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Subject: Re: The Overtom Collection

Author: Keith Evans

Date: 22:28:58 04/08/05

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On April 08, 2005 at 13:37:20, Steve B wrote:

>
>>So do I. The Novag Star Ruby has just been reduced to £70 in the UK. I am
>>thinking about it. I'm just wondering if Novag will be updating these soon. With
>>so many hand-held and touch screen devices on the market I wonder if a much
>>improved version would be viable? The screen was a BIG disappointment.
>
>
>well i cannot say what Novag's plans are but it should be remembered that it
>took almost three full years for Novag to release the much touted Star Sapphire.
>then almost in an instant and with little prior notice,out came the Star Ruby
>i think its fair to say we will not be seeing updates for these computers for a
>long time(years even) but who knows for sure
>
>personally i dont find the pieces in either computer so objectionable
>i know many do
>i guess if you compare them to the pieces in the pocket PC's and similar devices
>then they are wanting,but i am lucky in this respect
>these other devices are not dedicated computers,so i never look at them or even
>care what they look like
>so i guess you can say,in this instance..for me..ignorance is bliss
>:)
>
>Ostrich Effect Regards
>Steve

This is a nice site. I like the fact the so many thumbnails are available on one
page. It really lets you appreciate the diversity of these units.

I have to say that earlier I disrespected chess computers that didn't have some
sort of sensory board, but the calculator style units are growing on me. I was
really frustrated with the Excalibur LCD chess interface - both the LCD display
and the move entry. It would be nice to have a small portable that had an easy
to use interface that you could use with any board and pieces and the battery
life of the Excalibur units. Also whenever I see those flat magnetic analysis
type pieces I reminded of the pieces that you would use playing some of the
chinese board games like Xiangqi or Dou Shou Qi.

Is the comment about Compuchess "probably oldest commerially available chess
computer" true (probably) or false (probably NOT)?

I wonder how one writes a chess program using only 256 bytes of RAM? I guess
that moves must be generated incrementally in a memory efficient way.

Compuchess
Processor: Fairchild F8
Memory: 256 bytes RAM
Manufacturer: Staid Inc.
Dimensions: 18.9 x 11.9 x 4 cm
Dates from: 1977
Power supply: adapter (9 Volts DC)
Rating: beginners
Other details: Operated by 16 keys, probably oldest commerially available chess
computer

Regards,
Keith



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