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Michigan City Indiana<br />

January Vol. 5<br />

Your own custom wallpaper<br />

for your <strong>ce</strong>ll phone<br />

Five Reasons You Need Cell<br />

Phone Insuran<strong>ce</strong> Now<br />

How to Have the Smartest<br />

Home on the Block<br />

Should We Really Try to Teach Everyone to Code?<br />

Sites That Will Teach You Coding for Free !<br />

1


Thanks to all who contributed to CE<br />

Magazine. Have an article you would like<br />

contribute? You can mail it to:<br />

CE, P.O. Box 8619<br />

Michigan City In 46360<br />

Or E-Mail it to<br />

computerease@juno.com<br />

CE Magazine® is part of OtherSide Ministries ©<br />

all rights reserved<br />

Founder & Chief Editor<br />

Peter Nadal<br />

Editor<br />

Pamela Kennoy<br />

Art & Design<br />

Peter Nadal<br />

Our Writers<br />

Rodrigo Esperanza<br />

Nomar Shaw<br />

Diane G<br />

Big Poppa<br />

Outside Sour<strong>ce</strong>s On This Month <strong>issue</strong><br />

ScratchJr.org<br />

Entrepreneur VIP<br />

NewsUSA<br />

In our January Issue Vol. 5<br />

6 Hey Pete! Custom wallpaper for<br />

your <strong>ce</strong>ll phone<br />

10 How to Have the Smartest Home<br />

on the Block by NewsUSA<br />

12 Biz Cards board!! Hey its free<br />

13 Secret Scroll Tip<br />

14 Should We Really Try to Teach<br />

Everyone to Code?<br />

by ScratchJr.org<br />

16 12 Sites That Will Teach You<br />

Coding for Free<br />

By John Rampton<br />

19 Five Reasons You Need Cell<br />

Phone Insuran<strong>ce</strong> Now<br />

by NewsUSA<br />

21 Oh That Command Line<br />

By Big Poppa<br />

23 Cheap vs. Frugal by Nomar Shaw<br />

25 Come a Long Way Baby!<br />

Front Cover<br />

Michigan City Light house in January, CE font done with<br />

Polar Vortex<br />

Additional artwork and fonts by Peter Nadal<br />

Original Computer-Ease logo ©<br />

2


3


Welcome to Pete’s corner, <strong>2018</strong> came in with a roar, cold, flu and<br />

bronchitis, better then half of our people here have the flu or<br />

bronchitis, so I do apologize for our January edition not coming<br />

out sooner. In this edition we have two articles on coding, Pam<br />

our editor suggested this articles as there is a growing demand for<br />

coders. The articles are real easy to understand and who knows<br />

you may find a new career.<br />

Like to welcome aboard Big Poppa (at his request his name is<br />

classified) I have known him over 40 some odd years. He brings to<br />

the table a wealth of experien<strong>ce</strong> in computer and network<br />

programming and writing experien<strong>ce</strong>.<br />

Rodrigo, found an interesting article on “How to Have the<br />

Smartest Home on the Block” by NewsUSA and frankly it has<br />

sparked my curiosity on the subject, I will let you folks know on<br />

what I find out.<br />

4


Our spring <strong>issue</strong> we will be taking advertising, we are working on<br />

pricing and what ads we will take for advertising, so, stay tuned!<br />

I hope you enjoy our January Issue and it answers some of your<br />

computer questions. So, my fellow readers thank you for reading<br />

CE Magazine® and following us on Fa<strong>ce</strong>book ©.<br />

Salud!<br />

Peter Nadal<br />

. Your Home phone, <strong>ce</strong>ll phone, your mail and<br />

Soliciting don’t answer your phone if you do not<br />

Recognize the phone number, don’t open your<br />

Door if you don’t know him/them!<br />

Public announ<strong>ce</strong>ment by Forest Manor Neighbor watch<br />

5


How do you do that!<br />

We all want our own custom wallpaper in our <strong>ce</strong>ll phones, so we<br />

load this app, that app and before you know it your <strong>ce</strong>ll phone is<br />

running slow because your phone has barely enough memory left<br />

to run. So, let me show you a simple way to create your lock<br />

screen wallpaper for the iPhone (in this case for an iPhone 4s, by<br />

the way this works for all <strong>ce</strong>ll phones) using Paint in Windows 7.<br />

1: open paint and select Resize. In the menu unclick "Maintain Aspect<br />

Ratio" and change to Pixels. Now enter the pixels size shown in the<br />

picture.<br />

6


2: select your picture and right click on it and on menu that will<br />

pop up select Edit.<br />

3: Windows will open a second Edit, go to View and click one or<br />

two times (depend on size of picture and monitor size)<br />

7


4: Click on select (as shown in picture<br />

below) select Crop.<br />

5: When done click at the<br />

lil icon on the top left<br />

hand side (above the tablet<br />

icon) select “Save as” then<br />

select JPEG picture. A<br />

window will pop up name<br />

it then save it.<br />

8


After up loading it to your iPhone this is how it looks!<br />

This was another one I did<br />

Ps:<br />

I use 4Shared to transfer to and from my iPhone and Android<br />

phone, it is on iTunes Apps, go to https://www.4shared.com/ for<br />

windows version<br />

9


How to Have the Smartest Home on the Block<br />

(NewsUSA) - With all the talk about smart technology and connected homes, you<br />

may be wondering why you should take noti<strong>ce</strong>. After all, it is not that difficult or<br />

inconvenient to turn your lights on and off.<br />

According to the American Lighting Association (ALA), smart technology is not<br />

just about convenien<strong>ce</strong>. It is not even just about lighting. It is also about energy<br />

efficiency and safety.<br />

Efficiency<br />

Smart technology allows you to connect your home's electronic devi<strong>ce</strong>s to one<br />

devi<strong>ce</strong>, such as a phone, tablet or computer. Having a connected home means you<br />

have the ability to adjust your thermostat, open and close window shades, and<br />

activate your security system remotely, or program those devi<strong>ce</strong>s to operate<br />

automatically at pre-set times.<br />

Safety<br />

Efficiency is important, but safety is paramount. With the ability to connect to your<br />

home's devi<strong>ce</strong>s from anywhere in the world comes the pea<strong>ce</strong> of mind of not<br />

wondering if your security system is activated and knowing your outside and inside<br />

lights will be on before you arrive home after dark.<br />

Convenien<strong>ce</strong><br />

Home automation apps make it a snap to change your room into the perfect setting<br />

for different activities. For example, for movie night, a system like Lutron's Caseta<br />

Wireless can be pre-programmed to adjust all the lights in your family room to set<br />

the s<strong>ce</strong>ne for a great movie-watching experien<strong>ce</strong>.<br />

If installing and operating smart technology equipment sounds complicated and<br />

expensive, it's not. According to the ALA, there are some simple and surprisingly<br />

inexpensive options available on today's market.<br />

A number of ALA-member manufacturers, including Legrand, Lutron Electronics,<br />

Philips and Acuity Brands Lighting offer reasonably pri<strong>ce</strong>d, easy-to-install<br />

automation products designed to make your home more comfortable, convenient<br />

10


and safe. In many cases, it just takes simple retrofitting of an existing dimmer<br />

switch.<br />

Erik Anderson, national sales manager for Lutron Electronics, explains that the<br />

Caseta Wireless is very retrofittable into existing homes. "All you have to do is take<br />

your existing dimmer or switch out of the wall and repla<strong>ce</strong> it with a Caseta dimmer<br />

or switch, add a smart bridge and you have the ability to control it from an app, or<br />

from voi<strong>ce</strong> control with Alexa, Google Assistant or Siri," says Anderson.<br />

For added ease, Lutron's Caseta Wireless system can be integrated with Apple,<br />

Amazon or Google platforms for use inside your home. And when you are outside,<br />

an app or geofencing allows you to adjust your inside and/or outside lights, even<br />

before you arrive home. That will make your home welcoming to you and your<br />

guests.<br />

To learn more about making your home smarter, stop by your local ALA-member<br />

lighting showroom to see the latest technology for home environment automation.<br />

Go online to DesignVideos Lighting to view a video from Lutron as well as<br />

lighting-trends videos from other ALA-member lighting manufacturers. Find more<br />

about all things lighting at AmericanLightingAssoc.com.<br />

Note from Rodrigo Esperanza;<br />

21 st <strong>ce</strong>ntury folks and I can say with enthusiasm two thumbs<br />

up, mine work like a charm!<br />

11


Send your biz card in pdf to computerease@juno.com or mail to Computer-Ease,<br />

Po BOX 8619 Michigan City In 46360<br />

12


1. Reboot<br />

Secret Tip Scroll<br />

Ibook<br />

2. Hold apple key + s key down after you hear the<br />

chime. (command + s on newer Macs)<br />

3. When you get text prompt enter in these terminal<br />

commands to create a brand new admin account<br />

(hitting return after each line):<br />

mount -uw /<br />

rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone<br />

shutdown -h now<br />

4. After rebooting you should have a brand new<br />

admin account. When you login as the new admin<br />

you can simply delete the old one and your good to<br />

go again!<br />

13


Should We Really Try to Teach<br />

Everyone to Code?<br />

Courtesy of ScratchJr.org<br />

Courtesy of ScratchJr.org<br />

It’s hard to read a blog or news site these days<br />

without stumbling across an article about why<br />

everyone should learn to code. It’s a rallying cry that’s<br />

given rise to organizations like Codecademy and<br />

Code.org. It’s even cracked the national political<br />

agenda, with ex US House Majority Leader Eric<br />

Cantor having declared that “becoming literate in code is as essential to being literate in<br />

language and math.”<br />

The icing on the cake was an article about ScratchJr, a new iPad app described as “coding for<br />

Kindergarten.” Like Cantor, the app’s creators believe that coding is a new type of literacy that<br />

should be available to everyone, starting at a young age. Yes, now even your 5-year-old can<br />

get in on the coding action, and build their own stories and interactive games.<br />

Software Is ‘Eating the World,’ But There Aren’t Enough<br />

Programmers to Keep Up<br />

Don’t get me wrong: I think the intent of all these “learn to code” initiatives is good. After all,<br />

the ability to build apps has never been a more desirable — and critical — skill.<br />

Just look around you. Apps now manage nearly every aspect of our lives, personally and<br />

professionally. We have dozens of apps on our smartphones and tablets for our finan<strong>ce</strong>s,<br />

fitness and everything in between; and we rely on nearly as many to do our jobs. On top of<br />

that, apps are quickly taking over our thermostats, cars and just about every devi<strong>ce</strong> we own.<br />

Marc Andreessen’s statement that “software is eating the world” rings truer than ever before.<br />

That’s why teaching everybody to build apps is such a noble and ne<strong>ce</strong>ssary pursuit, especially<br />

in business. Industries that have existed for hundreds of years are being radically disrupted<br />

and transformed by apps. The demand for custom software has never been higher, and the<br />

notion that traditional IT departments will be able to keep pa<strong>ce</strong> is laughable. According to a<br />

re<strong>ce</strong>nt McKinsey study, 87 per<strong>ce</strong>nt of IT leaders rate themselves poorly in terms of their ability<br />

to bring new ideas to market quickly.<br />

14


If businesses truly want to truly become innovative app companies, they need to turn every<br />

department into an IT department and make every employee part of the innovation pro<strong>ce</strong>ss. If<br />

someone in marketing or finan<strong>ce</strong> or HR has an idea for a new app, they should be able to take<br />

matters in their own hands.<br />

Having Everyone Learn to Code is the App-Dev Equivalent of<br />

Creating ‘a Faster Horse’<br />

While everyone today needs to be an app developer, is learning to code really the answer?<br />

Henry Ford said that, “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster<br />

horses.” I view everyone learning to code as app development’s version of a faster horse.<br />

What we all really want — and need — is a car.<br />

The industry is falling back on code because for most people, it’s the only thing they know. If<br />

you want to build an application, you have to code it. And if you want to build more apps, then<br />

you have to teach more people how to code, right?<br />

Instead, shouldn’t we be asking whether coding is really the best way to build apps in the first<br />

pla<strong>ce</strong>? Sure, code will always have a pla<strong>ce</strong> in the world, but is it the language for the masses?<br />

Is it what we should be teaching everyone, including our kids? Or are there other, easier and<br />

more intuitive ways to build apps? In order to empower everyone to build apps, we need to<br />

focus on bringing greater abstraction and automation to the app development pro<strong>ce</strong>ss. We<br />

need to remove code — and all its complexity — from the equation.<br />

My advi<strong>ce</strong>? Don’t teach everyone how to code. Teach them how to identify and understand<br />

needs, as well as how to visually express logic. Teach them how technology works, so they can<br />

understand the realm of possibility and then envision game-changing innovations. And then<br />

create an environment where they don’t even have to think about writing code — where<br />

building great apps is as easy as using iTunes. Just drag and drop.<br />

On<strong>ce</strong> we remove the friction from building the next killer app, we’ll finally make the leap from<br />

a horse to a car. And then the innovation ra<strong>ce</strong> will be on.<br />

Gottfried Sehringer is vi<strong>ce</strong> president of marketing for Mendix.<br />

15


12 Sites That Will Teach You Coding for Free<br />

John Rampton • Entrepreneur VIP<br />

There was a time when knowing how to program was for the geekiest of geeks. That’s not exactly the case<br />

today. As most entrepreneurs, freelan<strong>ce</strong>rs and marketers will tell you, learning how to program can help you<br />

suc<strong>ce</strong>ed. Over the past year, I've been learning to code. It's helped me to become a much better entrepreneur -- I<br />

can dive in when my team needs to fix a few bugs on the site.<br />

You don’t even need to shell out a ton of money or put yourself in debt to learn how to code, either. These 12<br />

pla<strong>ce</strong>s offer coding courses for free:<br />

1. CodeAcademy<br />

One of the most popular free pla<strong>ce</strong>s to learn coding is CodeAcademy. In fact, more than 24 million people have<br />

already learned how to code through this educational company’s engaging experien<strong>ce</strong>. At CodeAcademy, you<br />

can dive right in and take courses that teach you everything from HTML &<br />

CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, PHP, Python and Ruby.<br />

ADVERTISING<br />

Related: Want to Take Your Business to the Next Level? Boost Your Marketing and Coding Skills.<br />

2. Coursera<br />

Founded in 2012, Coursera has grown into a major for-profit educational-technology company that has offered<br />

more than 1,000 courses from 119 institutions. While you can pay for <strong>ce</strong>rtain programs to re<strong>ce</strong>ive a <strong>ce</strong>rtificate,<br />

16


there are a number of free introductory programming courses in various specializations from universities such<br />

as the University of Washington, Stanford, the University of Toronto and Vanderbilt.<br />

3. edX<br />

EdX is another leading online-learning platform that is open sour<strong>ce</strong> instead of for-profit. It was founded by<br />

Harvard University and MIT in 2012, so you know that you’ll learn about cutting-edge technologies and<br />

theories. Today, edX includes 60 schools. You probably can’t go wrong with the free Introduction to Computer<br />

Scien<strong>ce</strong> from Harvard University.<br />

4. Udemy<br />

Founded in 2010, Udemy is an online learning platform that can be used as a way to improve or learn job skills.<br />

While there are courses you have to pay for, there are plenty of free programming courses, which are taught via<br />

video lessons, such as Programming for Entrepreneurs - HTML & CSS or Introduction to Python Programming.<br />

5. aGupieWare<br />

AGupieWare is an independent app developer that surveyed computer-scien<strong>ce</strong> programs from some of the<br />

leading institutions in the U.S. It then created a similar curriculum based on the free courses offered by<br />

Stanford, MIT, Carnegie Mellon, Berkeley and Columbia. The program was then broken into 15 courses: three<br />

introductory classes, seven core classes and five electives.<br />

While you won’t actually re<strong>ce</strong>ive credit, it’s a perfect introductory program for prospective computer<br />

programmers.<br />

6. GitHub<br />

Sometimes, you need to recall a referen<strong>ce</strong> book when you’re stuck on a problem. That's GitHub. You can find<br />

more than 500 free programming books that cover more than 80 different programming languages on the<br />

popular web-based Git repository hosting servi<strong>ce</strong>, which means that it’s frequently updated by collaborators.<br />

7. MIT Open Courseware<br />

If you’ve already learned the basics, and went to get into something a bit heavier -- such as exploring the theory<br />

behind coding -- take advantage of MIT’s free courseware site that includes classes such as Introduction to<br />

Computer Scien<strong>ce</strong> and Programming, Introduction to Programming in Java and Practical Programming in C.<br />

Here is a list of resour<strong>ce</strong>s if you are getting serious about studying computer scien<strong>ce</strong>.<br />

Related: GitHub Is Said to Hit $2 Billion Valuation With New Investment Round<br />

8. Hack.pledge()<br />

This is a community of developers, which include some high-profile developers such as Bram Cohen, the<br />

inventor of BitTorrent. There, you can perfect your programming skills by learning from some of the leading<br />

developers in the world.<br />

17


9. Code Avengers<br />

Based out of New Zealand, Code Avengers provides fun and interactive programming courses that will teach<br />

you how to code games, apps and web sites using JavaScript, HTML and CSS. Each course takes just 12 hours<br />

to complete and is available in English, Russian, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, Turkish and Portuguese.<br />

10. Khan Academy<br />

Created in 2006 by educator Salman Khan, Khan Academy is one of the original free online-learning<br />

institutions. With step-by-step video tutorials, you can learn how to program drawings, animations and games<br />

using JavaScript and Pro<strong>ce</strong>ssingJS, or learn how to create webpages with HTML and CSS.<br />

11. Free Food Camp<br />

Here you’ll learn HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, Databases, DevTools, Node.js, Angular.js and Agile by<br />

networking and joining a community of professionals and students. You’ll even work together on your coding<br />

skills so that you can build apps for free. Here’s the catch: you’re learning those skills and building helps to<br />

help solve real-world problems. Code is available to nonprofits.<br />

12. HTML5 Rocks<br />

This Google project launched in 2010 to counter Apple’s HTML5. The site is full of tutorials, resour<strong>ce</strong>s and the<br />

latest HTML5 updates. It’s open sour<strong>ce</strong>, so developers can play around with HTML5 code. Because this is more<br />

advan<strong>ce</strong>d than most introductory courses, you may want to gain some knowledge and experien<strong>ce</strong> before<br />

jumping in.<br />

Learning code used to require ac<strong>ce</strong>ss to expensive books and classes, but no longer. I highly recommend that<br />

every entrepreneur learns to code. Still wondering if you need to code? Here is a programmer guide I put<br />

together to show you every step I took to become an entrepreneur that codes!<br />

18


Five Reasons You Need Cell Phone Insuran<strong>ce</strong> Now<br />

(NewsUSA) - Not long ago we only used <strong>ce</strong>ll phones to make calls or send<br />

cryptic, short-hand text messages. Now, we rely on our phones for storing<br />

our contacts and calendar appointments, watching videos, checking email,<br />

managing our connected devi<strong>ce</strong>s and, of course, keeping up on social<br />

media. In fact, phones have become such a crucial part of our lives that<br />

many people sleep with them.<br />

So when your phone becomes lost, stolen, or damaged, it can send the<br />

most unflappable of us into a panic. Which is why, most industry experts<br />

agree, it is worth considering <strong>ce</strong>ll phone insuran<strong>ce</strong>.<br />

For those who may still be on the fen<strong>ce</strong> about <strong>ce</strong>ll phone insuran<strong>ce</strong>,<br />

consider this:<br />

1. Despite monthly premiums and deductibles, insuran<strong>ce</strong> can save owners<br />

money. The average retail pri<strong>ce</strong> of a new smartphone is $590; even higher<br />

for a basic iPhone 7 ($649). More than 70 per<strong>ce</strong>nt of phone claims are<br />

filed within the first year. This means that customers with phone insuran<strong>ce</strong><br />

who file a claim at month 12 on an iPhone 7 can save $318 - $342 on a<br />

repla<strong>ce</strong>ment phone after premiums and deductibles.<br />

2. Most after-market "protection plans" are extended warranty plans which<br />

only cover accidental damage and malfunctions. Only a <strong>ce</strong>ll phone<br />

insuran<strong>ce</strong> and warranty bundle -- available through most wireless carriers -<br />

- covers loss, theft and damage. This is important because one in four<br />

phone claims last year were from loss or theft, according to the nation's<br />

leading mobile insuran<strong>ce</strong> provider Asurion.<br />

3. Most <strong>ce</strong>ll phone insuran<strong>ce</strong> programs through wireless carriers include<br />

cracked screen repair for smartphones with a lower deductible than what<br />

you would pay for a repla<strong>ce</strong>ment devi<strong>ce</strong>, and often lower than a consumer<br />

would pay to take it to a repair shop.<br />

19


4. Shoppers now pay the full cost of their phones either up front or in<br />

monthly installments. Those who have a loss or theft before they've paid<br />

off the installments will still have to make the remaining payments. What's<br />

more, without insuran<strong>ce</strong> you could be left with both the remaining<br />

installments and the payments for a new phone. With a 128 GB iPhone 7<br />

Plus, at 6 months a customer could still owe nearly $700 on their old<br />

phone while trying to pay for a new one.<br />

5. For the customer that can't imagine being without their beloved <strong>ce</strong>ll<br />

phone, most carrier <strong>ce</strong>ll phone insuran<strong>ce</strong> programs provide a repla<strong>ce</strong>ment<br />

devi<strong>ce</strong> the next day. Repla<strong>ce</strong>ment devi<strong>ce</strong>s through the major wireless<br />

carriers are backed by a 1-year warranty providing shoppers with pea<strong>ce</strong> of<br />

mind should they have any mechanical or electrical <strong>issue</strong>s.<br />

Note from Editor;<br />

I highly recommend you should heed the recommendations in this article<br />

we all depend a lot on our <strong>ce</strong>ll phones!<br />

20


Oh That Command Line<br />

By Big Poppa Welcome our new writer and tech to CE Magazine<br />

If you are like me, then you very rarely use your computer for a single application. There are<br />

times when I have to have several applications open in order to accomplish a single project. I<br />

may have Word open for documentation, Ex<strong>ce</strong>l to pro<strong>ce</strong>ss data, Vision for ERD referen<strong>ce</strong> and<br />

more often than not one or two databases. This does not include the specialized applications<br />

that are for daily operations.<br />

As long as everything goes along smoothly things can progress and work can get done.<br />

But what happens when one of your open applications freezes up and refuses to close? You<br />

can take a chan<strong>ce</strong> on the old Ctl-Alt-Del method and run the risk of having the entire PC lock<br />

up loosing everything that you have done or you can use the Command Line to surgically close<br />

the offending program.<br />

The Command Line can be a bit intimidating but it is in fact a very easy to use and useful<br />

tool. Here is a quick and easy way to close any application or pro<strong>ce</strong>ss on your PC without<br />

risking the Blue Screen of Death.<br />

First open the Run command window.<br />

This is located in the Ac<strong>ce</strong>ssories folder in the<br />

start menu or you can type Run into the search<br />

box in the task bar on Windows 10. You will see<br />

the following:<br />

taskmgr.exe, and you will then see this:<br />

Click on OK and this will take you to the<br />

Command Line function. After the carat type<br />

This will open the<br />

Windows Task<br />

Manager. In the<br />

Applications tab you<br />

will see all of the<br />

applications that are<br />

currently open on the<br />

PC along with their<br />

status.<br />

21


In the illustration below you will see that RegVac is the application that has stopped working<br />

as its status is listed as Not Responding.<br />

To end the application without endangering anything else simply highlight the app in the list<br />

and then click on the End Task button. The application will be forcibly closed. Now you can<br />

simply exit out of Task Manager as well as the Command Line, reopen the application that<br />

failed on you and continue where you left off.<br />

There are many other advantages to taking the time to learn about the Command Line.<br />

On<strong>ce</strong> you get used to it you may find yourself using it more often than not. It is usually quicker<br />

than trying to hunt down an obscure link that you thought you had on the desktop.<br />

Another really slick trick is in the fact that most commands used in command line can be<br />

run directly from the Start>Run menu. We will take a look at some of those in the near future.<br />

Until then, Fair Winds and Following Seas.<br />

22


By Nomar Shaw<br />

Fa<strong>ce</strong> it, money is tight and everything else keeps going up in pri<strong>ce</strong> like<br />

cars, gasoline, food, clothing, gas, electricity, electronics and if you are<br />

like the rest of us trying to make that old computer last. Now there is<br />

nothing wrong with having an old Windows XP Pro computer to do work<br />

on it. Mine is an old Hp Pavilion with Windows XP home with Microsoft<br />

works with Mozilla Firefox version 32.0, by the way, with old computers<br />

stick to Firefox if you need to be on the internet. Found a lcd monitor at a<br />

garage sale last summer for $15, so, lcd monitor, new keyboard $5 and<br />

$5 mouse all for $25 plus and hour and half of my time a up and running<br />

Computer. The pictures of this pavilion, is one Pete overhauled back to<br />

factory condition, he ran it for 10 hrs, wrapped it and put on the shelf for<br />

$35. Oh, why he won’t put it in Computer-Ease Catalog? He said it’s not<br />

worth it, but, if someone inquires about it he’ll sell it. So the following<br />

pictures are of that computer is identical to mine, so Cheap or Frugal?<br />

Text us with your thoughts!!!!<br />

23


24


Come a Long Way Baby!<br />

Happy Birthday, Sinclair ZX81 Computer!<br />

BY Chris Higgins<br />

March 5, 2017<br />

On March 5, 1981, Sinclair Research launched the ZX81 home computer in the U.K. (It was also known as the<br />

Timex-Sinclair TS1000 in the U.S.) It came with just one kilobyte of memory, and was a self-contained unit<br />

with a rather crappy keyboard. The keyboard didn't have moving key switches; instead it used membrane<br />

buttons similar to those often used on microwave ovens.<br />

Despite its limitations, the ZX81 was a revolution, because it cost just £49.95 in the U.K.—massively cheaper<br />

than anything else on the market. It was also available in normal retail stores, rather than specialty computer<br />

shops.<br />

It really was the people's computer, and for many it was their introduction to home computing and computer<br />

programming. Incidentally, at that cheap pri<strong>ce</strong>, it was a kit you assembled at home (a soldering iron was<br />

required). You'd have to pay an extra £20 if you wanted a pre-assembled unit. In the U.S., the fully-assembled<br />

unit cost $149.95.<br />

The ZX81 was also expandable. You could upgrade it from its RAM using an external cartridge to bring it up to<br />

16k—making it vastly more usable for real work. If you needed to store programs, you saved them on cassette<br />

tapes using a tape recorder. This was a finicky pro<strong>ce</strong>ss, as you had to fiddle with the volume to get things just<br />

right...but for the pri<strong>ce</strong>, it was unbeatable.<br />

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The ZX81/TS1000 sold millions, despite its limitations. Although it didn't take over the computing world, its<br />

serious focus on retail pri<strong>ce</strong> made it a common computer in the early home computing market. (My family had<br />

one!) It was literally a fraction of the pri<strong>ce</strong> of competing systems. Here's a detailed remembran<strong>ce</strong> of the ZX81,<br />

showing some of what it could (and could not) do:<br />

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Computer Magazine From The Past!<br />

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Just when had the money for that<br />

Laptop you wanted!!<br />

Thank for reading CE Magazine Chow For Now<br />

Nanomites!<br />

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