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Carlo
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Da: Kickstarter <no-reply@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Data: 30 ottobre 2019 20:27:50 CET
A: carlo.malantrucco@xxxxxxxxx
Oggetto: Project Update #52: ZX Spectrum Next by Henrique Olifiers
Rispondi a: No Reply <no-reply@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
The Plan
Posted by Michael Cadwallader
Oct 30, 2019
View on Kickstarter
You read about the latest developments with the keyboard and case being
finalised on our previous update (if you missed that one, be sure to check it
out, it’s one of the best), so now it’s time to look at the timeline to bring
it all together and start shipping to backers at last.
We have the first small batch of keyboards at SMS, with the cases being sent
tomorrow (October 31st). These first 50 units will be fully assembled,
packaged and ready to ship soon after the cases arrive at SMS next week, and
then they will be stored while a larger batch of 1,000 units is flown into
the UK for assembly. The idea is to have a third-ish of the keyboards and
cases flown in while the other two thirds are shipped by sea in two batches
of 1,000 each. This will allow some parallelism to reduce the assembly time,
as it’s more efficient than waiting for the very last of the keyboards and
cases to be produced before any assembly takes place.
Other items are already in place ready for assembly, such as power supplies,
boxes, inserts, postal boxes, SD cards etc. One last item to check out of the
list is the manual, which should be printed shortly as the team wrapped up
its constantly changing content with the 1.1 firmware update made available
in the last update.
As units get assembled, they’ll be posted to backers as quickly as SMS can
produce them, via the same courier that achieved 100% deliveries of the Just
the Board tier -- if it works, don’t mess with it.
This is the home run phase, where it’s now a matter of aligning production,
assembly and shipping to bring the Next together and on its way to backers’
homes.
The Specnext.dev Wiki
If you haven’t had the chance to check out the Next Dev Wiki, pay it a visit
right away. It’s updated with the latest specs of the firmware, tutorials and
news on all things Next: https://specnext.dev/wiki/Main_Page
On the Wiki you’ll find the system’s architecture updates, hardware specs,
programming tips and resources to get started on the Next, dev tools and the
like. It’s an ever-growing resource designed to evolve with the Next via the
contribution of the community, make sure you’re a part of it!
The Accelerator at work
A lot has been happening on the Pi accelerator implementation as of late, not
least the work by D Xalior Rimron-Soutter in curating NextPi, a specialised
version of Linux customised to interact with the Next. Tasking the
accelerator with the handling of TZX files which are played back as .WAV’s
for the Next to load, and David Saphier's work on enabling the Next's browser
to send advanced file formats to be handled by the Pi transparently (think
MOD / MP3 / SID!). Check out a video of David’s work in action:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St5jiM7a-yk
Exploring a potential application for this audio playback, here we have a
proof of concept. Warhawk is using the accelerator to play back the original
SID tune on the Next for the intro sequence:
Bus Work
Meanwhile, Allen Albright has been working on the expansion bus, tweaking
some functions and killing some niggling bugs that will re-open a few
features and possibilities (hold on to this!). With the help of Garry
Lancaster's driver work, here's a ZX Printer (well, an Alphacom 32 thanks to
Tim Gilberts) throwing out all the right shapes.
Stay tuned for assembly pics from SMS shortly!
Show support and stay involved—let Michael Cadwallader know you read this
update.
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More from this creator
UPDATE #51 PP: Keyboards in the UK, cases on their way soon & Firmware
version 1.1 Final
UPDATE #50 Keyboard + Case: Production Update
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