ZX81 denigrated! (was Re: Approaches to projects)

From: Tony Duell <ard_at_p850ug1.demon.co.uk>
Date: Sat Nov 27 18:55:07 2004

>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Tony Duell <ard_at_p850ug1.demon.co.uk>
>
> > What's this love of the ZX81, which I regard as a postively horrible
> > machine. I'd not rip one apart, though, mainly because there's little of
> > use to raid from it...
>
> You regard it as horrible because . . . ?
>
> (Please don't mention the keyboard. Lots of machines of
> that era had crap keyboards. It's easy to attach a better
> keyboard to a ZX81.)

OK, in no particular order :

The keyboard (and see below for my comment on your comment). It's almost
unusuable

The video system. It's a total kludge, about the worst I've seen

The cassette storage (I am used to _reliable_ data storage systems)

The BASIC. BASIC is not my favourite language at the best of times, this
versions is one of the worst, though

The expansion connector (the physical form of it, the fact that if the
RAMpack wobbles, the machine crashes).

The ULA. I dislike hardware I can't hack, modify or repair.

OK, most of those can be got round by adding/replacing hardware. But by
the time you've finished, about all that's left of the ZX81 is the Z80
CPU, and there are plenty of easier ways of getting and useing that chip.

For the time, it was cheap, and therefore sold well. Nowadays there are
many, many, nicer machines available for less money than a second-hand
ZX81...

-tony
Received on Sat Nov 27 2004 - 18:55:07 GMT