The good old days of tape players

Zane wrote: sense Well, you can still buy brand-new ZX81 kits for $49.95 . . . and the 16 KB RAM expansions are readily available for about US$5-10 ;>) Essentially, I use the PC as a device to transfer programs from FTP or Web sites to my small computers: download the program, send it out the sound card to a tape, then load that tape into the smaller computer. There are presently over 10,000 programs available -- all free -- on FTP/Web sites for the small computers I collect. Unfortunately there are groups in the US which oppose this activity -- not because any of the program authors are objecting at this late date -- but because these groups propose that *any* form of emulation, or use of *alien* hardware, to run, store, or transfer these programs is illegal and should be stopped. Their reasoning is: if I never bought a ZX81, but I use a ZX81 emulator on my PC to run ZX81 programs, then what is to stop me from using a Sony Playstation emulator on my PC to avoid buying a Playstation? My opinion is: the major game producers are afraid that if the public finds out that for well under US$100 anyone with a PC and a modem can pick up an "obsolete" computer and get 10,000 games, free, the new hot-rod game machines might lose a few sales. Regards, Glen Goodwin 0/0