Magazine Editor

The Magazine Editor's role is:-

To liaise with members and others to acquire copy for the magazine

To plan and edit the magazine content every other month

To provide a high resolution monochome pdf file for the printer

To produce a low resolution colour pdf eMag version for emailing to members and for posting on the Magazine Archive pages of the website

To produce any other leaflets etc as required by the Committee

My name is Lee Privett.

My introduction to computing started way way back in the late 70s through to the early 80s progressing from being a keen electronics enthusiast, having published articles in Everyday Electronics and Practical Electronics magazines. It started in 1981 when the ZX 81 became available in two versions, the second being in kit form and £20 cheaper, that was a lot of money then so a significant saving. Once I received the 'kit' I was a little disappointed to find it to contain only 4 microchips and as difficult to put together as playing with Lego, so I then thought 'well what else can I do with this?' and spent the whole afternoon typing in hex data statements from a book on the ZX81 running the code and 'hey presto' clunky Space Invaders, I was hooked.  

My next decision was to save up for a proper computer with a proper keyboard, the BBC Model B (£399), however by the time I had saved up around £200 the Sinclair ZX Spectrum 48K came out for £175 and I couldn't resist. After nearly two more years of Sinclair (tokenised) Basic which was great fun, Simon Goodwins Spectrum compiler (damn fast but limited keywords), MegaBasic (where you typed in real text) it was time for me to move on to a proper computer with a proper keyboard, the BBC Model B (£399).

However, having saved the full £399 this time the QL called to me and I responded, and I was introduced to the wonders of SuperBasic, a procedural programming language where line numbers were included but for operational purposes you didn't need them. It was at the same time that at work in the Ford Motor Company I had many opportunities of where I could learn more and more programming techniques and that is when I also went back into education for further study.

I joined QUANTA at the same time and eagerly looked forward to the bi-monthly magazine dropping through the letter box. I struck up a friendship with Sid Day who at the time was the Software Librarian for QUANTA and wrote several programs for the library including a BOOT program I was particularly proud of as it relied on the speed of the QL and the access time of the MicroDrives to complete its animation.

In 1988 I left the QL scene partly due to a change in career where the IBM PC were being used at the forefront of use within the industry and education and also due to the passing of Sid. It seemed at the time to be the right decision.

Many years later and a few more job roles, a few more academic qualifications, a couple of children, a numerous number of PCs, a move away from Microsoft towards Apple. I found myself in 2010 laid up for awhile with very limited things to do except browse the web for something to catch my interest. Following a path of emulation on the Spectrum/QL using the PC and the MAC I eventually stumbled across the QUANTA website, which when I left the QL scene didn't exist, the web in the form we now use it hadn't been invented. So a QUANTA website was a complete surprise but also filled me with nostalgia.

Exploring the website at some length was fascinating until I came across the Software Library page where entry number one was a little program called CAD. The author was myself and there it was in black and green for all to see (but especially me). So I signed up for QUANTA there and then capturing all I could about the QL scene and what has been happening since (btw I am still learning).

Suffice to say this pottage history of mine has moved on to me volunteering to be a committee member at the AGM earlier this year and taking on the role of Editor which I do with relish. Technically I believe I am qualified for this role academically with a Media Production & Technology Degree and a MSc in MIT, I bring my current experience of teaching students up to degree level to the role and I am also very keen to get young people involved and interested in the joys of 'real' programming.