Colour clash. If only Sinclair had followed the Spectrum up with a machine that could handle more than 2 colours in a 8x8 space, things could have been so different. The 128 was a disppointment to me as it didn't fix this problem, so I never got one.
On 2003-11-12 01:07, chaosmongers wrote:
The really cheap and thin cables on the power supply leads, that used to reset the computer if you moved it.
...in my case, it'd have to be the general flimsiness of the 9V DC connection in the back of my +2. Nothing to hold the plug in securely, and the slightest movement would crash it... in the end, I resorted to coiling the wire round a full turn and fixing it to the desk with a large amount of blu-tack so that the coil pushed the plug into the socket. Then it worked...
The lack of an on/off switch.
The lack of a composite video output.
The lack of joystick support in the default configuration.
Here are the things I loved, besides:
The lack of the need to use a dedicated tape recorder.
The BASIC.
The look.
The feeling of the rubber keys.
The heat generated by the machine (yes!).
1. Dodgy power and aerial connector on the original 48k. I had to get 4 replacement Speccies from Boots!!!! after they ran out of rubber ones they gave me a Spectrum+ which I had for ages until I upgraded to a +2A.
2. After spending many hours designing games on GAC on my 48 to only find out that GAC would not load on the +2A......:o(
3. Having to fanny about with the POT on the built in 'DATACORDER' on the +2A to get 'backup' games to work....
Things I loved are:-
1. The original 48 was just lovely. It didn?t look like a standard computer.
2. The rubber keys...until they broke...
3. I remember actually heating my hands on the power supply once as my bedroom was bloody freezing.
I cant see owners of PC's or PS2 talking like this in 20 years....I suppose it was because the speccy and comode 64 were really at the forefront of the home computer revolution...its all taken for granted these days...un grateful little tossers!!!! Bah Humbug....;)
Having to wait a loooong time to receive the Speccy through a mail-order company and then (if my memory serves me correctly) having again to wait quite a while to get it fixed.
Speccy-scene must have been many steps more active in England than in Finland, where Spectrum was not the number one machine (at least in terms of sales numbers).
Not about Speccy, but about some crap hackers - some of them made really stupid loaders, therefore some games *would have* loaded if there would haven't been the shitty loaders.
I remember they was making me mad. ;)
Well, I have to go with "R Tape loading error" on this one... was losing my mind when Full Throttle didn't load... tried 20 times, than decided to write Full Throttle game myself... no need to say that I didn't succeed...hey, I was 8 at the time... :) and today, I am a programmer... :) maybe I should thank that message?!?!? :)
I'll have to agree with Chaosmonger. The keyboard membrane could really get my goat, especially when I had to sit and wait for 30 mins so that the Speccy could warm up and before the keyboard started responding!
The other thing would be the dodgy TV out jack, which was a touch delicate on my speccy. I remember having to put a tape cover underneath it at just the right angle before I got a nice picture on my T.V!
- having to pull the power plug to reset, although that was a stress reliever in cases of frustration :)
- the fact that you could throw your machine in the bin if you attached/removed interfaces while on
- the modulator slightly shifting frequence with the heat, forcing me to retune the tv all the time
What I absolutely loved
- size
- the buzzing of the machine while on
- hi-res
- basic
- the black and grey audio jack cable
- the smell
- the look
On 2003-11-13 13:24, Arjun wrote:
yanek, a true pervert would point out that it's just as well that the things on your \"hate list\" don't apply to your wife!
Yes, well, now you mentioned it, one thing that both lack comes to mind, a somekind of volume control or mute-button... :)
And something obvious that I missed from the hate list:
The SJS-1 joystick. I had a +2, so never had a Kempston interface, or any other type. In the end I used the keyboard for everything and dropped games with crap keyboard controls.
On 2003-11-16 11:46, wilsonsamm wrote:
Sounds like you all hate the Spectrum...
It's not that. ZX Spectrum is a personal computer with a very strong personality. And we all love the little black thing just for that, but as always with strong personalities there are always things that irritate.
I must confess that I like Commode 64 too (please don't hate me). The C64 is a good machine, but nothing else. ZX Spectrum has got something else. It's got personality. I like Commode, but I LOVE the Speccy.
Comments
Apart from that it was (still is) perfect :)
In fact, the whole Amstrad thing.
plus coming onto internet zx spectrum messageboards 20 years later
But i still love the small black rubber keyed bundle of joy :)
The really cheap and thin cables on the power supply leads, that used to reset the computer if you moved it.
...in my case, it'd have to be the general flimsiness of the 9V DC connection in the back of my +2. Nothing to hold the plug in securely, and the slightest movement would crash it... in the end, I resorted to coiling the wire round a full turn and fixing it to the desk with a large amount of blu-tack so that the coil pushed the plug into the socket. Then it worked...
The lack of a composite video output.
The lack of joystick support in the default configuration.
Here are the things I loved, besides:
The lack of the need to use a dedicated tape recorder.
The BASIC.
The look.
The feeling of the rubber keys.
The heat generated by the machine (yes!).
2. After spending many hours designing games on GAC on my 48 to only find out that GAC would not load on the +2A......:o(
3. Having to fanny about with the POT on the built in 'DATACORDER' on the +2A to get 'backup' games to work....
Things I loved are:-
1. The original 48 was just lovely. It didn?t look like a standard computer.
2. The rubber keys...until they broke...
3. I remember actually heating my hands on the power supply once as my bedroom was bloody freezing.
I cant see owners of PC's or PS2 talking like this in 20 years....I suppose it was because the speccy and comode 64 were really at the forefront of the home computer revolution...its all taken for granted these days...un grateful little tossers!!!! Bah Humbug....;)
Speccy-scene must have been many steps more active in England than in Finland, where Spectrum was not the number one machine (at least in terms of sales numbers).
SpecMem
I remember they was making me mad. ;)
The other thing would be the dodgy TV out jack, which was a touch delicate on my speccy. I remember having to put a tape cover underneath it at just the right angle before I got a nice picture on my T.V!
Bytes:Chuntey - Spectrum tech blog.
- having to pull the power plug to reset, although that was a stress reliever in cases of frustration :)
- the fact that you could throw your machine in the bin if you attached/removed interfaces while on
- the modulator slightly shifting frequence with the heat, forcing me to retune the tv all the time
What I absolutely loved
- size
- the buzzing of the machine while on
- hi-res
- basic
- the black and grey audio jack cable
- the smell
- the look
-missing powerswitch (addon)
-self adjusting TV-modulator
-missing joystick interface (addon)
-Pitfall 2
But things that I LOVE in my Speccy:
-it's so beautiful
-it feels so good
-I have spent countless hours of quality time with it
-the thrill when it turns on
Or was these the things I love in my wife...? Well, close enough... ;)
[ This Message was edited by: Yanek on 2003-11-13 12:05 ]
\"missing joystick interface\".... lol.
no offense meant! :)
Bytes:Chuntey - Spectrum tech blog.
Yes, well, now you mentioned it, one thing that both lack comes to mind, a somekind of volume control or mute-button... :)
But, I still love them both!
The SJS-1 joystick. I had a +2, so never had a Kempston interface, or any other type. In the end I used the keyboard for everything and dropped games with crap keyboard controls.
the thing I hated most about the spectrum was all those horrid boys at school who used to pick on me insisting that the Commodore 64 was better!
it wasn't, it never was and it never will be!
Why then are you all here?
The Austin Allegro had a quartic steering wheel which was crap.... but a round one just ain't the same.
Am I sad or what?
It's not that. ZX Spectrum is a personal computer with a very strong personality. And we all love the little black thing just for that, but as always with strong personalities there are always things that irritate.
I must confess that I like Commode 64 too (please don't hate me). The C64 is a good machine, but nothing else. ZX Spectrum has got something else. It's got personality. I like Commode, but I LOVE the Speccy.
@luny@mstdn.games
https://www.luny.co.uk