Planet Acorn

Last week, The Centre for Computing History added a BCL Susie to the museums collection

BCL Susie (Stock Updating Sales Invoicing Electronically) used a magnetic drum store and the Molecular18 computer system which was was an 18 bit, dual accumulator, programmable computer, with a typical minicomputer architecture. The Molecular could address up to 64K words of memory. In later models, memory extensions were made available by the use of bank switching.

The top 32K memory could be switched between four banks, giving an overall memory limit of 160K words. There was a complex (for the time) instruction set, a simple interrupt system, multiple input/output ports, and Direct Memory Access or Data Channel for high speed peripherals.Susie was primarrily a stock control machine in 1967 which used a Nickel Delay line and Magnetic Drum for storage.

The only system controls are the keys of the typewriter keyboards on the input/output writers, apart from a few switches for program selection and automatic input and output. Therefore, any reasonably intelligent typists could soon learn to operate the equipment.

The system had automatic Input and Output using either punched paper tape or edge-punched cards, a great deal of information which would otherwise have to be inserted by the typist, can be fed in automatically at far greater speed and with absolute accuracy, Susie can generate statistical information for further processing on a customers own computer or by a computer bureau as part of another operation, or for future use as standard input material. Susie can accept such items as customers’ names and addresses, account numbers and so on, on one card, and standard item descriptions and prices on another. Fed into Susie either individually or automatically by hopper, these cards make it unnecessary for the operator to type anything other than the variable information. Automatic input can increase Susie’s memory capacity to virtually limitless proportions by replenishing it in sections from stored punched tape or cards.

Independent Operation of Readers and Punches and Input/Output Printers. These two units are completely independent of each other. The ability to use them together or independently facilitates the rejection of wrong edge-punched cards or tape sequences without producing hard copy. Susie has the ability to re-generate punched paper tape without producing hard copy printout. This enables the typist to ‘dump’ data from the memory, completely by-passing the print unit. The input of fresh data or of a programme can be carried out at the same speed. Susie programmes are fed in on paper tape or typed in via the keyboard.

A hopper fed edge-punched card reader is available, capable of processing automatically up to 200 edge-punched cards without the typist’s intervention or handling.

The system is complete with a high speed GNT Model 34 Tape/Punch reader. It punches standard 1″ paper tape with 8 information channels according to one of the three standard codes namely ASCII. Fridens Flexowriter, or IBM TTC/8.

Our BCL Susie Mark 2 machine was very kindly donated and built up for us by Tony Fairhead who knew and used the machine for many years.

Whilst browsing dafont.com the other day, I noticed that (yet) another version of the classic Letraset Oxford typeface has been created, and this time it's another free (as in freedom) version.

The font is named Oxford-CP and was created by Diogene. It's licensed under the GPL with the font exception rather than the SIL OFL which I used to license my version.

The non-free version of Oxford, called Sportowy, which boasts some beautiful glyphs for things like @, is available here.

My version, which I called "Scene" in honour of the BBCtv schools programme that used the face for its logo, also features capital letters and Central European accenting and is available to download from here.


Ironically, after the huge amount of effort I put into creating it (see here, here and here), I still haven't actually done anything with my Scene font - but hopefully I'll get around to doing something with it soon.

Thanks to the Peter(fibble) over at the stairwaytohell.com BBC Micro forums, he gave The Centre for Computing History a Bush IBX200. The internet service hosted by Bush and Virgin.net is no longer available – so the box is quite useless…. or is it?

Thanks to a guide on Chris’s Acorn site, I managed to get this box booting into Risc OS. most of the information below is taken from his site.

To boot RISC OS, you will need the following :

An Iomega Zip drive (the 100Mb parallel port type). If you don’t have one, give up now. Or go and buy one off ebay.

The Argo drivers. If you don’t have them, give up or get the Argo drivers from somewhere (try asking on c.s.a.hardware)

A computer running RISC OS 3.6 or later (e.g. RiscPC or A7000), to act as the donor system for the missing modules and files.

A program to save modules from the OS ROMs e.g. !Zap (http://zap.tartarus.org/ ).

RISC OS 3 Application disc 1 for !Scrap & !System

Optionally, RISC OS 3.5 for !Edit, !Draw & !Paint, because they on disc in this release not in ROM.

Starting on the donor system:

• Connect the Zip drive the the donor system and install the Argo drivers, if they are not already installed. Put a disc in the ZIP drive and start !Zip.
• Open the ZIP disc, create 2 directories. Resources, Modules
• Click the Menu button on the Apps icon and select Open $. Copy the following files to the Resources directory on the ZIP disc: Display, Filer, Pinboard, ResFiler, ResourceFS, Switcher, TaskWindow
• Copy the Wimp directory across too – Sprites, Sprites22, Tools as the majority are missing from RISC OS-NC.
• Using !Zap (or whatever), save the OS ROM modules from memory to the Modules directory of your Zip disc, the modules are: DisplayManager (as DisplayMan), DragASprite (as DragASpr), Filer, FilerSWIs, Pinboard, ResourceFiler (as ResourceFi), TaskManager (as TaskMan), TaskWindow
• You need some sort of utility to fake the mouse buttons. Use Martin Dann‹s keyrat module, available from Chris Sawer’s site. It runs on the STB and sets the right shift key to act as the middle mouse button, and the “]” key to act as the right mouse button as the remote control keyboard doesn’t have middle or right mouse buttons. Download and copy keyrat into the Modules directory.
• Most RISC OS applications require !Scrap and !System so copy these from the RISC OS 3 Applications Disc.
• Create an Obey file called “Auto” which contains the following:

Set Filer$Path          IZipFS:$.Resources.Filer.
Set ResFiler$Path       IZipFS:$.Resources.ResFiler.
Set DisplayManager$Path IZipFS:$.Resources.Display.
Set Pinboard$Path       IZipFS:$.Resources.Pinboard.
Set Switcher$Path       IZipFS:$.Resources.Switcher.
Set TaskWinRes$Path     IZipFS:$.Resources.TaskWindow.
RMLoad IZipFS:$.Modules.FilerSWIs
RMLoad IZipFS:$.Modules.Filer
RMLoad IZipFS:$.Modules.ResourceFi
RMLoad IZipFS:$.Modules.DragASpr
RMLoad IZipFS:$.Modules.DisplayMan
RMLoad IZipFS:$.Modules.TaskMan
RMLoad IZipFS:$.Modules.Pinboard
RMLoad IZipFS:$.Modules.TaskWindow
RMLoad IZipFS:$.Modules.KeyRat
IconSprites IZipFS:$.Resources.Wimp.Sprites
ToolSprites IZipFS:$.Resources.Wimp.Tools
Desktop -file IZipFS:$._DeskStart<

• Create a Desktop (type &FEA) file called “DeskStart” which contains something like:

WimpMode 15
%Set Edit$Options f9 b8 l2 m2 h12 w12
Filer_Boot IZipFS:$.Apps.!Paint
Filer_Boot IZipFS:$.Apps.!Draw
Filer_Run  IZipFS:$.Apps.!Edit
Filer_Run  IZipFS:$.Apps.!CloseUp
Filer_Run  IZipFS:$.Resources.!FreeMem
Backdrop -tile IZipFS:$.willow21
Filer_OpenDir IZipFS:$

• The IBX100 does not have the standard RISC OS Apps in ROM, so you can create and Apps directory on the ZIP disc and copy the standard applications from the RISC OS 3 Applications disc. Also if you want Edit Paint & Draw, copy them from RISC OS 3.50 either from !Boot.RO350Hook.Apps or the RISC OS 3.5 Disc Image.
• Now you have a suitable ZIP disc to boot the Desktop from on the IBX100. Dismount and detach the Zip drive from the donor system and attach it to the IBX100. Start up the IBX100 and go to the main options screen and type zipdebugging to enable booting from the ZIP drive and reboot the box to get a RISC OS desktop.

Thats it – you should now have RISC OS running on your internet.tv box.

There are more photos of the Bush IBX200 on this flickr page.

You've probably not noticed, but Keith Chegwin has been embroiled in scandal for the past 24 hours, accused of nicking jokes from other (working) comedians such as Milton Jones.

If you're wanting to be up on the whole thing, you can search Twitter.

Anyway, to celebrate the whole Cheggersgate scandal Obvious Pseudonym have released the Six Noises EP version of 'Keith Chegwin For A Day' as a free MP3 download for one day only.

You can get it here on our official website - it's excellent for annoying your coworkers.

(Not everything we do is that irritating - most of our stuff is really very good, and you can get it from iTunes Music Store or on CD by post).

Published originally at http://blog.joel.co.uk/index.php?itemid=940

Recently I've been playing about recreating various SMPTE and custom made film leaders in Flash 8 and Inkscape. One of the most interesting for me, and one that reminds me of Blue Peter for some reason, is the BBC's own film leader. Here it is:


While working on film leaders, I've settled upon a hybrid Flash/Inkscape workflow in which I create the individual frames in Inkscape as Inkscape SVG files and export them as EPS files into Macromedia Flash 8.

RCM are proud to announce their 5th Retro Gaming Day

Venue is:- The Institute, Main Street, Swannington, Coalville LE67 8QL

Date and Time:- Sunday 31st October 2010 from 10.30am – 5.00pm

Ticket Prices:- £5.00 for adults, £1.00 for children for pre-ticket sales and £7.00 for adults, £2.00 for children on the day ticket sales.

Tickets will be available from August 1st and can be purchased either by clicking on our donate button which is at the top left hand side of our website, which will in turn take you to our paypal account or on the day at the venue (at the higher cost). If you wish to pay by other means please contact us via the RCM Website http://www.retrocomputermuseum.co.uk. The closing date for pre-ticket sales will be October 14th. We will send out the purchased tickets two weeks before the event. If anybody needs any more information please do not hesitate to ask!

Managed to pick up a rather special machine last week – a BBC Model A. It looks like this one has not been upgraded as it only has the printer port. No tube, disk drive, RGB, Econet, user or analog ports either!

Im still in the process of cleaning it. I’ve run out of my ‘special’ cleaning stuff. It was brown with over the top school markings on.

You can see the rest of the photos on Flickr! and read more about the BBC Model A here.

Last weekend was Pride London 2010; once again we'd been asked if we could take photos for Paleday and The Pink Singers on the main stage, once again a privilege to do so.

Given last year's experiences of schlepping to and fro from Battersea I thought it prudent to get down the day before and stay at a hotel somewhere in central London. We'd had plenty of notice this year and I booked Covent Garden Travelodge: pretty reasonable for our needs and easy for transport links. You don't expect luxury at Travelodges, just a good night's sleep so this provided all we needed.

So anyway, we got down on the Friday. After a bit of confusion I collected our Press passes from backstage in Trafalgar Square then wandered up to Camden for a lovely evening with friends (especially nice to meet Jharda again, and have unexpected company from Richie).

We were told that this year we were to have not just passes but also wristbands which I needed to collect from King's Cross before the parade started. This meant a bit of a mad dash for me while Nicky and Si headed for the parade itself. Bad timing for the weekend - I was naffed off to discover the entire Circle line was shut down for maintenance which in turn led to various bus rides to Baker Street simply trying to get there before the parade started! Good news, I managed it (with just quarter of an hour to spare), making my way to the head of the parade led by Boris Johnson and Peter Tatchell.

There were a lot of photographers at the head of the parade - when it started we were moved back. Unfortunately (and this is my first experience of such behaviour) there were a couple of photographers who didn't take any notice and started to spoil it for the rest of us conscientious lot; one photog was threatened with removal of his pass, and another idiot almost came to blows with a Parade Director. I strongly believe that there's unwritten laws of courtesy when you're a photographer, but this time it was a little... well, nasty I suppose.

I got ahead of the parade and started grabbing shots of the crowds of which there were enough to keep me going. At one point I turned back to see I was about 20 metres in front of the head of the parade, nothing in front of me and nothing behind me; at either side were thousands of cheering screaming people. Yes, it would seem I led the parade (pic here). Hurrah!

It soon became apparent we had a bit of an issue - how do we drop back into the parade to take shots of participants given all the photographers are being shoved back? Si and Nicky managed to do this by blending into the crowd while the parade flag went past, but I was skeptical of this given I'd got two huge cameras around my neck. I slipped out and walked with the spectators on Oxford Street while the first few floats went past, then found a steward near a break in the barriers.

"Can I get in the parade please?" I wibbled, after getting his attention. "I'm Press, meant to be over there. Sorry."
"Um no. We can't part the barriers."
"Bother. I'm really meant to be photographing."
He thought for a moment and grinned slightly. "Right, you could climb over?"

So I handed him the larger camera and lens, and vaulted the barrier with about £3k-worth of camera kit. I won't repeat that experience but at least I was in the parade!

I walked with lots of floats - the London Gay Men's Chorus, the LGBT Lib Dems, Labour and Tory groups, various campaign groups, and the London Raiders softball team - all the while taking photos (many of which are on my Flickr stream, all of which are on photos.jml.net). I was sorry to miss Gaz (who was apparently in Soho Square), the Gaydar lot, and one of the Pinkies I've been talking with since I photographed him last year. Never mind, there's always the 2011 parade!

Post-parade, Si and Nicky were waiting for me with a nice chilled pint in The Sherlock Holmes pub just off Trafalgar Square. Recovery time, a good sit down. Phew.

Next stop - the main stage. I arrived to find one of the performers from West End show 'Wicked' singing her little heart out, and it was at that point I discovered that this year our passes and wristbands didn't just get us into the press pit but it also got us backstage. Bonus!

The stage was higher this year, by my estimation about 18". This meant the angles were a lot sharper on some of the photos, but the press pit was also larger. Unfortunately, it was also a lot more full and there was quite a lot of shoving around - unfortunate. Some of the acts were pounced on by the photographers (including for some reason the cast of the West End show 'Hair') while others didn't get touched and my philosophy in such situations is that I'd prefer to get photos other people don't, so step back. Instead I took photos of acts waiting to go onstage, little bits of interaction between performers and producers, photos nobody else would get. Given some of the reactions so far, it was appreciated.

Anyway, back to the day. After a while, myself and Si went for a wander to see what the Leicester Square stage was like. Crowded, lots of people around. Some good shots taken, quite nice, and we got the (now usual) kick out of being able to walk through the exit and go out of the entrance cos we had press passes, baby! :P

We fought our way up through Soho, to find there was nothing in Soho Square - not even many paraders. We took a few snaps (for that is all they were) and set off back.

At that point, I received a text message from Nicky: "Pink Singers all lining up". SHIT, THIS IS THE BAND I'M HERE TO PHOTOGRAPH AND I'M STILL UP IN SOHO. We run as fast as we can through seething masses of people. We got to the main stage to find that yes, they'd all lined up but weren't on for about another 30 minutes. Thanks for panicking me, love! Still, it left me backstage to take some more candid shots - excellent.

Paleday and the Pink Singers were wonderful - a better performance than last year, and I'm looking forward to Paleday doing some more full gigs.

And so we went on into the evening, with the final act being the DE Experience, a drag act performing most frequently at the Vauxhall Tavern. Lots of photos, lots of crowd shots, some opportunity to mess with the fisheye lens. It all finished up around 8:30pm so we headed back to the hotel.

(My t-shirt went down well - I'd opted for a red number with JAN MOIR THINKS I'M DIRTY printed on it. I got stopped a few times for people to take my photo, and met someone professing to be involved with the Daily Mail who said 'don't worry mate, we f*ing hate her too'. Comedy.)

Finally after half an hour of rest, showering, etc. we're ready for a night out in Soho. That was a bit of a mess really, the whole place seemed to shut down about 11:30pm, maybe because of the broken glass? There were police everywhere and unless we wanted to go in a very very crowded club (Koko anyone?) we'd be out of luck. So, we strolled back to the hotel and in a display of middle-classed heterosexuality we had a few bottles of Carlsberg until the hotel bar closed. Meh.

There were about 80GB of photos this time round - a smaller number in total but I was shooting RAW and dumping them to a Vosonic Imagetank to prevent running out of CF (instead I ran out of juice on the BP511 batteries on the Canon 30D). I was carrying the 24-105mm f/4 IS L lens, the 70-200mm f/2.8 IS L lens and the f/2.8 fisheye (using it as an ultrawide on the 30D body at times). It seemed a good mix, and was supplemented sometimes by the Speedlite 580EX II flashgun to provide fill.

My photos are gradually appearing on my Flickr stream and over at our photo gallery.

Published originally at http://blog.joel.co.uk/index.php?itemid=938