Unfortunately it is still limited volumes. Expect to pay double for one when it gets lists on ebay. Im expecting a sinclair c5 electric car anytime soon.
From the Wiki:
The Next team actively encourages the manufacture of clone machines to promote and expand the userbase as much as possible.
Clones of the Next include;[citation needed]
The Next team actively encourages the manufacture of clone machines to promote and expand the userbase as much as possible.
Clones of the Next include;[citation needed]
- ZXDOS+ (board) / gomaDOS+ (board with case)
- A ZX Next/TBBlue Clone
- N-GO, which can be installed into a (modified) ZX Spectrum case in the same way as the Next revision 2A
Hm. Though I have a faible for 8bit machines (started with a ZX81 too, still have the C128 + 1571 5 1/4" drive plus DataSette, and an Amiga 2000 B + AT bridgeboard with software emulation at my parents'), I don't really see why I should buy one. You cannot really go back, and for me, the modern hardware would spoil it. But to each their own.
That said, the Raspi 4 is a wonderful device that actually is useful. I have a 4 GB one in my kitchen serving as my development server during Corona times, running Docker, WildFly, Keycloak, Postgresql, Java 11 and the entire Spring Boot microservice stack 24x7 because of its low power consumption. It effectively spares me using a dedicated PC server, it's really fast, *nixoid and system load is below 10% and 45 degrees still (with active cooling), half of available RAM still free and no swapping. All for 80 EUR. If I want to use a different environment, I just change the SD card and voila. The only other server I need at home is an old i7 notebook which runs Oracle 11 (18 was a mess with its transportable database nonsense). So that really serves a purpose beyond looking flashy. About the Spectrum Next, I'm not so sure.
EDIT: oh:
The Accelerated version features a Raspberry Pi Zero as a co-processor at the service of the Spectrum Next’s own processor, enabling it to utilise a 3D GPU, 512MB of RAM and a powerful ARM processor. The Plus version can be upgraded by adding your own Raspberry Pi Zero (with the correct header) to the accelerator port -- literally the world’s cheapest accelerator upgrade.
Well, I got a Zero W as well and that's no speed record breaker for sure, but might it not blow the venerable Z80 out of the water still? On the other hand, the C128 has a Z80 too, in addition to its native 6502, enabling it to run CP/M (Plus). In any case, the design is nerdy for sure, like it somehow
My 2 cents, O7,
That said, the Raspi 4 is a wonderful device that actually is useful. I have a 4 GB one in my kitchen serving as my development server during Corona times, running Docker, WildFly, Keycloak, Postgresql, Java 11 and the entire Spring Boot microservice stack 24x7 because of its low power consumption. It effectively spares me using a dedicated PC server, it's really fast, *nixoid and system load is below 10% and 45 degrees still (with active cooling), half of available RAM still free and no swapping. All for 80 EUR. If I want to use a different environment, I just change the SD card and voila. The only other server I need at home is an old i7 notebook which runs Oracle 11 (18 was a mess with its transportable database nonsense). So that really serves a purpose beyond looking flashy. About the Spectrum Next, I'm not so sure.
EDIT: oh:
The Accelerated version features a Raspberry Pi Zero as a co-processor at the service of the Spectrum Next’s own processor, enabling it to utilise a 3D GPU, 512MB of RAM and a powerful ARM processor. The Plus version can be upgraded by adding your own Raspberry Pi Zero (with the correct header) to the accelerator port -- literally the world’s cheapest accelerator upgrade.
Well, I got a Zero W as well and that's no speed record breaker for sure, but might it not blow the venerable Z80 out of the water still? On the other hand, the C128 has a Z80 too, in addition to its native 6502, enabling it to run CP/M (Plus). In any case, the design is nerdy for sure, like it somehow
My 2 cents, O7,
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Clearly, that kind of thing isn't what the ZXSpecNext is for, though, nor does it make it a useless machine. I can't help but think that there's some strange comparisons being made that belies a sort of technological sickness at the root of some of the posters' expectations in this thread. But then, when the OP resorts to this bit of pathos:
I'm finding myself questioning their sincerity and thus the assumptions behind their sentiments.
I don't agree. Referencing the earlier comments about the analogy with audio equipment - there's a very good reason for persisting with "out of date" technology, especially where creativity comes in. Technologies in the first flower of their exchange value are actually traps. Digital arts are aesthetically poor - the supposed revolution of making complex proceedures simple has often resulted in generalised artistic laziness. Pretty clear when applied to the nexus of the technological platforms used for games, I'd say.
There's clearly no real need, technologically, for the ZXSpecNext (as an example of a modern update of old technology) but I really don't think that that's the motivation for its creation, nor the enthusiasts response to its existence, and the many comparisons of its power, cost and size with that of other contemporary technological units on the market in this thread seem to me to be missing the point in a somewhat damning way.
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Like what exactly ? Spectrum, C64 and other 8-bit are now perfectly emulated, warts included. Same for the 16-bit generation too (like the A500). People who want a true C64 for the SID chip will get the true OG one not a modern re-creation.
Pretty much my point. You can't run original Sinclair hardware on it (RAM packs, microdrive, etc), and even though they provide alternatives, no doubt those will come at a hefty price. And for what?
I'm really curious what this offers over a Raspberry Pi 4, but I'm not seeing much even with the specs page that was linked.
? The original hardware is compatible with it.
My understanding is that they aren't perfectly emulated, and struggle to cope with syncing with hardware, which the Next has significant integrations with and which is unlikely to be bested in any elegant way by emulting it on the Pi. Also, whilst the RaspPi can do a decent job it will tend to run flat out to do so. There's also issues with details like clock signals and interrupts.
And surely there's having it all in one package that's designed around the orginal machine, which is a significant consideration.
It's clear as the azure skies that neither of you care a fart for it and your bumptuousness at cleaving to the "winner" is certainly impressive but trying to write the ZXSpecNext off as worthless is ridiculously and wilfully obtuse.
That's not what the specs you posted say?
I don't care a fart about a Spectrum emulator, that's true. What I'm trying to understand is why this is better. I'm not trying to be obtuse.
I'm still struggling to find where all this is going. As for 'old stuff', I build and restore vintage motorbikes...but bar the aestheticly pleasing value of them...they leak oil, break down, ride like a Tesco shopping trolley and guzzle fuel like just they always did.
I like old stuff, don't really like modern recreations of it especially with computers/consoles. Those days... and the ancient technology that drove them... are well gone. It's akin to replacing a GPS with a sextant and an hour glass then imagining yourself into a genius.
I like old stuff, don't really like modern recreations of it especially with computers/consoles. Those days... and the ancient technology that drove them... are well gone. It's akin to replacing a GPS with a sextant and an hour glass then imagining yourself into a genius.
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Sorry, yeah I think I was getting a bit frustrated with the line of reasoning, whilst also practicing some sentence construction. Got a bit carried away.
There's a demand for a modern update, I think that's clear, and from what I gather those that have received their ZXNext are very happy with it (they might even love it).
I've never learnt to code, and I'm looking forward to learning on the Next - assembly, not a high level language.
There's a demand for a modern update, I think that's clear, and from what I gather those that have received their ZXNext are very happy with it (they might even love it).
I've never learnt to code, and I'm looking forward to learning on the Next - assembly, not a high level language.
Well, there has been a time when I memorized all the nibbles in the Zero Page and the 6502 op codes including their hex values. Anything except assembler was strictly below my level, as I deemed it grossly inefficient. Plus, compilers were much too expensive, and I always had a bad conscience when using school corner blackmarket software and so on. It was a different time altogether. So strictly Assembler it was, Motorola CPUs are rather friendly in this direction, as their designs implemented a limited set of instructions, but combined with powerful addressing modes and registers. You're working directly with the bits, bytes and registers and learn at lot about how things work behind the scenes. And in the 8bit and MC68xxx era, possibly even until the end of MS DOS on x86 in real mode, you could do astonishing things with Assembler only. All the Frontier games from that era were coded in Assembler, including Frontier: Elite II which fit on a single floppy disc, but that one was a unicum of sorts already because nobody else coded on that low level anymore. DOS was the last OS where you could actually claim it made sense, even though Intel CPUs are not human-friendly, and the peak of assembler coding were either demos (popular on Amiga, for the PC had ugly graphics) or viruses. In 1994, I reverse engineered a polymorphic stealth virus named Tremor (from the Neuroquila family) over weeks and that was about the smartest piece of software I've ever seen. A wonderland in 4K (bytes, not resolution).
So, there's nothing wrong with the Spectrum Next, but coding as in the Old Days, as rewarding as it may be, is l'art pour l'art in a way. It's like watching your favorite films of once 25 years later, but in original TV quality. It damages them IMHO. It doesn't feel the same, and at least in my case, some things should better be left on memory lane, where they will remain brilliant and shining forever.
O7,
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This is basically my attitude to it all too. I learned assembler on the C64 as my first programming language at aged 11, and spent the next 5 years or so writing games (including a couple of published ones) and lots of demos. It was a fun time... but, it was very much that time. When I got an Amiga, I took one look at the 68K instruction set and thought "Nope!"
and then promptly learned C, C++ and a wonderfully efficient language that was specific to the Amiga called "Amiga E". Again, great fun at the time, but again, very much of the time. I still have all my Rom Kernel Reference Manuals sitting on my bookshelf in pride of place, although I've not opened them for 20 years or more.These days I pay the bills with C# .NET/Core/cloud/web/etc, and aside from a bit of nostalgia I see no reason to go back. I play with the Cloanto stuff from time to time, and it's very impressive & I'm glad it exists, but as a useful platform going forward? Nah. That time has gone.
They are perfectly emulated. They can even emulate the original ROM bugs and hardware glitches. Same for the C64. 8-bit generation was not so complicated... A500 was another level of difficulty with its custom chip set and the ability to create weird effects with their interaction (like copper lists, etc.) - and even that is now emulated to perfection, you can run the most demanding demos on an emulator.
As for coding on these old platforms, i'll join the above posters in saying I too learned 6502 assembly, and also went to C on Amiga as 68xxx assembly was also another level of silliness. It's also to note that game devs never used the Spectrum for coding but another platform and cross compiled the code, as the Speccy itself had too little memory and really poor tooling. Today you can do really simple coding even online using the language of your choice, with really modern and convenient platforms. While i loved my C64 (and then C128) I am not nostalgic of their coding tools and user experience. Loading programs from a cassette tape is best left in memories too...
Yes there is, and no it wont. Recent Pi models can emulate much more powerful platforms without breaking a sweat. They can emulate multi-chip arcade boards without any trouble and these are much more complicated than the Speccy.
Please provide a real example: so far even the ROM glitches are emulated. So are hardware sync and raster effects.
Again, i'd prefer an all-in-one cigarette package size that contains a C64, an Amiga, ST, Oric, CPC, all arcade platforms, and will also provide a modern Linux environment around them. If i feel nostalgic, i can fire it up, plug my arcade stick and have fun.
I care for emulation. I care for computer history and electronics museums. This is neither... This is just appealing to nostalgia and banking on it.
Agreed. The C64 emulators even allow you to specify which SID chip revision you want to use, which was always a puzzle with mine and my friend's C64, as the likes of Rob Hubbard and Martin Galway used to really push the envelope (pun unintended, but I'll take it
) when it came to utilising those chips. Their compositions would sound completely different on mine compared to my friend's. It's all emulated to perfection.They even cope with the "undocumented" opcodes of the 6510, which are actually just combinations of existing opcodes that would appear as one thing due to manufacturing glitches. It was a big "no no" to use them back in the day because you couldn't rely on them, but people did it all the same. I think even Laser Genius (the primary commercial assembler for the C64) supported them. Again, perfectly emulated these days.
Similarly, the Amiga emulators (WinUAE especially) will not only model every Amiga hardware revision, but also post-CBM stuff like PowerPC. Again, to perfection. I think we can say that emulating 8-bit and 16-bit hardware through software is basically "done".
Cross-compilation was always a thing, and whilst I did everything for the C64 on the C64 whilst it was still an active platform, by the time the Amiga came along I wasn't quite psychologically ready to make the switch. So I coded up a hardware/software development environment where I would write on the Amiga, and then push it down to the C64 to run, over a parallel cable. When it crashed, it would interrupt and dump the memory back up to the Amiga for debugging. Was really proud of that at the time, but then I only used it for about six months.
Nailed it.
I love reading and hearing from programmers and hard coders...they talk about their trade the same way as I do talking about rebuilding a gearbox on a 1946 Rudge special
It's all engineering, so the same principles apply. Just the subject & toolset differ.
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I loved my 64 too .... I had an "Expert" Cartridge from Trilogic ... Flick the switch , hit restore and it launched a disassembler ... That is how I taught myself 6510 Assembly coding , which actually isnt too different to Z80 Zilog. I used to love nosing around, finding the sprites (and Rob Hubbard music) in the code .... I did have a 1541 disk drive , but as a serial device it wasnt massively faster than tape. I was always jealous of my mate who's dad had applied the "Dolphin" upgrade to his 1541 so it was a parallel device!
Loved the Expert cartridge. I still have mine, though it's a bit worse for wear these days and stuck together with duck tape. Still works though... or did last time I tried it. The disk drive was certainly slow by default. My friend had Dolphin DOS, but being a Trilogic fan anyway because of the Expert, I had their Phantom DOS equivalent. I can still vividly remember the first time I finally got it installed (it wasn't trivial), and "Load "$",8,1" came up instantly instead of teletyping across the screen. All great stuff in those days.
SYS 32800,123,45,6 (on C128) 
O7,
O7,
SYS 32800,123,45,6 (on C128)
Never having owned a C128, I had to Google that. Brilliant.
