ZX Spectrum Vega...

[Prodatron]

@TFM, next time I will add "just joking" to my comment 

[TFM]

@TFM, next time I will add "just joking" to my comment 

Never mind, didn't find enough sleep the whole week, am probably just not in best shape. 

[ZbyniuR]

I think Amstrad still have copyright for computers with name Sinclair, so full keyboard with that name will never happen.

[Gryzor]

I think Amstrad still have copyright for computers with name Sinclair, so full keyboard with that name will never happen.

Good point, though it affects the name/logo, mostly. I don't think a cut-down design infringes less than a full-size keyboard.

[ralferoo]

Sky Broadcasting bought Amstrad a few years ago (as they were the primary supplier of set top boxes and it presumably saved them some money to do so) and so all the Sinclair name rights belong to Murdoch's empire now...

[Gryzor]

True.

[Gryzor]

Something like that would be great, as discussed before... I'm finding the CosmosEx (for the Atari ST series) to be very interesting and useful - it uses a Pi to do all the hard work, plus an add-on board that does the ST-specific things.

[Zoe Robinson]

CosmosEx? Who on Earth names a product something that can easily be misread as "cosmo sex"? 

[CraigsBar]

CosmosEx? Who on Earth names a product something that can easily be misread as "cosmo sex"? 

The same people who ran Italian powergen when their website was www.powergenitalia.com or www.therapistfinder.com

Craig

[TFM]

CosmosEx? Who on Earth names a product something that can easily be misread as "cosmo sex"? 

What's bad about cosmos sex? Violence in contrast seems to be accepted. I don't understand humans! 

[Gryzor]

I liked kidsexchange.com (which has changed its URL from what I see though...).

Powergen takes the cookie though

[cpc4eva]

so we see a new speccy built and being sold.....

ZX Spectrum gets new lease of life as Vega games console | Technology | The

The Vega mimics the design of the Spectrum, but is a handheld games controller with five buttons and control pad, and includes 1,000 games from the 1980s. Gone is the tape and the full keyboard, but the tinny speaker and coloured stripes remain.

"The Sinclair Spectrum Vega takes advantage of major advances in technology to achieve big cost savings by replacing most of the electronics in the earlier computer products," said Retro Computers, backed by 74-year-old Sinclair as an investor, in the Indiegogo campaign.

"Instead the Vega uses a low cost micro-controller and a clever piece of software that combine to enable the Vega to [download and] run all of the games, 14,000 or more of them, which were developed during the years when some 5 million of the original Sinclair Spectrum were being sold."

The Luton-based startup Retro Computers rolled out the campaign 32 years after the first ZX Spectrum with a prototype ready, the name and computer intellectual property licensed from Sky, who bought it from Sir Alan Sugar's Amstrad.
Advertisement

The console plugs straight into a TV and was designed and developed by Chris Smith, a former ZX Spectrum games developer and foremost expert on the aged system.

The company is currently in negotiations with thousands of Spectrum developers to ask permission to use their games on the Vega, which should be able run any software developed for the original ZX including Chuckie Egg, Manic Miner, Chequered Flag, Horace Goes Skiing and Jet Set Willy. Users will also be able to load their own games using an SD card.

The 10% software royalties owed to the Spectrum game developers will be paid to the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children.

Although over a quarter of a century old, the Spectrum has retained its appeal with nostalgic gamers, and has been repeatedly repackaged for modern audiences. In 2002, the Amstrad Emailer Plus phone came with a built-in Spectrum emulator, while in 2013, veteran developer and publisher Elite Systems released a bluetooth Spectrum keyboard for use with iPhone and Android handsets.

Retro Computers is looking for £100,000 in funding to start production, with the first 1,000 Vegas costing £100 each available in April. More than £33,000 has been pledged at the time of writing already with 60 days left to go.

new c64s built and sold....

New Commodore 64 is Finally Here--For Real! | TechHive

The new Commodore 64 is, like the old 64, an entire system inside a (rather thick) keyboard. The old Commodore 64 originally cost $595 and featured an MOS Technology 6510 microprocessor, an impressive 64KB of RAM, and VIC-II graphics that supported a screen resolution of 320 by 200 pixels.

The new system, which also starts at $595, is a little more modern: it's got a Dual Core 525 Atom processor, an Nvidia Ion2 graphics chipset, 2GB of RAM (upgradeable to 4GB), a 160GB hard drive, and built-in Wi-Fi. On the left side of the keyboard there's a slot or tray-load DVD (upgradeable to Blu-ray), and on the right side there's a multi-format card reader, along with a USB 2.0 port. The rear features four additional USB 2.0 ports; mouse and keyboard PS/2 ports; DVI, VGA, and HDMI ports; Ethernet; and support for 6-channel HD audio. It runs Linux, but you can install Windows if you like.

Pretty cool for a computer that looks like it's from the 80's. Of course, if you just want the look--and you want to throw your own stuff inside--you can also order the "Barebones" package on the new Commodore 64 Website. The Barebones package costs $250 and gets you the case, chassis, keyboard, and multi-format card reader with USB 2.0 port. On the other hand, if you'd like to go all out, there's also an $895 "Ultimate" package that includes a Blu-ray drive and a 1TB hard drive.



so why not a new cpc being built and sold

[dcdrac]

need a kickstarter camapign matbe based on something like a raspberry pi?

[Bryce]

It has certainly gathered enough threads, if not funds This is the third thread on the Forum about this. @Gryzor can you combine them all into one?

Bryce.

[cpc4eva]

need a kickstarter camapign matbe based on something like a raspberry pi?

there would need to be blueprint diagrams, working model design, and a prototype built as well as what cpcer's would want included in any new cpc modelb4 its done ..... otherwise u end up with a crapola machine

[Gryzor]

That's what happens when you don't search before posting... (guilty as charged!). Ok, let's see if I can merge them

[villain]

The news about the new C64 are already from 2011. The company doesn't exist anymore. That's what I know.

[AMSDOS]

Somehow I favoured the newer C64 that was lifted from the C128, the early C64 looks more like the VIC-20, so funny that cause it would of been lifted from the VIC-20, so a C64 never had an originally designed Box! 

[dcdrac]

That C64 PC redo was not really a starter nor a goer if you think about, why shell out for an emulator running on a PC when you can get them for free.

While a CPC would be nice ti would be the same issue.