From Vultures to Vampires Volume Three by David John Pleasance and Trevor Dickinson - Book Review

It has arrived. Finally. The culmination of a Kickstarter project that successfully closed on the 19th of July 2020, From Vultures to Vampires Volume Three is not the book that backers originally pledged for. Nope, that particular tome was delivered back in October 2021. The second volume arrived in July this year, and now, after a chase up email prompted by another backer sharing a message from David Pleasance on the original Kickstarter's comments page, here we are. Was it worth the wait?

Short answer is "mostly." For the £33 paid (including delivery), this 326 page book brings us the Amiga (and wider Commodore story, cos you've got to fill that page count somehow) story from 2010 up to 2023, completing the saga begun in those dark days of 1994. It very much follows the pattern set by the first two entries, and you still get some adverts at the back. 

As you can see from the seven chapters, it's a pretty comprehensive coverage of the various initiatives, hardware, and developments that have featured the Amiga (whatever that name actually means now). It's well written for the most part and once again has plenty of imagery. Individuals are evenly handled (as far as I can tell), and whatever your position on the legal fights within the Amiga community, sides are not chosen either way. Basically, if you've got the first two books, the third will be an essential addition and it's an enjoyable read in its own right. But it's not flawless. And neither is the trilogy as a whole.

There is padding, and a fair bit of it. Over the trilogy, there's a ton of imagery, the inclusion of which is questionable. Three pictures of an individual when most just get one (and pictures of some who get literally a one sentence mention). David with a C64 Mini. A Philips CDi. And the focus on side products (C64 Mini, the MEGA65 and general FPGA devices) means that, since the authors announced volume two (and later the third one), it feels like a serious effort has been made to bulk things up a bit. Let us not forget the adverts at the back either. 

And that really is the crux of this review. This book works, but I really do question the need for a trilogy. Yeah, they started the Kickstarter saying that they were planning one book, but to over shoot the expected page count by two and a half times is quite the feat. If you cut out the ads, extra pictures (as noted above, and the tangents to the story - do we need to know about Penti Kouri's son, or the City of Kent Arena that wasn't even built until way after Amiga's involvement?), then I can see a way that this could, with proper planning, have been a two book set. And yes, gentle reader, this does sour my opinion of the trilogy and the authors slightly. 

My original Kickstarter pledge was for £30 plus £6 p&p, which ended up totalling £93.50. If I'd known that the total price would nearly triple over three years, I probably wouldn't have pledged. But once caught up in it, I went along with the ride, and thus became one of the many enablers of the odyssey. Oh, I have three in-depth and informative books, it's just that if I'm going to pay for something, I'd really like to know upfront the total price. Maybe this was an experiment for Books As A Service? No-one tell John Riccitiello!

But seriously, after a couple of years of drip fed updates, requests for extra cash outside of the initial funding process, and some downright weird behaviour (asking backers to complete a spreadsheet via Facebook was a new one for me), all three books are here, even if there had to be a final chase up at the end. Pointer for future projects David: wherever you announce updates, use the original platform too and don't rely on backers to share your communications. 

Anyway, a rant or two ago, I said that if you had the first two volumes, then this is an essential addition. But what if you're coming to this without any prior buy in? Should you? Well, that's up to you, but since each volume retails for £35 plus p&p on top (£6 per book for UK buyers, more for outside the UK), putting aside the above rants, then no, I wouldn't recommend them. £35 is at the upper end of niche, and if you choose all three, then £105 plus £18 p&p is a huge chunk of change. You could comfort yourself with the cheaper ebook option (which I know required work to design but carry zero on-going physical costs) which come in at £15 a piece. I'm sorry, but that's robbery. I mean, hey, your book gents, you sell it for what you want, but £45 for three ebooks frankly smells of profiteering, especially considering that their design costs for book one were covered by the Kickstarter, and the follow on books were at the very least partially funded externally of Kickstarter utilising the existing backers. Oh, and at some point, the ebooks will be the only buying option.

It took a long time, but they got there in the end, and this well-produced tome will sit next to its compatriots ready for future reference. If you're interested in getting this volume (or the whole set), David Pleasance has his own website for you to hand money over. But before you do, one final note:

There was going to be a follow up post about the Kickstarter and how things escalated over the last three years, but you know what, David J Pleasance and Trevor Dickinson have finally delivered on the original premise - just over a much longer period and at much greater cost to the backers. I don't agree as to how they've done it, and I am as culpable as any other backer for feeding the money machine, but the books are here. It's been a learning experience to say the least, and I'd be very wary about any future projects the authors wish to crowdfund, as without doubt, out of over thirty or so successful campaigns I have backed over the last three and a half years, this has been the most poorly organised of the lot. 

From Vultures to Vampires Volume Two by David John Pleasance and Trevor Dickinson - Book Review

Three years since the original Kickstarter for a singular book under the name of From Vultures to Vampires was successfully funded to the tune of £42,813 from 1005 backers (number 317 myself) on 19th July 2020, and two and half years since the need for a second book was announced, volume two has finally started to arrive in the hands of backers of the extended project. After such a long period of time, it was a relief to finally get this book, as well as have hopes raised about the third volume. When that one arrives, there will be a review and a "Notes on a Kickstarter" piece with thoughts and comments about the project as a whole. That one is going to be... interesting... In the meantime, was this one worth the wait?

A 24x16x2-ish cm hardback, first impressions are positive, and there is a quality feel to the cover and paper stock within. Total page count is 288, but there is some filler in there too. 

Following on from volume one's coverage of the post Commodore years of 1995 to 2004, we kick off straight away with 2005, each of the following chapters taking the journey on a year at a time until the conclusion in June 2010 and the Vintage Computer Fair at Bletchley. A final section provides an explanation of what happened to the Commodore name, as well as the C64/A500 Mini projects. 

It's mostly well written, with only a couple of occasions where another light editing pass might have removed the odd instance of repetition. The narrative does, however, take a tangent at times - the page and a bit used to talk about the son of Pentti Kouri (with a photo of him) has nothing to do with the actual story and shouldn't have been included at all. 

There are plenty of photographs too, and I think too many, considering this volume was described as necessary due to sheer amount of content (as was the upcoming third volume when it was announced). Do we really need a mugshot of every almost every person mentioned in the text, especially when they're a one line mention? Do we really need a picture of a CDi? Or Trevor's multiple (and in one case, Frankenstein-like) computer collection? And the logos? They're also on the back cover!

This building is of only passing interest, and we really don't need a picture of it.

It feels like padding, what with 275 pages of actual content, and that's down from the 360 total/336 actual content split of volume one. It'll be interesting to see where volume three comes in at, but the inclusion of the ads at the back of this one, including two pages for the ill-fated Amiga Global Alliance project, adds to the impression that, with better planning, two volumes could have been more than enough. 

Anyway, for the price I paid - £17.50 plus £7 p&p (with actual postage only costing £2.99 so a raised eyebrow there too (I didn't realise I was paying e-Bay postage prices...) - I'm reasonably happy with what I received. Not with the timescale (that's for the later post), but they got copies out there in the end. Here's hoping for volume 3.

Not really need in this book - no slight to CDi fans either

David Pleasance has a website where you can buy both the first and second volumes. Not wanting to appear too waspish (moi, darling?), but the actual front page hasn't been updated since mid-2022, as he only talks about two volumes and a possible July 2022 shipping date for the book I'm looking at here. Click on volume 2 in the shop and it has an estimated July 2021 availability(!). As of KS update #42 (12th May 2023), David would happily take your money via Paypal Friends and Family (it's the fee, you know), for a direct order. Uh-huh... Both currently available volumes are priced at £35 for the physical copies, £15 for the e-books. It is up to you, gentle reader, to decide if that represents good value. If I were approaching as an interested potential buyer now, I'd baulk at the idea of dropping £42 per physical copy (including postage). As for £15 per e-book, not for me, and there is a whole cannery to open when it comes to e-book pricing anyway. 

So, a good read? Mostly. Would I recommend? If you can get a copy cheap enough, maybe. The travails of the campaign have soured more than a few backers (as evidenced in the comments section on Kickstarter), and my thoughts on the project will follow after reviewing volume three. For now, it's a qualified recommendation at best. You will learn stuff, it compliments the first volume very well, and they have delivered a decent read. How they have delivered that, dear hearts, is a question for another time. 

Digital Retro by Gordon Laing - Book Review

There are times when you pick up a book and you know it's a keeper, even before you realise you're going to build up a library on a particular subject. Chandler's The Campaigns of Napoleon is one, Massie's sublime Dreadnought (and it's worthy follow up, Castles of Steel) are two more. For computing, it has to be this coffee table wonder: Digital Retro. 

Written by former editor of Personal Computer World (RIP, you marvellous beauty of a magazine!) Gordon Laing, this is a book focusing on (mostly) affordable hardware that defined computing between 1975 and 1989 in the UK. With 192 pages, 400 pictures and in full colour, Digital Retro was one of the first retro-inspired books I ever saw in the wild back when it was published in 2004. 

There is a short introduction and a brief history of computers before it kicks off with the first entry proper: the MITS Altair 8800. This establishes the formula for each machine. There's a large format photograph, background to the machine's creation, a company background, side areas for technical specifications, and a run down of name, manufacturer, year of release and country of origin. There are also sections on what happened next (and in some cases, these are tales of tragedy - looking at you, Osborne 1), as well as a "did you know" and many, many photographs of the kit from various angles.

As far as wish lists go, it's a doozy!

Indeed, as every device gets four pages, it's the photography that gives this tome its true value. Oh, the text is well written and informative, but this is a book you look at first, and then read. And it's not just about computers, as games consoles such as the Coleco Vision, Nintendo Famicom/NES and the Sega Master System get a look in too. Each machine looks glorious and tugs at the part of my brain that says "you need to own one of these!" Then sense arrives and I don't even bother looking at modern day prices. But, by God, don't some of these machines look fantastic!

The Compaq Portable III. Hubba hubba!.

The last entry is the NeXT Cube, and whilst it's great to see the likes of the Amstrad PCW and Acorn's Archimedes included along the way, there is the hint that a couple more systems could have been included. There again, the intro does state that coverage is aimed at mostly affordable home computers, with key business machines and games machines included where they have "influenced future standards", so these are the ones that made their mark (however lightly) on the market. And yes, some of the entries here tread very lightly in the UK - the Mattel Aquarius, Apple Lisa and Jupiter Ace were certainly available, but they failed to take off for a variety of reasons. 

This was not the dawning of the Age of Aquarius.

Finally, there is a post-history section, four pages taking us from 1989 to the then-present day. It all feels rather quaint, but then when it comes to technology, it often does. However, the author isn't wrong when focusing on three core technologies: broadband, wireless connectivity and seamless interaction without technical intervention - and it took a while, but the modern day smartphone epitomises those three technologies perfectly. 

What style! What grace! What poise!

Digital Retro is a glorious celebration of retro computing and a tremendous volume that acts as a love letter to the many (mostly incompatible) machines that the average 1980's buyer might have seen. It's a book I will never get rid of. Sadly, it is no longer in print and copies of Amazon are, to put it mildly, in the "collector's realm" of pricing. Or, as we say locally, "You want how much? Haddaway and shite, man!" If you can find a copy that doesn't cost the earth, grab it, and revel in peak 1970's and 80's computing. They just don't make them like they used to.

Back Into The Storm - Book Review

Bil Herd worked for Commodore from 1983 to 1986. During that time, he was the lead hardware engineer on the TED range to computers (that became the Plus/4 when the hardware finally saw release) and the C128, Commodore's last 8-bit micro. Alongside Margaret G. Morabito (author of the Vintage Commodore 128 Personal Computer Handbook), Herd has recorded the details of his time at Commodore in this Amazon-published tome: Back Into The Storm.

Let me start off this review by stating that even if your interest in computing does not cover the period of Herd's employment, you really should get hold of a copy of this brilliant book. Why? Because it's not just about who did what and why, nor the struggles and challenges of launching a new range of home micro's in a seriously short period of time. No, this book is also about what driven individuals achieved whilst coping with the pressures of often ludicrous goals and the dangers of middle-management (in any corporate structure). It also portrays a company that was successful at what it did, even if the "suits" never understood why (hint, it has a lot to do with the people who work for you). 

Along the way, you find out exactly how passionate people were in problem solving and how the "work hard/party hard" mentality could, in some exceptional circumstances, deliver results far beyond initial expectations. That is not to say that this atmosphere was healthy in the long run. Indeed, Herd's recollections of long periods sleeping under a desk, continuous shifts and grabbing a beer and food wherever and whenever he could sounds like a recipe for burnout and ill-health. Hell, it probably is if that becomes the standard work ethic. However, for Herd, that behaviour was almost like a drug in itself - he thrived off the adrenalin and the stress. 

Truly, the early to mid-1980's were a different time, but some things never change (a bit like war, really - that's for all you Fallout fans) and it's the common thread of middle management that binds many of Herd's tales in this book. He has an in-built cynicism of managerial positions that exist purely to benefit the holder of that position. As long as the ladder-climber gets noticed/avoids responsibility/has been seen to have had their say, then it's pretty much a "screw everyone else" mentality, and the conflicts that Herd fought against that are funny to read now, though I am not sure how much fun they were when he was actively involved thirty-five years ago. Speaking from personal experience, I have had a few choice moments throughout my working life so far, the pinnacle to date was having to explain to a middle manager in words of one syllable or less why an ISA (Individual Savings Account - a UK savings product) couldn't have joint account holders. There's a clue there somewhere... ( and yes, I did keep my job...)

Another area that Herd covers is the decline in management ability and direction in Commodore after Jack Tramiel left the company. Many words have been written about Irving Gould and the numerous Chief Exec's who together turned a profitable and successful company in to a basket case, but one thing you get from this book is that after the events of 1984, Commodore really did lose the plot. Stories of marketing that didn't sync with the efforts of the engineers (the 512k expansion possibilities of the C128) and the sheer idiocy of the top bosses (the Commodore LCD) are almost too stupid for repetition. Yet repeated they should be, and they are in this book. In the case of the LCD, perhaps that's a good thing. I don't need another excuse to spend money on old tech. :-).

This is an easy to read book, with Herd's voice front and centre throughout. He is a sympathetic narrator, making it straight forward to understand the engineering challenges (and solutions) that he and his colleagues faced and devised. There is very much a sense of camaraderie within the engineering teams and the overall impression is that there were very clever and capable people fighting against the technology of the time as well as the unintended (and sometimes deliberate) interventions of others in order to deliver successful (from an engineering, if not a market perspective) products. Relayed with humour and self-deprecation, this book is a brilliant look at the hey-day of 8-bit computing.

Back Into The Storm is well worth your time if you are into retro-computing. As noted above, even if you're not, it's an excellent window into how stuff got done at Commodore back in the mid 1980's, with lessons that remain pertinent to this day. This superb tome is available from Amazon, either as a print on demand paperback or as a Kindle purchase. The POD copy is a good quality and takes up a well-deserved place in my growing library of titles about home computing of the 1980's and 90's. Check it out here.

From Vultures to Vampires: Volume One 1995 - 2004 - Book Review

Some readers may remember that I reviewed David Pleasance's worthy tome about his time at Commodore way back in June 2020. Shortly after that, he launched a Kickstarter campaign to follow up the Amiga story after the demise of Commodore in 1994. Co-written with Trevor Dickinson of A-Eon fame, this would be a definitive history of what happened next. However, it became clear that there was too much content for a single volume and an additional request was made to backers to fund a second volume. After some unexpected delays caused by the global pandemic, the first volume arrived on my door step a couple of weeks ago. 

Covering the period 1995 to 2004, what Pleasance and Dickinson have achieved is to make sense of the often convoluted tale of just how screwed up the Amiga scene became after Commodore's almost inevitable implosion. Indeed, gentle reader, never has such a telling of the complete shit show that was the post-Commodore Amiga ownership been published, and we still have volume two to look forward to. Now, to be fair, the nine years covered here contain the worst of the story, or so you would think. They are the most active years, but anyone familiar with the Amiga over the last decade will know that the course of the OS and hardware has not exactly been smooth. From "white knight" investment from Escom, to the frankly desperate tale of the Gateway period and whatever the fuck the Amiga Inc thing thought it was, every nook and cranny of the Amiga's journey post Big-C to 2004 is covered here. 

Reading this book brought back a lot of memories from the period. I was an avid A500 user and, by 1994, was trying to figure out how to afford an A1200. The demise of Commodore put that idea on hold and even when Escom achieved the no-mean feat of restarting the production of the A1200, the new, higher price of £399 was too much for me to afford, even if they were readily available in the new Escom shop in Stanley. Sadly, I was also too late to pick up a fire-sale machine when the company went bust. 

The reason for this bon-mot is to emphasise that even in 1995/6, there was still a market for a machine like the A1200. Sure, it was dated tech and, compared to PC's of the period, vastly underpowered, but machines could still be sold. What happened after Escom demonstrated the strengths of the Amiga platform and the many, many weaknesses of those who tried to control it. Basically, the idea of a relatively cheap home computer disappeared as an almost steady stream of corporate purchasers tried to monetise the powerful and useful operating system without understanding or supporting the original user base. The same user base that, even as the years passed, maintained faith in the platform although it started to decline as the lack of direction took its toll. Look at the circulation of Amiga Format (as reported by the ABC in the UK) over the 1990's: Jan-June '92 - 161,256 copies per month. July-December '93 - 142,326 copies. July-December '95 - 60,008. Those are pretty decent numbers considering Commodore was long gone by then.

However, by the time we enter the Gateway/Amiga Inc period, circulation was down to 22,175 (July-Dec 97) and by the last issue in May 2000 (for July-Dec '99), they were selling only 11,146 copies per month. This (admittedly unscientific) observation provides evidence of the market decline even as each new owner of the Amiga fucked about with their various half-baked and under-funded plans. Talk about wasting an opportunity.

Of course, by the mid-1990's, the home computer market was transitioning to the more powerful (and expensive, although becoming more affordable) PC, and video gaming had seen the introduction of the revolutionary PlayStation and Saturn. Unless a company had really deep pockets, there was little scope for a repeat of the Amiga's early success. Hell, at that point, even Apple was struggling to survive, having had some truly bizarre and disastrous business decisions foisted upon them by execs who clearly didn't understand why their particular machine was popular. As with the Amiga and ST, the then executive management never really saw past the idea of the computers being a commodity and that led to poor choices and alienation of the users.

Anyhoo, after that diversion...

The tome itself is of high quality and the paper stock shows off the contemporary photographs, illustrations and screenshots well. As for research, the two author's have tried to speak to as many of the people involved in this period as they could. Some declined to comment but overall, there is a sense of fairness about the coverage and nobody has been subject to a "hit-job", at least as far as I can tell. 

The book takes a chronological view of the period but, as is unavoidable with such a twisted and winding story, there are sections that repeat information, just to give context to the next stage. This makes sense and is really only limited to the odd paragraph here and there. Other than that, I found no issues with either the style or tone of the prose. Given that it only takes the story up to 2004, I am really looking forward to the second volume when it is released and I highly recommend this first volume. If there is only one take away from this story, it's that executive management really did not have a clue about users. That outlook did for Atari, it did for Commodore (and every successor company covered in this tome) and nearly did for Apple. Anyway, there you have From Vultures to Vampires Volume One, a well written and comprehensive history of the first nine years of the Amiga post-Commodore. 

You can order a copy of volume one directly from David Pleasance here, as well as pre-order volume two. Copies can also be ordered from Amazon and, in the UK, WH Smith.

RISC OS? But why???

So came the cry the other day whilst at work as I was chatting to one of the developers about my RISCOSbits purchase from a few months ago. A gentleman of a similar vintage to myself and an owner of multiple Raspberry Pi’s, he is not afraid of a command line and is a self-confessed Linux nut. Naturally, being at work, we were obviously discussing a piece of code I was to test when the subject “maneuvered” towards RISC OS. He was quite interested in that, like me, he had experienced RISC OS back in his school days and was aware of it’s availability on the Pi.

“It’s pretty horrible and clunky,” he opined, “and I wouldn’t like to fight with an OS just to get something done”

Well, thinks I, this is not what I feel and so we pitted pro’s and cons for a good twenty minutes before a tiresome sprint review called us away. It did get me thinking though. I could explain to someone with a passing knowledge of RISC OS why I think it’s a lovely little OS but how could I pass on that enthusiasm to someone who had never touched it in their lives? Hmmm…

The basic desktop.

Let me be clear from the outset, RISC OS is going to be a bit of a culture shock for anyone used to Windows, Mac OS and Linux and it is not for everyone. The three button mouse configuration and the thought processes behind it will take a bit of effort to embed and even I sometimes slip with muscle memory recalling a Windows mentality. What the RISC OS set up gives you is control and subtlety. That three button mouse layout (Select/Menu/Adjust), the method of window management and the sheer common sense approach of true drag and drop functionality: all add up to make RISC OS, for me, a lovely operating system to use. True, it originates from the 1980’s and that is (sometimes painfully) obvious now – consider how Windows and macOS have changed over that period, but that it not to say RISC OS is bad. In fact, whilst toolbars have taken over screen space (which isn’t such a problem with modern day high resolution displays), it just looks far cleaner to have the menu structure behind a mouse button press. It’s lightweight and offers little frippery. It can look “busy” as the screenshots attest but I was aiming to have quite a few folders and programs open at the same time. The main question though, is can it be used as a primary computer OS in 2020, and for me that answer is… mostly...ish.

Many, many windows.

Look at it this way. In this age of always connected, online dependent computing experiences, RISC OS harks back to a time where you didn’t have or need an internet connection. Troubling for some that statement may be, this is computing how it used to be before, say, 1994. Is that a bad thing? Well, it depends upon what you want to do. As an aside, you will need an internet connection in this day and age just to get new software, but once you have the software, for many tasks, you don’t need that connection any longer. In day to day use, RISC OS just doesn't need it.

For me, I want a content creation machine, something I can generate blog posts, general writing, the odd spreadsheet and a bit of coding on the side – hey, I’m a software tester who dabbles in the dark side. Know thine enemy, I say :-) Out of the box, my RISCOSbits machine covers that pretty well. Edit is a great little text editor but if you prefer something more feature filled, the announcement that Impression Style (not the fully featured Impression X) is now free was a boon. With Pipedream covering the spreadsheet duties and enough programming tools already on board, I feel most bases are covered. What helps here is the Pling store, where a decent variety of software is available for free or modest cost – think the Apple App store but a lot smaller. Size isn’t everything though and what is on offer should cover all of your needs. There is a fly in the RISC OS ointment that needs addressing though and this impacts what I do a lot with regards to Blogger and Wordpress...

These cover a lot of needs without resorting to additional software.

Web browsing. The included browser, !NetSurf, is basic in the extreme and isn’t suited to the modern day internet. This is a well known issue with RISC OS and is being sorted with the development of two new browsers, OWB and Iris. Both are in development at the moment and as such, not ready for the prime time just yet but they are more capable than !NetSurf and the situation is improving. 2020 looks like the year that RISC OS could be a replacement operating system for me. Rather than create blog posts and reviews for RVG in RISC OS and then transferring to Windows via a memory stick, I’ll be able to post online as per my usual Windows PC. This may also mean a new toy.

Impression Style 

For a couple of years, a lot of my writing has been completed on a venerable Alphasmart 3000. A brilliant little typing device, it offers distraction free writing and a stellar battery life (only changed the three AA’s twice!). However, transferring text to my PC is slow and can’t be done without monopolising the Libre Office window that the document will occupy, so I can’t set the transfer away and move onto something else. Also, it’s starting to fail in little ways: the space bar is becoming less reliable (double spaces are a bane), the screen has a couple of minor issues and overall, whilst I feel it’s still a lovely machine, its time is probably due. At present I am using a three year old Lenovo Yogabook convertible running Windows alongside a Logitech wireless keyboard. I really think the halo keyboard on the Yogabook is a great idea, but it’s just not comfortable or accurate enough for sustained typing. This set up, using Libre Office, is quite nice, but really requires a table or rest to use properly and the USB OTG cable for the wireless keyboard adapter hangs in an awkward manner if I use the Yogabook in tent mode. It works, don’t get me wrong, but it’s a bit of a kludge and the Yogabook itself lacks ports and is woefully under-powered. Even using it with the wi-fi switched off (so purely as a text entry device and not typing directly into Wordpress or Blogger) has seen a drop in the battery life of the machine and where once I was getting 8 hours or so, it’s now down to about 4 before I need to reach for the charger – which also takes up the single micro-USB port so no more wireless keyboard for a couple of hours at least. Sadly, taking all of that into account means that, despite being a lovely little set up and one that is very portable too, I can’t see it lasting another couple of years.

This is where RISC OS comes in. When one, or both, of the new browsers are released in a stable fashion, my intention is to combine those with a new Armbok (Armbook but hey, typo’s). For a touch over £400, this will provide a native RISC OS laptop and proper access for my online needs. Yes, I could buy a Windows laptop for less, but I have worries there which I’ll get to in a moment. I like using RISC OS and am getting very used to how it works. And that’s the thing, it just works. No updates, no constant harrying from a notification centre and little privacy intrusion. Part of me would like to dip back into the macOS world but frankly the cost of entry is too high for me. With a new Armbok, I could centre my daily domestic computer use to RISC OS and only have to dip into Windows for the odd game and specific software packages.

So why not a new Windows machine? As noted above, there are a number of issues I have here. One is cost. Wait, you cry, £400 can buy you a decent laptop. True, but for one with the combination of performance and spec that would last a few years, you’d have to spend a bit more than that. Indeed, 8GB of RAM seems to be the standard acceptable now and if you want that much memory, the cost starts edging upwards. Then there is the bloat, the constant need to update and the sheer intrusiveness of information gathering in the OS. You can tinker with these but in the end, Microsoft’s recent history with Windows updates does not fill me with hope that the situation will get any better. Apple seems a bit better in this respect but then again, wanting £1k plus for your basic Macbook Air (ignoring the discounted 2017 model which is probably near the end of it’s life) is just too much. I am a tekkie but even I have limits on how much I’ll drop on kit.

So this brings me back to RISC OS. The operating itself is very resource frugal in both memory and  storage. The hardware, certainly for desktops, is easily repairable (remember, the RISCOSbits machine I have is just a cased Raspberry Pi 3B+ which costs in the region of £35…) and in regards to the Armbok, a lot of thought and testing seems to have been done in getting this to market. I am not saying RISCOS is for everyone – the very fact that it is not an on-line centric operating system would probably scare quite a few people off. The fear of not being connected at all times might do that, but consider this – how much of your day do you spend at a computer that does not require a connection? Ok, if you run a website, online business or need tools like Office 365 or Google’s online suite then obviously, you’ll need that but if you don’t need a network connection, then why have one? I know I get more work done when I am not online, and I suspect many other people do too and this chimes nicely in with the Armbok. Once the browser situation is sorted, I can work offline with a laptop offering 12 plus hours of use then quickly hook up to post what I need to. Overall, that feels like a tempting way of working and as a second machine that will do a fair bit of travelling, the Armbok fits the bill.

You don't even have to spend as much as I did to get started in RISC OS

You may think me a bit of a Luddite, harking back to an operating system that to this day lacks native wi-fi connectivity, but that would be to miss the point. I don’t need a 24/7 online connection and for the majority of my non-gaming computer needs, I don’t need a lot of what Windows and macOS offer. The Armbok will cover that and I will be using software that works for me. As noted above, RISC OS is not for everyone, and to be fair, it is a niche OS, but given a little bit of thought and use, it is a more productive OS compared to Windows/macOS, at least in my humble opinion. That it is still under active development and has new hardware being released for it speaks volumes. There is also an active show scene for users, and there are  a number of active content creators in YouTube - check out WiFi Sheep's videos for example, where you'll find show reports, introductory videos and much more. The market isn’t huge but then again, the cost of entry isn’t either. If you have an interest in alternative OS’s, or just fancy giving something less mainstream a try, then give RISC OS a chance. It’s not a perfect OS by any means but it is improving. You never know, you might find it useful for a second machine...

Hewlett Packard HP 620LX

Technological improvement occurred rapidly during the late 1990's with regards to portable computing and the Hewlett Packard HP 620LX is a fine example of this (with some caveats). The 620LX was the follow up to the HP 300 series, one of which I reviewed here. Released in 1998, the 620 took the basic premise of the 360 and added new bells and whistles to make it the then go-to model. These included a new version of Windows CE (v2.11 compared to 2.00), a faster SH3 processor (75MHz instead of 60MHz), double the memory (16Mb), more ROM (10Mb) and most obvious of all, a colour screen. Now before anyone gets too excited, when I say colour, I mean 256 colour CSTN with the same 640x240 half VGA resolution as the 360, so nothing special even compared to the laptops of the time. However, colour was something new and it was a useful feature to add, certainly making the built-in Internet Explorer somewhat more user friendly. All this for a launch price of £699 ($899). In today's money, that's north of £1,200.00!!!

That's the extended battery right there. The case is nifty too.

First up, that new tech meant a bigger device, and, as you can see from the picture below, it’s a fair bit larger than the 360LX and the much older Psion Series 3. The card is for scale. That extra space didn’t entirely go to waste as the keyboard, whilst keeping the calculator style of the 360LX, has slightly larger keys and they are more widely spaced. This does mean that it is easier to type on and I got up to a decent, accurate speed with it. It's still not in the same league as the follow up Jornada series or the Psion 5's (yet to be beaten) exemplary keyboard. There are also some application softkey shortcuts above the keyboard and four to the right of the screen.

Yes, I still buy books from a high street shop! What's your problem??? ;-)

It certainly looks the business.

As the device has a colour screen, the keyboard and symbols have a splash of colour themselves and the unit itself is a rather tasteful black rather than the dark grey of previous models. Think Psi-Corps compared to the dull Earthforce Security...

Also doubles as a make up mirror. So I am told...

A note on that screen. It is very readable but uses that popular tech of the time, the resistive touchscreen. This means that you really need the included stylus to get any real use out of it and it’s reflective as hell, as you may have noticed from the pictures. Being CSTN, it does appear rather washed out but you can change to contrast to help out with that.

That reflection is me taking the picture. Told you it was reflective...

That extra bulk (1.29 lbs vs 1.01 lbs of the 360LX) meant that the newer machine was no longer a jacket pocket “whip it out when required” (oohhh-errr, missus!) device. Nope, the 620LX was just too damn big and that was with the smaller battery. The picture with the carry case also shows the extended battery that adds a smidge more weight and sticks out of the back of the device. That said, the extended battery does mean you can make it through a full working day with extra to spare, not something that could be said of the standard power pack.

As per the 360LX, the software is the usual Windows CE mix of office applications and utilities, with just what seems minor enhancements. There is the expected compact flash card slot for additional memory and a PCMCIA Type 2 slot for network, modem and VGA adapters (amongst other things). A word of caution here though: any use of the PC card slot means a dive in battery life, and the extended battery isn’t much help here.

What makes it useful to this day, removable storage.

You can also get a very fragile docking cradle that acts as a syncing aid, but in reality, is neither use nor ornament and its true purpose was to take up desk space at home when you weren’t being an always connected on the road net-warrior (how '90's!).

Even with two rather suspect batteries, the 620LX is still very usable today and, if using a rucksack or other large bag, would be the go-to device if I couldn’t carry the Alphasmart. That would also include a mains adapter as twenty year old battery cells are unpredictable, as well as a spare back-up battery as those coin cells get chewed up pretty badly when the main battery goes. And that pretty much sums up the caveats with this device. It's a bit too large as a handheld and the move to a colour screen meant ditching the ubiquitous AA battery for a lithium-ion pack that also meant carrying the mains adapter around for when the pack inevitably died. 

620LX, 360LX and Series 3 - at least the screens got bigger.

Upon its release, the 620LX was described as a laptop killer. Bigger and of more use than a PDA, smaller and more portable than any laptop at the time, it seemed to be the perfect middle ground. Yet, as time was to prove, it wasn’t. Practical use was hampered by the form factor (the keyboard too small for real touch typing, the screen too small for more than one person to view at a time) and the abomination that was Windows CE/Handheld PC – an operating system that never truly knew what it was supposed to be. Tech also improved with laptops and when you’re paying seven hundred quid for something, you want it to work well. Ultimately, business users (for that was who HP were aiming for with the 620LX) didn’t jump ship to the product and by the time the Jornada 720 was released in 2000, the writing was on the wall for the device format.

Pretty similar but the bigger keys do it for me.

That is not to say that some silly fools continue to try to get some use out of these devices and as I said above, it’s a handy machine and a good back up.

This will be the last of the retro tech pieces I’ll be doing for a while, the main reason being that I have pretty much bought the machines I wanted to and these cover pretty much everything I need (and there is no way I am paying that much for an Apple eMate 300!). You could say I am a fool for using this old tech but to be honest, it works for me. I am not a fan of touchscreen keyboards, adding a keyboard to a tablet is akin to adding a chocolate handle to a frying pan and modern day small keyboard devices are rather expensive. So with that, if you’ve missed any of my previous pieces, the links below will take you to them and below that, a picture of the collection:

SonyPEG-UX50

AsusEEE-PC 904HD (Catchy name, that)

AmstradNC100

OregonScientific Osiris

HandspringVisor

PsionSeries 3

Alphasmart3000
HP 360LX
Zodiac Tapwave

Retro tech review: the Sony PEG-UX50

The Sony PEG-UX50 is a dinky little thing, looking a lot like a miniature laptop than the personal entertainment organiser it is advertised to be. What's that you say? What's a personal entertainment organiser? Well, it could be the posh job title for a concierge at a brothel (do brothels have concierges?), but it's actually a media orientated personal digital assistant. Released in 2003, it cost $699. A cheaper wi-fi less model, the UX40, cost $100 less. Put into 2019 money, that's equivalent to $970, or £765 (which does not include VAT!). So what did this princely sum buy you 16 years ago? Well, quite a bit...

As you can see, this is switched on. There is a menu on-screen...

Let's get the elephant out of the room. This is ostensibly a PDA but it is also very much a convergence device, that lovely, near mythical beast of jack and master of all trades. And, like many attempts in the past, whilst Sony took a decent swing at the all-in-one concept, it ended up landing a glancing blow rather than  a solid hit. But it doesn't half look cool!

Ah, that's better! The normal menu view

Specs first, and we have a Sony CXD2230GA processor running at 123MHz. This is based on the ARM 5 core and gives the ability to run video playback at 30 frames per second. This was once a big deal! It also supports variable scaling of the clock speed, meaning if there was not much of a workload for the CPU, it would slow down to maximise battery life. Memory is a quite generous 104MB, divided between storage for programs (16MB), system back-up (16MB) and media storage (29MB) and it's the latter that explains the UX50's purpose.

The rolodex view: funky but impractical

The screen is rather good, for the time. With a 480x320 resolution and 16-bit colour (meaning 65,536 colours), it is also back-lit. This, by the way, is mandatory. With the back light off, it's nearly impossible to read, even in bright sunlight. It also swivels around to lie flat against the keyboard, making the UX50 a mini-convertible. Connectivity is well catered for with a proprietary Memory Stick slot, USB for desktop syncing, Infrared, Bluetooth and 802.11b standard Wi-fi. Given all of that, there is a fair amount of tech in the compact casing. It's not overly heavy either, being built with magnesium-alloy rather than plastic, which also means it is also quite sturdy. An extendable stylus, non-removable lithium-ion battery, mandatory (I'll explain later) docking sled and a rotating 0.3 megapixel camera complete the package. There is also a lip that overhangs when the device is shut. This contains some shortcut keys (back, internet, email and organiser) and a scroll wheel, more about which later. It must be noted that this was the time when Sony kept adding scroll wheels to devices and in the context of the UX50, it is a useful item. Oh, and what looks like a fitting for a lanyard. I have no idea who would attach several hundred dollars of kit to a bag, belt or wrist but if you ever felt the need, Sony have you covered.

Right hand side: MS slot and headphone jack. Stylus to the left.

Left hand side: Power switch, Infrared USB and lanyard.

Software is based upon Palm OS v5.2. The usual apps are present and correct and they cover a wide range of organiser type activities. You also get MP3 playback, a web browser, an email client, an audio recorder, as well as video and photo apps for the camera. Even a text message app for your ultimate in 2003 communication needs! The scroll wheel is handy here as if you use the rotary menu view as it helps navigate the menu in the style of a rolodex. It also does that in the non-rolodex view but it suits the former better. It's a bit of a dubious feature as the screen resolution doesn't allow you to make out much in the way of detail on the apps unless they are pretty much in the centre of the screen. But still, it shows some consideration to the UI.

SMS: So 2003, darling!

As for the rest of the hardware, comment must be made about the keyboard. Firstly, they managed to fit one in, so the industrial design of the UX50 deserves applause. Secondly, despite the keys being quite small and hard to press, they are well spaced (helped by the ridged effect) and with two thumbs, you can get some decent note-taking done. The ridged design also complements the look of the device.

Closed, with lanyard hoop (!), scroll wheel and shortcut keys

In use, it is a nippy little thing and even through casual use, you can't help but think that the UX50 would have been a handy device to carry around. If you had the cash, that is. And access to a plug. You see, at this point, the convergence device dream falters. Here we go!

Battery life: despite the processor scaling and the easy to use docking sled, reviews at the time commented upon the sub-standard battery life. Three to four hours of steady use was about the limit, and wi-fi would hammer that even further, meaning the UX50 could never get through a full day unless you barely used it. Add the back-lit screen and whilst there are many things you can do with the UX50, you would need to do them rather quickly before you killed the battery. In the actual model I have, the battery lasts about an hour, decent enough considering its age and unknown previous use. Oh, and that sled? That is the only way to charge the device. There is no charging port on the UX50 itself. That means you need the sled and power cable which, by the way, uses a power brick that also takes up a fair amount of space and a separate lead for the plug. Hmmm.

On its sled, that port is Sony's own design.

The screen - it really is a bit too small. The relatively low resolution means that the small text in the web browser is almost impossible to see. That and the grainy effect destroys much of the quality of any video or photographs you may wish to view. Speaking of images, the on-board camera is also very poor, though for the time, it was possibly considered decent. Age has not been kind to imaging expectations. The screen also makes using the rotary menu view a bit too difficult to use for comfort. As noted above, without the back light, you ain't seeing diddly squat.

Screen folded over, actually pretty neat!

Storage is another issue. If music or video is your thing, then you are going to have to use the Memory Stick slot to add extra storage and that is a pet hatred of mine. Not the external storage per-se, more Sony's attitude to memory cards. Rather than use cheaper and more widely available Secure Digital format cards, they used their own proprietary (and suitably expensive) MS cards. True, this was a source of income for them, but as was proved with the PSP and PSP Vita handheld consoles, people were turned off by the idea of the costly extra memory, especially when you compared prices and realised how much they were gouging you for. But as already noted, Sony liked their proprietary standards back then.
The stylus. Whilst the UX50 has a touchscreen, it is resistive, so you're going to need that stylus or a finger nail. The supplied stylus is too small to use comfortably, even when extended and very easy to mis-place.

Size. It may seem churlish to decry the keyboard. After all, I have just said that it is decent. But the hard keys will wear you down over time and whilst good for note taking, they are no good for longer periods of use.

In the here and now, the PEG-UX50 can be seen for what it was: an attempt to have an all-round entertainment/productivity and organiser tool. The form factor is something I really like and, prior to touchscreens entering the mobile phone market, is one of the best examples of the mobile keyboard format I have seen - my favourite yet has to be a Blackberry 9300 but that's just me. The thing is, the UX50 was hobbled by the technology of the day and, to be honest, the target market it was aimed for. As in, what was the target market? For entertainment on the move, it was expensive and individual devices could offer a similar capability for a combined price lower than $699 and doing a better job all round. True, you'd have more kit to carry but money does talk and the amount this cost when released (and the equivalent now) is far too much for the consumer market. Indeed, many consumer devices have faltered with an RRP north of $500. As for the mobile professional, the price was bearable but the added entertainment features may have been considered unwarranted and the battery life too poor (it also doesn't help that the internal battery is non-removable so that docking sled would need to be carried too, reducing the usefulness of having to carry only one device given the sled's size). It is certainly well made and very well designed, just not overly practical.

Convergence devices always sound like a good idea (Teas maid/alarm clocks spring to mind), but they are often less than the sum of their parts. That should never be a reason not to consider them, just accept that there may be compromises that hobble the usefulness of the device. Even today, whilst the ubiquitous mobile phone can be considered the generic equivalent to the UX50, there are still issues that demonstrate these compromises. Battery life could always be better. Controls, especially for gaming, are impacted by the touchscreen interface, whereas physical controls may often prove better. Then there is the screen size itself, limited by the physical need to have the device able to be used by one hand. And no, I will never buy into the folding screen dream, that's just one more thing to break.

Still, as a history piece, the UX50 is worthy of remembrance, for the alternative ideas back when industrial design, greater competition and market focus had not succumbed to the homogeneity of today. And it still looks cool!