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Format Publications
Format Publications published ''Format magazine'', a newsletter for ZX Spectrum and SAM Coupé users. Run by Bob Brenchley, it sprang from the ashes of INDUG, originally the ''Independent DISCiPLE User Group'' but later renamed to the ''Independent User Group'' to reflect a move towards a less specialist audience. INDUG was set up as a user group for owners of the Miles Gordon Technology DISCiPLE and later PlusD floppy disk interfaces for the ZX Spectrum computer. In its later years it expanded to cover MGT's SAM Coupé enhanced Spectrum-compatible microcomputer A microcomputer is a small, relatively inexpensive computer having a central processing unit (CPU) made out of a microprocessor. The computer also includes memory and input/output (I/O) circuitry together mounted on a printed circuit board (PC ... and later still to home microcomputing in general - especially 8-bit machines. External linksINDUG entry on "Speccy Usergroups" page the actual magazine ZX Spectrum ...
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ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as the ''ZX81 Colour'' and ''ZX82'', it was launched as the ''ZX Spectrum'' to highlight the machine's colour display, which differed from the black and white display of its predecessor, the ZX81. The Spectrum was released as six different models, ranging from the entry level with 16 Kilobyte, KB RAM released in 1982 to the ZX Spectrum +3 with 128 KB RAM and built in floppy disk drive in 1987; altogether they sold over 5 million units worldwide (not counting List of ZX Spectrum clones, unofficial clones). The Spectrum was among the first home computers in the United Kingdom aimed at a mainstream audience, and it thus had similar significance to the Commodore 64 in the US and the Thomson MO5 in France. The introduction of the ZX Spect ...
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SAM Coupé
Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictional characters * Sam (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or nickname * Sam (surname), a list of people with the surname ** Cen (surname) (岑), romanized "Sam" in Cantonese ** Shen (surname) (沈), often romanized "Sam" in Cantonese and other languages Religious or legendary figures * Sam (Book of Mormon), elder brother of Nephi * Sām, a Persian mythical folk hero * Sam Ziwa, an uthra (angel or celestial being) in Mandaeism Animals * Sam (army dog) (died 2000) * Sam (horse) (b 1815), British Thoroughbred * Sam (koala) (died 2009), rescued after 2009 bush fires in Victoria, Australia * Sam (orangutan), in the movie ''Dunston Checks In'' * Sam (ugly dog) (1990–2005), voted the world's ugliest dog ...
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Miles Gordon Technology
{{unreferenced, date=August 2012 Miles Gordon Technology, known as MGT, was a small British company, initially specialising in high-quality add-ons for the ZX Spectrum home computer. It was founded in June 1986 in Cambridge, England by Alan Miles and Bruce Gordon, former employees of Sinclair Research, after Sinclair sold the rights for the Spectrum to Amstrad. They moved to Swansea, Wales, in May 1989, became a public company in July 1989 and went into receivership in June 1990. The DISCiPLE and +D As the ZX Spectrum became hugely popular, the lack of a mass storage system became a problem for more serious users. While Sinclair's response, the ZX Interface 1 and ZX Microdrive, was very cheap and technologically innovative, it was also rather limited. Many companies developed interfaces to connect floppy disk drives to the ZX Spectrum, one of the most successful being the Opus Discovery; however, these were all to some degree incompatible with Sinclair's system. MGT's approac ...
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DISCiPLE
A disciple is a follower and student of a mentor, teacher, or other figure. It can refer to: Religion * Disciple (Christianity), a student of Jesus Christ * Twelve Apostles of Jesus, sometimes called the Twelve Disciples * Seventy disciples in the Gospel of Luke * Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), a Protestant denomination in North America descended from the Campbell movement * Disciples of Christ (Campbell Movement), a Christian group that arose during the Second Great Awakening * Disciples of `Abdu'l-Bahá, 19 Western Bahá'ís * The ten principal disciples of Buddha * Disciples of Confucius * Disciples of Jesus in Islam * Student of Kriya Yoga, of direct lineage to Mahavatar Babaji * Sahabah, the disciples of Muhammad * Follower of Paramahansa Yogananda * Śishya, the disciple in the Guru–shishya tradition of Hinduism * ''Śrāvaka'' (Sanskrit) or ''savaka'' (Pali), disciples in Buddhism and Jainism * Tarmida ('disciple'), a junior priest in Mandaeism Books, games, ...
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PlusD
The +D (or Plus D) was a floppy disk and computer printer, printer Electrical connector, interface for the ZX Spectrum home computer, developed as a successor to Miles Gordon Technology's earlier product, the DISCiPLE. It was designed to be smaller, cheaper, simpler and thus more reliable. It discarded a number of the less important features of the earlier product — the computer network, network and joystick ports, the inhibit button and the pass-through connector — and replaced its ancestor's plastic wedge-shaped design which fit under the Spectrum with a simple flat metal slab which protruded from the rear of the computer. It provided only floppy disk and Centronics parallel interfaces, plus a non-maskable interrupt button. The +D's casing was simple folded steel, which was not only stronger than before but acted as a heatsink, improving reliability. Apart from the missing ports, though, it was software-compatible with the larger device. The +D's disk operating system, DOS w ...
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Floppy Disk
A floppy disk or floppy diskette (casually referred to as a floppy, or a diskette) is an obsolescent type of disk storage composed of a thin and flexible disk of a magnetic storage medium in a square or nearly square plastic enclosure lined with a fabric that removes dust particles from the spinning disk. Floppy disks store digital data which can be read and written when the disk is inserted into a floppy disk drive (FDD) connected to or inside a computer or other device. The first floppy disks, invented and made by IBM, had a disk diameter of . Subsequently, the 5¼-inch and then the 3½-inch became a ubiquitous form of data storage and transfer into the first years of the 21st century. 3½-inch floppy disks can still be used with an external USB floppy disk drive. USB drives for 5¼-inch, 8-inch, and other-size floppy disks are rare to non-existent. Some individuals and organizations continue to use older equipment to read or transfer data from floppy disks. Floppy disk ...
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Microcomputer
A microcomputer is a small, relatively inexpensive computer having a central processing unit (CPU) made out of a microprocessor. The computer also includes memory and input/output (I/O) circuitry together mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB). Microcomputers became popular in the 1970s and 1980s with the advent of increasingly powerful microprocessors. The predecessors to these computers, mainframes and minicomputers, were comparatively much larger and more expensive (though indeed present-day mainframes such as the IBM System z machines use one or more custom microprocessors as their CPUs). Many microcomputers (when equipped with a keyboard and screen for input and output) are also personal computers (in the generic sense). An early use of the term ''personal computer'' in 1962 predates microprocessor-based designs. ''(See "Personal Computer: Computers at Companies" reference below)''. A ''microcomputer'' used as an embedded control system may have no human-readable input ...
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