| Author |
Message |
GTBecker
Joined: 18 Jan 2006
Location: Cape Coral
|
|
Posted: 30 March 2009, 22:06 PM Post subject: Nuts and Volts article |
|
|
Congratulations on breaking through the Parallax-centered world of Nuts and Volts, Don!
Tom |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
dkinzer
Site Admin
Joined: 03 Sep 2005
Location: Portland, OR
|
|
Posted: 30 March 2009, 23:24 PM Post subject: |
|
|
| The article is largely the result of a suggestion to Mr. Eady by Dave Houston (dlh here) that he should look at the ZX devices. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
dlh
Joined: 15 Dec 2006
|
|
Posted: 31 March 2009, 9:50 AM Post subject: |
|
|
| Looks like my issue is lost in the mail. Did Fred do a good job? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
GTBecker
Joined: 18 Jan 2006
Location: Cape Coral
|
|
Posted: 31 March 2009, 16:21 PM Post subject: Nuts and Volts article |
|
|
> ... Did Fred do a good job?
Not bad. Clearly written by a ZBasic beginner, it is a short article
that does not get into any depth but rightly praises the ZX-24a and
mentions the 328. It makes the obligatory "Stamp-compatible" comparison.
My BMW has four wheels like a Model-T, too.
Tom |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
dlh
Joined: 15 Dec 2006
|
|
Posted: 31 March 2009, 16:58 PM Post subject: |
|
|
My copy arrived around noon. I was hoping for a bit more depth. A few months back he did a multi-part series using PIC Basic Pro to do an ethernet app (after posting to the PBP forum and exchanging a few emails). I had suggested he might do something similar with the ZX-328n and the ENC28J60. I guess he needed a quickie filler. Maybe he'll do something meatier later. He's not an Atmel fan so even this was a bit of a plus. At least, he spelled the name right and is now aware of ZBasic. 
He lives down your way, Tom. Maybe you can twist his arm.  |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
spamiam
Joined: 13 Nov 2005
|
|
Posted: 01 April 2009, 16:12 PM Post subject: |
|
|
| dlh wrote: | | I guess he needed a quickie filler. Maybe he'll do something meatier later. |
I bet you are right on track. With one actual project he can get 2 or 3 articles out if it. One consisting of his initial impressions of the device and summarizing its capabilities. Then another is written as he gets into actual programming of the device for a useful app, then a third when he completes a much bigger app. It would be especially interesting if that big app were a duplicate of something he already did like the ethernet app you mentioned. I think that the ZX system could make the whole app a lot easier than on the other hardware, and a direct comparison might highlight the advantages of the ZX system and rightfully create a lot of converts!
I am not familiar with the authors preference for (prejudice?) PICs. For my own purposes, the small added cost of an AVR is more than offset by the improved support hardware, and reasonable ease of use.
-Tony |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
dlh
Joined: 15 Dec 2006
|
|
Posted: 01 April 2009, 17:26 PM Post subject: |
|
|
The author wrote a column for Circuit Cellar for many years and has been writing this column for Nuts & Volts for a little more than a year, now. His disdain for Atmel (the company) stems from his perception of their lack of support for authors like him while Microchip is helpful and cooperative. He really did not express an opinion, at least to me, on the hardware itself. Since he is fundamentally a C programmer, I would expect him to find Atmel architecture easier to handle.
And the Pic Basic Pro project was, in essence, a recycling of an earlier C based project (Framethrower) so he may indeed recycle and update something for ZBasic. It wouldn't hurt to send him email telling him how great ZBasic is and urging more articles based on it. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
spamiam
Joined: 13 Nov 2005
|
|
Posted: 01 April 2009, 19:43 PM Post subject: |
|
|
| dlh wrote: | | It wouldn't hurt to send him email telling him how great ZBasic is and urging more articles based on it. |
Good point! And I WOULD like to see more articles like that, although I do not have a subscription. Probably at the very least I should get a copy of that edition and read it before I send him an email....
-Tony |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
dlh
Joined: 15 Dec 2006
|
|
Posted: 01 April 2009, 20:19 PM Post subject: |
|
|
Go here...
You'll need to edit the URL to go to successive pages (15-21) and suppress the pop-up window on each page. Don't tell Fred I sent you. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
dlh
Joined: 15 Dec 2006
|
|
Posted: 04 April 2009, 19:49 PM Post subject: |
|
|
Fred is going to investigate porting his ENC28J60 code to the ZX-328n so maybe we'll see another N&V article that uses ZBasic.
Fred has told me in the past that he likes to do articles based on reader suggestions so if any of you have a pet project you'd like him to do his email address is at the end of the current article. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
