Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att-cb!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!bloom-beacon!mit-eddie!uw-beaver!tektronix!reed!psu-cs!qiclab!neighorn
From: neighorn@qiclab.UUCP (Steve Neighorn)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: Computer noises (was Re: Cray architecture)
Message-ID: <1167@qiclab.UUCP>
Date: 3 Apr 88 06:32:48 GMT
References: <7762@alice.UUCP> <418@ole.UUCP> <3216@phri.UUCP> <1574@osiris.UUCP> <25959@yale-celray.yale.UUCP> <769@kaos.UUCP>
Reply-To: neighorn@qiclab.UUCP (Steve Neighorn)
Organization: Qic Laboratories, Portland, Oregon.
Lines: 23

In article <769@kaos.UUCP> romkey@kaos.UUCP (John Romkey) writes:
>The Radio Shack TRS-80 Model 1 (a personal computer before PC meant
>IBM) put out enough RF interference that it became popular among
>TRS-80 hackers to put a small radio next to the machine to listen to
>what it was doing. Some people tried to program them to play music
>this way...
>-- 
>			- john romkey

Indeed, the Radio Shack Model 1 (bless that little old Z80) became a
popular alternative to commercial radio (and no wonder these days!)
through the use of custom jukebox programs. Several people got together
and wrote out a complete translation table that could be used to derive
musical notes from the Model 1's built-in BASIC statements. It was then
relatively easy to 'program' sheet music on the machine.

We were all quite proud of ourselves until we discovered some other
locals had done the same thing with their pdp-11's... And to add 
insult to injury, their computer music was in 3-part harmony!
-- 
Steven C. Neighorn            !tektronix!{psu-cs,reed,ogcvax}!qiclab!neighorn
Portland Public Schools      "Where we train young Star Fighters to defend the
(503) 249-2000 ext 337           frontier against Xur and the Ko-dan Armada"