Sinclair and ZX Spectrum, two names that resonate with nostalgia in the hearts of 80s retrocomputer enthusiasts. In this video, I had the honor of interviewing Mario Prato, Eugenio Ciceri and Davide Barlotti. You have no idea how many times I have watched this interview, full of passion and information!
This adventure into the past has been led by three industry experts: Mario Prato, Eugenio Ciceri, and Davide Barlotti, each of whom has contributed to reviving the fascination of Sinclair and the ZX Spectrum in particular.
Mario Prato - The clones of the ZX Spectrum
Mario Prato ha iniziato la presentazione, introducendo alcuni cloni dello ZX Spectrum. In particolare, ha messo in risalto il Chrome 3, un clone avanzato del classico ZX Spectrum. Ma cosa rende il Chrome 3 così speciale? È un clone "all'italiana" che ha fatto un passo avanti nel mondo moderno.
Chrome 3 maintains the charm of the original ZX Spectrum but has been enhanced with modern components. It has a faster and more memory CPU than the original model. But the news does not end there. The Chrome 3 is equipped with a sound card that allows you to listen to championship music. In addition, Mario presents interfaces to connect floppy disk to the spectrum, recalling the era of vintage computers.
But the journey does not stop there. Mario Prato shared an exciting personal creation: a Russian -derivation clone, made with modern logic. This experiment was born during the Lockdown period, when Mario decided to get his hands on components available at home, just like the Russians did in past years. This clone, with 512kb of RAM, offers advanced features such as a real -time clock, an overclockow CPU and a mouse.
Eugenio Ciceri - The journey into the history of the Sinclair Zx Spectrum
Then it is the moment of Eugenio Ciceri, an expert who guided us through the history of the ZX Spectrum. Spectrum was the starting point for many enthusiasts, with its initial ZX81, a black and white model with only 1kb of RAM. Despite his limitations, he was braised by nerds and enthusiasts of the time.
The subsequent versions of the Sinclair computer, such as the ZX Spectrum, have opened new horizons for users, with the possibility of expanding the RAM up to 48kb. The ZX Spectrum was a computer for Sterittoni, an exciting challenge for aspiring programmers. However, Spectrum had its limitations compared to its competitors, such as Commodore 64. A dedicated graphic chip and dedicated audio chip was missing, which meant that the developers had to make the most of the available resources, creating creative solutions to obtain advanced graphic effects.
Il famigerato "color clash" è diventato un tratto distintivo dello Spectrum, amato dagli utenti ma spesso anche odiato! In pratica, il colore dell’oggetto in movimento sul monitor, prendeva il colore dello sfondo. Anche il sonoro aveva le sue sfide, con un sistema a un solo bit e un piccolo altoparlante. Nonostante queste limitazioni, gli sviluppatori hanno dimostrato la loro abilità nel creare suoni multitonali, sfidando l'assenza di un chip audio dedicato.
Ma l'Spectrum non si è fermato alle sue origini. Eugenio Ciceri ci ha mostrato lo Spectrum 128K, che aveva ben 128KB di RAM, e introduceva anche il "double buffer" per animazioni grafiche più fluide. E poi è arrivato lo ZX Spectrum Next, un'evoluzione che ha portato questo 8-bit nel terzo millennio. Questa potente macchina, progettata da appassionati in tempi moderni, offre una grafica a 256 colori e una serie di nuove funzionalità che lo fanno sembrare più un Amiga degli anni '90 che un computer degli anni '80.
What do the computers presented by Eugenio Ciceri have in common? They were all designed by Rick Dickinson, a late industrial designer who was particularly skilled in computer engineering.
An Exciting Experiment with the Sinclair ZX Spectrum
Davide Barlotti concluded the presentation with an interesting experiment. He has shown how it is possible to use components available in the 80s to acquire images and print them in black and white.
Using a camera and a monochromatic video acquisition card, Davide caught an image (my image!), Showing it on a ZX Spectrum 48k and saving it on Floppy Disk.
The highlight, however, was the "copy on paper", that is, the printing of the image with an old printer to A needle Centronix. The characteristic sound of the needle that affects the card has become an almost Asmr experience, remembering the days when printing an image also required time and patience.
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