Date   : Tue, 24 Jun 2008 00:07:55 +0100
From   : robert@... (Rob)
Subject: The Micro User

On 23/06/2008, Jeremy Grayson <jeremy.grayson@...> wrote:
>
> Just as a matter of interest, what bits of STH are regarded as NOT useful?
> As an inveterate BBC gamer with few other strong interests / competencies in
> the machine, STH is nigh-on perfect in its entirety IMHO!
>
I find my interests tend not to be games, but apps (and specifically
early online, dial-up stuff) and this is where STH has always seemed
to be at it's weakest, at least as far as my personal impression goes.
 For this reason, it's not really one of the sites I tend to visit
very often.

Because of it's interface options, and strength in the education
sector, there were lots of niche applications that most people will
never have come across.  I'm pretty sure that repton, for example,
will be cropping up on eBay for years to come, but ow many people have
even heard of OBBS (mine) or NBBS or any other BBS software.  Where
can I find software for the touchpads and touchscreen I have in the
cupboard, or even for the mysterious box that came from a
Leicestershire speach therapy department that I don't even know what
it does...

Has anybody ever seen the software that controlled the BR station
displays in the wild?   What did the Reuters board machines actually
do originally?

Unfortunately these are the very things that will be lost forever if
not preserved, if only because there will have been so very few
examples in existance in the first place.  Something a bit more
comprehensive, that covers all types of software, would be my ideal.
Maybe the wiki would be more successfull on a more obvious domain -
I'm constantly impressed by the way this works for such as
Lostpedia.com and battlestarwiki.org (guess you can tell what I watch
now.)

I'm not saying that STH is not excellent at what it sets out to do,
but it's just not what I find mysef looking for.

Rob