[zem]

i'd like to start a blog that tries to recapture the spirit of the old "acorn user" magazine [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acorn_User], focused squarely on the hobbyist programmer, but not shying away from accessible write-ups of complex topics. a sampling of articles i remember off the top of my head:

1. pacman style game developed from scratch, with a discussion of sprite animation and techniques to make a monster chase your character through a maze

2. software + hardware guide to connecting a beep-when-you-whistle keychain (remember those?) to one of the input ports and make your computer do interesting stuff when you whistled

3. graph an arbitrary f(x, y) = 0 function via numerical methods (trace the intersection of z = f(x, y) with the xy plane)

4. basic text adventure with a discussion of representing a map via a graph, using an array to simulate pointers

5. an introduction to forth for basic programmers

the key point is that these were both complete projects, and jumping-off points to explore the topic in greater depth. as a kid i found it very inspiring, and learnt a lot from it.

[Larrikin]

Is this still just a thought or have you already started on it. I'd love to read something like this. Where will it be when you put it out?

[zem]

still just a thought, but one i've been turning around in my head for months now. i'm hoping the new year will give me the psychological motivation boost to actually start writing it.

i'll add a link from my website (http://zem.novylen.net) when it's up.