Opinions - is Spectrum still alive in your city?

(c) M.M.A aka UnBEL!EVER/SPEED CO./XTM'98 
                                          
     IS SPECTRUM ALIVE IN YOUR CITY?      
                                          
                                          
After reading in the "menu" the title of this article
you  probably already thought that before
You are another opusabout the essence of SPECTRUM.
Almost in  every magazine/newspaper of this
hour, like a couple of years ago, can be found in
good work. It is common practice
a set of phrases like:                          
                                          
...The progress of SPECTRUM compared to
Happy birthday to the 19th year...                    
                                          
...Those who quit SPECTRUM a couple of years ago,
having purchased  PC 386/486.  now  biting their elbows
attempts run fresh software, and  on
During this time, Spectrum appeared new software
go  generations  - Black Raven and so on...
...Let's save SPECTRUM, lower prices
on  iron, in a civilized manner  distribute
Software, attract new users...            
                                          
...Spectrum is still remains a car
for middle class families  with insufficient
income for the purchase of pS...                 
                                          
...and other similar nonsense! So, my
The article  is not  all about this. II want to tell you
Let me tell you how you can revive the Spectrum
in  your city. If of course you need it -
but... :(                                  
                                          
So,  let's start with the fact that Spectrum is dead!
Thoroughly dead, as dead as anyone
bay another 8-bit machine in the age of RISC
technologies.  Based on the definition of
that ZX is already dead, it can be easily proven that
he  not  may  die again, and then
Actually  will  live forever! Although, if
th classics, for example, a tombstone with al-
boma IRON  MAIDEN  "LIVE AFTER DEATH", then
there is something  in the spirit of  - even dead can
die!                                      
                                          
So, as you understood from what was described above,
Spectrum is alive!  But I'm not very alive ("Even though I
died,  but didn't die very well" (c) LAST HERO). A
to  extend his life on the scale of ours
countries, you need  to start reviving it in
each  separate  city/village.  List
The measures required for this are given below.
                                          
First, it's worth  to understand what
a living platform is different from a dead one. This
very easy: there is  user - there is a platform,
no user  -  no platform. That is, the whole
the question  rests  on  availability  absence
users!!! It is naive to believe that the user will go
on  Spectrum,  how would it be cool (user and
Spectrum)  nor  was.  And  will not help here
GMXs,  nor  SPRINTERs, not even  GENERAL
SOUND's...                                
                                          
User is not a woodpecker and does not sit in a hollow! He is
communicates  with  a circle of his own kind and sees everything
platforms available available from DENDY and
SEGA to  SONY  PLAYSTATION and рС. Exactly according to
You can't lure him to the Spectrum with this roll.
"Zero user", i.e. the one who starts
from  zero, has no idea of beauty
8 color graphics and 3.5 MHz power Z80. By
therefore,  new generation of users does not choose
Spectrum!                                 
                                          
                                          
Of course, there is a certain percentage of advanced
users who are ready to buy SPECTRUM, but
not  new and expensive (SCORPION,SPRINTER), but
used l28KB+DISKDRIVE. Let's ask ourselves,
who are these people?  In my personal experience this is:
                                          
- children of the military. They have an old "cassette-
ny" Spectrum, they are constantly on the road,
 no money, which means there is a stable ummy-
hutet  to a radically new platform. They
already love Spectrum and are ready to love it more
stronger.                                  
                                          
-  village  users who came to the city,
to, for example, get a "tower" (in the sense
education!).  All the same reasons as
earlier... Presence of  "cassette" Spectrum
required!                              
                                          
I wanted to list a few more categories
gory, but caught myself thinking that the character
teristics  y all  close -  desire not
keep up with life  and the presence of a "cassette"
Spectrum. Thus, our users are all
there is... But for the platform to live, it is necessary
keep existing people on it. Name-
but  hold, and not try to attract new
out!!!                                    
                                          
What does the user need in order for him to
but existed on the platform and perhaps yes-
 mutated  in hacker/coder? First
turn SOFT! Moreover, there is a lot of software, constantly
new arrival of new products... If the user is currently
 months  does not see new programs, but
what he finallymanages to get it, yes-
ted 95-96 years, then it comes to the realization
knowledge  that the platform is dead. User in
In this case, it will be possible to leave.
                                          
I'm writing and thinking here;"What a blizzard! Maybe
better  give a step-by-step  algorithm salvation
Spectrum in the separate city of Uryupin-
ske? Perhaps. That's what we'll do!           
                                          
                                          
So,You are an advanced spektrumist from
ancient Russian city of Uryupinsk. With all your
in essence you love the Spectrum and wish it
health and longevity. Do you have access to
fresh software  via FIDO, INTERNET
or correspondence with spektrumists from other
cities. So...                          
1)  If by your opinion in Uryupinsk
Spectrumis dead, that doesn't mean anything!
Try to find at least one point torus
Govley software. These could be: shops
radio products and markets  cities.  Carefully
study these places for trade
programs or hardware for ZX. Any find
day  seller software will be  only glad
cooperation  with  you. If trade
software  dead, you you will have to  for-
do this. (special attention should be paid to
Rat to  ELECTRONICS store, which
there in every regional center, and adjoining
territory adjacent to it)                 
                                          
2)  In order for the user to realize that
it is taken care of, it is necessary to carry out advertising
new company. Of course no one talks about
television or radio! Enough give
advertisement   in  local advertising  newspaper
free  ads  type "From hand to hand"
ki". Something in the style: "I sell programs for
ZX-SPECTRUM". It’s ideal to give your phone,
but  if it is  no, then the home address. When
lack of  desire to publish in a newspaper
You can get your address at the nearest post office
PO Box (price only 20 rubles per
six months!!!). As a result of this action, you
_definitely_ you will find  from  two up to five
potential users.                     
                                          
3)  Absolutely  you need to open a trading
point on the market! Firstly, you can hang out there
secondly, your treacherous five-
inch floppy disks will attract everything but-
exit and  new users. It should be remembered that
the more the user communicates with others like himself,
the greater his desire to stay on the payroll
form.  However,  you need  to understand what  this
extremely dangerous, since the two are friendly
existing users copy software from each other, rather than
buy it from you!                       
                                          
4)  You need to make acquaintances with people
friendly with a soldering iron. Then any user who
which broke to one degree or another
Spectrum,  can can count on your
power!  Should  not  only send the user to
master, butand make surethat the computer
Your client's computer has been repaired and is working properly.
botches. This not only directly affects
your income, but the fact is  that will remain  whether
user on the platform or not. Known to science
dozens of cases of users purchasing PC only
for the reason that their favorite SPECCY layer
was broken and there was no one to fix it!         
                                          
5) Anyone who has just mentioned their
plan  buy Spectrum, should not receive
only  the most detailed instructions, but also
specific  options.  Up to the point that
take  this person and lead him to the Spectrum-
mu.  Not only are you selling the computer itself, but
also  connect it to the video device +
write down the mostnecessary programs.  
                                          
By the way, this is exactly the approach, in my opinion
must be when organizing ZXnet. Man
is still wondering whether  get a modem or
no, but you already tell him the price, bring him
to the house the modem itself + accessories, connect
and  teach work. All this is forced
nom order and of course for money (reasonably
nyeh!).  If were this approach has found its way
application in Samara, then now we would have
real SamNet. and not its pathetic likenessfrom
4 people. I am regularly asked at the market
sew  about  modems, but when I list
the whole range of problems associated with this issue
dew (the modem itself, ROM firmware, power supply
nia, etc.) potential  future user
coolsto this question.
A person wants to become a member of the network, not
tinkering with a soldering iron on the computer. Now if only
I responded with the following phrase:"200 rubles from you,
tomorrow  to  a person will come to you  a person and everything will be done
barks." That's when...                       
                                          
6) The user is not able to buy software at a high price
at what price?   Therefore the price of disks should
be minimal.  You can  distribute software
"for free"  but  not  it's worth getting carried away with it!
At least some  income  Spectrum owes you
bring.  If  problems occur with
clean discs should be practiced
The method of recording software onto users' disks. Reasonable
the price  is the amount of 3-6 rubles
lei per disk.                              
                                          
7)  Major games on the scale of "Black Raven"
are produced  not often, therefore it should
accustom users to buy disks with full
releases of old games, newspapers and magazines.
Aerobatics is  user training
to  viewing demos. To do this, you should
drive free and forced familiarization
Confusion with moderndemo-making.All these
measures will lead  to  to the fact that even in the absence
After  large  game releases, you can
successfully trade in newspapers and magazines, which
which are produced in abundance in the country.    
                                          
8)  With  incessant  propaganda
Spectrum  in mass, the entire
foreignnessenemy computer culture.
рС  should  be presented as terrible
a monster sucking  money for upgrade.
AMIGA is a distant and mysterious platform where
"everyone according to needs, from each according to
abilities",  well  and all these SEGA, DENDY,
NINTENDO,  PS  were invented for those who
unable to remember the purpose of all the buttons
until the keyboard and therefore, all my life I have to
money to hold  with joystick in hand. Holding
user  in permanent fear before the other
platform  and  explaining  to him that  QUAKE.
UNREAL and NFS-III are not games, but only vi-
dimness, inaccessible to understanding, you can-
Well,  extend a person's stay for
Spectrum.  As a rule, one suggestion
enough for one and a half, two months...         
                                          
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The first  sign of success in your work on
the revival of the Spectrum in the city will be familiar -
stvo with local  hackers, artists,
musicians  and everyone  others Creative
People, who, it turns out, is still in
There is Uryupinsk. Next, users will begin to demand
What we want from you is not games and magazines, but assembly
rs and debuggers. More and more active
new creative personalities will open  Your
sight.  There is no way to do this without publishing
local computer newspaper, which
by the second issue it smoothly mutates into a magazine
with  advanced shell, melodic music
cool and colorful graphics. One day, under
preparing  for  edition  already  fifth  numbers
"Vestnik Uryupinsk magazine" you don’t have
children's material for the MISCELLANEOUS section. Then you
download  is-dos and write this article...
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Р.S. By the way, everything written above is completely me-
re  applies  to AMIGA. Practice showing-
It seems  that  in any city there are from 2 to 14
"Amiga"   differentmodels.  Follows  only
search, and then proceed according to the above description-
sledding plan!                            
                                          
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