Comment Re:Virtulize it (Score 1) 66
IO ports. The Beeb had millions of them, and they were used in education too. At school I wrote programs for light-sensing diodes for instance, which were just plugged straight in.
I have a BBC emulator and it's good. It truly isn't the same thing as using the real hardware though - even simple stuff like the feel of the keyboard. I have vice64 and use it to emulator the C64, but I also have a real C64 sat in my retro-cupboard all set up and ready to go. That cupboard contains a monitor/TV, C64 with 1541 snaildrive; datasette and Commodore mouse; a Gamecube and then baby-of-the-bunch Wii. Of those the Gamecube and Wii are most easily replaceable in feel since they were operated entirely through controllers, and so long as you still use the controllers a full-screen emulator will give you pretty much the same experience. The C64 emulator will not, purely down to things like key layout, keyboard feel, SID bugs making each chip unique etc.. A BBC emulator won't give you the same feel either. Both will do well, but it's not the same.
I have a BBC emulator and it's good. It truly isn't the same thing as using the real hardware though - even simple stuff like the feel of the keyboard. I have vice64 and use it to emulator the C64, but I also have a real C64 sat in my retro-cupboard all set up and ready to go. That cupboard contains a monitor/TV, C64 with 1541 snaildrive; datasette and Commodore mouse; a Gamecube and then baby-of-the-bunch Wii. Of those the Gamecube and Wii are most easily replaceable in feel since they were operated entirely through controllers, and so long as you still use the controllers a full-screen emulator will give you pretty much the same experience. The C64 emulator will not, purely down to things like key layout, keyboard feel, SID bugs making each chip unique etc.. A BBC emulator won't give you the same feel either. Both will do well, but it's not the same.