ZX-News #29 22 апреля 1997

ZX vs PC

Discussion - XTR-modem and software: It is worth to buy a PC, and if so, what?

               DISCUSSION



  Here, a new column appeared ... It is no secret that often 
netmayle discussed quite a large number of interesting 
questions spektrumistov. And if you think this discussion is to 
make available to readers of the newspaper, send letters to 
Newskah. 


               (C) Yuri Buravtsov (OneSOFT)

                        812/01.14


   XTr-modem 'SOFTWARE


  The news of the XTR-modem literally excites
spektrumistov public, in particular - members of the network 
SpbZxNet. On this occasion never subside disputes. Some - those 
who "Live" in the network, making it an integral

part - the claim that long-overdue
invent a normal, healthy, civilized and almost entirely 
professional modem and happy that finally it has happened and 
now we need to ... Others - software producers and those

who help them to distribute it - distributors, dealers and 
resellers - argue that running a modem in operation ... 


  However, for your consideration a quote
response to a letter ...


  This letter I quote without abbreviations. I
only allowed myself to answer it. Letter were originally 
intended for further disclosure and discussion of the matter 
raised. 


  If anyone has any questions to
author of the letter, then you can ask them to
address: 812/08.11 @ Dmitry Wertkoff.


             beginning of the letter

Area: NETMAIL
from: Yuri Burawtsow
to: Dmitry Wertkoff
subj: Hi!
date: 19-04-97
time: 19:07


  Big friendly hello to you, Dmitry!!!


  "One day in the icy ..." numbers that way
18.04.1997 at exactly 15:22 Dmitry Wertkoff wrote (a) to Yuri 
Burawtsow: 

 DW> Hello, Yuri!!!

 DW> Hi, dear friend and comrade!

 DW> I greet you in the best in St. Petersburg
 DW> grid SPBZXNET. Well, actually,
 DW> what I'm writing something ... A few days ago, having read 
DW> shis news and going on a visit, started  DW> I'm talking 
about the future of the beloved  DW> Speccy, on XTr-modem in 
particular, and ...  DW> witnessed profound disappointment DW> 
of life and in people: (. Enough  DW> about the sad and go 
straight to the point. A  DW> the problem is that anyone

 DW> cause a headache, but "is it true
 DW> dear come on, comrades, "Speccy Users,
 DW> eh? I think not. "You explain the DW> explain why? So, the 
point is here in  DW> anything. The long-awaited widely 
available DW> LIMITED XTr-modem can be Dirge DW> schikom 
beloved Speccy. What  DW> is not it? You just poDOOMayte,

 DW> what would happen after such a joyous
 DW> event! Well, firstly, in addition to dramatically DW> 
first, an abrupt increase in traf DW> Fick and the influx of 
User'ov the network, first  DW> fall sales copyright prog DW> 
Ramm: "Why spend your" blood "  DW> money and "considerable" 
for the purchase of les DW> tsinzionnogo software, when called, 
 DW> leaked and killed in the latest igruhu,  DW> without 
paying a penny for it either to  DW> the same yet not lift a 
finger yes  DW> brains get all POKES her with

 DW> most detailed Solution. Well would it


  You see, Dima, all of it is true, but for
Internet, you must agree, "Tetris" is no longer creeping, 
crawling more serious software, such as Applications for Winds, 
or entire print edition. Only now these products have no

further support to the author. All true.
But another question - licensing and distribution. I like 
something I'll write about it in ZN, so far only limited to 
what is "UFOHU-2, rather, its crack began to spread much later 
than anticipated Slava Mednonogovym. Moreover, and this is 
likely regularity than a paradox, but such activities have 
contributed to improve the ranking games in ALL soft charts. Ie 
Game raped a poor users and the search POKES - is also to some 
extent incentive to love the game ... :)


 DW> is only in this, though, if Pryce DW> motretsya, we can 
observe the first  DW> signs and fetid rastlevaniya

 DW> rot once democratic and
 DW> most people respected the spectrum DW> Rumovskii 
community. And then? 


  You know, I think the opposite. Kettles go on the PC, and 
normal people my weight wrong ZX-s sorts devaysom that promotes 
the development of programs that use all possible components. 
Look: organize the production XTr-modems, with it, and bend the 
support generated. But the experience of writing persists, and 
new programming techniques will be useful for writing other 
programs. After all, as in Life happens - invented something 
voenprome, and then these new technologies - in peacetime 
production. So, it's all right. A soon, and online games will 
... In other words, the networks, I see just a huge leap, 
"Spectrum Community forward. 


  Closing, however, his eyes on the minuses. But some 
disadvantages - the foolish ... 

 DW> Yes, and walk away, then do not, the settlement DW> Look 
at Moscow, no, you just  DW> vzlyanite on what is happening in 
the world  DW> Speccy! .. And, incidentally, that's me on the

 DW> Moscow a conspiracy? For example,
 DW> we take our native northern capital.
 DW> Look, forgive me my der DW> proximity, the situation here 
and in Russia  DW> in general, with such popular software for 
IBM  DW> PC, or for fine AMIG! How govo DW> Riley in the last 
century - "Steal-a",  DW> and now piracy stifles indust DW> 
riyu! : (. 


  Speaking of piracy itself. Like, I just really like the quote 
from magazine "Hard'n'Soft" # 4'96: "Have

Do you see a black caviar costs Pumpkin? I am confident that we 
had. But what was the taste of the caviar? So there.



  And you, Dima, known as the development of
ZX-NET in Moscow? I do not thanks to a C-DOS
modem? And what grand policy
projects mature in both loved our cities?

 DW> And last but not least wine decay DW> exists, and will 
fall on the heads of sisopov,  DW> even though these citizens 
are themselves under a bough  DW> sawing. Tell me, hand on



  Moral: it is necessary to provide this issue
Charter network. And distribute software over the network
with the permission of the author ONLY!

 DW> heart, you personally like it when wa DW> shih program 
break, and Section Pokhabov DW> exist right and left? And why, 
say 


  In general, it is good when your product finds application in
intended for the widest possible mass
users. But Pokhabov while giving away - no one advise. 
Myagkovato said ... 

 DW> on earth to tempt users on opposite DW> vopravnye and 
immoral actions of DW> camping with them, often bootlegged aB 
DW> Tor programs, or that you have laws  DW> does not relate 
to? And how to call those requirements 

  The laws are aimed mainly at the preservation of copyright in 
prodkut rather than modification of it, whether it is an 
improved version or crack. Of course, there are clues here. But

this is a subject of a separate article.

 DW> tion, sorry, the wishes, expressed DW> mye as bribes for 
the right to use DW> tion network? No, I do not mind living  
DW> Speccy to the network, but do not misunderstand me right 
DW> correctly, we're not in the FIDO-Net, from where DW> 
anywhere you can pump which arbitrarily DW> but, and problems 
with megabytes and Giga DW> bytes of any "Windows 9X "etc. in  
DW> basically does not exist. 

 DW> After almost complete refusal of Europe
 DW> from Speccy we were in almost complete
 DW> isolated from the flow of prog, and from 1992
 DW> and in general - one on one with ourselves with DW> battle 
and their problems, and what we  DW> saw the new? Yes, and 
almost no Th 

  And what about Poland and Slovakia, which, as
though, the demo coming?

 DW> st. You can argue, but what
 DW> demos, etc., what is the answer: do you
 DW> tried to play replays or stakeholders DW> be interested in 
them for long enough to at DW> forget for the month of hundreds 
of other prog 

  Again. Demos - this exhibition of its kind aircraft at Le 
Bourget. People look, that is capable of human thought, embedded

in memory of the machine, and then enter into creative 
cooperation agreement on the draft ... This, of course, 
ideally. Sometimes, however, is exactly what happens.

And such an event as ENLIGHT, to some extent a demonstration of 
muscles, but is it intended to join in

time or at all to the actors.

 DW> Ramm? Yes, I admit there are among
 DW> all the mediocrity and pearls
 DW> but it really is something for such a large country DW> Ny 
is a drop in the ocean. 


  Do not tell me. Capital "geymeykinga" - Peter,
and "demomeykinga" - Moscow. All other
cities make this a worthy contribution,
but not decisive. So we - the sea, and
everything else - drop ...

 DW> So is not it time we Activities
 DW> something else? Well, unless you


  What do you mean - others?! You, Dima
Sorry, but true spektrumisty do not
said ...

 DW> DOOMaete can be an example
 DW> cause clipping from any file I_ DW> want, or at least this 
clipping from my  DW> yesterday log'a:



  =========== ========== Line razgryza

> 28.3
> I immediately noticed that
> Are you all merged, and virtually nothing> practically not 
upload ... With today's> day will be statistics on > Download 
files. Moreover, Ehi, Lo> Kalka and mail in the calculation 
does NOT include! 

> 28.3
> If after 2 weeks the amount of
> Uploaded your files will not exceed
> At least half of the fusion, you'll
> Lowered in level.
> So what do the findings, gentlemen.


  =========== =========== Line razgryza

 DW> Conclusions something can be done very,
 DW> very sad: (. Foreheads would get DW> century toy, broken, 
flood, and so 


  That's it. And who would take under its
control the spread of the programs on the network,
as it once did Bill Gates
Internet? And whether such we do not
can do without such measures? Especially,
it is not global and not a commercial
network, and network across a city.

 DW> up until get will not DW> anything. And the end, the case 
is the fact that  DW> all, but most have sisopov, re


  And this is one of the laws of the network. Imho, very
fair.

 DW> are all the toys, and new programs
 DW> create would no longer be anyone and not for DW> anything. 
No, well, understand what for whom  DW> something to do if 
tomorrow it  DW> will be at all, and no one

 DW> awaken the conscience of man wages DW> century, so adieu, 
comrades ... And to DW> that begins hand-wringing and vykru DW> 
the same valuation of the joints with a simultaneous increase 
DW> with increasing hunger and Information  DW> anger at the 
lack of not only  DW> funds (if honestly

 DW> money-and now all there,
 DW> yes only conscience, no one has all
 DW> used to cry in their material DW> spectral position and 
get everything on Halya DW> Wu, bad example is contagious)  DW> 
as the absence of something new  DW> and interesting.


 DW> Y AMIG PC and have programmers and for
 DW> outside Russia, but not to the same IN DW> TERNET next, so 
they is not about the DW> burn, unlike you and me, but  DW> we 
have now is the time DOOMat how to be  DW> on, and something 
will happen that will become extinct  DW> Sreccy that he has 
many times prophecy DW> chile, and users with a heavy heart 


  So say the traders. I even know
who exactly ... Sorry, incognito, but you
absolutely do not think about Speccy, as a creation of genius, 
and why is the creation of so- captivated our country. You 
wonder that long? Sorry ...


 DW> and emptied wallets peresyadut on
 DW> another platform, and well, if it
 DW> will AMIGA, rather than the poor PC, and
 DW> poor Sreccy thrown in the trash.
 DW> Yes, you heard right - it is on
 DW> trash ...


  Only you tell me, on what garbage, I
there duty established ... :)

 DW> So, people, it's time we all own DW> ratsya seriously and 
decide how to further a  DW> live will not want to croak in 
vain,  DW> but better live donkey than a dead locally DW> shad 
... 


  Well, we shall also live with an even grander scale
fingers over Klava and joysticks.

 DW> Regards, Dmitry.


  Regards, Yuri.

--- IS-DOS v4.5 with a macro
 * Origin: Speccy - Must live! (812/01.14)


              end of the letter


  And stick to what position you
users on the network? Maybe you just
another view of the illuminated the problem? Then
write!



                      (C) Alexei Mikhailov

Should you buy PC, and if so, what?


  Yes, it seems, pent ... The problem of life and
Spectrum's death occurred a long time. His
promised to end soon and in the 94th, when the
country en masse began to sell treshki and
95th, when there were four in the 96th,
when there were a Pentium ... A Speck lived
until the 97th, and allow myself the audacity to do
my prediction:) - will last until the next millennium, if not 
longer. 


  Poverty - not a crime in the eyes of most
normal people. This flaw only in the eyes pisishnyh lamer that 
when the word Spectrum makes a sour face and exchanged

"Understand" the doctor vzgyadom psych-hospital
others stood nearby pisishnymi lamer.


  While there are poor people, until they
under the force buy at least three rubles,
Spectrum is not zagnetsya. A year later I was
I say "until they are beyond the power to buy at least
four ", because by that time Speck
surpassing in its development this very 386.


  After all, what 386: Windows 3.11 and OS / 2
nemeryannom with brakes, "DOOM" (256-color and low "square" 
resolution, when, instead of those enemies you see the 
shimmering squares, and if the cost is more powerful card, it 
just begins to slow), Formula1 with kvadratonoy expensive - 
half-hour game and you'll never F1 run, and this is in contrast 
to the CHASE HQ and TAYOTA SELICA. Arkanoid on BATTY 3 + I have

what never changed, somewhat obtuse
Shooter - yes they compare with ZYNAPS and
with XECUTOR under General Sound? And is there a
three rubles something like SABOTEUR2, Academy,
UFO2 (!), And when Glory Mednonogov will finish his Black Crow, 
then something like Warcraft? There DUNE, but it is very

old and too quickly passes (if you want you can go for 10-12 
hours). There Civilisation and SIM CITY 2000, there is still

some good strategies, but you and
Speke their lot? Everything!

  I once half a year is quite active
yuzal IBM PC 386, and now I can not remember anything standing, 
or anything that can be to oppose Speck of software! Yes, on 
the PC, even on treshka, very good softina modem,

You can plug in and blaster, and sidyuk. But what
it give you? Stuck in the Spectrum GS, stuck
Hayes or XTR-modem, sidyuk on the Spectrum
all excess ...


  Granted, the PC - just a sea of ​​cool toys, but also the 
configuration of the machine must have sotvetstvuyuschuyu, 
anyway no three-ruble note. And this takes money ... And money 
- do not. So while 486 will not cost $ 200, the death of Spec 
is not threatened. 


  But the problem is that the 386 is already
$ 200, and it's a transition many sposobsvuet
spektrumistov platform PC. People, stop! The fact that the show 
on TV, what they say in the schools and institutes

house and yard - this is not a 386! It's like
at least four fancy, and the 386 is not even the shutters!


  And who becomes a man by putting
currently 386? In ordinary pisishnogo lamer, who, at best, 
learn to install vindovz, extract from arjya toys, running the 
cursor in the Navigator and trail, looking at faceless square 
DOOM. Oh, and zavidyvat neighbor who has 2 meters more memory, 
up to 50 meters larger hard drive for $ 10 more expensive 
saundblaster and steeper version of Norton ... 


  But the most interesting - a conversation between 
pisishnikami. All of them have heard many times, so just 
silently poprikalyvamesya: 

 - Yesterday I bought a new game - XXX ...
 - Ahh, the old, I'm in it a week ago to play!
 - Well, how?
 - Suxx and Must die!
 - Why?
 - Yes, I do not understand what there doing something should 
be to start it ...  - I got it! Poke the mouse in the Start 
game!  - And then what?

 - And then I went, it was too complicated ... But what a graph
   ka! Yes, on my configuration ...
 - I found how to surprise. You've heard the menu music? 
Although how could you 

   listen to your speaker ... But on a blaster - a real
   relatively cool!
 - And my dad would give the money tomorrow, I'll buy myself 
SIMM ... Then 

   YYY me go!
 - YYY - suxx ...
 - This is why?
 - And for some reason it sometimes does not start. Joining 
Machine 

   reset ...
7 - It's because you have enough memory. We must first of 
vindovza 

   go ...
 - It's like this "from vindovza exit"? I come in DOS, run on
   vigator, license, by the way ...
 - Duc should not under Windows from DOS to go! We must first 
of the self    IIR Winds out!

 - How?
 - Did you read it ... HELP
 - I basically do not read the HELP! And proud of it!
 - Then it is clear ...
 - By the way, I was on the market today, so I am a good man

   suggested as DUNE2 run, remember it is you and I do not

   gone?
 - Well, how?
 - Now look, on paper wrote ... It is necessary in the 
Navigator Zai    Tea in the directory with Dune, press F10, 
then Y, then dial 

   "GO"!
 - Eureka! As we had not guessed?
 - That's it! Here I was yesterday in the mother at work, so 
there Pins    tium (!) is worth it!!

 - Wow!
 - Yes. There is also sidyuk is ...
 - By the way, how do sidyuki now?
 - Well, let's take a look in the price ...
 - Only $ 20??
 - Hmm, strange that something is painfully cheap, chinese, 
maybe ...  - Let not, then there's the side it says "two 
speed". How's that?  - I do not know ... Will have to market 
demand. I was there with one of    seller is met, so it makes 
me already discounts: all dis    salmon sold for 10 thousand, 
and me - for 8!  - He is in what tray worth?

 - At ZZZ'om!
 - Oh, I know him too. Only he drives by 6000, a week

   ago bought ...
 - Can not be ... : (
 - Yes, it looks like he fooled you ... :)


  And so on and so forth. I sometimes
becomes ridiculous in the company pisishnikov when they are 
first together otimeyut Spectrum, and then begin to show 
complete ignorance of your PC with incredible opportunities 
"when they begin to discuss configuration of their 
"wheelbarrows", then, are installed as a toy, and why some prog 
determine their Chinese saundblaster, and some - not. 


  A sign of "coolness" on the PC platform
is not how much, and that the person on
It did, and how much the "zaaprgeydena" his car. The owner of 
the 382nd other pisishniki now do not look at much better than 
spektrumista, whether will still be in a year?



  How proud and free sounds of one phrase
sinklerista another: "I - Scorpion",
or "I have - Pentagon". Have you ever
pisishnika asked: "What is your computer?". For a moment 
hesitated, he quietly answers: "486 dx133 ...", fearing that

you - Pentium Pro. When you say
that you - the Spectrum, it produces a deep
sigh of relief, and from that moment finds
a steeper than you in every way, from physical to intellectual. 
I feel like sometimes to prove that he is not right that 
configuration of the machine - does not figure inner qualities 
of man ... and with a clever type stuff his face. :)



  To sum up a little: what dooms
a person buying a 386? On the other pisishnikov contempt, with 
a steeper configuration company, to communicate with pisishnymi 
lamer (not all the owners of PC - lamer, but the vast 
majority), the toys that would get in a month, on a permanent 
search for money to upgrade. 

  And what gets in return: a calculator that can quickly take 
logarithms and integrally, has some good text editors, a good 
dial-up software for It is possible to write kursoviki and do 
your homework on the computer in Pascal and on the system, 
listen to good music on the blaster. For everything else it 
takes much large configurations, but all these advantages are 
also available to the owner 282nd "cars" ... 


  What does a man who remained at
Spectrum? Sea of ​​interesting software, and let
inferior to 386 on schedule, but giving one hundred
points forward to interesting and music
(Although the last statement about the music
is debatable - it is dependent on the taste:
on the PC music as close to
"Real", but it falls short, however, may want to include a tape 
or sidyuk and listen to real music? And on

Speke - their own, specific music, so you
cassette will not find. Maybe that's why she
I like it more?). But most importantly,
what is available spektrumistu - is communication, not
with the arrogant sons of the rich Papochek and mothers, and 
such as he, let and poor people.



  Want a modem - please, I want the hard drive - please, I want 
the mouse pisishnuyu Claudia, General Sound - please. But If 
you do not have all this money, here at you will not be looked 
upon as the last of pepper. In the end, in order that almost 
everything was sufficiently 128K + drive, and to communicate 
with other spektrumistami enough Vikomm modem, the cost of 
which - 10,000 if you make it himself. You will not feel too 
much, as the owner feels treshki, when "chetveroshniki" and 
"Pentyukhov" discuss "Duke", "cyber" or Windows 95. No 
coincidence that many call the Spectrum family computer. I have 
never heard of such a phrases from pisishnika.



  I agree, PC is often a must, for example, kursovikov, but it
not a reason to throw Speck!


  These are my thoughts on the issue of emergency
Death ZX-Spectrum - all in our hands,
Gentlemen users!


  So in conclusion we touch the problem of
distributing the vast network of new
programs. First, the author simply not allowed to forward bend, 
according to a new Charter, and even under the old "Memo

beginner Point. "Therefore, Russian
the authors nor the penny would not be affected. On the 
contrary! Skillful use of promotional opportunities provided by 
the network can and bring more profits, and this

concerns not only the vendors, but also
HARDWARE. An example would be XTR-modem ...


  As for the import of toys, then
there's nothing you can not help it. True Toy strife. As a 
rule, all "Nove" sysops spread from the west at a high level of 
tolerance, so "free riders" it just does not download, and they 
perforce have to go to the sellers. I also want to note that in 
the network - not so a large percentage of sinkleristov, and 
although I hope that very soon we become much more "weather" 
for sellers it did not. Practice shows that

70% coming into the network did not buy anything
or almost nothing, traders are already quite
long.


  But traders are also dozhlny efforts
to the city first, there were new bend in them, and then to the 
network, and not vice versa. And for this let kontachat with

people, delivered in soft country, restored and 
obessmerchivayuschimi toys let them pay money for it, let him 
put some protection "against copying users "- if the prog no 
great shakes, it even no one will break. Otherwise, and for 
what they get the money? For copying CDs?

Duc here much of the mind is not necessary ... They neither
penny invested in these new programs.
Before me now reach the information that
Some sellers do not own, but through "middlemen", is tapped 
from the network prog and sell them, as if nothing had 
happened. And still outraged! 


  End of software vendors, if that ever comes, does not mean 
the end of Spectrum, and the more native authors. If by that 
time most spektrumistov will have a modem, no

interferes with the authors to make their program carefully to 
protect it, throw in advertising network and by selling his 
creation. AND profit increase due to the fact that not

must be paid to intermediaries, and broken versions, as is now 
done almost everything sellers to trade no one will. So

that we should not bury alive Spectrum. He
die soon if no one will produce HARDWARE and SOFT, and not after
how sidyukami for PC will be a trade
for as many advantageous that all traders "re-classified" on 
them. 


  It is my opinion, makes their conclusions
gentlemen. If you do not agree with it - write letters, be sure 
to publish it. 


       __________________________