Hi from Kansas

[Calbright78]

Hello everyone, my name is Chris, and I am a satisfied customer. I splurged and bought it all. The nice case, keyboard, mouse and all, the only thing I have left to get is the network card so I can relive the BBS days. Back then I just watched my friends dad dialing into different ones, I myself never got to. That being said I am a little disappointed that a nice manual didn’t come with it. My main argument to myself, that allowed me to pull the trigger and get it, was I want to use it as my main tool to learn old school programming. I’m not looking to program “for” the X16 but to program “on” the X16 if that makes sense. I love the idea that it is an old school 8-bit real machine, but it has a nice keyboard and a SD card. I also thought I could use it to learn basic assembly language. Make some very basic games and put them on a cart. However, when I post a picture of my setup on FB and said my intentions, The 8-Bit Guy himself replied saying that it is not practical to write assembly on the X16. A bit of a blow as that was my intentions. As a child in the early 80s I was mesmerized by computers but couldn’t get one till the mid-90s. By then I missed out on 8-bit computers and didn’t learn anything about programming until about 10 years ago when I bought an old VIC-20. Then I took some online courses for modern programming, so I am not completely a noob, but I do feel a little lost with the X16. I don’t have a history of programming, and I am not a programmer by trade. Only as a hobby. Anyways that is a bit on the negative side, but I am not discourage. I am still a happy customer, and I really hope this computer takes off someday and lots of content is made for it and maybe even that manual. I bought mine as a learning machine. I am curious why everyone else got one.

[ahenry3068]

Hello everyone, my name is Chris, and I am a satisfied customer. I splurged and bought it all. The nice case, keyboard, mouse and all, the only thing I have left to get is the network card so I can relive the BBS days. Back then I just watched my friends dad dialing into different ones, I myself never got to. That being said I am a little disappointed that a nice manual didn’t come with it. My main argument to myself, that allowed me to pull the trigger and get it, was I want to use it as my main tool to learn old school programming. I’m not looking to program “for” the X16 but to program “on” the X16 if that makes sense. I love the idea that it is an old school 8-bit real machine, but it has a nice keyboard and a SD card. I also thought I could use it to learn basic assembly language. Make some very basic games and put them on a cart. However, when I post a picture of my setup on FB and said my intentions, The 8-Bit Guy himself replied saying that it is not practical to write assembly on the X16. A bit of a blow as that was my intentions. As a child in the early 80s I was mesmerized by computers but couldn’t get one till the mid-90s. By then I missed out on 8-bit computers and didn’t learn anything about programming until about 10 years ago when I bought an old VIC-20. Then I took some online courses for modern programming, so I am not completely a noob, but I do feel a little lost with the X16. I don’t have a history of programming, and I am not a programmer by trade. Only as a hobby. Anyways that is a bit on the negative side, but I am not discourage. I am still a happy customer, and I really hope this computer takes off someday and lots of content is made for it and maybe even that manual. I bought mine as a learning machine. I am curious why everyone else got one.

I admire the 8-bit guy and I'm grateful to him for making this platform happen. But practical and possible are two different things. If you want to program ON the X16 then you can. There's an on Platform Text Editor and BASLOAD and there is Desertfish's disk based assembler that runs on Platform. I do MY programming mostly on the emulator but I often do tweaks on Hardware if something isn't working quite right ON PLATFORM. There's also an on Platform Pascal & Forth in Development. Knock yourself out. .

If that's what you want to do, then no one should tell you how to enjoy the platform.

You'll get help while your here. Do be aware that most software development IS done FOR the X16 rather than ON the X16. But what you want to do CAN BE DONE.

Tony

[kelli217]

Tony mentioned DesertFish's on-platform assembler; that can be found at https://github.com/irmen/cx16assem

[Edmond D]

<snip>

That being said I am a little disappointed that a nice manual didn’t come with it.

<snip>

I also thought I could use it to learn basic assembly language. Make some very basic games and put them on a cart. However, when I post a picture of my setup on FB and said my intentions, The 8-Bit Guy himself replied saying that it is not practical to write assembly on the X16. A bit of a blow as that was my intentions.

<snip>

I bought mine as a learning machine. I am curious why everyone else got one.

Hi Chris! Welcome to the community.

There have been several efforts to write a manual for people who are just starting out like yourself. There is a wide range of online documentation available, if one know what specifically one is searching for and knows where to look.

With the VIC-20 Commodore understood that most people had never had computer and thus needed material. While it wasn't in the pre-internet days, it did occur in the pre MASS internet ones.

For the X16, most of the people had been there in the 80's, which I suppose was a reason that a manual of substance wasn't in the box - they didn't need it.

One person's idea of practical may not align with what is possible. There are several ways to develop directly on it, some paths become a labour of love. Any road you go down will be a learning experience and you get to decide what you want to do and how you want to proceed. You might hit some barriers, but you'll learn a lot in the process.

I was about to type "don't let another's opinion sway you" but then realized I'm suggesting your plan is reasonable. Go for it!

Finally, I bought my x16 out of a nostalgic love of the 8 bit Commodore era machines. Mine sits in a box still, but I will get to it someday and have a great time - that's the whole point - to enjoy!

[mortarm]

...the only thing I have left to get is the network card so I can relive the BBS days.

Not to dissuade you from getting the network card, but you can "relive the BBS days" on your current computer (can't speak for phones and wouldn't recommend it even if I could). Go to telnetbbsguide.com and you'll find a slew of BBSs what can be accessed via either the Web or a terminal program (SyncTerm is the most popular).

when I post a picture of my setup on FB and said my intentions, The 8-Bit Guy himself replied saying that it is not practical to write assembly on the X16.

That sounds uncharacteristic of David. While I don't dispute your claim, there must have been a reason(s) for such a statement. He is always encouraging in what people want to try. Can you elaborate on this?

I am curious why everyone else got one.

Like many others, it was nostalgia. The VIC-20 and C=64 was my second and third computers (the T/S 1000 was my first), and I already had The C64 Max. The CX16 just seemed a natural companion. I also have an N-Go, a ZX Spectrum clone.

[Calbright78]

I wasn’t trying to throw shade at David. The more I learn assembly the more I am understanding his statement. The post is still up on the X16 FB page. I was just sharing my experience. I have nostalgia for the 8-bit computer era but had never had one. I just got to play around with them for short periods of time at school and friends. I am probably the minority of people that got one without a rich history of programing knowledge. So, the experience from my minority point of view was a little lack luster. When I bought into the project, I had watched a few videos where they talked about making a manual. That was a selling point for me, and I misunderstood David’s video about when he made the Quarx game. I thought he had said that he hoped people to take this computer and make games like this in assembly. I thought he meant that he wrote that game with the x16 and his goal for this computer was for others to learn how to code on it, not for it. Rewatching, I see that isn’t what he meant exactly. These are the two points that let me pull the trigger on buying the computer. At least the main 2 reasons. I misunderstood the second point, that is on me and the first point about the manual is disappointing, but I do understand the reasoning for not finishing one and shipping with the machine.

All of that said, please don’t misunderstand me. I am over the moon happy with my X16 and I don’t feel as if I was wronged or cheated in any way. Just sharing my thoughts for anyone else that just might be in the same boat as me.