Expansibility - AMSTRAD cpc 6128 User Instruction

The BASIC in your Amstrad computer is amongst the fastest and most fully featured
to be found in any home computer system, and incorporates many features that help
the experienced BASIC programmer overcome some of the inherent sluggishness of a
'high level language' interpreter to perform surprisingly dynamic visual and musical
effects.
3. Expansibility
Most computers pay attention to the need to 'add-on' additional items of hardware:
printers,joysticks, extra disc drives. Paradoxically, some of the most successful home
computers require the addition of add-on units known as 'expansion interfaces' before
even a simple printer or joystick controller can be installed.
The purchaser. does not always think ahead to his needs in the future, because a
machine that incorporates a properly supported parallel printer (Centronics
compatible) and a games joystick port may actually be cheaper in real terms.
The 6128 computer features a built-in Centronics printer port, a port for an
additional disc drive, a cassette data (
+
motor' control) socket, facilities for up to two
joysticks, a stereo sound output - and a comprehensive expansion bus that can be used
to attach a serial interface (AMSTRAD model RS232C), a MODEM, a speech
synthesiser (AMSTRAD model SSA2), a light pen, etc.
4. Sound
The sound features of a computer determine whether or not it sounds like a bluebottle
in a empty cocoa tin - or ifit can produce an acceptable representation of an electronic
musical instrument.
The 6128 computer uses a 3 channel 8 octave sound generator, which can produce a
very acceptable musical quality with full control of the amplitude and tone
envelopes. Furthermore, the sound is divided into a stereo configuration, where one
channel provides the left output, one channel provides the right output, and the third
channel sits in the middle.
This provides considerable scope for writing programs that track the sound effects
across the screen to follow the motion of an arcade-style game.
Ultimately, you will make up your own mind about which of these features is most
important to you. We hope that you will try them all to make the most of your
computer.
At your leisure .... Chapter 9 Page 3