Thoughts regarding the TS2068 group
20 messages · 2008-05-21 → 2008-05-28 · Yahoo Group era · View archive on archive.org
Participants: Bill Loguidice, Adam Trionfo, zxbruno, Philip Kendall, Glen Goodwin, Timex, Jack Boatwright, Louis Florit
Preserved from the Timex/Sinclair 2068 Yahoo Group (2001–2019), which is no longer online. Text reproduced from the archive.org archive; email addresses masked.
Messages
1. Thoughts regarding the TS2068 group
zxbruno · Wed, 21 May 2008 23:06
Who shares the opinion that we should have a forum and ftp just for
the TS2068, instead of the group?
It seems to me that there are lots of important info contained within
the posted messages, but it's not as easy to use as a forum. There's
also the problem with the file hosting. I think we're at 50% right now.
I've been uploading TS material to WOS but I would like to have
something just for TS2068 users. Just look at how organized the ZX81
and WOS forums have become. It's just my opinion, but I think that the
yahoo group, while having been created with an honorable mission,
lacks the appeal to keep this thing going. We rarely get feedback, and
only a few members post. This is not the best way to keep the TS2068
alive. We need people to get more involved, to scan and preserve their
software and literature, to adapt new ideas from the Spectrum scene
and use them on the TS2068, etc.
As a type this, I'm uploading the book 'Powerful projects with your
Timex Sinclair'. Two days ago I uploaded the book 'The Best of Sum',
and I thank Fred for posting the link here. Next week I should have
several Sync magazines and a book called 'Sprites 2068' ready for
download.
Fred has offered to help me convert some software to .tzx.
I think we should organize ourselves and resuscitate the TS2068 addiction.
Please let me know what you think.
2. Re: [ts2068] Thoughts regarding the TS2068 group
Philip Kendall · Thu, 22 May 2008 08:42
On Wed, May 21, 2008 at 11:06:08PM -0000, zxbruno wrote:
> Who shares the opinion that we should have a forum and ftp just for
> the TS2068, instead of the group?
>
> It seems to me that there are lots of important info contained within
> the posted messages, but it's not as easy to use as a forum.
Forums suck.
E-mail is a nice, low maintenance way that I can get information about a
subject. It all just appears in my inbox - I don't have to go and check
yet another web site; I don't have time to do that for everything I'm
interested in (and that would include the TS2068 if it moved to a web
forum).
> It's just my opinion, but I think that the yahoo group, while having
> been created with an honorable mission, lacks the appeal to keep this
> thing going. We rarely get feedback, and only a few members post. This
> is not the best way to keep the TS2068 alive. We need people to get
> more involved, to scan and preserve their software and literature, to
> adapt new ideas from the Spectrum scene and use them on the TS2068, etc.
What you/we have here is a social problem (not enough people
contributing). You can't fix this with a technical solution (Look! Shiny
web forum! Bling!).
Cheers,
Phil
--
Philip Kendall <[email]>
http://www.shadowmagic.org.uk/
3. RE: [ts2068] Thoughts regarding the TS2068 group
Bill Loguidice · Thu, 22 May 2008 09:20
I disagree. I think forums are superior in a lot of ways to this
(organization, searchability, indexing, etc.), but the catch is getting
everyone to participate in the forums. From my perspective I do these
Yahoo/Google discussion groups as a necessary evil because it's another way
to share and discuss information, but I always prefer good forums,
particularly since I really only bother with these via my e-mail program
(Outlook) and never via a browser, effectively closing off prior searches
and archives to me if I don't make a special trip via a browser (and fat
chance of that).
=================================
Bill Loguidice, Managing Director
Armchair Arcade, Inc.
<http://www.armchairarcade.com/> http://www.armchairarcade.com
A PC Magazine Top 100 Website
=================================
_____
From: [email] [mailto:[email]] On Behalf Of
Philip Kendall
Sent: Thursday, May 22, 2008 3:43 AM
To: [email]
Subject: Re: [ts2068] Thoughts regarding the TS2068 group
On Wed, May 21, 2008 at 11:06:08PM -0000, zxbruno wrote:
> Who shares the opinion that we should have a forum and ftp just for
> the TS2068, instead of the group?
>
> It seems to me that there are lots of important info contained within
> the posted messages, but it's not as easy to use as a forum.
Forums suck.
E-mail is a nice, low maintenance way that I can get information about a
subject. It all just appears in my inbox - I don't have to go and check
yet another web site; I don't have time to do that for everything I'm
interested in (and that would include the TS2068 if it moved to a web
forum).
> It's just my opinion, but I think that the yahoo group, while having
> been created with an honorable mission, lacks the appeal to keep this
> thing going. We rarely get feedback, and only a few members post. This
> is not the best way to keep the TS2068 alive. We need people to get
> more involved, to scan and preserve their software and literature, to
> adapt new ideas from the Spectrum scene and use them on the TS2068, etc.
What you/we have here is a social problem (not enough people
contributing). You can't fix this with a technical solution (Look! Shiny
web forum! Bling!).
Cheers,
Phil
--
Philip Kendall <philip@shadowmagic. <mailto:philip%40shadowmagic.org.uk>
org.uk>
http://www.shadowma <http://www.shadowmagic.org.uk/> gic.org.uk/
4. Re: Thoughts regarding the TS2068 group
Glen Goodwin · Thu, 22 May 2008 09:41
I agree with Philip. I don't have the time to visit a Web-based
forum for each of my interests. When the mail is automatically
delivered to my Inbox, I am much more apt to read it then if I
have to visit a Web site.
Additionally, the majority of listservs which have moved to a
forum in the past few years have died off.
Not to mention that a TS2068 is capable of sending and receiving
email, but can not easily be used to browse the Web. Do we
really want to move to a format which excludes the very systems
we're trying to preserve???
Glen Goodwin
0/0
Philip Kendall wrote:
> On Wed, May 21, 2008 at 11:06:08PM -0000, zxbruno wrote:
>> Who shares the opinion that we should have a forum and ftp just for
>> the TS2068, instead of the group?
>>
>> It seems to me that there are lots of important info contained within
>> the posted messages, but it's not as easy to use as a forum.
>
> Forums suck.
>
> E-mail is a nice, low maintenance way that I can get information about a
> subject. It all just appears in my inbox - I don't have to go and check
> yet another web site; I don't have time to do that for everything I'm
> interested in (and that would include the TS2068 if it moved to a web
> forum).
>
>> It's just my opinion, but I think that the yahoo group, while having
>> been created with an honorable mission, lacks the appeal to keep this
>> thing going. We rarely get feedback, and only a few members post. This
>> is not the best way to keep the TS2068 alive. We need people to get
>> more involved, to scan and preserve their software and literature, to
>> adapt new ideas from the Spectrum scene and use them on the TS2068, etc.
>
> What you/we have here is a social problem (not enough people
> contributing). You can't fix this with a technical solution (Look! Shiny
> web forum! Bling!).
>
> Cheers,
>
> Phil
>
5. RE: [ts2068] Re: Thoughts regarding the TS2068 group
Bill Loguidice · Thu, 22 May 2008 09:56
Does anyone actually use the TS2068 to send and receive e-mail, even on this
list? There's usage, then there's masochism...
=================================
Bill Loguidice, Managing Director
Armchair Arcade, Inc.
<http://www.armchairarcade.com/> http://www.armchairarcade.com
A PC Magazine Top 100 Website
=================================
_____
From: [email] [mailto:[email]] On Behalf Of
Glen Goodwin
Sent: Thursday, May 22, 2008 9:41 AM
To: [email]
Subject: [ts2068] Re: Thoughts regarding the TS2068 group
I agree with Philip. I don't have the time to visit a Web-based
forum for each of my interests. When the mail is automatically
delivered to my Inbox, I am much more apt to read it then if I
have to visit a Web site.
Additionally, the majority of listservs which have moved to a
forum in the past few years have died off.
Not to mention that a TS2068 is capable of sending and receiving
email, but can not easily be used to browse the Web. Do we
really want to move to a format which excludes the very systems
we're trying to preserve???
Glen Goodwin
0/0
Philip Kendall wrote:
> On Wed, May 21, 2008 at 11:06:08PM -0000, zxbruno wrote:
>> Who shares the opinion that we should have a forum and ftp just for
>> the TS2068, instead of the group?
>>
>> It seems to me that there are lots of important info contained within
>> the posted messages, but it's not as easy to use as a forum.
>
> Forums suck.
>
> E-mail is a nice, low maintenance way that I can get information about a
> subject. It all just appears in my inbox - I don't have to go and check
> yet another web site; I don't have time to do that for everything I'm
> interested in (and that would include the TS2068 if it moved to a web
> forum).
>
>> It's just my opinion, but I think that the yahoo group, while having
>> been created with an honorable mission, lacks the appeal to keep this
>> thing going. We rarely get feedback, and only a few members post. This
>> is not the best way to keep the TS2068 alive. We need people to get
>> more involved, to scan and preserve their software and literature, to
>> adapt new ideas from the Spectrum scene and use them on the TS2068, etc.
>
> What you/we have here is a social problem (not enough people
> contributing). You can't fix this with a technical solution (Look! Shiny
> web forum! Bling!).
>
> Cheers,
>
> Phil
>
6. Re: [ts2068] Thoughts regarding the TS2068 group
Philip Kendall · Thu, 22 May 2008 14:57
On Thu, May 22, 2008 at 09:20:50AM -0400, Bill Loguidice wrote:
> I disagree. I think forums are superior in a lot of ways to this
> (organization,
No idea what you mean by that.
> searchability,
This list is already searchable!
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ts2068/messages>
> indexing,
No idea what you mean again.
> I really only bother with these via my e-mail program (Outlook) and never
> via a browser, effectively closing off prior searches and archives to me
> if I don't make a special trip via a browser (and fat chance of that).
So, you'd make a special trip via your browser to read the content
everyday (most days discovering nothing has been posted), but you won't
make a special trip via your browser to search the archives?
That doesn't make sense.
Cheers,
Phil
--
Philip Kendall <[email]>
http://www.shadowmagic.org.uk/
7. RE: [ts2068] Thoughts regarding the TS2068 group
Bill Loguidice · Thu, 22 May 2008 10:04
Look, I'm not going to argue this as it's pointless, but, I think for the
majority of users, forums have proven their superiority to lists. Since
I'll support either method, I could care less, my only original point was
that while a forum's biggest flaw would be getting enough users to convert
to it, mailing lists have their own set of flaws. A Yahoo or Google Groups
is not a suitable replacement for a proper Website/forum setup (and I don't
think it was ever meant to be). You obviously feel very strongly against
forums and that's fine by me, but I certainly don't agree with that, being
an active participant on many superb forums, often with quality Websites
attached with no particular limitations.
=================================
Bill Loguidice, Managing Director
Armchair Arcade, Inc.
<http://www.armchairarcade.com/> http://www.armchairarcade.com
A PC Magazine Top 100 Website
=================================
_____
From: [email] [mailto:[email]] On Behalf Of
Philip Kendall
Sent: Thursday, May 22, 2008 9:57 AM
To: [email]
Subject: Re: [ts2068] Thoughts regarding the TS2068 group
On Thu, May 22, 2008 at 09:20:50AM -0400, Bill Loguidice wrote:
> I disagree. I think forums are superior in a lot of ways to this
> (organization,
No idea what you mean by that.
> searchability,
This list is already searchable!
<http://groups. <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ts2068/messages>
yahoo.com/group/ts2068/messages>
> indexing,
No idea what you mean again.
> I really only bother with these via my e-mail program (Outlook) and never
> via a browser, effectively closing off prior searches and archives to me
> if I don't make a special trip via a browser (and fat chance of that).
So, you'd make a special trip via your browser to read the content
everyday (most days discovering nothing has been posted), but you won't
make a special trip via your browser to search the archives?
That doesn't make sense.
Cheers,
Phil
--
Philip Kendall <philip@shadowmagic. <mailto:philip%40shadowmagic.org.uk>
org.uk>
http://www.shadowma <http://www.shadowmagic.org.uk/> gic.org.uk/
8. Re: Thoughts regarding the TS2068 group
Glen Goodwin · Thu, 22 May 2008 11:25
Bill Loguidice wrote:
> Does anyone actually use the TS2068 to send and receive e-mail, even on this
> list? There's usage, then there's masochism...
I have successfully used a ZX81 to send and receive email.
Not that I do it on a daily basis, but . . . you're never going
to get a virus that way ;-)
Glen
0/0
9. Re: [ts2068] Thoughts regarding the TS2068 group
Jack Boatwright · Thu, 22 May 2008 08:32
This could easily convert to 'flame' if we're not careful (IMHO). Forum
vs Group, hell I'm for both. Whatever pleases the community. Let's look
for a win-win.....
Jack
On Thu, May 22, 2008 6:57 am, Philip Kendall wrote:
> On Thu, May 22, 2008 at 09:20:50AM -0400, Bill Loguidice wrote:
>
>> I disagree. I think forums are superior in a lot of ways to this
>> (organization,
>>
>
> No idea what you mean by that.
>
>
>> searchability,
>
> This list is already searchable!
> <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ts2068/messages>
>
>
>> indexing,
>
> No idea what you mean again.
>
>
>> I really only bother with these via my e-mail program (Outlook) and
>> never via a browser, effectively closing off prior searches and archives
>> to me if I don't make a special trip via a browser (and fat chance of
>> that).
>
> So, you'd make a special trip via your browser to read the content
> everyday (most days discovering nothing has been posted), but you won't
> make a special trip via your browser to search the archives?
>
> That doesn't make sense.
>
>
> Cheers,
>
>
> Phil
>
>
> --
> Philip Kendall <[email]>
> http://www.shadowmagic.org.uk/
>
>
10. RE: Thoughts regarding the TS2068 group
Adam Trionfo · Thu, 22 May 2008 08:34
>>
I really only bother with these via my e-mail program (Outlook) and never via a browser, effectively closing
off prior searches and archives to me if I don't make a special trip via a browser (and fat chance of that).
>>
You should try PG Offline. It's twenty bucks and it allows you to download Yahoo Groups as if they were
regular newsgroups. It gives all the added benefits of a newgroup reader, including searches and
archiving. Check it out here:
http://www.personalgroupware.com/
Adam
_________________________________________________________________
Keep your kids safer online with Windows Live Family Safety.
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11. Re: Thoughts regarding the TS2068 group
Adam Trionfo · Thu, 22 May 2008 08:47
Glen wrote:
>>
I have successfully used a ZX81 to send and receive email.
Not that I do it on a daily basis [...]
>>
It is fun to use classic computers to see just how far you can stetch them. Back
in the late nineties I bought a cartridge for my Commodore 64 that allowed me
to use a 56K modem. I was then able to telnet and use the Internet pretty-well (of
course, without graphics). Sure, I could have used the 'net at 2400 BAUD via
telnet, but surfing at 56K on a C64 at the time just seemed really cool. I could download
software faster from another computer from across the country than I could from my
own disc drive. Ah, the fun of classic computers!
Adam
_________________________________________________________________
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12. RE: Thoughts regarding the TS2068 group
Adam Trionfo · Thu, 22 May 2008 09:36
>>
Who shares the opinion that we should have a forum and ftp just for
the TS2068, instead of the group?
>>
A website, a forum, FTP and the Yahoo group should all work together.
The T/S is probably too small of a niche to splinter, but it can't hurt to
try. There certainly does need to be a central website (there SORTA is
one, but it's really nothing more than a FAQ with a bit more). Since the
system is so similar to the Spectrum it should be checked into to see if
a website can be hosted under World of Spectrum.
When I first became interested in the T/S 2068 I was really shocked at
how little was archived. Heck, why AREN'T the cartridges all archived--
there are so few of them?!? A website will go a long way toward getting
everyone together. A forum may help, but you might be surprised at
how much work will actually still done "behind the scenes" with the key
people comminicating through email.
If a forum doesn't work, everyone can just continue to use the Yahoo
group. Heck, there is no reason that they can't be used at the same
time. In general, for the record, I prefer Yahoo groups, but, like Bill,
it doesn't really matter to me either way.
FYI, a similar discussion occurred on the Bally Astrocade Yahoo group
some months back. A forum was set-up, but most people said they
wouldn't use it. I've heard no talk about it since then. Bill, do you know
whatever happened to that?
Adam
_________________________________________________________________
Give to a good cause with every e-mail. Join the i’m Initiative from Microsoft.
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13. RE: [ts2068] RE: Thoughts regarding the TS2068 group
Bill Loguidice · Thu, 22 May 2008 12:44
Sadly, I wasn't even aware that a forum was actually set up (at least not
that I can remember). I thought it was more a fact finding mission about
possible engines than actual action...
=================================
Bill Loguidice, Managing Director
Armchair Arcade, Inc.
http://www.armchairarcade.com
A PC Magazine Top 100 Website
=================================
-----Original Message-----
From: [email] [mailto:[email]] On Behalf Of
Adam Trionfo
Sent: Thursday, May 22, 2008 12:36 PM
To: [email]
Subject: [ts2068] RE: Thoughts regarding the TS2068 group
FYI, a similar discussion occurred on the Bally Astrocade Yahoo group some
months back. A forum was set-up, but most people said they wouldn't use it.
I've heard no talk about it since then. Bill, do you know whatever happened
to that?
Adam
_________________________________________________________________
Give to a good cause with every e-mail. Join the i'm Initiative from
Microsoft.
http://im.live.com/Messenger/IM/Join/Default.aspx?souce=EML_WL_ GoodCause
------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
14. Re: [ts2068] RE: Thoughts regarding the TS2068 group
Timex · Thu, 22 May 2008 23:50
Important things:
-who gonna pay for the server for FTP/PHP forum?
-who gonna make PHP forum maintenance? (updates/upgrades/backups/etc)
-Where it will be? (www.timexsinclair.org)??
Jr, Portugal
15. Re: Thoughts regarding the TS2068 group
zxbruno · Fri, 23 May 2008 05:31
Another example of difficult viewing is the (sometimes) unnecessary
quoting. It makes sense if you're reading individual messages, but not
if you're expanding all messages and trying to read the whole thing.
/on-topic
--- In [email], "Johnny Red (Timex)" <timex.pt@...> wrote:
>
> Important things:
>
> -who gonna pay for the server for FTP/PHP forum?
> -who gonna make PHP forum maintenance? (updates/upgrades/backups/etc)
> -Where it will be? (www.timexsinclair.org)??
>
> Jr, Portugal
>
We have TimexSinclair.org, but it doesn't have its own ftp. Could it
have one? That's something only Louis could answer... If Louis agrees
on adding the ftp but needs help paying for hosting, he can contact me
and I'll see if I can help.
About a possible forum, consider these examples:
http://www.rwapservices.co.uk/ZX80_ZX81/forums/
http://www.speccy.org/foro/
It seems it's the same type of forum code. Maybe something like this
could be done? I don't know if it should be hosted by someone from
here, Rich or Martijn. But I think it should be done.
Compare the TS1000.us activity and content to what we've had in this
group, compare the feedback, the hardware projects, etc. If you
conviniently read the group via e-mail, that's fine, but if there's no
feedback from you, no posting, the addiction dies.
Someone mentioned they were surprised to see only a few cartridges
were available. The official excuse is that there wasn't much support,
Timex left the market, etc. In my humble opinion, there's much stuff
out there that could be preserved, but there's no interest, no will to
share, not enough time, etc. I say let's try to find all those lost
books, magazines, articles, newsletters, hardware projects, old
contacts, old companies, etc. Let's try to find a way to rebuild those
hardware add-ons that will never end up on eBay. If a forum and/or ftp
doesn't see the light of the day, fine. We'll stay in the shadow of
WOS forever, with TS2068 material scattered everywhere. But we need
more activity. We need people to go to their garage, open their TS
treasure box and start sharing. We need people to show us how to use
new Spectrum interfaces on the TS2068. We need to know how to build
the backplane fixer. We need to know how to repair our TS2068's.
When I'm done uploading all my TS books, magazines, newsletters and
articles, I will do a list of what I did and what I think it's
missing. I sincerely hope people of good will will come forward and
start contributing as well.
If you're into hardware, check the book I uploaded to WOS yesterday.
It's the same book we were talking about a few weeks ago, full of
hardware projects for the TS2068.
Forgive me for my criticism, idealism and enthusiasm.
16. Re: [ts2068] Thoughts regarding the TS2068 group
Louis Florit · Fri, 23 May 2008 13:27
On Wed, May 21, 2008 at 4:06 PM, zxbruno <[email]> wrote:
> Who shares the opinion that we should have a forum and ftp just for
> the TS2068, instead of the group?
> As a type this, I'm uploading the book 'Powerful projects with your
> Timex Sinclair'. Two days ago I uploaded the book 'The Best of Sum',
> and I thank Fred for posting the link here. Next week I should have
> several Sync magazines and a book called 'Sprites 2068' ready for
> download.
>
> Fred has offered to help me convert some software to .tzx.
> I think we should organize ourselves and resuscitate the TS2068 addiction.
>
> Please let me know what you think.
Hey everyone!
Bruno, please let me start by saying we really appreciate your
documentation digitizing efforts, I looked at the SUM scans and am
very impressed.
A little history: I've been managing this ts2068 list for about 10
years total, and we've been on yahoo groups since 2001.
17. Re: [ts2068] Re: Thoughts regarding the TS2068 group
Philip Kendall · Wed, 28 May 2008 09:19
On Wed, May 28, 2008 at 05:24:13AM -0000, zxbruno wrote:
>
> I understand. And I think this is one of the reasons Bill closed
> ts1000.us. But (and forgive me if I mention WOS again), we see sites
> where forums do succeed and one admin, a day-worker like most of us,
> finds time to prevent spammers from joining, reads the forums,
> processes news and incoming files almost every day, and still finds
> time to enjoy it.
For what it's worth, I know Martijn spends something over 40 hours *a
week* running WoS. A large chunk of this is due to his unwillingness to
delegate any of the work, but it's still an indication of the amount of
time you're asking people to put in here.
> I know, everyone's life is different and sometimes
> it can't be compared. But if you could give some life to
> timexsinclair.org, change the background to a more colorful one,
> update the TS2068 news more often, and add an ftp which requires a
> password to upload files, it could be beneficial for the TS2068 scene.
> Sometimes things need a little makeover.
It seems to me what you're looking for here for "World of
Spectrum^WTimex", but that's just not a practical model for anyone who
isn't Martijn or doing it professionally. Start thinking outside the
box, and find other ways to do things. Some *really* obvious thoughts:
* You want news: start a blog, advertise the RSS feed.
* Go and set up the FTP site yourself.
The gist of this is that you can't just sit there and expect other people
to do things; someone's going to have to kick this into action, and as
the person who seems to most want things to change, that responsibility
falls to you.
Cheers,
Phil
--
Philip Kendall <[email]>
http://www.shadowmagic.org.uk/
18. Re: Thoughts regarding the TS2068 group
zxbruno · Wed, 28 May 2008 05:24
--- In [email], "Louis Florit" <florit@...> wrote:
>
> Hey everyone!
>
> Bruno, please let me start by saying we really appreciate your
> documentation digitizing efforts, I looked at the SUM scans and am
> very impressed.
Thanks! It's good to received some positive feedback once in a while.
It helps you see that your work is not in vain. I know the scans could
look a lot better, but I'm more worried about preserving them first.
If someone would like to help me work with the scans, by all means
contact me. I have two Sync magazine scans ready to be 'treated'
(resize, crop, adjust brightness, sharpness, etc etc). I will also
upload 'The Best of Sync - vol 1'. I wish I knew if there was a vol 2.
> A little history: I've been managing this ts2068 list for about 10
> years total, and we've been on yahoo groups since 2001.
>
> From the start I intended the list to be a low key affair, a group of
> friends with a common shared interest, and a source of useful
> information as well. In that I think it has succeeded. A lot of
> subscribers to ZXir QLive Alive! newsletter, run quarterly from 1991
> to 2003 (Thank you Abed!), also participated in the list. We
> currently have 197 subscribers according to the administrative panel.
And I'm sure has not been in vain, and I thank you for it. But
sometimes I get the feeling that people 'disappear', lose interest,
etc. I know the TS2068 scene will never be as big as the Spectrum, but
it would be nice if we had more activity, news, tutorials on how to
adapt Spectrum interfaces (the new ones) to the TS2068, etc. From
those 197 subscribers, many of the e-mails are now invalid (bounce).
:( Timex Sinclair groups also disappeared one by one, including the
one in Chicago. They still have the website, but the group (or what's
left of it) joined the CoCo computer group. I find all this really sad...
> The timexsinclair.org website has been pretty much static for some
> time. As you can imagine, it takes some efforts to run a website,
> keep it updated, pay for the domain registration, etc. I thought
> about setting up a forum, the setting up part would be trivial,
> really, but the upkeep is what has kept me from doing it. I don't
> want to setup something that will die because of lack of attention.
> If you're not careful with the upkeep of those sort of forum tools,
> the potential to get hacked or have the service abused is really high.
> The last thing I want is for timexsinclair.org to be used to spam
> others, or worse.
I understand. And I think this is one of the reasons Bill closed
ts1000.us. But (and forgive me if I mention WOS again), we see sites
where forums do succeed and one admin, a day-worker like most of us,
finds time to prevent spammers from joining, reads the forums,
processes news and incoming files almost every day, and still finds
time to enjoy it. I know, everyone's life is different and sometimes
it can't be compared. But if you could give some life to
timexsinclair.org, change the background to a more colorful one,
update the TS2068 news more often, and add an ftp which requires a
password to upload files, it could be beneficial for the TS2068 scene.
Sometimes things need a little makeover.
Examples of news that could be seen in a near future:
'Jun 1st, 2008 - For those of you who never had a chance to use
Spectrum peripherals on your TS2068, now it's your chance. Mike Berger
of Corona, CA explains step-by-step how to build your own
edge-connector fixer, and which interfaces can be used. One of these
is the new DivIDE+. Check this thread/article for more info.'
'Jun 3rd, 2008 - Bruno Florindo uploaded another 15 complete Sync
magazines, both in jpg and pdf format. Click here to access the Sync
scans folder.'
'Jun 4th, 2008 - A new article has been added to the hardware projects
section. The article is called 'Mods and fixes for your TS2068' and
has been submitted by John McFadden'
'Jun 10th, 2008 - A new 128K Spectrum game, Castlevania ZX, has been
modified to run on the TS2068. Check it out on the Modified games
section. A full conversion was done, including the AY music and sound
effects.'
'Aug 21st, 2008 - David Peterson has submitted an article entitled
'How to hack Spectrum games that make use of the AY chip, and how to
modify them to run on the TS2068'
'Aug 30th, 2008 - Bruno Florindo obtained permission from Mr David
White to scan and upload/share all his TS books and software.'
'Aug 31st, 2008 - Another article has been added to the hardware
section. Thomas S. shows us how to build the interfaces that we saw on
magazines but never had a chance to buy. This time it's the prototype
breadboard interface.'
Imagine that. :)
> I think, and I hope you will agree, that we've managed to deliver a
> positive experience, free of spam messages.
I agree.
> With regards to searching for information, I wonder what bit of info
> you were looking for that didn't show up. Examples would be useful.
Well, maybe the content can be searched, but there's also a lack of
content. 197 members and we only have a couple of files. I wonder how
many members have tapes that are exclusive to the TS2068, TS1510 and
TS2068 cartridges that could be preserved, interfaces that could be
reverse-engineered, schematics that have been hidden in boxes for more
than 20 years... I'm afraid some collectors keep things to themselves
and can't be bothered to scan, go online, type, etc. They have the
right to act like that, but I don't want to be like that. You see
people on eBay fighting for TS2068 items, but you don't see them
coming to the Yahoo list to talk about it. Why not? I don't know. I
bought a few TS2068 cartridges, for example, and I sent them to Spain
for conversion to .dck files, and they're now available to everyone. I
wish everyone who has a hard-to-find tape or cartridge would act in a
similar way.
> I will agree that the file space issue on Yahoo Groups needs to be
> addressed. If you have specific html+content you'd like to host on
> timexsinclair.org, I can upload that no problem, and link it to the
> front page. For example, Alvin Albrecht's Sinclair and Timex Projects
> Page is hosted within timexsinclair.org.
I'm really bad at designing html stuff. But you can count on me
regarding scans and soon, hopefully, TZXs.
> Regarding the idea of having an ftp server - all for it. I just want
> to set it up so that the content that's uploaded gets indexed and
> becomes available on the website. Over the past few years I've thrown
> together an 'Unsorted' directory where piles of stuff I've not indexed
> is downloadable, but this is not an ideal solution.
Thanks.
> Regarding the level of excitement and interest: ts1000 is a much more
> popular computer than the ts2068, simply in numbers manufactured. I
> think it'd be fairer to compare ts2068 fandom to that of the
Sinclair QL, except quite more global in reach.
I understand.
> I'll look into finding an alternative file distribution mechanism
this weekend.
>
> Regards,
> Louis
Thanks. I just want TS2068 users to be able to enjoy their computer,
and have access to things that weren't accessible until now.
19. Re: [ts2068] Re: Thoughts regarding the TS2068 group
Timex · Wed, 28 May 2008 11:34
On May 28, 2008, at 9:19 AM, Philip Kendall wrote:
> It seems to me what you're looking for here for "World of
> Spectrum^WTimex", but that's just not a practical model for anyone who
> isn't Martijn or doing it professionally. Start thinking outside the
> box, and find other ways to do things. Some *really* obvious thoughts:
I have tried this with "Timex Computer World".
I cannot buy all Timex Software Catalog, but I think I have put all
Timex 2048/2068 tapes I have in TAP file and scanned all instruction
I have.
I OCRed FDD and CP/M user manuals and even translated some from
Portuguese to English.
I too so many pictures of Timex hardware, documented all with all I
know and can find.
I know it has been moving on the internet and I left several mirrors
not beeing updated for a long time.
Last "version" in on http://timex.comboios.info
Johnny Red, Portugal
20. Re: Thoughts regarding the TS2068 group
Adam Trionfo · Wed, 28 May 2008 09:17
zxbruno wrote:
>>
I will also upload 'The Best of Sync - vol 1'. I wish I knew if there was a vol 2.
>>
It's amazing how many "Volume 1" books compilations exist from the classic era that don't have a "volume 2." I guess that they were very optimistic about things back then.
>>
Imagine that. :)
>>
I really liked your "news" section. That's pretty awesome (and funny!).
>>
197 members and we only have a couple of files.
>>
Don't be too hard to members. Although the number might be 197, I bet that only about 1/10'th of that actually read the threads often. Of course there are the occasional lurkers, but mostly it's the same old crowd. I'm still a newbie around here, but I enjoy the topics.
>>
I wonder how many members have tapes that are exclusive to the TS2068, TS1510 and
TS2068 cartridges that could be preserved, interfaces that could be
reverse-engineered, schematics that have been hidden in boxes for more
than 20 years...
>>
I've wondered most about the tapes and cartridges. I'm still shocked at how little of the software has been archived. It's getting to the point where it's going to just get harder to preserve tapes, as they certainly don't last forever.
>>
I'm really bad at designing html stuff. But you can count on me
regarding scans and soon, hopefully, TZXs.
>>
"One of these days" I want to scan-in a few of the T/S books that I bought. I also have ideas on setting up a small website just of the classic computer books that I collect. There would certainly be a T/S section! I'm not talking about scanning-in all of the books, but just having an area where people can find out about what is/was available. I bought almost all of my books used on Amazon.com at very reasonable prices.
>>
Thanks. I just want TS2068 users to be able to enjoy their computer,
and have access to things that weren't accessible until now.
>>
Man, I like the way you think. Good post!
Adam
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