Future QL Hardware

The QL sold most when it was marketed as a bundle. With software, printer and a keen price. One of the desirable and attractive features of the system was its distinctive black box styling. This at a time when all home computers had their own distinctive design.

The last 20 years of hardware development for the QL has seen it boxed up in PC style tower cases to look like a "proper computer". This was probably a mistake. I recently came across this web site http://www.mini-itx.com/store/, marketing nano itx boards and lo and behold several enterprising individuals have boxed these up in old computer cases and installed emulators. The QL has several excellent emulators that could run under windows on one of these boards. This is the opporunity for back to future QL hardware! Or back to black as someone else said.

I have no commercial interest in the miniitx store and where marked images are their copyright.

Quanta Meeting Sat 16th April

On the first day of the Quanta meeting for 2011 in Manchester there were 14 cars in the car park by 10:30. Geoff Wicks scurried in late and rucksack laden just before 1200. The committee had a meeting that morning to discuss tactics and responses regarding the constitutional questions Geoff Wicks had raised and the question of raising the subscriptions and the ql-users list criticism of Quanta. Questions due to be answered at the AGM the following day.

Traders present were the enduring Dilwyn Jones and Rich Mellor. Rich had a number of interesting new bits of hardware present, none specifically for the QL however. There was much discussion. But no new QL hardware or software demonstrated. No QL talks were scheduled. Overall the atmosphere was better that the last Coventry meeting.

The weather was good for the day.

Were you there, is there anything to add?

QL Today Volume 15 Feb - April 2011

QLToday's cover looks exciting but the content sadly is lackluster. Adrian Ives article on his work with the USBWiz device is exciting and saves the magazine from being a total loss. Editor Geoff Wicks manages to publish the same article from a regular contributor twice, has more aimless filler from Tony Tebby disparaging just about anything in computing except what he has contributed. A timely reminder that even geniuses may have feet of clay if allowed to sketch a route map tour de force resolution all the worlds ills. Then the news column, what news it carries only what has been on the Internet in the last few months. Not so much news more a round up and devoid of any more information than the average web surfer can pick up for themselves. And finally the classic Quanta bashing editorial. QLtoday has definitely gone downhill since Geoff took it over and Roy Wood left under a cloud. Whatever Roy's failings were and there were some it appears according to his detractors he could write a thought provoking column that injected some discussion into the QL scene. QLToday needs to rethink its objectives as Quanta magazine even in the absence of an editor has managed to catch it up and over take it in the relevance stakes.