On Mon, 15 Feb 2010 19:37:00 -0500, "
wrote:

Brent wrote:
On Mon, 15 Feb 2010 20:29:02 +0000, Peter Flynn wrote:

Why not use the install disk that came with the printer?

I would if I could find them. I bought the HP LaserJet 3200m
printer/scanner in 2001 for over $650 (which was a lot in those days for a
B&W printer).

I've moved twice since then; and changed computers multiple times; and,
well, if I knew then that it was nearly impossible to find the TWAIN
drivers for the computer, I'd have put the original CDROM in a safety
deposit box or something.

Whew! I can't believe how hard it was to find basic HP scanner drivers!

There are a lot of dusty old pack rats on the web - I don't believe any
software is impossible to find. Could probably find the OS for my
hubby's Commodore 64 ) I think he said it has 3k of memory )

The 20K OS was burnt into ROM on the C-64. The 64 in the name referred to
the 64K of available RAM, though only 38K of it was available for BASIC
programming. Though you can find the OS and many C-64 emulators online
today

The Bally Arcade sold in 1977-78 with the drop in BASIC cartridge had 2K of
RAM and 2K of ROM. It preceded the C-64 by a couple years. You'd be
surprised what you can author in only 2K of RAM if you are creative enough.
When I see what bloatware-programmers can't even implement in 2M today I
have a good laugh at them. I had a few games and utilities published for
the Bally Arcade. My favorite being one called "A-Mazed in Space". That one
was the ultimate programming discipline to fit it all in only 2K of RAM
while written in BASIC, not one byte wasted. It would construct a new
random maze of any complexity or dimensions from user input. Then you had
to fly up to 4, player controlled, 8-direction-retrorocket spacecrafts
through it in zero-gravity without hitting another's spacecraft or wall, or
it would blow up your spacecraft and send you back to the start. Complete
with all the bells and whistles of colors, sound effects, and warning text
displayed while playing.

Programming on the Bally Arcade was a fun challenge in the use of 4 color
"shift" keys on a 24-keypad so the 20 other keys would have full
alpha-numeric and BASIC command input. They implemented the first use of
saving and loading your programming to an audio-cassette recorder through
the use of a modem. I sill have mine. A method that Commodore adopted later
for their C-16 and C-64.

I was hopeful that Bally would have pursued their next phase of computer
with the Zgrass programming language in it, the very same graphics
programming that was used to create the special effects in the movie "2001:
A Space Odyssey", but unfortunately the mucky-mucks at Bally put their
money into gyms instead of computers and their next computer was never
realized. I was forced to move to Commodore. I think I still have the
pre-order form in my "collectibles" cabinet, in anticipation for when it
was going to be manufactured and released but never was. I suspect the CEOs
of Bally are probably kicking themselves today with every step on their
stair-masters in their temples of self-worship. Though that too was a good
financial move it was nowhere near to what they could have been sitting on
today had they developed their computer line instead. Jocks are never very
intelligent. The phrase "dumb jock" was epitomized by the CEOs of Bally.