The author reflects on their childhood computing experiences in the 1980s, including using IBM PC compatibles with floppy disks to run MS-DOS and LOGO at school, writing programs on paper due to limited computer time, and playing early games like Moon Bugs, Space Invaders, and Digger. These formative experiences, filled with wonder and exploration, remain vivid memories decades later.
Published in 1983, this instructional book teaches beginners machine code programming for the Z80 and 6502 microprocessors, covering fundamental concepts such as registers, memory, and instruction sets used in early home computers.
The author recounts their early computing experiences from the 1990s, starting with a second-hand Amstrad PC 1512, later upgrading to a PC with Windows 3.0 and a modem to access BBSes. They describe exploring boot sectors, hex editing, writing games in BASIC and Pascal, and the deep curiosity-driven learning that shaped their understanding of computers from the hardware up.
Usborne offers free PDF downloads of its iconic 1980s computer and coding books, which taught children programming concepts like BASIC and machine code.