Retro Computing UK

> When word first got out that the Chinese board houses were experimenting with full color silkscreens, many in our community thought it would be a boon for PCB art. Others believed it would be akin to cheating by removing the inherent limitations of the medium. That’s not a debate that will be solved today, but here we have an example of a project that’s not only making practical application of the technology, but one that arguably couldn’t exist in its current form without it: a single-PCB ZX Spectrum emulator developed by [atomic14]. > > There basics here are, well, they’re pretty basic. You’ve got an ESP32-S3, a TFT display, a micro SD slot, and the handful of passives necessary to tie them all together. What makes this project stand out is the keyboard, which has been integrated directly into the PCB thanks to the fourteen pins on the ESP32-S3 that can be used as touch sensor input channels. There are issues with detecting simultaneous keypresses, but overall it seems to work pretty well. > > But what makes the keyboard really special is that [atomic14] has used the color silkscreen capability to put all the necessary labels directly onto the keys. Technically this could have been done using a traditional single color silkscreen, but it would have been a hell of a lot harder to fit all the necessary information on there while keeping it readable. Plus, you’d miss the little rainbow in the corner.

> We've been checking out the latest games and we think we've come across a game that will not only suit those of you who love horror, but also for fans of the famed horror writer H.P Lovecraft. Titled as 'Innsmouth', this latest game by Bitfans, is a brand new ZX Spectrum 48k and 128k Adventure! An English and Spanish Lovecraft game in which you are to delve into the dark tale of a coastal town plagued by hidden secrets and indescribable horrors. To coincide with this news, we've got a bit more about the story as well as a new trailer.

> People loved the ZX Spectrum. They loved the Mega Drive. If you talk to an owner of any Nintendo machine, from a Game Boy to a Switch OLED they sound like Romeo talking about Juliet, Meredith Grey talking about Derek Shepherd, or Elon Musk talking about himself. > > As someone who was actually there for the 80s and 90s, the Amiga just didn’t enjoy that kind of love. Why? Because it looked uncool. The Game Boy looked like an alien artefact from a trendy 70s sci-fi show; the PlayStation was what you’d get if a high-end record turntable had mated with the sexiest sandwich maker imaginable. The curved lines of the Xbox 360 were the definition of allure. It was one of those rare machines that looked as good lying down as it did standing up. Today I still run my fingers along its curves if I see one in the wild. > > The Amiga looked like something you’d see a bank teller use. And not for the cool bank stuff, like foiling a robbery.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/9212466

> > The ZX Spectrum Vega+ was supposed to be the perfect way to experience classic ZX Spectrum games on the go, but after a botched crowdfunding campaign, ropey hardware and the collapse of the company behind it, Retro Computers Ltd, it has gone down as something of a disaster. > > > > The bad taste left by the Vega+ hasn't deterred another firm, Elmar Electronic, from having a stab at the concept, though. The ZX Touch is a portable take on Sir Clive Sinclair's classic home computer which boasts a 7-inch touch display, WiFi, SD card support and a six-hour battery life. > > > > Elmar Electronic is "a small company with more than 40 years of history and twenty dedicated employees" which specializes in "the development and manufacturing of industrial and telecommunication equipment". One of its co-owners, Goran Radan, has a deep affection for the Spectrum, which led him to create the ZX-VGA-JOY project. The ZX Touch is his next Sinclair-flavoured venture. > > > > 22 games come built-in, all of which are included with the permission of the original developer or rights holder, but you can load up other titles via an SD card. > > > > Both the hardware and software are entirely bespoke; there's no OS included, as the software inside is "pure c/c++ code running on embedded high-performance ARM Cortex-M7 480Mhz MCU" according to the manufacturer.

> The ZX Spectrum shouldn’t have been that big of a deal. It was a budget and underpowered personal computer released at a time when the personal computer industry had more options than most people would ever need. At the very least, the ZX Spectrum’s audio cassette media format and bizarre methods of software distribution should have made its library of supported games little more than a novelty. > > Instead, the ZX Spectrum became one of the most important video game devices ever made. The little computer that could found its way into a surprising number of homes and helped launch the modern British video game scene in the process. It may seem like a strange story, but when you look at some of the games that helped define the ZX Spectrum, it all starts to make a little more sense.