8-Bit Software.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Rest Is History......
Or The Rest Of The History?
19.11.95
~~~~~~~~
This article was written over a period of well over a year whilst waiting for
the previous parts of the history to be written. As time has gone by, I have
added to this article and tried to update the relevant parts. Please bear this
in mind as you read this.
Final addition..... I have decided to release this (my) part of the history of
8BS before Daniel Shimmin's as it is going out of date and Daniel hasn't
written his part yet I think.
This is the final part of the history of 8BS. I had a look through my records
(two diaries, a folder of old catalogue printouts, the 8BS issue collection
and a few old letters from various key members) to glean a few snippets here
and there.
First Steps Into The Public Domain.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It seems a long time ago now that I did my own "Public Domain" survey (the
survey carried out by an 8BS member some time ago still has it's echoes).
Unfortunately, the dates escape me now, but it must have been late 1990. The
reason I say this is that it was "The Micro User" Cover disc that impressed me
with PD Christmas tunes (they can be found on 8BS-17, the Christmas 1991
issue).
I wrote off to all of the half dozen or so PD libraries in the list. I gathered
all of the replies together and made comparisons. Weighing up prices and
response times. I am the sort of person that cannot wait, therefore it mattered
that the response came fairly quickly. Those slow to reply stood no chance of
my custom. Price was the next consideration.
There was absolutely no competition for 8-bit PD as it was called then,
everything was free, 8BS won my heart immediately. I did also write to Jonathan
Harston of Harston PD and bought one of his discs. The other libraries either
took so long to reply that I did not wish to deal with them or they charged too
much for my liking.
I had the use of a school BBC computer that my father would bring home from the
school he taught at. He would bring it to me on a weekend so that it wouldn't
be stolen. For some reason I had the uncontrollable urge to risk life and limb
by spending the whole time programming. To this day I cannot understand why. I
am amazed that Gill has not sacked me even now. My father retired eventually
which created a major panic, I dashed out and purchased a Master 128
immediately. I have a shameful admission to make here. I bought the Master the
day before going on holiday and actually took it away with me, can you believe
it?
Recollections of Early 8BS.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On joining 8BS and receiving my User ID of 2J3 (at the time I thought it was
some sort of anagram of my name!) I was forced by Duncan Webster to wade
through all of the old issues of 8BS before being allowed to receive the latest
issue. This I did in a couple of weeks. We were supposed to analyse each issue
and comment on the content on a special sheet provided. This I did dutifully
several times and waited by the letterbox eagerly for the next issue. I think
it was around issue 8 that I joined 8BS and immediately started bombarding
Duncan Webster with everything I had. I really enjoyed being a part of the club
and was totally dismayed when I received issue 19 in April 1992 when he
suddenly announced that 8BS was to die.
I was contacted By Duncan around June 1992 to say that I should contact Daniel
Shimmin for the next issue of 8BS. Sheer joy to discover that the group was to
be resurrected. Over the months I somehow became engaged in a dialogue with
Daniel who was about to start at University. The group was going to go under
again. Eventually, I volunteered my services for an issue, issue 23. I enjoyed
compiling it and it became obvious that Daniel was not going to have the time
in future to continue editing the mag. We took alternate issues up to issue 27.
In May 1993 I took over the running of the group.
Taking the Reins.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The first priority was to let everyone know that 8BS was still alive and
kicking and in Hedon. I wrote millions of letters to people. Membership was
around the 50 mark. A rough guide as to how many active members there are is
the number of 8BS issues sent out. This may sound a bit odd to you, however,
not everyone gets every issue. Some members don't contact 8BS for several
months and then order all the back issues. Others only send for the occasional
issue. The "Magic" number for a couple of issues was 28, over the weeks this
would creep up to the 50's for an issue. As I write this the figure is now in
the 80's creeping up to around 150 per issue.
The Object Of The Exercise.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My main aim was (and is) to provide a rapid, reliable service to BBC users.
Supplying discs for those that wanted software supplying on new discs. More
recently my aims have increased to wanting to support any needs presented. This
involves having a network of people with different skills and facilities that
can help others out with their problems/needs. The whole thing has evolved
quite nicely. One pleasant side effect of the messaging system is that members
may contact each other individually and there is now a whole network of people
in constant touch with each other. Several people have commented on the
"friendly" nature of the "club" created by the messaging system. There have
been none of the snotty messages that I have seen on bulletin boards for
instance.
There were 48 discs in the PD pool and 7 back issues available when I took the
group over. I wanted to collect the back issues together so that there would be
a proper history of 8BS. This was not too difficult as I had most of the back
issues myself although there were a few gaps. I also wanted to gather up as
much PD software as possible into one place.
I wanted the magazine to be in mode 7, scrolling articles. I had seen something
similar in issue 16 of 8BS. I had written teletext editing utilities and the
machine code header programs to enable teletext articles to be *RUN. I
discussed the idea with Daniel Shimmin who was not too keen on it. He took a
lot of convincing. There were many bugs in the software that needed ironing
out. Eventually after I had made numerous changes to the software and written
an 80 column converter for those averse to teletext, Daniel agreed that maybe
it would work. Daniel's constructive criticism had helped me to iron out the
rough edges.
In early issues, Duncan Webster had mentioned that he had been working on a
messaging system idea. This had grabbed my imagination, but never materialized.
Now I was running the group and had access to the questionnaires, I could tap
the latent talent. Several phonecalls and letters later Steven Flintham's
programming talents were roped in. He wrote an excellent menu system and
messaging system.
The combination of the mode 7 articles with the messaging system became very
popular to the extent that now the articles and messages are the most popular
section of the issue.
Another item required was a disc based catalogue. A simple listing was
sufficient when I had taken the group over, but there was so much in the
library now that a proper disc based catalogue was needed. In July 1993 I wrote
a system which operated reasonably well until recently. It used mode 0. I
placed it onto a disc that I called TBI-00, this disc contained all of the info
required for prospective/new/existing members. The more recent catalogue is now
in mode 7 as this mode seems to be very popular.
Success?
~~~~~~~~
On several occasions I thought that the library could not possibly get any
larger, but then it did. Each time I updated the catalogue, a new addition
would arrive. At this moment (29.12.94) the library is sprawling out of control
towards 700 entries, threatening world domination. Later... 2.4.95. The library
is now at around 750. Later....27.7.95 around 800. Later.... 19.11.95 850.
When BBC PD closed down, Alan Blundell sent me his whole collection of DFS
discs. This was a magnificent addition to the 8BS PD library.
When Beebug dropped its support for the BBC, I was sent copies of Beebug
Volumes 2 to 5. More recently the rest of the library was released to the
public domain and 8BS acquired copies of volumes 6 to 12. At present, I am
working on getting volunteers to type in issues 1 to 9 of volume 1. Beebug
started giving people my phone number and address as someone willing to help
people with enquiries about their BBC.
I contacted the owner of the copyright to Fast Access issues 1 and 2. He
eventually sold 8BS the copyright and later included The Disc User.
More recently, thanks to the hard work of Stephan Richardson, Colton Software
has sold 8BS the distribution rights for View Professional.
I have made contact with several other BBC oriented groups with varying
degrees of success. Ron Marshall of Solinet was helpful. Paul Harvey of
the now sadly extinct Byteback has done a lot for 8BS and deserves special
thanks. The Yorkshire Boys have not responded to my letters at all, in fact I
would be interested to hear from anyone that has managed to elicit a response
from them. I have had contacts with GLM, Mad Rabbit and JJF. Andy Nibbs
released his software series for the Master, Masterdisk for 8BS to circulate.
Destroyed Realities, Digital Solutions PD and Beeb Developments regularly
contact me. More recently Jonathan Harston of Harston PD has contacted me for
the first time (early 95). Gordon Horsington has allowed the release of
anything by him to the Public Domain, he has written large amounts of text and
software relating to the BBC. I managed to get a list of Welsh Boys PD
software but have as yet not been in contact with them. Electron User Group has
also contacted me a couple of times, but responses to my letters back take
about 8 months.
The success of 8BS has only really happened due to the demise of almost
everyone else.
The Acorn User Shows.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In January 1994 I noticed that the Acorn User Show was being held in Harrogate
at the International Centre. I contacted the centre and got the phone number of
the people contracted to organise the show. I spoke with Geoff and Judith
Potter of Safesell Exhibitions a number of times. Eventually Geoff very kindly
donated a bit of space for 8BS to put on a display.
This was a great chance to "show off" 8BS. The event itself was a great success
with around 600 discs being flogged to innocent passers by. With hindsight I
regret the time spent nobbling passers by. We only gained two new regular
members from this event (all members with "A" as the first letter of their User
ID are members joining at the Acorn User Shows). I was so busy grabbing
passers-by that I didn't get as much chance as I would have liked to chat with
visiting members. The discs sold covered expenses. I was given a chance to
rectify this. Geoff Potter invited 8BS to the 1995 Acorn User Show at
Harrogate. Expenses were kept to a minimum, I camped. As a result, far fewer
discs had to be sold to the public, therefore less work for us all. Many
members showed up, some bringing their own computers. All I had to take with
me was a couple of boxes of odds and ends. Much more easy. A good time was had
by all (I hope!). Later.... 27.7.95 I am still getting new members joining by
sending in the slips handed out at Harrogate.
The Chronology.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In order to try and get the various developments at 8BS into some sort of
chronological order, I have consulted all the issues that I have edited. Here
is what I have found:
What could pass off as the editorial in issue 23 is full of hopeless ramblings.
At this stage I was only trying to put an issue together, no plans, just trying
not to make a complete hash of it. I had written a menu that looked similar to
past issues. I wanted to keep the distinctive appearance of 8BS.
By the next issue, issue 25, I had received some feedback from members and was
starting to get some ideas about how the group could develop. At this stage
though, I was only taking it in turns with Daniel.
When issue 27 arrived I had taken over the running of the group and was full of
ideas. Several debates had started up in the magazine. I was still very much
into writing programs myself. It was at about this time that I realised the
programming side was going to have to give way to the running of the group and
I was going to have to find other people to program for me. I contacted various
members of the group. Steven Flintham wrote a menu system.
The new menu system first appeared on issue 28. Also on this issue the birth of
TBI-00 the info/catalogue/utility disc was announced. Up to this point the PD
pool of discs had been available only to members at 10p a copy if the disc and
return postage were supplied. I made the pool available to non-members,
charging 50p per disc. I had found a disc supplier and offered discs at one
pound each. The development of a messaging system was announced.
Issue 29 hit the streets in August 1993. I had finally decided on the direction
that I was going to take with 8BS. I announced that 8BS was a user group with a
regular disc based magazine, and also a public domain library which anyone
could use. The messaging system was launched in this issue.
Issue 30 was packed with messages sent using the messaging system. It had been
an instant hit. There were teething problems, but most people seemed to be
managing quite well with it. I was finally coming to grips with the menu
system, initial menus had been a bit disjointed.
Issue 31 in November 1994 had come too early for Christmas. I had really tried
very hard to get this out somewhere near Christmas. Determined for this not to
happen again, I planned the next 2 years deadline and issue dates at this
point. There had been much discussion about 2 disc issues by many people, at
this time I decided that the idea should be laid to rest. Mainly because of the
space it would take up in my disc box, time backing up and the fact that I was
(and am) sure most members of the group would find 2 discs every 7 weeks too
much. In this issue a new competition was announced, the Prisoner's dilemma. To
this day, there has been no response. In a later issue, an intro screen
competition was announced, this had a response, but not many members bothered.
It would seem that competitions are not very popular.
In the January 1994, issue 32, I announced price increases for discs from the
pool for members. Charges went up from 10p a disc to 50p. No one seemed to mind
too much. I have wrestled many times with the question of charges. I had only
joined 8BS in the first place because it was totally free. It was becoming
slowly apparent to me though that I quite simply didn't have the funds from my
meagre wages as a paramedic to support several hundred BBC loonies who were
willing to pay their way anyhow. The charges now in place keep 8BS afloat and
enable the odd venture into replacement of gear and purchase of distribution
rights etc. Later....... 27.7.95 I have started collecting spares etc at an
alarming rate, with regular visits to car boot sales and computer fares and
people sending large boxes of stuff through the post.
Issue 33 in March 1994 saw the launch of the new questionnaire written by
Steven Flintham. I designed the questions so that I could find out anything I
needed to know about members, things such as what machines they used. What they
thought of various aspects of the group, whether they would like 8BS to supply
them with things and so on. There were 128 members on the books with 98 in
regular contact. I had sent out 1700 discs of software at this point. Some
members were (and are) keen to put large lists of their hardware into the
questionnaire and seem to be irritated by the fact that they can only type one
line in response to the question. At the moment (12.94), the data from the
questionnaire half fills a disc, so we have to watch the space. Anyone that
wants to write a 6 page resume' or send a CV (someone has, incidentally, it was
very useful, as now I know what a CV looks like and have written one for
myself) is quite welcome to do so. I take all the long letters I receive to
work with me and read and reply to them in quiet moments (although I did write
a reply once on the way to a road accident for some reason. I felt seasick for
an hour afterwards. Incidentally, I was not driving at the time).
In issue 34 I finally decided to make life more easy for everyone by splitting
up the message files into adverts, help and general. Messaging had become the
most popular section of the magazine. People were finding it difficult wading
through the hotch potch of messages. Alan Blundell of BBC PD announced that he
was going to pack up. This caused a bit of panic amongst BBC users who saw this
as the end of a very important part of the BBC scene. I decided that I should
attempt to get a copy of the whole BBC PD library. Still a few short.
Issue 35 was full of ravings about how well the Acorn User show had gone. I had
been totally preoccupied by the show although had still found time to make
major additions and alterations to the 8BS catalogue which was starting to grow
out of control.
I had now hit a format for 8BS issues that seems to have remained static (with
only minor changes) for the last few issues. The only big change has been a
total re-write of the catalogue handling software.
Here is a list of the issues that I have edited:
23 November 1992
25 February 1993
27 May 1993
28 July 1993
29 August 1993
30 October 1993
31 November 1993
32 January 1994
33 March 1994
34 April 1994
35 June 1994
36 July 1994
37 September 1994
38 October 1994
39 December 1994
40 February 1995
41 March 1995
42 May 1995
43 June 1995
44 September 1995
45 October 1995
46 December 1995
The Gear.
~~~~~~~~~
When I started running the group, all I had was a Master 128, colour portable
TV, Citizen 120D and a single disc drive. I purchased a twin drive when I
edited my first issue. That was an obvious first addition. It then became
apparent that I would need to test out compatibility, so a BBC B was purchased
followed closely by a Master Compact. This enabled me to check out new
additions and update old software particularly in my own CJR collection. The
BBC came with a twin 5.25" 3.5" disc drive set in a plinth. This enabled me to
handle 3.5" discs and convert between formats. Next came a Z88 which is
invaluable. I keep all of the 8BS records on this.
I acquired a 512 board because of the 512 discs that started appearing in the
catalogue. One marvellous side effect of the 512 board is the CPFS ROM which
allows me to use the 512K of memory as a ram disc, a facility that I put to use
just about 100% of my computing time. Shortly after acquiring the 512 board
another Master found its way onto the 8BS desk, then a 512 board for it, then a
1 Meg upgrade for the first Master. Then I joined a spare disc drive to the
Compact to make a twin 5.25 to 3.5" drive. Next appeared another twin drive for
the BBC, Followed by a second twin 3.5" drive for the Compact. 8BS now has 5
twin drives ticking away at once on occasions. This speeds up mass formatting
and backing up to an acceptable time scale. Time is passing by as I wait for
the earlier parts of the history of 8BS to arrive at 8BS HQ (come on Daniel!).
Now I can add a 40 megabyte Winchester hard disc to the collection of hardware
on the 8BS desk. This has again made my job far more easy, the questionnaire
results data was getting uncomfortably large for instance, now it doesn't
matter. The catalogue is far more easy to edit when held on the Winchester.
16.10.95 I have now acquired a Music 5000 with which to entertain myself. I
have already managed to fill a 100 capacity disc box with music for it. Has
any one else got any?
When Archimedes software started appearing in the catalogue, I seriously
considered acquiring an Archimedes of some description. That idea has been hit
on the head for the moment because I do not think that I would have the time to
handle an Archimedes as well as everything else I am doing. Those that read the
"Month in the Life of 8BS" article in issue 37 will understand what I mean.
In the loft now (27.7.95) is a large collection of software and hardware all
for sale. Including 3 BBCs and 2 Masters.
At This Moment.........
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With issue 46 in December 1995, membership had reached 284 with 190 in regular
contact. I have sent out 8275 discs of software since July 1993. I received
1221 items of post through the letterbox from 1.1.95 to 18.11.95.
Since the ditching of 8 bit machines by commercial people 8BS has become more
and more busy. Recently for instance:
An article by Richard Sterry appeared in Radcom, a radio amateur magazine. On
Christmas Eve 94 four enquiries arrived, people having read the article. The
next post day (the Wednesday), 3 more enquiries via RadCom. Thursday, 4
enquiries. Friday (today as I write this), 7 enquiries. All these (so far)
from just one source and at a time of year when I would have expected no post
at all. Since I wrote this paragraph, enquires have continued flooding in to a
total of around 70 so far. 28.8.95 an enquiry today from that same article!
I have put more hours than I care to tot up into the running of 8BS. But nearly
every minute of it is enjoyable. It makes a pleasant change from the work that
I do. I still manage to fit in plenty of time to spend with my wife and kids.
Probably a great help here is that my setup is in the living room, while the
rest of the family sit goggling at the box, I sit near them, tapping away on
the keyboard. It is not the same as when I spent all my spare time programming,
that took all of my tiny brain power, leaving nothing for anything or anyone
else. 8BS ticks over on its own now and if I am doing something, I can stop at
any time and take it up later with no problem.
What About The Future?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What about the future? I shall keep 8BS alive as long as the postman keeps
sticking your letters and discs through the door. I am reasonably happy with
the format that 8BS has now, although there are still several points that need
refining still. The catalogue, the questionnaire etc etc etc. My main aim is to
have as comprehensive a collection of PD software as possible and to continue
with the regular disc based magazine keeping prices as low as possible.
The rest will be history.... soon.
Credits.
~~~~~~~~
Gill, the missus, who by rights should have thrown all the 8BS gear out the
window had she been as understanding as some wives would appear to be.
Carol and John my two eldest who get roped in now and again, formatting discs
and sticking labels.
Now, in order of ID, thanks go to:
Duncan Webster. For Starting it off
Alan Blundell. For Sending the BBC PD library to me.
Steven Flintham. For all the hard work and excellent programming.
Tim Parsons. For help, supplying stuff and the calls.
Daniel Shimmin. For keeping me on my toes.
Ron Marshall. For keeping in contact.
Mick Needham. For all the help and donations and the pint.
John Fullbrook. For helping with supplies.
Paul Harvey. For the stack of help when you didn't really have time.
Colin Culpitt-Smith. For putting people this way.
Frank Jones. For the help at the show.
Mick Reeves. For the help at the show.
Peter Davy. For the large amount of excellent, hand written software.
Barry Maslin. For help on numerous occasions, saving the group a fortune.
Stephan Richardson. (no relation!) Where do I start? Technical help both to
myself and others. Articles. Pestering commercial types for stuff for 8BS.
Supply of all sorts of things I thought you couldn't get. Donations of all
sorts. And much much more.
Albert Schofield. For the articles.
David Peck. For the supplies.
Lorna Jenne. For the help, and the chats on the phone.
George "Get yourself a drink" Lynch. You are my buddy for ever!
Steve Hanson. For the cheap commercial software.
Trevor Crapper. For 8BS-00 and the messages.
Andrew Fay. For buying the T shirt.
Mick Bennet. For the donations and phonecalls.
Karl Tilbrook. For giving me somewhere to field repairs to.
Paul Clucas. For chekin the spelin and the letters annat. Oh, and for byeing
the T shirt.
Peter Shaw. For the phonecalls.
Sam Jackson. For the phonecalls and enthusiasm.
Jim Birks. For the 512 board etc.
Jonathan Harston. For the software.
Miroslaw Bobrowski. For the first class software and the letters, especially
the drawings from Monic.
Janny Looyenga. For pointing out errors and reviving the BBC in Holland.
Eric Clapton (not a member of 8BS unfortunately). For admitting to the Blues.
Brian Burley. For absolutely nothing. One day someone will catch up with you!
The rest of you, too many to mention, for supporting 8BS by sending messages,
articles, software, donations and most of all ordering software!
Thassit.
C.J.R. Final addition 19.11.95
Come on Daniel!