25 Jun
1997
25 Jun
'97
11:37 p.m.
On 25 Jun 1997, Frank McConnell wrote:
You left out the TRS-80 Screen Printer, a widget that
plugs into the
connector otherwise used for the Expansion Interface. Hit the switch
on the front of the printer, and it ejects a few inches of silvery
electrostatic paper with the image on your screen zapped dark on it.
My understanding is that it grabs the image right out of the screen
memory.
Yes, the screen printer wouldn't work with an EI. It needed full
unbuffered access to video RAM, and it read it off the bus. It didn't
screw anything up as I recall, it worked fine with Level I or II BASIC
but naturally not with Disk BASIC.
Try to imagine what it was like to try getting a program listing from
the damned thing.
--
Ward Griffiths
"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within
the system, but too early to shoot the bastards." --Claire Wolfe