Tag: nce

  • Comprehensive Uncle TechTip Simulator

    Around 1988–1991 there was a weekly computer magazine in the UK called New Computer Express. This period coincided roughly with the time I was a freelance writer in the same field.

    For childish reasons now lost to time, a group of us freelancers had a major hate-on for  NCE’s advice columnist. Writing under the name Uncle TechTip, this columnist seemed to answer most questions with something like “Hmm, I don’t know anything about _____. Maybe a reader can help?” Almost without fail, he’d have readers write in answers for next week’s issue.

    Not realizing that Uncle TT’s economy of response was a sly precursor to crowdsourcing websites, the neophyte journo brigade were incensed by his lack of knowledge. One of us wrote an Uncle TechTip Simulator in BASIC, which I recreate from memory for your enjoyment:

    10 CLS
    15 PRINT " *** Uncle TechTip Simulator ***"
    20 PRINT
    25 INPUT "What is your question for Uncle TechTip";a$
    30 PRINT
    35 PRINT "Uncle TechTip's Answer: "
    40 PRINT
    45 PRINT "Hmm, I don't know anything about"
    50 PRINT " ";a$;" ..."
    55 PRINT "Maybe a reader can help?"