Hi, To stimulate the debate further.
I still believe that new hardware stimulates new software, which all goes together to create activity and interest. The QL with the original QDOS and the newer SMSQ/E has an OS that is still interesting and capable of development. The form factor of the original QL black box has the dimensions of a modern keyboard, a convenient size; and many users and those with a retro interest coming to the QL for the first time regard the industrial design as cool in appearance. There have been many developments to the original specification of 128K RAM and 2 microdrives. Disk drive interfaces with extra RAM, Hard drive interfaces, etc. The Gold Card and Super Gold Card set the eventual standard of an expanded upgrade - yet they are now in short supply. The Emulators have taken the OS on to different platforms of hardware, like the PC. Acceptance has to be given to users who have many different needs and current set ups. With many users having several set ups in use. Both old and new users are stimulated by something new. Repeating a list that I gave earlier - probably 3 item ranges will be suited : 1 - £50 to £100 a card of some type, probably modular too, that most people would have an interest in to add to their existing system 2 - £100 to £200+ a card of some type, probably again modular too, that would significantly change the system - discarding the existing GC's and SGC's 3 - £300 to £400 an entirely, or almost entirely, new system of a small size, or even portable, using standard available parts as far as possible Rich Mellor recently gave me this link to an interesting hardware development for the BBC model B computer, that had 32K RAM. The GoMMC which allows the BBC to use a multi-media card (MMC) - see http://web.inter.nl.net/users/J.Kortink/home/hardware/gommc/what.htm Cost is around 74 euros plus postage and the MMC. -- Malcolm Cadman _______________________________________________ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
