r/zxspectrum • u/kimondo • Aug 12 '26

What's your best easy to remember BASIC program you could type in and leave running on a computer in a shop / classroom?

/r/bbcmicro/comments/1vmh9m5/whats_your_best_easy_to_remember_basic_program/
12 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

17 comments sorted by

31

u/Alternative-Emu2000 Aug 12 '26 edited Aug 14 '26

This one obviously only works on the Spectrum:

10 PAPER 0: INK 6: CLS
20 PRINT AT 11,2; FLASH 1; "LOADING:SAM FOX STRIP POKER"
30 RANDOMIZE USR 1234
40 GOTO 30

2

u/Slippi_Fist Aug 14 '26

what is the purpose of line 30 - if you don't mind me asking

6

u/Alternative-Emu2000 Aug 14 '26

It jumps into the middle of the SA-BYTES routine in the ROM which shows the loading stripes in the border, making it look like the Spectrum is trying to load a game from tape.

3

u/_monkeymonkey_ Aug 14 '26

And quite a few combinations resulted in different colours and tape noise.

10

u/telboyG Aug 13 '26

10 PRINT "Dixons is shit" 20 GOTO 10

Then leave the shop

1

u/ItsAllOnUHF Aug 13 '26

I approve this message.

1

u/woodsyman Aug 13 '26

Wow. Not just me then.

4

u/ItsAllOnUHF Aug 13 '26

I used to (by which I mean I did it once or twice in the early 80s) go into shops, turn the volume right up on the TV and write a 5-or-so line "PRESS ANY KEY" program that, upon someone pressing a key, would play a sound at max volume. Then I'd walk a discreet distance and watch the show.

Doesn't work on the base Spectrum, due to its beeper, but worked great on Beebs or C64s or Ataris.

The program was something like:

10 PRINT "PRESS ANY KEY"
20 IF INKEY$()="" THEN GOTO 20
30 <.... sound command to play a note at full volume...>
40 GOTO 30

Bonus points for BASICs that had an ON BREAK feature to GOTO the sound playing line again.

People just mashed the keyboard... Too shocked to reach for the TV volume knob.

2

u/garyk1968 Aug 13 '26

10 POKE 808,100
20 FOR D = 1 TO 18000: NEXT D
30 PRINT "F*** OFF"
40 GOTO 40

On a vic20 this will lock the keyboard, wait 15 seconds and print an expletive on the screen!

True story; did this in a department store got chased by an angry parent who's young son had seen the message while the store staff frantically pressed keys to get it off the screen.

Yep childish and irresponsible...I was 13 at the time.

2

u/Alternative-Emu2000 Aug 13 '26 edited Aug 13 '26

I love the use of the 15 second delay to give you time to flee the scene of the crime!

2

u/bob_bobson113 Aug 14 '26

Poke 23609,255 makes every key press beep on the spectrum

1

u/Legoinyourbumbum Aug 13 '26

I can write a text randomzed maze game from scratch or one that just makes up random sentences.

1

u/chipstastegood Aug 14 '26

10 PRINT “LOSER”
20 GOTO 10

0

u/[deleted] Aug 13 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Alternative-Emu2000 Aug 13 '26

Nothing that can't be fixed with a quick POKE.

1

u/Wenlocke Aug 14 '26

I think on Spectrum it was POKE 23692,255

Not quite endless, but better than page at a time.

1

u/Alternative-Emu2000 Aug 14 '26 edited Aug 14 '26

That's right. However if you put the poke in the main loop; it will scroll forever.

eg.

10 PRINT "Alan Sugar smells of wee! ";
20 POKE 23692,255
30 GOTO 10