[Gllug] How things change

[Rich Walker]

Christopher Hunter <chrisehunter at blueyonder.co.uk> writes:

> On Saturday 24 Jul 2004 11:16 am, Chris Bell wrote:
>> On Fri 23 Jul, John Winters wrote:
>> > I've also found an invoice for a 3.5" floppy disk drive, dated 30/1/92.
>> > It cost me a staggering £233.83!
>>
>>    The first BBC micros, Model A, were supplied without floppy driver
>> chips, although the tracks were ready on the board, because a floppy drive
>> cost more than the rest of the computer.
>
> I remember modifying dozens of Model As to Model Bs - the Bs weren't widely 
> available at first, and it was (just) cost-effective to do the upgrade 
> yourself!

Wasn't there also some issue about the disk controller chip (an 8271?)
being (a) in short supply, and (b) hideously expensive (£40-£50 at the
time)...

[starting to feel like I'm showing my age]

Mind you, I remember buying a hard drive last year with more *cache*
than my first 32-bit workstation (an A440, of course...).

cheers, Rich.




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