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Programming.. I'm not into games, although these days I'll play a casual game on an iPad if I've got a few minutes to kill.
My VIC20 came with one game which I played for about 5 minutes on Christmas morning before learning BASIC programming from the manual - it came with a memory map at the back which led me into machine code programming 
The C64 was VIC20 on steroids - more colours for graphics apps (including sprite support), more RAM, better CPU and access to the internet (Compunet as it was back then).
At school our IT lessons (BBC B's) consisted of moving a green turtle to various locations around the screen, creating a Ceefax screen or an occasional beep if our teacher felt rebellious enough. No wonder most kids turned away from computers.
At home, I moved onto the Amiga A500 when it came out and it was a whole leap forward from the C64. 4,096 colours, multitasking, a decent OS which actually allowed you to get things done. This is where I learned event driven programming and UI development, file IO, etc. At 14 years old, I was selling Amiga apps on floppy disks at school
I didn't like the Archimedes OS at all - it seemed seriously lacking compared with the Amiga. Perhaps it was the lack of decent applications, like you mentioned, that killed it. Hardware's nothing if you haven't got anything to run on it.
The ST was pretty good, but seemed more to find it's place in the music arena. I probably would have gone for a ST if the Amiga hadn't been around (or if they hadn't made to A500 - the A1500, A2000 and A3000 were well out of my price range).
How do you know so much about swallows? Well, you have to know these things when you're a king, you know.
modified 31-Aug-21 21:01pm.
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Using BBCs in schools was subject to all the problems associated with IT in schools - mainly because it tended to be taught be teachers who hadn't got a clue and struggled to get "Hello World" working themselves!
The thing I loved about the Archie OS was that it was well designed and documented, and simple. It was easily extended too.
The three button mouse wasn't just stuffed on there - they defined what the functionality should be in every application and, generally, people stuck to that, so once the basics were grasped, every program just worked!
By comparison, neither the Amiga or ST were so easy to work with.
All of the other computers in the BBC time (vic, speccy etc.) were prettier, I think, and because of all the games available, kids were attracted to them - in the 'good' schools, teachers moved beyond the Logo crap and got the kids doing real, integrated stuff (one school, for example, had the older kids writing programs to read data from various devices (like temperature sensors) to use in science classes for all the kids.
Then the kids coming through the school could look at the programs and come up with their own ideas of stuff to develop.
they wrote timetable software, educational games for the littlies, all sorts of stuff that they were interested in, and was educational not only from a learning to program point of view, but also in thinking logically, planning etc.
I think you are one of the people that the BBC really wasn't so useful for - partly due to your teacher, but also because you had the interest already.
I originally cut my teeth on a Commodore Pet - so just having bit mapped graphics was awesome!
& I really wanted the power that assembler gave me - and being able to write it out of the box inside a Basic program was awesome - it allowed very fast development compared to the Pet (where I hand-wrote every line and entered the byte-code)
My preference for the ST over the Amiga was partly due to the music side, partly the cost, and partly due to the fact that I got a job working for Atari ST User and ST World magazine!
PooperPig - Coming Soon
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_Maxxx_ wrote: I think you are one of the people that the BBC really wasn't so useful for - partly due to your teacher, but also because you had the interest already.
I don't think they were useful for any of the kids in my school - those interested already had a computer in some form, but those not interested certainly weren't going to be swayed by the Beeb - you couldn't have come up with a machine more likely to put kids off.
It's a wonder the kids weren't provided with brown corduroy trousers as part of the lesson
You must be a bit older than me? I didn't leave school until '89. I've always felt I missed the 80's by a few years (I wish I'd been about 10 years older in the mid-80's), they were very cool times.
How do you know so much about swallows? Well, you have to know these things when you're a king, you know.
modified 31-Aug-21 21:01pm.
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I once came across an app (can't remember if it was Silverlight or WPF) that showcased various features of XAML, with things like transitions, drag/drop, and a whole load of other things, which you chose from a list down the left-hand side.
I think the project had a bit of a weird name and was written by one of the XAML team at MS. I can't remember what it was called though, or where to find it. Anyone?
modified 13-Mar-15 4:27am.
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MVVM Light?[^]
Also, there's tonnes of sample projects under New Project => Online >= Samples >= C# => Desktop => WPF
modified 13-Mar-15 4:54am.
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I found it - it's called the "WPF Bag of Tricks". The app was originally at bot.codeplex.com, but this has now gone and it can instead be found here: https://github.com/thinkpixellab/bot[^]
Not sure why I thought it was something to do with Microsoft - perhaps the guys running this company were employees once.
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As the blurb says:
Kevin was working at Microsoft on v1 of Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF). He was blogging a lot of code samples and wanted to keep them all together and ensure everything kept working as features changed and evolved as WPF moved towards shipping.
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See my post 4 or 5 threads below.
About an hour to go and in the bistro waiting for my garlic prawns to turn up.
Having a schooner of VB in the mean time.
Should be a good night.
Michael Martin
Australia
"I controlled my laughter and simple said "No,I am very busy,so I can't write any code for you". The moment they heard this all the smiling face turned into a sad looking face and one of them farted. So I had to leave the place as soon as possible."
- Mr.Prakash One Fine Saturday. 24/04/2004
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Michael Martin wrote: a schooner of VB
Version 6 or .NET?
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V6 of course - you can't drink beer with a net!
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
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Movie Quote Of The Day
Jason's body has disappeared from the morgue.
Which movie?
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Classic Greek mythology: Jason and the Argonauts.
Modern Greek mythology: How to pay your debts.
The language is JavaScript. that of Mordor, which I will not utter here
This is Javascript. If you put big wheels and a racing stripe on a golf cart, it's still a f***ing golf cart.
"I don't know, extraterrestrial?"
"You mean like from space?"
"No, from Canada."
If software development were a circus, we would all be the clowns.
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Saturday the 14th.
Try Hovercraft for Android, voted "a game" by players.
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Thursday the 12th
Your time will come, if you let it be right.
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Hangover
if(this.signature != "")
{
MessageBox.Show("This is my signature: " + Environment.NewLine + signature);
}
else
{
MessageBox.Show("404-Signature not found");
}
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Weekend At Bernies
Mongo: Mongo only pawn... in game of life.
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Bourne Supremacy
If it's not broken, fix it until it is
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http://xkcd.com/1498/[^]
Thank you Randall.
I find that very, very appropriate.
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
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Are there any CP members from Myanmar that can recommend how to travel to Ngwe Saung?
I will be traveling with my wife and 13 year old nephew so hopping on the back of a truck, my favored way to travel when I am alone, is not an option.
I am traveling from my home in Buriram, Thailand and will most likely fly from Bangkok(BKK or DMK) to Yangon(RGN). From Yangon I would like to travel by train or air to Pathein (48km from Ngwe Saung) where I would like to arrange for a van or bus to Ngwe Saung.
I would prefer to travel by train to be able to see the countryside, unless the travel time is too long, but air is also an option. Is there a train from Yangon to Pathein?
Bus is an option and although drive time from Yangon to Ngwe Saung is estimated to be 5 hours the bus schedule indicates 8 hours which may not be so comfortable depending on the condition of the roads and the bus. I usually have to sit on the bench seat, with the monks, in the back of the bus because my legs are too long to fit comfortably in a normal seat on local buses in SE Asia.
I have found airport maps that show a domestic airport in Pathein(BSX) but can't seem to get a flight schedule to/from Yangon(RGN).
I have been reading about student demonstrations in Yangon lately. Where in Yangon are they taking place so I can avoid that area. Would it be better to fly into Naypyidaw or Mandalay (the other international airports) to avoid Yangon while these demonstrations are going on?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Once you lose your pride the rest is easy.
In the end, only three things matter: how much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you. – Buddha
Simply Elegant Designs JimmyRopes Designs
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Sounds like an awesome trip. Would love to see some of that country with a backpack and hiking shoes, I know you would too! 
New version: WinHeist Version 2.1.0
My goal in life is to have a psychiatric disorder named after me.
I'm currently unsupervised, I know it freaks me out too but the possibilities are endless.
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Mike Hankey wrote: Sounds like an awesome trip.
I have wanted to travel in Myanmar for a long time but the political situation made it a bit doggy. There is some fighting in the north (Shan State) near the Chinese border,and there is always a possibility of trouble in Rakhine State, but we will be in Yangon Division and Ayeyarwady Division so it should be relatively safe.
There are student demonstrations in Yangon these days that have been getting violent so we will have to avoid them, but all in all Yangon is pretty safe. We may stay for a day or two, most likely on our return from the shore to see the city but the Bay of Bengal (Ngwe Saung Beach) is where we are heading.
Mike Hankey wrote: Would love to see some of that country with a backpack and hiking shoes
I am sure Nick wouldn't mind hopping on the back of a truck with me but Pu will not have any of that.
She would prefer to go by air and the closest airport is 48km from Ngwe Saung in Pathein. The runway is unpaved gravel so you can get some idea about the remoteness of the area to where we are going.
Travel in the Ayeyarwady Delta is pretty primitive. It has been described as like going to the shore in Thailand in the 1980's before the beach resorts were built up with high rise hotels and all the night life that comes with them. It is a step back in time.
Once you lose your pride the rest is easy.
In the end, only three things matter: how much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you. – Buddha
Simply Elegant Designs JimmyRopes Designs
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JimmyRopes wrote: I am sure Nick wouldn't mind hopping on the back of a truck with me but Pu will not have any of that.
Yeah I know what you mean. My neighbor asked me one time about where I went with my backpack and I told her I was roughing it and she replied; "Motel 8". She was not the outdoorsy type, bless her heart she passed a couple of years ago just before I moved here.
Sounds like you've got a nice vacation planned out my friend just be safe and if they give you any trouble just tell em you know an old Marine that's looking for action.
New version: WinHeist Version 2.1.0
My goal in life is to have a psychiatric disorder named after me.
I'm currently unsupervised, I know it freaks me out too but the possibilities are endless.
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Mike Hankey wrote: Motel 8
Pu would think Motel 8 is roughing it too.
Mike Hankey wrote: tell em you know an old Marine that's looking for action
Is it [redacted] action you are looking for? 
Once you lose your pride the rest is easy.
In the end, only three things matter: how much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you. – Buddha
Simply Elegant Designs JimmyRopes Designs
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