Spectrumpedia second edition - it's here!

[Corporal Jonlan]

Hi everybody,

it is with great pleasure that I annonunce you the release of the new Spectrumpedia in its second edition, revised and enhanced in every part. It is now divided into two volumes.

The Spectrumpedia, for those new to it, is the most comprehensive work ever written about the Sinclair ZX Spectrum. It focuses on various aspects such as history, technology, software houses, clones, new software and hardware, emulation and so on. It first appeared in 2012 for the 30th anniversary of the Spectrum's launch.

Please note that at present it is available in Italian only, but a translation is underway. Although my spare time has noticeably decreased these days (maybe you noticed that I pretty much disappeared from this forum lately), I managed to translate half of the first volume so far, and I plan to have it available as a free sample before the Spectrum's 40th anniversary. Hopefully the second volume will be ready within the first half of May. Check the link at the end of this post or this thread for news about the translation.

A free of charge digital edition in PDF format for consultation purposes on PCs and mobile devices can be downloaded from my website. It is distributed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-NC International 4.0 license. Even if you do not understand Italian, I suggest you to take a look at it so that you can get an idea of the work's scope and depth. There are so many corrections and enhancements it would just be too long to mention.

The Italian printed edition is already for sale. It is possible that once completed, the English translation will also be published on paper.

Link: https://www.alessandrogrussu.it/sp.html

[TrekMD]

That is cool.  Thanks!

[Corporal Jonlan]

Hi everyone,

I translated the first volume of the book to English. You can download it from the address in the first post.

I shall try to translate the second in time for next 23rd of April, but I am not sure about it. Too much to do these days 

Just one little note: I am not an English native speaker, and although I cared to make my translation as accurate as possible, there could be some imperfections in it - grammar, spelling etc. If you believe you found some, please write me at alessandrogrussu (at) gmail (dot) com and I will look into it.

I wish you a good reading

[Corporal Jonlan]

I am happy to announce you that the second volume of the Spectrumpedia has been translated into English.

This edition has been updated from the original Italian with a couple of new articles about the DivTIESUS interface and Rodolfo Guerra's new ROMs. Also, there is a picture of a T-shirt given in 1987 with the Special Playgames tape magazine which is not present there.

All information about emulators has been updated to last August.

The first volume has been updated as well, with a new photo of the HiLow Data Drive, courtesy of Rodolfo Guerra, some modifications in the text and the rearrangement of Soviet/Former USSR clones alphabetical order due to differences between transliteration conventions from Cyrillic into Latin in Italian and in English. Many images have also been put again in their places at a higher resolution.

A note: I am thinking about a printed edition of the whole work, but before that I would like to get it proofread by English native speakers who also are Spectrum or generally retrocomputing/retrogaming enthusiasts. I established some contact for this, but should anyone find some spelling/grammar mistakes, or some difficult to understand parts, please report it to my email address alessandrogrussu (at) gmail (dot) com and I'll look into the issue.

Download and enjoy 

Edit: The license for the Spectrumpedia freely consultable digital edition has been changed to CC BY-NC-ND (the whole text is here). This substitutes the previous CC BY-NC license.

[TrekMD]

Very nice!  Thank you!

[Corporal Jonlan]

Thank you! 

There is an update for Volume 1. The index still listed the Spectrum clones from the USSR/former USSR with the order based on Italian transliteration. This has been corrected. Also, some minor inconsistencies in the translation of the same section have been amended.

[Corporal Jonlan]

Update time! 

Volume 1, English edition:

• Some untranslated text in the contents has been amended.
• New, better pictures for the Rotonics Wafadrive, Multiface and Plus D and the Unipolbrit 2086, Elwro 800 Junior, Jet, Delta (black) and Hobbit clones, plus other pictures restored at higher resolution.
• Some minor amendments to the text in Chapter Four.

Volume 2, English edition:

• Some untranslated text in the contents has been amended.
• Added entries for the ZX Nucleon clone and the Beta Disk 128C/128X/128 Mini Controller, D80+K Controller 80, Multiface 128C, External ROM Card 64/128/Super ROM Card 256, Orpheus and ADPI8225A peripherals, plus the relevant links in the Bibliography/Web resources.
• Added an entry for the NOXOM ZX Interface II-compatible cartridges and a relevant link in the Bibliography/Web resources. The Recreated ZX Spectrum picture has been removed to make room for it.
• Several pictures have been restored at higher resolution.
• A different picture for the ZXATASP has been inserted.

[TrekMD]

Thank you!  Downloaded!

[Corporal Jonlan]

More updates ahead! 

Volume 1, English edition:
- Several pictures have been changed in Chapters 1 and 2.
- Added a picture of the Acorn advert of December 1984 that sparked the fight at the Baron Of Beef.
- Some corrections and integrations in the text.
- Some mistakes in the photo credits have been corrected.

Volume 2, English edition:
- Some untraslated isolated words in Chapter 1 have been translated into English.

[TrekMD]

Downloaded updated version.  Thank you.

[DeadVoivod]

Wow, this looks awesome, I only can imagine how much work this was!! You really should consider releasing them as books in English, the Spectrum community is still huge. Never thought about a Kickstarter campaign?

[Corporal Jonlan]

Another update for Volume 1, English edition:

• Several other pictures have been replaced in Chapters 1 and 2, again with new ones expressely taken for this edition.
• Some corrections and integrations in the text.

Wow, this looks awesome, I only can imagine how much work this was!! You really should consider releasing them as books in English, the Spectrum community is still huge. Never thought about a Kickstarter campaign?

Thank you  I am considering the possibility of printing and marketing the paper edition through a print-on-demand service. Relying on a fundraising campaign would mean that I would have to print, store and ship the books myself, and unfortunately I lack both the time and space to do that. Anyway - I am having the book read-proofed now, besides tweaking it some little more and adding new photos I personally took for this edition. Stay tuned for more news

[Corporal Jonlan]

Time for another update 

Several modifications and updates have been made to the English edition. In particular:

Volume 1:
- Some more better pictures in Chapter 4.
- The entry for the Timex Sinclair TS 2068 has been expanded.
- Some corrections and integrations in the text.
- The bibliography, resource and photo credits have been moved to Volume 2, Chapter 4.

Volume 2:
- The foreword has been removed (it was identical to that of Volume 1).
- Information about the Stellarmode video mode has been added (also check the bibliography/web resources in Chapter 4).
- Some entries in the Emulators section of Chapter 2 have been revised, and one for Z80 Stealth has been added.
- Chapter 4 now includes the bibliography, resources and photo credits for the whole work.

Enjoy 

[TrekMD]

Oh, cool!  Thank you!

[Corporal Jonlan]

Another update for the English edition:

Volume 1:

• Some corrections and integrations in the text.

Volume 2:

• Some information about the Spectrum Next video modes have been revised.
• Some entries in the Emulators section of Chapter 2 have been updated.
• An entry about the AT Computer Systems IT/UK Learn Computer has been added.
• Some minor integrations in the text.

The final revision is getting close: I think Volume 1 has taken its definitive form, while Volume 2 maybe still needs a final touch. Even now, however, I am evaluating some options for a possible printed edition.

Also, there is something else that is going to surface anytime soon. Stay tuned!