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:::Why does it matter if the software is commercial or homebrew? Or if it's used on an emulator or real hardware? It's still a software release. Other points accepted, but not those I mention. [[User:Chaheel Riens|Chaheel Riens]] ([[User talk:Chaheel Riens|talk]]) 07:34, 2 March 2020 (UTC)
:::Why does it matter if the software is commercial or homebrew? Or if it's used on an emulator or real hardware? It's still a software release. Other points accepted, but not those I mention. [[User:Chaheel Riens|Chaheel Riens]] ([[User talk:Chaheel Riens|talk]]) 07:34, 2 March 2020 (UTC)
::::To clarify, I don't think it matters in terms of what topics to cover on Wikipedia, but I do think these facts should be clearly stated in any writing on the subject to avoid confusion. It's the context that matters. [[User:Indrian|Indrian]] ([[User talk:Indrian|talk]]) 08:20, 2 March 2020 (UTC)
::::To clarify, I don't think it matters in terms of what topics to cover on Wikipedia, but I do think these facts should be clearly stated in any writing on the subject to avoid confusion. It's the context that matters. [[User:Indrian|Indrian]] ([[User talk:Indrian|talk]]) 08:20, 2 March 2020 (UTC)

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Revision as of 16:17, 24 May 2022

Clarification

There's a sentence at the end of the +3 section

The +3 was the final official model of the Spectrum to be manufactured, remaining in production until December 1990. Although still accounting for one third of all home computer sales in the UK at the time, production of the model was ceased by Amstrad at that point.

Reading it, one might get the impression that the +3 was "the model" referred to that "accounted for one third of all home computer sales" and which was discontinued. I'm almost certain that this is misleading phrasing and, if correct (and a citation would be nice too), it's *meant* to refer to the Spectrum family as a whole. Right? Ubcule (talk) 19:01, 17 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Without a source, who's to say? These kind of statistics really need sources. Letdorf (talk) 11:31, 20 September 2010 (UTC).[reply]
According to this reference - [11] which is a reputable source, sales of the +3 were halted in December 1990, but the +2 continued. I will change the main article.203.26.122.12 (talk) 07:02, 5 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Note that that quote says "The +2 will continue" but it refers to the +2B, not the original +2. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.243.208.102 (talk) 16:10, 2 June 2011 (UTC)[reply]
I'm pretty certain the original +2 was discontinued with the 2A coming in because the cassette drive was of very poor quality with a very small capstan wheel and many were returned to stores as they failed to load programs.101.178.163.92 (talk) 03:38, 16 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]

"Basic fact checking"

With regard to this edit summary, my response is that "Basic Fact checking" is to be done by the inserting editor, not the removing editor. If you want to add valid references then that's fine, but do not presume to tell me that it's my job to do so, just because I removed some unsourced info, especially when part of said info relates to Timex Sinclair which relates exclusively to the American variants of the Sinclair range - this is clearly the wrong link, and I've changed it, again.

I'll also be pedantic and mention that the source is not entirely accurate - the Spectrum was not "£145 with extra RAM", but either £175, or £129 - I assume based on the articles claim of £125, that it means £179 and it's just a typo. Chaheel Riens (talk) 17:37, 12 November 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Just because someone has added unsourced information does not mean you should immediately revert it. It is very discouraging to new editors. Please see - Wikipedia:Reverting#When_to_revert. MrMajors (talk) 18:14, 12 November 2016 (UTC)[reply]
That's an essay not a policy, and while you may follow it if you wish - I am under no obligation do to do. You may hold whatever opinion of me you want - I don't care - but don't presume to dictate to me just because I removed incorrect information from an article - which you then reinstated, albeit probably unintentionally. Chaheel Riens (talk) 18:29, 12 November 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Microdives

"it never took off as a distribution method due to worries about the quality of the cartridges and piracy"

The principal problem was the cost of writing onto the cartridges. Software distributors used the same recording machinery as was used for audio cassettes with cassettes. Conventional disks had similar problems to microdrives for prerecording, that's why they cost so much more than cassetttes, they were usually recorded by hand. Microdrives were too slow for that.101.178.163.92 (talk) 02:45, 17 October 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Sinclair Research originally intended the Microdive to be used with ROM cartridges, the Interface 2 (which you needed to use the Microdrive) had a ROM cartridge connector. You would plug in a ROM cartridge such as a word processor, and only use the microdrive to save files. The idea never took off because of the 16 kB limit of ROM cartridges (a problem which was not economically overcome until a few years later), the association of ROM cartridges with games consoles, and the public obsession with diskette drives.101.178.163.92 (talk) 03:45, 16 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Make sense. If I recall correctly, the Microdrive required an Interface 1, not 2 - Interface 2 was only for joysticks and ROM cartridges, which would tend to reinforce the assumption that cartridges are for games. To use a ROM cartridge with a Microdrive you'd have to buy both interfaces (and have one sticking out of the other). Pastychomper (talk) 15:22, 29 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]

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Memory

""The Z80 processor used in the Spectrum has a 16-bit address bus, which means only 64 KB of memory can be directly addressed. To facilitate the extra 80 KB of RAM the designers used bank switching so the new memory would be available as eight pages of 16 KB at the top of the address space. The same technique was used to page between the new 16 KB editor ROM and the original 16 KB BASIC ROM at the bottom of the address space""

It is the 8 bit processor which limits the amount of memory which can be addressed, not the address bus, which can be latched (as in the IBM PC). And I'm fairly sure because of the kernal and the way the pins on the Z80 are tied up, only 48 kB can be accessed in the Spectrum. I believe the extra memory on the +2 is accessed by paging in 16 kB at a time and swapping the original contents out "high" above 48K, using the offset addressing method available on the Z80.101.178.163.92 (talk) 04:02, 16 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]

In the case of ZX Spectrum 48K it is actually 16 kB ROM and 48 kB RAM = 64 kB. They are occupying entire 64 kB address space. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.43.227.182 (talk) 04:07, 18 November 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Yep, the RAM starts at address 16384 (decimal). There were some add-ons for the earlier Spectrums that allowed the ROM to be bypassed, effectively swapping in the contents of a programmable aftermarket chip. Presumably that's also how the Hobbit managed to use 64K RAM without breaking compatibility. Pastychomper (talk) 10:20, 20 November 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Talk page archiving

I've archived threads from this page, it's been 10 years, I thought it was about time. Have archived anything over 2 years or where the discussion had been closed. - X201 (talk) 16:06, 29 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]

GA Reassessment

This discussion is transcluded from Talk:Sinclair ZX Spectrum/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the reassessment. This article has been reviewed as part of Wikipedia:WikiProject Good articles/Project quality task force in an effort to ensure all listed Good articles continue to meet the Good article criteria. In reviewing the article, I have found there are some issues that may need to be addressed, listed below. I will check back in seven days. If these issues are addressed, the article will remain listed as a Good article. Otherwise, it may be delisted (such a decision may be challenged through WP:GAR). If improved after it has been delisted, it may be nominated at WP:GAN. Feel free to drop a message on my talk page if you have any questions, and many thanks for all the hard work that has gone into this article thus far.

  • The lead needs to be expanded to adequately summarise the article.
  • "... you could switch between 48k basic programming with the keywords already discussed ...". Should avoid use of personal pronouns.
  • The text of the Peripherals section is squeezed between left- and right-aligned images.
  • There is an external link in the Community section. External links should only appear in the External link section.
  • There has been a request for citation in place since April 2008.
  • Several sections are not adequately cited. For instance, the first paragraph of the Software section claims that "The Spectrum enjoys a vibrant, dedicated fan-base." Great, but who says so? The last half of the Distribution section is also completely uncited, as is the first half of Copying and backup software.
  • "However, for the majority of the software it seems unlikely that any action will ever be taken." Again, who says so?
  • "The Spectrum has an interesting method of handling colour ...". Interesting to who? Unusual? Need to avoid stating a pov.
  • The prose needs some attention in places, for instance: "Pandora had a flat-screen monitor and Microdrives and was intended to be Sinclair's business portable until Alan Sugar bought the computer side of Sinclair, when he took one look at it and ditched it (a conversation with UK computer journalist Guy Kewney went thus: AS: "Have you seen it?" GK: "Yes" AS: "Well then.")

--Malleus Fatuorum (talk) 23:55, 9 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for reviewing, Malleus. I have started by rectifying a few of the points. Hopefully, more will follow soonish. --Frodet (talk) 19:21, 10 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for looking at these issues. I know it's a PITA when someone like me parachutes in with an unexpected GA review, but it's necessary in view of the significant changes that have been made to the GA criteria since this article was listed. There's no rush when the article's obviously being worked on though. Just let me know when you think you're done. --Malleus Fatuorum (talk) 20:19, 10 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]
I have addressed all the issues above - hopefully to your satisfaction.  :) --Frodet (talk) 19:58, 19 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I don't think this is representative

"new software titles continue to be released – over 40 were released in 2019." I don't think this is representative of the actual success of the Spectrum. The software released in 2019 are part of the retro craze, which is seperate from the longevity of the product itself. And the word "software" is misleading. Are people still using the Spectrum for office work or business applications? How many of these are games? 80.98.184.139 (talk) 21:50, 1 March 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Seems a reasonable claim to me. Software has been released regularly for the Spectrum (and C=64 and others) for the last 20 years. I don't think it falls into the "craze" criteria. Anyway, the fact that software is released is testament to the longevity, no matter how you see it. Software is a catch-all statement. It's not misleading (all releases are software - whether games or business, or utilities), but it's not meant to specify the type of software, only that it was released.
Why don't you think it representative? What is the issue with it? As I said, it seems fine to me. Chaheel Riens (talk) 22:26, 1 March 2020 (UTC)[reply]
I agree with the original poster 100%. This statement is incredibly misleading and lacks context. A reasonable reader of the article who knows nothing about computers could easily assume that these are commercial releases rather than enthusiast freeware and that they are evidence of a continued market for the computer when in fact the world at large has moved on from it decades ago. Also, I doubt this really says anything about the longevity of the computer, as I presume this software is being played by its relatively small audience on emulators and modern hardware clones, not actual Spectrums. Furthermore, a forum post is not a reliable source, and this info is not expanded upon in the body of the article, which violates WP:Lead. If someone wants to find significant coverage in reliable sources regarding the retro Spectrum game scene and discuss it in some appropriate spot on Wikipedia, then they are welcome to explore that. This misleading and unsupported statement given undue attention in the lead is not the way to go about it. Indrian (talk) 02:41, 2 March 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Why does it matter if the software is commercial or homebrew? Or if it's used on an emulator or real hardware? It's still a software release. Other points accepted, but not those I mention. Chaheel Riens (talk) 07:34, 2 March 2020 (UTC)[reply]
To clarify, I don't think it matters in terms of what topics to cover on Wikipedia, but I do think these facts should be clearly stated in any writing on the subject to avoid confusion. It's the context that matters. Indrian (talk) 08:20, 2 March 2020 (UTC)[reply]

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