It's why I now run a software company. Reading this (and the Advanced User Guide) at 10 years old gave me a career.
Mine got me through uni! Earned enough to run a car, not to mention my studies
The BBC Microcomputer User Guide
21–30 of 32 posts
Re: The BBC Microcomputer User Guide
#22The BBC made a drama, "Micro Men" (2009), about some of the behind-the-scenes drama behind the BBC Micro. As I recall, it doesn't explain the whole Fred, Jim and Sheila thing though. Martin "Bilbo Baggins" Freeman is in it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXBxV6-zamM
Just watched it last night, it's pretty good. Though does anyone have any context for the scene with Sinclair and the 3 women in the convention? It seemed a bit out of place in the whole doc.
BTW, Silicon Cowboys is another film I'd recommend. It's about the history of Compaq.
Re: The BBC Microcomputer User Guide
#23The BBC made a drama, "Micro Men" (2009), about some of the behind-the-scenes drama behind the BBC Micro. As I recall, it doesn't explain the whole Fred, Jim and Sheila thing though. Martin "Bilbo Baggins" Freeman is in it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXBxV6-zamM
A film with the best working title: "Syntax Era"
Re: The BBC Microcomputer User Guide
#24ah, nostalgia! i learnt to program with that manual in hand.
Re: The BBC Microcomputer User Guide
#25I literally read my real-world version of this to pieces.
I'm not sure where it is now, but last I saw it it was a mess of sellotape and ring-binder-repair stickers kept in a separate box with lost pages in the bottom.
I don't recall any other book that got quite that much mileage.
Re: The BBC Microcomputer User Guide
#26I literally read my real-world version of this to pieces. I'm not sure where it is now, but last I saw it it was a mess of sellotape and ring-binder-repair stickers kept in a separate box with lost pages in the bottom. I don't recall any other book that got quite that much mileage.
(Some detail)
Acorn manuals always had a good reputation. They usually contained a tutorial section, a reference section, clear appendices with all sorts of examples and details, and a very solid index. I haven't quite seen other manuals that were quite as good.
As a really neat example: the Acorn Midi Card manual for the Archimedes went all the way from high level "what is midi" down to bits and bytes and assembler-level API calls. As a kid, it allowed me to understand midi. Compare that to the manual for my synthesizer at the time, which really didn't explain anything at all.
I found it quite interesting that a document aimed at a musician could be so technical and obtuse while the document for the computer person was so clear and enlightening!
Re: The BBC Microcomputer User Guide
#27I literally read my real-world version of this to pieces. I'm not sure where it is now, but last I saw it it was a mess of sellotape and ring-binder-repair stickers kept in a separate box with lost pages in the bottom. I don't recall any other book that got quite that much mileage.
(Some detail) Acorn manuals always had a good reputation. They usually contained a tutorial section, a reference section, clear appendices with all sorts of examples and details, and a very solid index. I haven't quite seen other manuals that were quite as good. As a really neat example: the Acorn Midi Card manual for the Archimedes went all the way from high level "what is midi" down to bits and bytes and assembler-…
I understand (from a friend who was at the school at the time) that at least one of the authors for one of the manuals was a teacher at Netherhall, the school round the corner from Acorn.
The BBC Micro was the reference point for the Computer Literacy Project, so developing understanding was a key goal.
Re: The BBC Microcomputer User Guide
#28The BBC made a drama, "Micro Men" (2009), about some of the behind-the-scenes drama behind the BBC Micro. As I recall, it doesn't explain the whole Fred, Jim and Sheila thing though. Martin "Bilbo Baggins" Freeman is in it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXBxV6-zamM
The closing scene is priceless. Clive Sinclair defiantly drives into the future on his C5, without helmet or neck support, overtaken by lorries/juggernauts:
Re: The BBC Microcomputer User Guide
#29The BBC made a drama, "Micro Men" (2009), about some of the behind-the-scenes drama behind the BBC Micro. As I recall, it doesn't explain the whole Fred, Jim and Sheila thing though. Martin "Bilbo Baggins" Freeman is in it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXBxV6-zamM
Just watched it last night, it's pretty good. Though does anyone have any context for the scene with Sinclair and the 3 women in the convention? It seemed a bit out of place in the whole doc. BTW, Silicon Cowboys is another film I'd recommend. It's about the history of Compaq.
It's a reference to the fact that Sinclair was a notorious womanizer, and his exploits often ended up in the press of the time. He was also chairman of MENSA from 1980 to 1997.
Re: The BBC Microcomputer User Guide
#30So many memories - thanks for sharing.