ZX-News #30 06 мая 1997

Железо

Iron - IBM PC Keyboard (Part 2).

                IRON



  Not so long ago we ran a story about Claudia pisishnuyu 
connected to the Spectrum. A few days later came the editors

a letter from Sergei Zonova, in which he
invited to respond to the concerns voiced in it
questions, and also made a number of critical
comments and amendments. Material from this and
several more letters, and published today.


             IBM PC KEYBOARD


                 part II

 ZN: All iron which is produced in
Recently, on the Spectrum, not done
exactly as we would like many users. What do they think about 
it manufacturers hardware? 

 SZ: There is no perfection in life. Often it turns out that if 
done well, "as necessary", then certainly no one will buy - too 
expensive. I have long noticed that all the talk about what we 
need to do this, Type the text mode, z380, everyone there

RAP, new operating systems, etc., are conducted either in human 
beings, never produce nothing, though

theoretically well-trained, or
generally illiterate, or who are
between these two extremes.

 ZN: Why does not involve the function keys pisishnoy keyboard?

 SZ: I guess you can do if users send their specific 
recommendations for each program. 

 ZN: Why is the layout for TLW, but
For some reason there is no layout for Honey Commander?? Who 
now enjoys TLW? Who is it necessary?


 SZ: Many people, especially in the boonies (I judge
the letters), still enjoy the TLW. This
editor, though less convenient than the ZX Word,
but first, he is described in the literature, and
Secondly, there was much earlier than other
and, accordingly, has its supporters, who for various reasons 
from him not refuse.



  Honey can also be done. We do not mind
only now when?? Again, if someone sends specific layouts, we, 
once we generalize the information received, be sure to do it, 
because you can still incorporate the popular 4.5 version. 

 ZN: Will there be made separately and cold
hot reset of Scorpio with pisishnoy
keyboard?

 SZ: Unfortunately, this is impossible without a decent change 
of iron. There's nothing done.


 ZN: There are several glyuchkov in layouts,
For example, in ZxWord'ovskoy mixed up / down keys to page ...

 SZ: We will fix it. We focus
on the ZX Word, which ProfPZU.

 ZN: Suggestions for the digital keys on the right: a would not 
be included mode, LAT, or RUS, when the Num

Lock'e pressing the numbers on the right should give it the 
appearance of digits, not characters. 

 SZ: I agree, we will correct.

 ZN: The most important thing that most strongly interfere with 
work, it is "podvisanie" companies in Many prog by pressing the 
keys. This "Podvisanie" may be a temporary

(Ie, after a few seconds the complex will continue to work) and 
a "fatality", when the PC does not respond even to a physical 
reset. 

 SZ: It's either an older version of ROM controller or a bad 
(Chinese) IBM-keyboard. Although this can be combated. These 
deficiencies have long been eliminated. For normal operation, 
the Chinese fold buggy should controller to modify a little: 
hang a rezyuk and one tank. At the new controller we're doing 
it. Therefore we must either Change Claudia:), or modify the 
controller. May still affect ProfPZU, but it we must look 
separately in each case. Another reason for freezing when

The controller IBM keyboard and / or
other controllers is the lack of
carrying capacity of the processor Z80.
This can occur especially when working
in Turbo Mode. In these cases it is useful to install an 
expansion card, and the buffering which increases the load 
carrying capacity CPU on the address and control buses, as well 
as adds 3 slots for future expansion.


 ZN: What about the connection of the normal Soviet Kempston 
joystick? Or joystick or a mouse?


 SZ: There is something you do not understand or have
defective controller. Problems with this never happened. If you 
enable the emulation of a joystick, you just need to remember 
before going back to normal the joystick to turn it off.


 ZN: What if a person only Myshak?
He does not make sense to buy another controller
Claudia - why chase him idle and spend the extra money?

 SZ: The mouse works fine and without IBMklaviatury. The cost 
of the controller only IBM-mouse would be exactly the same. 
Confirmation of this - so far no one has done just the 
controller IBM-mouse, without IBMklaviatury. Many people 
believe that he should be somewhere in the two times cheaper

but this is unrealistic. Its price would be about
the same as now. In our controller can work with IBM-keyboard
goes to the user at virtually no cost. Another alternative, I 
think it is easier and therefore cheaper controller passive 
mouse Creat Soft. And if you do not want to spend the extra 
money, and he has the opportunity to buy or make (remake), the 
most passive arm, and he absolutely did not need IBM keyboard, 
then you should buy this controller.


 ZN: Why Firm Scorpion does not change the old boards with new 
ones on Turbo +, even with a surcharge?


 SZ: Excuse me, but what to do with the old board? Somehow, 
they all want new, the most complex, etc. And as we look, we if 
you say always, that since March 1996 we switched to the 
production of only boards Turbo +, will be selling the old 
fees. Often from different lamer dealt sometimes questions 
like: "why do you have on your chips release date is in 1993 - 
the old slips. "And here is totally inappropriate draw an 
analogy with the upgrade on a PC. No one producer of iron is no 
upgrade does not, it makes only prodavtsyposredniki who can 
sell anything that makes a profit. So we have to change their

will not, because as soon as we have begun to do so, fees Turbo 
+ was no more would, because no one would have to produce them, 
like everything else that we have produced and sold. Refine the 
old board to Turbo + - is please. But honestly, I do not advise 
to do it right now. In the next two or three months we plan to

to release some new items hardware, in
that refinement of old boards to the regime
Turbo is only a part, along
with increasing memory expansion schedules
and some other features. More
details we give when the time comes. Try to make it come
as soon as possible. As they say - watch
for advertising!


  And in conclusion I would like to add that since April 1997 
has completely disappeared alternative to IBM keyboard, since 
discontinued production of 58 keyboards fold. For all our new 
computers we put IBM Claudia and mouse controller and the IBM 
keyboard. All made in the previous article, we wish, of course, 
will try to accommodate, but when it will be done - it's hard 
to say. 


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