ZX Microfair Report
September 26, 1981, was a great day for many ZX80 and ZX81 users in the UK. They braved the wind and rain to go to the first ZX Microfair, held in Central Hall, Westminster, London. The show was a resounding success to the extent that some people queued up to one hour to get in. But once inside, the display of new software and new products was well worth the wait.
Quite a few new products caught my attention. First of all, Quicksilva had a Programmable Character Generator Board which allows you to create your own character set, either for output to the television or to the ZX Printer. The board would, therefore, allow an upper and lower case set to be generated or a “Space Invader” character to be formed. Also on Quicksilva’s stand was their Sound Board playing Bach in three-part harmony and a full feature Defender program with sound effects (if a Sound Board is connected, that is).
Moving on, DCP Microdevelopments has a prototype Voice Synthesizer Board attached to a ZX81 through one of their Peripheral Packs. The Voice Synthesizer should be available in early 1982, but the Peripheral Pack, containing 4K RAM and an 8-Bit Input/Output Port, is available now.
Technomatic had a demonstration of some of the many uses for their low cost I/O Port for the ZX80 and ZX81, including music (well actually just a series of bleeps!) and various external control functions.
Haven Hardware had their Programmable Character Generator on show and a prototype of their Colour Board. The Colour Board looks very impressive, but is not available yet.
Lots of software cassettes were for sale, ranging from Business Database packages to arcade-game programs. There must have been some fifty different software packages and fifteen books about the ZX80 and ZX81!
Sinclair had one of the new ZX Printers at the Microfair, but no other product news at the moment. The range of Sinclair software was there for sale, as was the ZX81 and 16K RAM Pack, but not the ZX Printer.
SYNC was there, represented by Hazel Gordon, Creative Computing’s UK representative. Altogether 32 exhibitors crammed into the one hall, and, despite the problem of large crowds, a fantastic time was had by all who went.
Martin Wren-Hilton
UK Correspondent to SYNC
ZX81 Launched in the U.S.
Sinclair Research Ltd., introduced the ZX81 to the U.S. market on October 7, 1981, at a press conference in Boston, Massachusetts. The ZX81 succeeds the ZX80. Based on Sinclair’s innovative four chip design, the ZX81 will be the least expensive personal computer in the world. It will retail in the U.S. at $149.95 assembled and at $99.95 for the kit version. Mail order sales will continue to be the main means of distribution, but American Express will also act as distributor.
Over 100,000 have been sold in Britain since its introduction there in March 1981. Sinclair expects the unit sales of the ZX81 to pass the unit sales of all other personal computers by the end of 1981.
In the question period following the announcement, Clive Sinclair emphasized that the ZX81 is aimed at two main potential buyers: the hobbyist and the man on the street who wants to learn about computers. Sinclair Research will emphasize educational programs and provide software. Software from others will be encouraged. Asked about a disc system, Sinclair noted that a British firm is offering one already and that Sinclair Research is working on its own model to be available sometime next year.
The ZX81 is described in Sinclair Research’s ad elsewhere in this issue of SYNC, so we will not repeat that information here. But three features that will be of great interest to U.S. users are: a switch allowing use on either channel 2 or 3, a built-in booster circuit for tape loading, and an increased power supply that will accommodate the 16K RAM.
Most impressive, however, was the printer demonstrated along with the ZX81. Unfortunately, it will not be available in the American market for the immediate future. A full sized sample of the printout demonstrated is shown in Figure 1.
10 DIM C(64)
20 FOR V=1 TO 64
30 LET C(V)=22+20*(SIN ((V-1)/
32*PI))
40 NEXT V
100 FOR G=1 TO 64
110 PLOT G-1,C(G)
115 NEXT G
117 GOSUB 1000
120 COPY
125 GOSUB 1000
130 LLIST
135 FOR H=1 TO 6
140 LPRINT
145 NEXT H
1000 IF INKEY$<>"" THEN RETURN
1010 GOTO 1000The World of Compukid
We have had a generation grow up not knowing a world without radio, another not knowing a world without TV, another not knowing a world without computers. Now we are watching another growing which has not known a world without personal home computers. When we look at the world, we use the images and the symbols we grew up on. This generation will look at the world with “computer eyes” and see things in new ways. We want to capture something of what they see and share it through the cartoon series we are introducing in this issue of SYNC “The World of Compukid [com-pu-kid].” How will the “computer age kids” use the computer symbols and language to describe and interpret the world? The difference between the compukid’s picture and the more conventional one should bring a smile at least and hopefully a good laugh.
We invite you (especially our younger readers) to submit ideas for our cartoonist. Natural, real life incidents are the best, but you do not need to limit your contribution to those. Older readers may have some fun by trying to see how the world might look through “Compukid’s” eyes.
Second ZX Microfair to be Held
Mike Johnston, who organized the first ZX Microfair held in September, has announced that a second one will be organized for January 30, 1982, again at Central Hall Westminster, London. Extended hours and doubled floor space will take the second fair beyond the first. Anticipating a larger show, Mike still hopes “to keep the same informal and friendly atmosphere” of the first. Mike can be contacted at [address omitted] (Tel. after 7 p.m., [phone number omitted]).