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Indeed! When my first computer, a Nascom I (4MHz Z80A, 16K RAM on an expansion card, and an integer BASIC on eight 2708 EPROMs), died, I was able to have a stab at working out what might have gone wrong by going through the schematics. It proved to be beyond hope - the PSU had fried too much - but it was positively enlightening, going through the video system, and actually understanding, seeing, how the original clock was divided down to give the character generator clock. From there, down to the horizontal sync, and from there, the vertical. With all the logic involved being on just 74xx logic, it was all so readily evident just how this all worked. As for program loading times, that's certainly true as well. One game I wrote, for another system, required two-pass assembly. So I'd edit the source, write it out (a few minutes), rewind, first pass, rewind, second pass, launch! So, about fifteen minutes from editing to seeing the results. Much as a touch of nostalgia may be fun, I'm happier with my MBP and iPad Air. =:) (Still, the sense of wonder inspired by current devices is probably only enhanced by the sheer contrast in capabilities of ones from that time) |