QuartzSoft

An interest in software development grew after joining the school computer club around 1980 and getting to use their Research Machines 380Z.

Programming the RML 380Z involved creating a series of punch cards using a keypunch. Once the program had been created, it was executed by running the cards through a card reader.

If everything worked as expected, it was possible to "capture" the program on a roll of paper tape which could be re-played at a later date. At that point precious tape could be stored and the sometimes bulky stack of cards could be thrown away. A number of students suddenly found a new use for the pencil box that they had created in woodwork classes during their first year.

The machine had no monitor. Instead the output was displayed on a teletype. This led to the most common type of program being those that produced ASCII art including gems such as the famous range of Snoopy images.

Over the next few years, a number of upgrades were made to the hardware including;

• Replacing the teletype with a monochrome CRT monitor
• Replacing the card reader and paper tape punch units with a cassette tape interface

Considering this was all happening at least a year before the introduction of the IBM PC and BBC Micro, the computing facilities at the school should probably be considered as extremely advanced.

Having got a taste for computing at school, the time came to obtain hardware for use at home. The Electronics O-Level course being undertaken at the time required the completion of a practical project. As the Sinclair ZX81 could be bought in kit form at a slightly reduce cost, the decision was made to build one and submit it as the completed project.

The system had a cassette tape interface allowing programs to be stored on readily available Compact Cassettes, commonly used for recording music. Output was in monochrome to a normal television screen.

The system manual including sections on using the built in programming language, BASIC. As the system grew in popularity, computer magazines began including program listings for entry in the ZX81. Many hours would be spent diligently typing in a listing only to find that the program failed due to an error in the printed version.

The most famous part of the ZX81 was its membrane keyboard. This proved incredibly difficult to use due to its lack of feedback when pressing the keys. This problem was made worse by the need to use multiple key combinations to enter BASIC keywords when programming.

In 1983, a three year degree course in Chemistry at Exeter University started. At the end of the first term, realising how much information would need to be gathered and stored during a full three year course, the decision was made to buy a more powerful computer with better data storage.

At the time, the main options were the relatively expensive BBC Micro or the very popular Commodore 64.

IBM-compatible computers did exist but had poorer sound and graphics capabilities, required a dedicated monitor and weren't readily available on the high street. In addition, there were thousands of commercial software titles available for the C64, including a large range of games ideal for keeping a student entertained long after the university bars had closed.

The C64 included a ROM based version of the BASIC programming language. However, the language didn't include any extensions to simplify the use of the hardware's sound and graphics capabilities. Instead, programmers would need to use low-level POKE commands to directly interact with the sound and graphics chip registers.

Data storage was provided by a cassette tape unit included with the machine. As with the ZX81, this allowed programs to be stored on readily available Compact Cassettes. The inclusion of a tape counter on the unit allowed the user to spool to an appropriate location on the tape to store or retrieve data.

At the end of the first year at university, all students reading Chemistry were required to attend a week long course covering the fundamentals of programming in either BASIC or Pascal. The course was followed by an examination and the award of a certificate to those who passed. The certificate was required in order to be able to gain access to the computing facilities in the department the following year.

The machine made available to undergraduates in the second year was a Commodore PET.

Interestingly, access to this machine was only required once during the remaining two years of the course. This was to complete a complex calculation as part of a Physical Chemistry practical. The program to calculate the result was already written and programmed into the machine. The user simply had to enter a few values from their experimental observations and the result would be calculated, which tends to beg the question why a whole week of programming training was required to use it!

Over the years since leaving university, a number of IBM PC clones have been used. The specification for the first was considered to be top of the range at the time of purchase as it included a RAM upgrade to 4Mb and a massive 128Mb hard disk. After being out-fitted with an external US Robotics Courier 14,400 modem, the first forays into the online world were made via CompuServe.

As time went by, replacement machines were purchased from companies including Gateway 2000 and Mesh. Laptop computers were also bought from Gateway 2000, Dell and ASUS with the aim of providing computing facilities in other locations or while travelling.

The following specification machines are currently in regular use.

The machine currently used as the main server is beginning to show its age. The time is fast approaching when a replacement will need to be ordered. However, instead of finding something suitable from a recognised dealer, it is highly likely that a custom built solution will be chosen. The specification will chosen to attempt to provide at least another 5+ years of future proofing, though with the rapid progress still being made in the technology, this can never be guaranteed.