to ZX/TS computing is the alarming number of panic stricken third party software and hardware producers leaving the Timex scene.
This wholesale desertion perplexes me because, contrary to what those leaving the industry may say about the ZX/TS market being dead, I have been inundated with calls and letters from people who say, “Please don’t give up on ZX/TS computers.”
A healthy market is there for people who offer quality, honesty and fair prices. I would encourage those in the business to stick with their Timex line. Opportunity still knocks for anyone who wants to get started and is willing to see their project through.
If the ZX/TS computer does eventually fade away, it will not be because Timex quit. The real reason, rather, will be that there isn’t any software or hardware available for it. Users will simply lose interest. To keep the machine alive, we must all pull together and communicate. SYNTAX offers a rare opportunity to coordinate this.
Thomas B. Woods, Jefferson, NH
I tried “Recipes for Advanced Video” [SYNTAX Feb.84], and I got 64 columns, but could only use every other one. Printer output did not change. Why?
John Kuhn, Jacksonville, FL
Although the TS2068 hardware can display 64 columns per line, none of the software included in the BASIC ROM takes advantage of this feature. When in 64 column mode, every other character in a line comes from DFILE2 (BASIC always uses DFILE1). The TS2040 and ZX Printers cannot COPY the 64 column display because they cannot print 512 dots per line.
Supelco sells thermal paper for the HP 3390 Integrator, the same paper used with TS2040 printers except in 400 foot rolls. I have used both the black and blue, and both work very well. I like the blue because the paper is whiter. [Supelco, Inc., 3110 Forest Oaks Dr. Suite 250, Houston, TX 77017 713/947-8640, Cat. number 2-2337 (blue); 2-2355 (black)]
I also found gold PC board edge connector fingers that can be soldered to the fingers of the ZX/TS [Elfab Corp., POB 810555, Dallas, TX 75381 214/233-3033].
David Huebsch, Chesapeake, VA
Why do you print ZX/TS programs and say “Translate with FIRSTLOADER, then make these changes”? Why don’t I just type them into my TS2068 with the changes?
Why did you put Syntactic Sum for the 2068 in the UDG memory? Why did you then CLEAR 65499, since the UDG area is already protected from NEW?
Why was the data in “Recipes for 2068 Advanced Video” [SYNTAX Feb.84] in hex, then translated?
James F. Brezina, Elmhurst IL
You can certainly enter TS1000 programs directly into your TS2068, with the published changes. Or you can translate.
We considered the UDG area one which was safely out of the way so that Syntactic Sums could be calculated for programs that fill all of memory. The CLEAR was a harmless oversight.
The source document for “Recipes” contained the code in hexidecimal. We opted to publish it in hex to avoid translation errors. The BASIC code which converts hex to decimal is useful in other ways and very compact, relying on the VAL function’s ability to evaluate a variable.