*************************************
Commodore Free Magazine
http://www.commodorefree.com/
*************************************
Issue 72
Free to download magazine
dedicated to Commodore computers
Available as PDF, ePUB, MOBI, HTML,
TXT, SEQ and D64 disk image
=====================================
*************************************
CONTENTS
*************************************
* Editorial
* NEWS
- C64 - LEGO
- Bars and Pipes v0.9.98 - OS4
- D1X-Rebirth v0.57.3 - Amiga AGA
- View3K - VIC-20
- High Voltage SID Collection #59
- Making a D64 File of a Floppy
- RGCD Newsletter June 2013
- New IEC Cable Types Available
- SID Known V1.06
- C-64/Amiga Sell Out Summer 2013
- Lunar Rescue - C16
- ITS - Infinity Tape SD2IEC
- TxtToSeq Released
- The E Compiler X (ECX) Project
- NIBTools Update Released
- Boings World #40
- A1200 Repair Video
- Club Info 130 Released
- RL DACC Memory Partitions
- JasmC6502 Released For Android
- New EasyNet Update Available
- WinUAE 2.6.1 Update Released
- AresOne (Model 2013) Is Available
- Computer Saver From Ray Carlsen
- VIC-VODER Voice Synthesisor
- Revival Studios Update
- C&A Fan Issue 10 Released
- Arc64 V2.2 Beta Released
- Ninja Tracker 2.04 Released
- PC Pioneers Top 100 Moments
- AEROS for PI Beta
- Silicon Dreams/VCF 2013
- Ultra Elec. Acquires Varisys
- New! A604n Memory Expansion
- X-bEnCh 0.90alpha
- Antiryad For Aros X86/X64
- WookieChat Open Source
- Atheros Wireless Driver For OS4
- 2013 C4 Expo Cancelled
- Return 14 Released
- Revival Studios Updates
- 8-Bit Designs Multicart 64
- Analogic Computers
- AmiKit For Real Amiga V.0.3
- WinUAE 2.6.0 Available
- New Website/Forums MyTechBrief
- Hyperion Entertainment Blog
- Regenerator 1.3 - By n0stalgia
- The DirMaster V6.2
- Jack 4.0 (MUI) Now Available
- Putty Squad 30th Anniversary
- Pack Chrysalis 3.1.3
- Amiga Encounter HD Wallpaper
- Project Bread Bin... binned
- AmiMag - #01
- Retrogaming Times Monthly 108
- Krieg im Weltraum - C64
- Amiga Future #102
- Spindle for the C64 Released
- Krill's Loader version 146
- Doynamite 1.0 Released
- AmiKit 1.6.5 released
- Aladdin4D to go Shared-Source
- New AGA SDL Development
- Cropky - a new Amiga game
- SteamDraw 2.4 Released
- Public release of ACE128TOS
- PreserveC64DB version 1.1
- Amiga Articles on Obligement
- Amiga History
- RGCD Newsletter April 2013
- Cbmsh Unix Shell
- C16/Plus 4 Game Endings
- C64 - FM Radio
* Review: Berzerk Redux Cartridge
* Review: Vic Amok
* Lenard Roach Q&A Part 2
* Who or What Were CMD
=====================================
EDITOR
Nigel Parker
SPELL CHECKING
Peter Badrick
TXT, HTML & EBOOKS
Paul Davis
D64 DISK IMAGE
Al Jackson
PDF DESIGN
Nigel Parker
WEBSITE
www.commodorefree.com
EMAIL ADDRESS
commodorefree@commodorefree.com
SUBMISSIONS
Articles are always wanted for
the magazine. Contact us for
details. We can't pay you for
your efforts but you are safe in
the knowledge that you have
passed on details that will
interest other Commodore
enthusiasts.
NOTICES
All materials in this magazine
are the property of Commodore
Free unless otherwise stated. All
copyrights, trademarks, trade
names, internet domain names or
other similar rights are
acknowledged. No part of this
magazine may be reproduced
without permission.
The appearance of an advert in
the magazine does not necessarily
mean that the goods/services
advertised are associated with or
endorsed by Commodore Free
Magazine.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright (c) 2013
Commodore Free Magazine
All Rights Reserved.
=====================================
*************************************
EDITORIAL
*************************************
Ok, so I'm out of sync with the
issues (yet again!), which was one of
the reasons I just stuck to numbering
the issues and not putting a month on
them. Strangely, I have just received
a computing magazine that dates
itself 2 months ahead! Anyway, I
digress off topic;
I'm still being hounded by many
readers about the results for the
basic coding competition, especially
as I haven't printed the results or
given any update on the progress . Be
reassured that I haven't forgotten
about the competition. I have two
people working through the entries,
weeding down them to form a top 3.
Some of the entrants for the
competition were absolutely
mind-blowing, and because of the way
they were coded, I enlisted external
help to ensure that they were fairly
marked.
We had the usual skiing type games
with a scrolling up screen on which
users move a character left and right
to avoid the trees. We had variations
on that theme with a space ship
avoiding mines and picking up energy
etc. We even had some demos that took
stock of the examples given, with
scrolling text and eye candy on
screen. I'm sorry it's taking so long
to judge, but it will be worth the
wait when you see the winning
entries. Thanks to everyone who
emailed their entries in. We have
looked at every single one of them
(another reason its taking so long).
To be honest, I was surprised at both
the interest in a basic cometition
and the quality.
CRASHED AND BURNED
Well, I crashed my car, leaving me
both carless and careless. I had to
walk 13 miles to work and another 13
back again on the same day! I was
unable to grab either a bus or lifts
from people on subsequent days due to
my shift pattern. Still, that's no
excuse! Let me tell you the real
reason the issue is so late ....
Well the dog ate it ! (and yes, I
know: I don't have a dog - it was a
stray that ran into the house)
BERZERK
We see a long awaited review of
BERZERK REDUX. We saw the cartridge
release, which has been tweaked over
a number of years, and then just as
we waited for its release, copyright
issues prevented that release. So we
just have the final version as a free
download! Still, it's possible to
burn it to a cartridge should you
wish to do so. Its another of my
favourite games, but it's been done
really well, and captures the essence
of the arcade version that I used to
waste so much money on, and be so
scared of when it actually talked to
me.
We also catch up with Leonard Roach
to finish the interview started in
the last issue for C= Free. We find
out more about some of the software
he created for the c64 machines. We
also find out why he didn't retire a
millionaire.
Then we mix in some news, releases
and information, and we have a
completed magazine!
Thanks for reading - comments and
content are welcomed and encouraged
Regards
Nigel Parker (Editor)
www.commodorefree.com
=====================================
*************************************
NEWS
*************************************
*************************************
C64 - LEGO
*************************************
Chris McVeigh has built a Commodore
C64 entirely from LEGO. In his C64
Adore Edition project he used 82 LEGO
blocks to create the C64. Other
projects he has created with LEGO are
an Apple Macintosh, a Polaroid
camera, a Telephone, an iMac,
Wheatley, Pokeball and many more. You
can download the document which shows
the blocks needed and the assembly
process for free from his website
chrismcveigh.com/cm/lego_projects.htm
l
-------------------------------------
*************************************
BARS AND PIPES V0.9.98 - AMIGA OS4
*************************************
Bars and Pipes is a MIDI sequencer
for the Amiga computer that is being
updated by Alfred Faust. Recent
Changes in this version are : The
preferences are improved. A missing
font is added. The CAMD handling is
completely new and the recording
performance has been improved.
www.os4depot.net/index.php?function=s
howfile&file=audio/misc/barsnpipes.lh
a
-------------------------------------
*************************************
D1X-REBIRTH V0.57.3 - AMIGA AGA
*************************************
D1X-Rebirth is a game for the Amiga
and is a conversion of the 3D first
person shooter Descent. In the game
you must destroy the robots and
rescue the hostages from mines on
different planets. For the game you
will need an AGA Amiga (PAL), 68060
processor, 32MB FastRAM and a copy of
the original game.
OVERVIEW:
Amiga AGA 68k port based on
D1X-Rebirth v0.57.3
REQUIREMENTS:
1. An AGA Amiga (PAL only)
2. A very fast 68060 processor
3. 32MB of FASTRAM
4. The original game (or demo)
5. AHI Installed and setup correctly
INSTALLATION:
Since D1X-Rebirth is a port of the
Descent you will need the
Game-Content data files to run the
game.
Following files are needed to run the
game:
* descent.hog
* descent.pig
Of course you can also use the
Shareware game content which you can
find here:
www.dxx-rebirth.com/game-content/
FEATURES:
1. 256 color double buffered AGA
graphics
2. AHI sound support
3. Joystick support
CONFIGURATION OPTIONS:
* You must run D1X_Rebirth from the
WB, running from the Shell is not
supported.
* You must specify a stack of at
least 300,000.
* The AHI device used will be the one
setup in your AHI Prefs (unit 0).
LIMITATIONS:
1. No network or multi player support
2. No RTG support
3. No CDROM support
4. No music support
PERFORMANCE CONSIDERATIONS:
1. You should always patch
exec.library's CopyMem() and
CopyMemQuick() routines for faster
processor specific versions.
2. Loading your ROM into FASTRAM is a
great idea!
3. Use v4.18 of AHI as the later
versions are too slow!
4. Stick with the 'FAST' 8 bit
Stereo++ modes for AHI (AHI
Prefs).
5. Install HSMathLibs.
LINKS
* www.dxx-rebirth.com/ (DX1_Rebirth
page)
* www.hsmathlibs.de/HSMathLibs_e.html
(The fastest math libraries for
Amiga)
DEVELOPER INFO:
This port uses my new AGA SDL :)
aminet.net/package/game/shoot/D1X_Reb
irth
-------------------------------------
*************************************
VIEW3K - VIC-20
*************************************
Michael has written a viewer program,
that allows you to view pictures that
are in MINIGRAFIK format on an
unexpanded Commodore VIC-20. The
normal viewer needs an extra 8 kByte
RAM and if you want to use MINIPAINT
you need an extra 16 kByte RAM. Very
impressive stuff indeed!
sleepingelephant.com/ipw-web/bulletin
/bb/viewtopic.php?t=5179&start=36
The link also has some other
information of special note is this
Here's the listing. The assignment
'A=5/3' in line 11 refers to PAL,
NTSC users should replace it with
'A=3/2' to compensate for the
different pixel aspect ratio:
CODE:
10 DIMX(11),Y(11),L(12,1)
11 A=5/3:INPUT"ANGLE";P0:
P0={PI}*P0/180
12 FORT=0TO11:READX(T),Y:
Y(T)=SQR(3)*Y:NEXT
13 FORT=0TO12:READL(T,0),L(T,1):NEXT
14 POKE36879,110:POKE646,1:@ON:@CLR
15 P=P0:GOSUB18:P=P0+2*{PI}/3:GOSUB18
:P=P0-2*{PI}/3:GOSUB18
16 FORQ=-1TO0:GETA$:Q=A$="":NEXT:
@RETURN:END
17 :
18 C=COS(P):S=SIN(P):FORT=0TO12
19 L=L(T,0):GOSUB23:X1=X2:Y1=Y2
20 L=L(T,1):GOSUB23:@1,X1,Y1TOX2,Y2
21 NEXT:RETURN
22 :
23 X2=6*(C*X(L)-S*Y(L))/A+80.5:
Y2=96.5-6*(S*X(L)+C*Y(L)):RETURN
24 :
25 DATA 1,-1,3,-3,13,-3,8,2,4,2,7,-1,
1,-5,11,-5,2,0,3,-1,0,-2,0,-4
26 DATA 0,1,1,2,2,3,3,4,4,5,5,0,1,6,
6,7,7,2,4,8,8,9,0,10,6,11
27 :
28 REM ** TRIBAR WRITTEN 2013-05-12
BY MICHAEL KIRCHER
-------------------------------------
*************************************
HIGH VOLTAGE SID COLLECTION
(HVSC) #59
*************************************
There has been an update available of
the High Voltage SID Collection.
There are now more then 43. 856 SIDs
in the collection. In this update 747
new SIDs, 315 fixed/better rips, 629
SID credit fixes, 750 SID model/clock
infos, 14 tunes identified and 42
tunes moved. You can download the
update from the HVSC web page.
www.hvsc.de/
-------------------------------------
*************************************
MAKING A D64 FILE OF A FLOPPY
DISK - YOUTUBE
*************************************
Disk Editor Al Jackson sent me this
link to a YouTube video on how to
create a D64 file of a floppy disks,
the information on YouTube is sparse
but copied here for you to read
Making a D64 file of a floppy disk -
YouTube
This video shows how to make a D64
file of a C64 floppy disk.
Using a old laptop, XA1541 cable,
1541c and the program Gui4CBM4win.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMJycHpIDII
-------------------------------------
*************************************
RGCD NEWSLETTER JUNE 2013
*************************************
Welcome to the (rather late) RGCD
June Newsletter! The past couple of
months have flown by, and despite
there only being a couple of releases
since I last wrote, the lab here at
RGCD HQ is packed full of new
projects in various stages of
completion. More information on some
of these will follow in the coming
months, but for now grab a brew and
feast your eyes on this lot...
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
FULL CIRCLE: ROCKETEER AVAILABLE!
(ATARI JAGUAR CD)
"Flying through space is no picnic.
Commanding an intergalactic space
vessel isn't all plaid blankets and
wicker baskets. All manner of
peculiar happenings might ruin one's
day. Take planets for instance.
They're big. Really big. Often rather
solid, too. For these reasons alone,
it's usually advisable not to involve
yourself in any sort of altercation
with one, particularly when
travelling through hyperspace.
This was now something Space Corps
Commander Gwyn Williams knew only too
well, as, from his vantage point high
in the upper atmosphere, he observed
the fragments of his vessel scattered
over the surface of this particular
example of Big Solid Planet. Sliced
into three sections with the ship's
cargo falling from orbit all around
him, he wondered how this day might
possibly get any worse... Ah! Of
course! An onslaught of deadly rocks
- simply perfect!"
Following the Jaguar CD releases
Kobayashi Maru: Final and Jagware
Collection 1.0, Reboot and RGCD are
back with another serving of
unashamedly old-school arcade
goodness in the form of Full Circle:
Rocketeer. Rebuild and reload your
crashed space craft whilst fending
off endless waves of hostile aliens
and meteors in 16 unique levels
spread over 4 worlds! Full Circle:
Rocketeer features 50/60 FPS fluid
gameplay (PAL/NTSC) powered by
Reboot's Raptor game engine, 8
channel digital sound (music and
effects), collectable bonus items,
online high scores (via webcodes),
MemoryTrack saving and ProPad
controller support.
Priced at £21 (plus £4 UK/Europe
shipping, £5 rest of world) Full
Circle: Rocketeer is available to buy
from our shop page today!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
HUENISON DEMO AVAILABLE! (FULL
VERSION COMING SOON!) (PC/AMIGAOS 4)
After what seems like an eternity in
development, Retream's intense
dot-matrix colour-matching
puzzle-shmup hybrid Huenison is
finally complete and just about ready
to launch! You may recall our
previous enthusiastic preview and
update, but now you can finally
descend into the mind control wells
yourself and experience the game in
the form of a short 5 level demo
available from the Retream website.
Huenison has been developed
specifically for PC and AmigaOS 4,
but on the systems we tested the game
also ran flawlessly through WINE on
both MacOS and Linux. With the full
version of the game due for release
via our online shop in two weeks
time, the demo features 4 of the 9
game modes, 5 out of 25 levels, less
bricks, bonuses, disturbances and
music, no interludes, no ending and
no online high score submission. In
short, you get about a fifth of the
full game for free, just enough to
give a taster of the retro-gaming
chaos to follow!
Grab the demo here (from the Huenison
website), and check out our interview
with Retream's Simone Bevilacqua over
at rgcd.co.uk.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
SHEEPOID DX / WOOLLY JUMPER COMING
SOON! (C64)
After two years simmering away on the
back burner - and about to drop any
day now - RGCD and Pystronik Software
are proud to announce the release of
two specially enhanced games from The
New Dimension; the
graphically-overhauled Sheepoid DX
(featuring all new art by Trevor
"Smila" Storey) and the final full
version of Woolly Jumper (with proper
jumping physics added by Dr. Martin
"Enthusi" Wendt).
Sheepoid DX is a specially enhanced
version of TND's dual-axis Laser Zone
tribute that was originally released
by Psytronik in 2011. Planet Earth is
under attack from Space Goats and
it's your mission to wipe out the
strange alien threat and save the
Earth from ungulate domination!
Woolly Jumper is the full, enhanced
64K version of the game Richard
originally wrote for the RGCD 16K
Cartridge Compo. Poor Pepito the
sheep is lost in Mindspace, and you
must help him escape from this
nightmare by guiding him through 16
levels guarded by Green Martians,
Space Chickens and Wiggly Worms!
Sheepoid DX and Woolly Jumper are PAL
only games, and have been confirmed
working on the C64, C128 and C64GS
(although a second joystick is
required in port one to activate the
smart bomb in Sheepoid DX).
The standard cartridge version is
packaged in a cardboard carton,
whereas the deluxe version uses a
modified plastic Universal Game Case.
The cover art features illustration
and design by Smila and STE'86 and
the game comes complete with a
printed manual, and vinyl RGCD
sticker. The 64KB PCB is housed in
classic black cartridge shell.
Please note that Pystronik Software
are also selling the game on
premium/budget disk and tape for
£9.99, £4.99 and £4.99 respectively
(plus shipping) via their Binary Zone
Retro Store.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
ASSEMBLOIDS IS NOW FREE! (C64)
The previously retail-only enhanced
version of RGCD and Onslaught's
Assembloids is now available for free
download for your emulator or
Commodore 64!
An acclaimed frantic-paced
puzzle/reaction game from Enthusi,
iLKke and Conrad that deservedly took
second prize in the 2012 RGCD game
development competition, Assembloids
is all about assembling robot faces
from four sets as quickly (and
completely) as possible against an
increasingly tight time limit. This
retail version is further enhanced
over the original competition build,
with a refined difficulty curve and
highscore verification codes.
Of course, if you want a physical
copy of the games for your
collections (and who wouldn't?) then
it is still available to buy on
cartridge from our shop here, and
tape users can buy the game from
Psytronik Software.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
FORTHCOMING RELEASES!
Finally, you might be interested to
hear about these forthcoming releases
from RGCD:
* Bomberland (64KB C64 Cartridge)
(TBA)
* Super Bread Box (64KB C64
Cartridge) (TBA)
* You Have To Win The Game (64KB C64
Cartridge) (TBA)
* Trance Sector Ultimate (64KB C64
Cartridge) (TBA)
* Rocket Smash EX (64KB C64 Cartridge
/ Psytronik Tape/Disk/Download)
(TBA)
More game release dates will be
confirmed soon!
Thanks for reading!
James Monkman / Heavy Stylus
-------------------------------------
*************************************
JIM BRAIN NEW IEC CABLE TYPES
AVAILABLE
*************************************
Here is what Jim had to say
For some time, I've offered 12"
stubby molded IEC disk drive cables
in addition to the 48" drive cables
that everyone knows and loves. Both
cable types are manufactured with
molded connectors for a professional
look and additional strength
I have restocked the 12" cables,
having ran out a while back, and I
added a few more options to the list:
I now offer two kinds of IEC drive
cable splitter cables. One offers a
male plug on one end, and both a male
plug and a female jack on the other.
The other offers a male plug to 2
male plugs. These can be used to tidy
up desk space for 1541U/SD2IEC users,
or "add a jack" anywhere in the IEC
chain.
In addition, for the tinkerer, I have
also secured IEC cable "pigtails".
One sports a male plug on one end,
and tinned bare wires on the other,
while a female jack version is also
available. Use these in projects or
to create special splitter options
(just solder like-colored wires of
all of the pigtails together and
insulate.
They are all available now:
store.go4retro.com/products/Commodore
-IEC-Disk-Drive-Cable.html
Jim Brain
brain@jbrain.com
www.jbrain.com
-------------------------------------
*************************************
SID KNOWN V1.06
A SID tune identifier tool released
*************************************
www.acid64.com/download/sidknown/sidk
nown_v106.zip
Wilfred Bos has released V1.06 of the
programme called Sid Known. The
information below is taken from the
readme file that accompanies the
programme.
INTRODUCTION
SID Known is a command line tool
which you can use to identify SID
tunes from SID and PRG files.
This tool can be used if e.g. you
want to know which SID tune is used
in a specific C64 demo or C64 game,
or you have a SID tune found or
ripped and you want to know if it is
already in your SID collection.
The tool was created initially for
the High Voltage SID Collection crew
to make it easier to find double
entries in the C64 music collection.
Since this tool was also requested by
several people, the tool is now
released and can be used by everyone.
The tool creates and uses a small
database which includes hashes from
SID input data. The tool already
includes a database that is created
from the latest HVSC SID Collection
(update #59).
The tool has two methods to identify
SID music. The first method is based
on SID input data. The tool will
internally play the SID tune or run
the PRG file for 3 minutes (as fast
as possible) and then creates a hash
of the generated data and then tries
to look it up in the database.
If the tune can't be identified, it
will try to play the SID tune for
another clock speed (PAL or NTSC). If
it then still can't be identified
then it tries the second method to
identify the tune. The second method
will check the memory usage of the
tune and will search for all the
memory that is read in all the SID
tunes found in the specified HVSC
location. It will create an index
file first to improve search speed.
NOTE: although the tool identifies
most SID tunes correctly, it still
can identify a tune falsely. You
should always check manually if the
found tune is the same as the tune
that you searched for.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
* Windows operating system (Windows
98 or higher).
* Multi core CPU recommended.
-------------------------------------
*************************************
C-64/AMIGA SELL OUT LIST FOR
SUMMER 2013
*************************************
From: Robert Bernardo
To: commodore Free
Subject: C-64/Amiga list for summer
2013
Jim Scabery, Portland, Oregon's last
Commodore dealer, had a close-out on
his Commodore and Amiga hardware and
software about 2 years ago. He is now
in the final stages of the close-out.
For those in the Pacific Northwest,
Jim invites to you to his place to go
through the goods that are left -
packages of new, old stock and used
Commodore and Amiga software,
hardware like C64s, VIC-20s,C128s,
C128Ds, Amiga 1000s, Amiga 500s, 1541
and 1571 and clone drives, monitors,
chips, and more. Here is a message
from Jim, "I'm accepting offers for
the remaining software and bits of
hardware. Come and stop by. Check out
what I have."
If you wish to e-mail Jim, you can
contact him through
victoriousheir(at)gmail.com
If you wish to contact him by phone,
send me a message.
Sincerely,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
videocam.net.au/fcug
July 27-28 Commodore Vegas Expo v9 -
www.portcommodore.com/commvex
-------------------------------------
*************************************
LUNAR RESCUE - C16
*************************************
Daniel Crespo Andrés has made a
Commodore C16 version of the classic
coin-op game Lunar Rescue. The game
is written in BASIC and runs on an
unexpanded C16. The original game was
developed by Taito in 1979.
The idea of the game is to land your
space module safely on one of the
platforms.
A full listing with breakdown of the
code is on his website, however, the
site isn't in English.
www.zonadepruebas.com/viewtopic.php?f
=15&t=3660
-------------------------------------
*************************************
ITS - INFINITY TAPE SD2IEC
*************************************
ITS is a new hardware device from
ManoSoft. The device is an extension
for the C64SD v2.0 Infinity. The
features are: Reading of v1/v2 format
tap files on all CBM machines.
Writing a tap file from the SD card
to a DC2N (1530 or 1531). Start /
Stop management, loud-speaker and a
pass-through Datassette port.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlETiRTfoAU
www.manosoft.it
-------------------------------------
*************************************
TXTTOSEQ RELEASED
*************************************
txttoseq.codeplex.com/
TxtToSeq is a program that translates
between tokenized Commodore SEQ files
and PC Text files. There are many
text editors available for the PC to
create text files, but very few (and
no good ones) for creating Commodore
SEQ files on the PC. The program
allows you to create Commodore SEQ
files on the PC by editing as Text in
your favorite editor and then
converting the text to a Commodore
SEQ file by running this small
utilitity. You can perform the
opposite operation of converting a
Commodore SEQ file to a Text file as
well.
Representing Commodore special
characters on the PC is done through
a markup syntax. The Commodore
computers do not have curly braces
and so they make the perfect tags for
creating the markup syntax.
A few examples of the syntax are as
follows:
Markup Action
{CLEAR} Clear the screen
{UP} Move cursor up one line
{BLUE} Make current color blue
{ULCORNER} Draw the special character
for the upper left corner
of a box
{97} Insert PETSCII character
97 (decimal)
A sample Text document:
{BLUE}Bridge BBS Wait For Call Menu
{RVON}{WHITE}F1{RVOFF}{YELLOW}
Local Login
{RVON}{WHITE}F3{RVOFF}{YELLOW}
Sysop Login
{RVON}{WHITE}F5{RVOFF}{GREEN}
Edit User
{RVON}{WHITE}F7{RVOFF}{GREEN}
Caller Log
-------------------------------------
*************************************
THE E COMPILER X (ECX) PROJECT
*************************************
www.blubbedev.net/ecx/
The E Compiler X (ECX) project was
born in 2002 to replace and improve
on the AmigaE language and compiler
(EC) created by Wouter van
Oortmerssen that was discontiniued in
1998. ECX is written from scratch in
E and compiles itself. It is fast,
stable, resource efficient, highly
compatible, generates quite okayish
code (for multiple targets) and adds
a considerable amount of (actually
useful) new features and improvements
:)
-------------------------------------
*************************************
NIBTOOLS UPDATE RELEASED
*************************************
c64preservation.com/files/nibtools/
Pete Rittwage has released a new
version of NIBTOOLS.
NIBTOOLS is a system to transfer data
from original diskettes to a G64 or
D64 disk image. These diskette images
can be used with emulators or can be
used to create new (real) diskettes.
Changes in this version: Support for
half tracks for almost all the tools.
Nibconv now creates "standard" G64
files, which can have a different
maximum track lengths, speed zones,
and missing (unformatted) tracks.
Improvements for ZoomFloppy.
REQUIREMENTS:
Commodore Disk Drive model 1541,
1541-II or 1571, modified to support
the parallel XP1541 or XP1571
interface [1]
XP1541 or XP1571 cable and XE1541,
XA1541, or XM1541 cable [1]
or XEP1541, XAP1541, or XMP1541
combination cable [1]
or XUM1541 (ZoomFloppy) with OpenCBM
0.5+
Windows NT/2000/XP/Vista/Windows 7,
x64 or x86 Editions, with OpenCBM
0.4.2 or higher
Linux with OpenCBM 0.4.0 or higher,
MS/DR/Caldera DOS and cwsdpmi.exe
software (no longer tested but still
compiles with DJGPP for old <=P3
hardware)
-------------------------------------
*************************************
BOINGS WORLD #40
*************************************
boingsworld.de/
A new episode of BoingsWorlds (the
German language Podcast) is now
available. In this podcast You can
listen to the following articles:
X-Surf, AresOne PPC, CC 2013 Berlin,
Petro Tyschtschenko A1200, Alinea
Umbrella, Retro Rechner Quartett,
Amiga Forever, Dave Needle, Aladdin
4D, KEYRAH V2, Indivision AGA,
Richard Löwenstein (Kultboy), Lets
Bounce,Twinky Goes Hiking,
Quadranoid, Cubis, Topcross, North
Sea Inferno, Norse Gods Amiga,
Wendetta 2175 Amiga, Amiga Joker,
Spieleschreiber Blog, Return Magazin,
Retro Gamer and the Retro meeting
Radio Paralax Video.
-------------------------------------
*************************************
A1200 REPAIR VIDEO
*************************************
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfHU97FmdU4
RetroGameModz has made a video about
the audio repair of an Amiga 1200. In
the video you can see many tips and
working methods for repairing retro
hardware such as: Visual inspection,
audio filter circuit, testing,
schematics, measurements,
disassembling, new components and
final testing.
RETROGAMEMODZ SAYS
This Amiga 1200 motherboard first
came in with an audio problem. It was
easy to see during initial inspection
that this motherboard had been
"recapped" earlier. I was not very
impressed with how the solder joints
on the electrolytic capacitors looked
...
In fact, the extremely poor solder
job done on this motherboard by the
previous recapper was the reason the
motherboard had to come in to me for
repair in the first place.
In this documented repair, I go
through the process of locating and
repairing the audio problem. I also
put some focus on the solder job, as
well as a few other bits and pieces
that I wanted to fix up before
sending the motherboard back to its
owner.
I also present to you a rather stupid
mistake I made during the repair of
this motherboard in order to make it
possible for you guys to learn from
my mistakes as well. I then perform a
lot of testing before finally packing
the motherboard and sending it off.
The message from this video stands
clear - If you do not have the right
tools and skills to solder, you might
be much better off just leaving your
motherboard alone. Because soldering
without any knowledge of how to do it
right means that there is a big risk
of damaging the motherboard, which
can actually make it work worse than
it did before. This whole repair is a
very good example of such a result,
since the motherboard would never
have come in to me for repair if it
hadn't been for the horrible work
performed by the previous recapper.
It is of course not possible to learn
how to solder without a bit of
practice first. However, there is
lots of electronic equipment out
there to practice on, like scrap PC
motherboards for example. In my
opinion, Amiga motherboards should
not be seen as solder practicing
PCBs.
"We, the people of the Amiga
community, need to take good care
of the hardware in order to
preserve it. Anyone who cares about
the maintained existence of Amiga
hardware should realize that
soldering onto the motherboard
without any knowledge of how to do
it correctly will most probably
destroy the Amiga more than it will
preserve it."
So if you have an Amiga or other
piece of retro hardware that you want
to have repaired, and if that repair
requires soldering, I would recommend
you to ask someone for help if you
don't feel absolutely comfortable
doing it yourself. This goes
especially for hardware that you care
about and want to preserve. If you
choose to not follow this advice,
it's possible that your motherboard
will end up lying on my workbench one
day... :)
The transparent tape used in the
video to attach the wire to the
motherboard:
Google for "Double Sided Tape with
Red Release Paper and Transparent
Foam".
If you live in Sweden, you can buy it
here: www.clasohlson.com/se/Montering
stejp-Super/31-1633
The yellowish tape used in the video
is called "kapton tape" or "polyimide
tape". Ebay, amazon, your local
electronics store... It can be found
just about anywhere.
Feel free to leave questions and
comments in the comment section for
the video.
-------------------------------------
*************************************
CLUB INFO 130 FOR THE C16 RELEASED
*************************************
This is a German language d64
magazine or disk magazine for the
Commodore C116, C16 and the Plus/4,
containing the following articles:
Forum, For Sale, Tips & Tricks, CBM
Filebrowser, General F-Copy,
Asteriods, Liberator, Galaxy Wars,
Tunnel, Computer Spaß, Plus/4 Itern
(10), Games Guide: Lode Runner and
Scapeghost, User Guide: Games Creator
and Other Systems.
plus4world.powweb.com/software/Club_I
nfo_130
-------------------------------------
*************************************
RL DACC MEMORY PARTITIONS
*************************************
COMMODORE FREE: I saw this email
recently and thought I'd share with
readers this mistake that I've made
myself! I've been baffled by this,
stuck in a loop trying the same thing
over and over (a sure sign of
madness). I tried the same thing as
Terry, and it all worked. Now I don't
like printing out email trails, but I
think others will find this
information useful, especially if you
are stuck in the loop of wondering
why the whole thing doesn't work! [If
I edit any of this, there's a danger
that a procedure will get messed up,
so I'll leave it verbatim. Sounds
like there's enough pain going on
already - Sub-Ed]
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
From: Terry Raymond
To: C= email list
Subject: RL DACC memory partitions
Hi all,
I wanted to rephrase what I posted
about the RL DACC memory partitions.
I did some homework on this right
from the addendum manual that came
with my Ramlink.
The Ramlink utility disk has software
for creating the DACC partition. The
device number is what is important,
The DACC accesses the actual memory
ONLY using device# 22 or higher.
using Device 8 or 9 or to 21 will not
work, these device numbers only use
the memory AS a disk drive and not
accessing the RAM.
I made that same mistake myself, when
I tried to create the DACC partition
(using device 8) the Ramlink red
error light would come on and stay on
until I removed the bad partition.
Using Device 22 then worked I made a
1581 DACC, I booted Wheels and up
popped a DIALOGUE box which had a
list of all detected RAM expansion
devices, including the DACC memory
partition. I selected the DACC and
Wheels booted perfectly using this
configuration.
So it was good for me to learn how to
make this work, I wanted to share
this with anybody here that uses
GEOS/ Wheels OS. I really didn't try
this with GEOS but Wheels handled
this type of ram very well.
It made me do my homework and I made
it work.
-Terry Raymond
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
COMMODORE FREE: And here is a
response
-----Original Message-----
From: Snogpitch
To: C= email list
Subject: Re: RL DACC memory
partitions
If you are using you RamLink only for
Wheels, you can have your DACC a
minimum of 128K (512 blocks), then
you can use your remaining ram for a
single native partition, to make it
easier to put large quantities of
files without switching around in
various partitions.
If you plan to use geos as well,
this might not be your best option.
The RL/RD setup on side two of your
RamLink utilities disk makes setting
everything up easy the first time. It
is a destructive program that will
clear all partitions on the RamLink.
I've got my RamLink maxed out at
16mb, so for geos compatibility I
used the 512k DACC + 1581 partition,
using the RL/RD setup, then go to
Ramtools on side one of the Ramlink
utility disk to create my native
partition for Wheels. Keep in mind
geos does require the configure file
from the RamLink disk to be
recognized correctly under Geos 2.0.
Had you mentioned you were trying to
set up your DACC for Wheels, in your
earlier posts, some of us would have
had a better idea of suggestions to
get you up and running quicker.
Snogpitch
ICQ: 4989342
home.fuse.net/snogpitch/
-------------------------------------
*************************************
JASMC6502 RELEASED FOR ANDROID
PLATFORM
*************************************
Program your machine from the comfort
of your favourite chair, at the
airport, waiting for a bus or
whenever the call of nature beckons
you. This Android utility is
programmed by Uppercase Software,
which just seems to consist of one
member at the moment called "CSixx"
The software is available to download
now.
More information can be found here
csdb.dk/release/?id=119779
Or you can just download the file
from here
csdb.dk/getinternalfile.php/118137/ja
smC6502.apk
-------------------------------------
*************************************
NEW EASYNET UPDATE AVAILABLE
*************************************
EasyNet is a comprehensive network
and internet connectivity solution
for the Classic Amiga
News from amigakit
EasyNet, the networking software for
Classic Amiga computers has now been
updated.
NEW FEATURES INCLUDE:
* support for WPA in the wireless
settings: ideal for Neil
Cafferkey's prism2v2 driver
* you can now change wireless
networks on the fly without going
offline then online again.
* wireless networks can be now
temporarily be used and not
permanently saved
* fixed bug for NTSC users running
640x200 screen mode
* fixed bug in Connect to SMB share
list window
* fixed bugs in the Live Update
function, window and progress bar
* various internal changes ready for
new wireless functions under
development
The update build 175 is now available
from the Live Update server and also
on our webstore here amigakit.leamanc
omputing.com/catalog/product_info.php
?products_id=806
This update is only for customers who
have previously purchased EasyNet
from us. We will need your EasyNet
serial number when ordering the
update (found in EasyNet's About
menu).
We would like to thank users for
their patience with this update.
Various other projects delayed
EasyNet from being developed,
however, a series of new functions
are now planned for the next year.
www.amigakit.com/easynet
-------------------------------------
*************************************
WINUAE 2.6.1 UPDATE RELEASED
*************************************
Toni Wilen has released version 2.6.1
of WinUAE fixing some previous bugs
and adding some new features to the
application
2.6.0 BUGS FIXED:
* OFS formatted partition hardfile
didn't mount.
* Some AGA demos had horizontally
duplicated graphics.
* Direct3D hq2x shader filter did
nothing.
OTHER BUGS FIXED:
* Reset didn't fully reinitialize
SCSI emulation.
* A3000 SCSI emulation compatibility
improved, original A3000 1.4 ROM
driver hung during writing to the
disk.
NEW FEATURES:
* Input panel Invert option added
(press becomes release and vice
versa, joystick and mouse movement
is inverted)
* FPU unimplemented instruction
emulation can be optionally
disabled, emulates real 68040/68060
CPU behavior.
* >2M Chip RAM is now merged with
original Chip RAM pool.
Visit the WinUAE homepage
www.winuae.net/ to download.
-------------------------------------
*************************************
ARESONE (MODEL 2013) IS AVAILABLE
*************************************
Information taken from a press
release
The AresOne (model 2k13) is available
at www.ares-shop.de
As usual, it is an AROS (native)
compatible hardware. Additionally it
comes with AMC and an AEROS
live-installer pendrive.
www.ares-shop.de/product_info.php?lan
guage=de&products_id=30
Everything above my self-costs will
be used for AROS bounties and or
projects.
Developers can ask for discounts.
German people can ask for a monthly
payment (the possible options are
from 1k € , 36,60 or 80 month).
-------------------------------------
*************************************
COMPUTER SAVER FROM RAY CARLSEN
*************************************
From: Robert Bernardo
To: commodoreFree
Subject: Computer Saver from Ray
Carlsen
Ray Carlsen, veteran Commodore repair
technician, is now selling Computer
Saver (an improved version of his
original Computer Saver, the
schematic of which had been on his
website for years). Like the
original, his new Computer Saver
functions as a voltage limiter when
plugged in-line between the C64 and
the C64 power supply. Read what Ray
says about his product --
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Hi,
Photos of the construction of those
savers are on my site -- personalpage
s.tds.net/~rcarlsen/cbm/c64/SAVER/EXT
ERNAL/
AN EXTERNAL "COMPUTER SAVER"
PROTECTION DEVICE FOR THE C64
This shows a small run of the
Computer Saver I designed. It is made
to be installed between any C64 and
its power supply. The two LED's on
the Saver case are indicators of the
PS status. The LED on the left
monitors the 9VAC from the supply and
it should be on all the time the PS
is plugged in to AC power, whether
the computer is on or off. The other
LED (marked "failsafe") is normally
off. It only comes on if the PS fails
due to a shorted internal regulator.
That fault is what damages chips in
the computer, most often the RAM.
Since there is already an LED on the
computer case which monitors the
regulated +5VDC, the one on the Saver
was considered unnecessary.
The cost of the Saver is $50 US. That
price could be reduced somewhat with
a larger production run, but unless
there is greater interest in this
device, I'm not ready to tool up for
that. More than half that amount was
spent for parts, including shipping.
Any time something is hand-made and
parts are individually purchased, the
price of the end product will be
higher than people expect. The
construction of a stand-alone device
is normally higher than the same
circuit built into a computer such as
the C64. That's due to the added
expense of a case, cable wire and
connectors as well as the added time
it takes to assemble the device.
There are few shortcuts, so the price
is firm.
One version of this device has been
seen for sale on the Internet, but
the builder likely didn't consider
one thing when constructing it. Most
importantly, the "trip" point of the
Saver is critical. That is the exact
voltage level at which the device
cuts off power to the computer.
Because of variable tolerances of
some of the components, the trip
point must be manually set with an
accurate voltmeter and variable bench
power supply. This setting is done as
a last step after the device is
built. If it is set too high, the
computer is still at risk, and if too
low, the device may cut power with a
normal power supply that has a
slightly abnormal but acceptable
output level during a "no load"
condition such as when the supply is
plugged in to AC power but the
computer is turned off. Keeping those
voltage limits in mind, I found the
optimum trip point to be between 5.3
and 5.4 volts DC. RAM chips have an
absolute maximum rating of 5.5 volts,
so the protector must be set to below
that value.
Because the protectors' LEDs are on
its case, I decided to make the cable
between it and the computer rather
short - about one foot long - so
those LEDs can be monitored. If
desired, that cable can be made
longer so that the protector is off
the desktop. However, very long
cables will reduce the voltage at the
computer since it draws nearly one
Amp in normal operation. The short
cable seemed like the best
arrangement.
Ray
See Computer Saver on exhibit at
CommVEx,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
videocam.net.au/fcug
July 27-28 Commodore Vegas Expo v9 -
www.portcommodore.com/commvex
-------------------------------------
*************************************
VIC-VODER
Voice Synthesisor For The VIC/C64/128
*************************************
From: Rick Melick
To: commodorefree@commodorefree.com
Subject: press release
TAKEN FROM THE WEBSITE
VIC-VODER (Vocal Output DEmonstratoR)
is a brand new voice synthesizer for
the Commodore VIC-20/C64/C128 that
features some of the latest
advancements in speech technology.
The system was invented in Silicon
Valley and is available to order now.
VIC-VODER features an all-in-one
design that simply plugs into the
User Port to produce quality
text-to-speech (English). Talking is
as simple as a PRINT statement. A
built-in amplifier and speaker
complete the entire package. The
architecture is "open," which makes
it a terriffic platform for the
development community and hackers.
You can upgrade your system as new
features become available in the
months and years ahead.
HISTORY OF THE VIC-VODER
Voice synthesizers for legacy systems
are getting harder and harder to find
these days. The inspiration for
VIC-VODER is to provide modern-day
users, enthusiasts, hobbyists and
collectors of vintage computer
systems an easy means to take full
advantage of all the latest
advancements in speech technology,
while maintaining a form-factor and
interface suitable for legacy
systems.
Back in the day, low-end units
required manual translation of
allophones or phonemes from lookup
tables in manuals, combined with
PEEKs and POKEs, to form words and
sentences. Their price was relatively
attractive, and they opened up the
world of speech to budding developers
at home.
The high-end units were primarily
designed as assistive technology and
were incredibly expensive ($370.00+).
These units processed streams of
printable ASCII characters and
automated the conversion to
allophones or phonemes for the
synthesizer to reproduce as human
speech. They were therefore easier to
use, but voice quality still left a
lot to be desired. Research into
speech technology has continued over
the past 30 years, of course, and is
much better today.
The concept for a modern day Voice
Synthesizer for legacy computers
began in April, 2013 after the
AtariVox+ began shipping for
retro-gaming consoles. An early,
silicon-based approach was abandoned
in May. A second approach began in
June that resulted in VIC-VODER.
VIC-VODER only requires your computer
to connect to its USER PORT. Nothing
else is needed. Everything is
contained within the system itself.
...Except for what you want it to
say:
1 OPEN 1,2,3,CHR$(10)
2 PRINT#1, "HELLO WORLD"
3 END
Now you have the power to say
whatever you want. Speaking is as
easy as 1, 2, 3. That's VIC-VODER.
Click here for VIC-VODER product
specifications and sales information:
goo.gl/nx64h
-------------------------------------
*************************************
REVIVAL STUDIOS - GAME
DEVELOPMENT FOR CLASSIC SYSTEMS
*************************************
Although this news item is "not
actually commodore related"!
News from martijn (Revival Studios)
A full june update will be mailed
soon, but here is a quick update on
the release of mage 2 (videopac /
odyssey2), for those that don't want
to miss out.
All information about the game at:
www.revival-studios.com/?page=175
It has information, trailer, preview
trailer and a 'making of' feature.
RELEASE INFORMATION:
The game will be available in a Light
and Dark Edition (75 copies each).
Depending on the edition the game
will start in the Dark or Light world
and will experience different levels,
layouts, enemy patterns and
difficulty accordingly. The
light-edition will be slightly easier
than Mage: The Enchanted Crystals and
will come in a blue cover, whereas
the dark edition will have a red
cover and will be slightly harder
than the first Mage game.
The games are 39 euros each.
Refurbished plastic videopac cases
for the games are available for an
additional 5 euros.
For those interested in both
editions, you can buy them together
at a discounted price 75 euros.
COLLECTORS EDITION:
There will also be a Collectors
Edition of the game (20 copies) that
will contain both editions of the
game, a special Mage2 keychain and an
A3-sized double-sided poster for the
game, priced at 99 euros. So far 4
copies have been allocated to myself
and Ren, and things like competition
prizes and 10 copies have been
randomly allocated via dice-roll to
preorders from loyalty-program
members, leaving only 6 copies
available via regular sale. Each day
I will diceroll 1 copy until all
slots are filled. Email me if you are
interested (email address available
on my website).
Here is a list of allocated copies:
1. Martijn
2. Rene
3. Competition prize
4. Other usage
5. Jeremy Stockman
6. Maurice
7. Bill Loguidice
8. Russ Perry jr.
9. Ian Baronofsky
10. Thomas Becker
11. George Hayward
12. Pere Gomez
13. Geri
14. Rayxamber
15. *dice rolled on 26/6/2013*
16. *dice rolled on 27/6/2013*
17. *dice rolled on 28/6/2013*
18. *dice rolled on 29/6/2013*
19. *dice rolled on 30/6/2013*
20. *dice rolled on 1/7/2013*
Currently taking a few pictures.
Packaging photos will be up soon.
Even though a full update is
incoming, you can also reply if you
want to order the regular edition(s)
of this game.
Kind regards,
martijn
Revival Studios - Game development
for Classic systems such as the Atari
, Colecovision, Commodore, MSX , Sega
, Videopac/Odyssey2 , Vectrex , ZX81
and more.
www.revival-studios.com
-------------------------------------
*************************************
C&A FAN ISSUE 10 RELEASED
*************************************
ca-fan.pl/ca-fan-10/
C&ACommodore and Amiga Polish
Magazine Reaches issue 10
Sorry, but as it's in Polish, I can't
really comment on what it contains or
how good a read it is. However, it's
professionally laid out, and is
available in 2 download versions:
high quality and low quality with
corresponding download sizes.
-------------------------------------
*************************************
ARC64 V2.2 BETA RELEASED
*************************************
csdb.dk/release/?id=114135
Arc64 V2.2 beta - © 2002-2012 Graham
- 31.12.2012
Arc64 is a small tool to deal with
D64, T64, LNX and ZipCode archives.
It can be used to edit D64 images,
run D64 images in the WinVice
emulator, run PRG files via CodeNet,
convert T64, LNX, PRG, ZipCode and
other formats to D64.
A key feature is the drag & drop
support. If you drop a D64 image, it
will be opened instead of the
currently opened D64 image. If you
drop any kind of other file, Arc64
will try to add it to the D64 image.
Formats like T64, LNX and P00 will
automatically extracted into the D64
image as PRGs.
Any changes to a D64 won't be saved
automatically, you either have to
drag the header of the directory into
an explorer window, or you have to
use the Save-option from the menus.
Arc64 may also be called via command
line with a file name as argument.
KEY SHORTCUTS:
R - Rename/Edit directory entry
D - Delete file(s)
H - Edit header
V - Validate disk
+/- - Next/Previous disk image
LMB - Select file(s)/Drag file(s)
RMB - Send file via CodeNet
ESC - Exit
Return/Enter - Create temporary D64
and start emulator
There also is a broken support for
Atari disk images (ATR/DCM/XFD).
-------------------------------------
*************************************
NINJA TRACKER 2.04 RELEASED FOR
THE C64
*************************************
csdb.dk/release/?id=119721
INTRODUCTION
NinjaTracker V2.x is still a somewhat
minimal music editor. Main
differences to previous versions are:
general purpose commands (or
instruments), two-column tables, and
a slide function that knows to stop
at the target pitch.
Customization is allowed and
encouraged!
www: covertbitops.c64.org
NinjaTracker V2.04
RELEASE CONTENTS:
ninjatr2.d64 - Disk image with the
editor itself and example tunes
example.prg - Gamemusic player
example program
nt2play.s - DASM format sourcecode
for the gamemusic player
ins2nt2.exe - Utility for converting
GoatTracker V1.x or V2.x instruments
to use as sound effects for the
gamemusic player
/src directory- Sourcecode of the
editor & example. DASM, Pucrunch and
c64tools package from
covertbitops.c64.org are required to
rebuild.
Example tune "EfnCold" by Adam
Morton.
VERSION HISTORY
V2.0
* Original
V2.01
* Gamemusic sound effect routine
optimized
* ins2nt2 updated for different data
ordering
* Current time position in pattern is
shown alongside total duration
* Packed size ("Ps") of pattern is
shown in hexadecimal
* Testing the last edited command
also works in tables
* ProTracker and DMC note entry modes
are switchable
V2.02
* Hardrestart is now 2 frames by
default (init waveform has gatebit
off)
* Zeropage use reduced to 2 bytes
* Table editor limits absolute
arpeggio notes to valid range
V2.03
* Hardrestart is 2 frames + 1 silent
frame for note init ("hifi" style)
* Duration range changed to 3-65
* No duration restrictions on
transpose & song loop
* Playback optimizations changed
* Slide goes to the last
waveform/arpeggio step when
finished, not to a delayed arpeggio
step anymore
V2.04
* Reset transpose when a subtune is
played from the beginning
-------------------------------------
*************************************
WIKI PCPEDIA PC PIONEERS TOP 100
MOMENTS LITE VERSION
*************************************
COMMODORE FREE: I received an email
from the Pc Pioneers they said that a
lite version of pc 100 moments, Doing
a quick scan, I couldn't see
Commodore listed in the top 100
headings, and how they can't be is
anyone's guess, unless they were tied
in with something else, but with 100
pages to scan, anyone spot something
Commodore related?
Stop press found something moment 50
wikipcpedia.com/100-pc-moments-index/
pc-moments-50-tramiel-and-commodore-1
977/
and
wikipcpedia.com/100-pc-moments-index/
pc-moments-45-low-cost-mpus-1975/
Great that's two moments
and some links here about Jack
tramiel
thepcpioneers.com/members/user956
Also found Chuck Peddle
thepcpioneers.com/members/user743/
Searching the site reveals some
commodore information, so they
haven't wiped out the company like
many of these sites do!
This is the email:
We have just released PC Moments -
'The PC Pioneers Lite' - this has
selected the 100 most important PC
Moments that we believe contributed
to deliver the PC and the Net as we
know them today - and the 400 PC
Pioneers who delivered them.
wikipcpedia.com/100-pc-moments-index/
pc_moments_foreword/
-------------------------------------
*************************************
AEROS FOR PI - BETA AVAILABLE ON
SD-CARD
*************************************
The AEROS-distribution for Raspberry
Pi is now in beta phase and can be
purchased on SD-card. Existing
customers and donators, should have
got a email with login-data to get
the image from www.aeros-os.org as
well.
AEROS is a Linux-hosted
AROS-distribution. This version for
Raspberry-Pi works a little bit
faster (video) than the last beta. A
light version will be made available
for free.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ovapju44ABU
CHANGES IN BETA 1:
* Moved to debian wheezy
* Made AROS autostarting
* Changed base application in respect
to the Pi's performance
CHANGES IN BETA 2:
* Fixed "lx - command"
* > launching linux apps is now
working properly
* deactivated unnecessary services to
improve startup and SD-access.
Don't mix this with AROS native. A
native Version for the Pi is in the
works. It is a "AROS hosted"
distribution.
There is high interest in the
Raspi-Image so i ran out of traffic
many times.
I hope to reach everyone who bought a
single app or donated in the past.
(www.ares-shop.de or
www.aros-broadway.de or
www.aeros-os.org). If i missed
someone, please email me.
You can but don't need to buy an SD
card here on ebay:
www.ebay.de/itm/AEROS-for-Raspberry-P
I-beta-on-SD-card-/151061981128?pt=Kl
assische_Computer&hash=item232bfee7c8
Shipping is included (EU/UK). If you
feel it is too much, you can make a
price offer. You will get a login for
aeros-os.org and lifetime of
upgrades/updates.
Genesi will bring new ARM systems,
MESA supports some ARM GPU's (eg
A220) so HostGL as on AROS hosted x86
could become reality.
While the Pi is not the ideal desktop
system, it is cheap, and developers
can begin to port apps and games.
The money will be collected and
reused for ARM specific bounties.
I use ebay because "you" can see how
many are sold, which makes things as
transparent as possible.
-------------------------------------
*************************************
SILICON DREAMS/VCF 2013 UK TECH EVENT
*************************************
Information take from the Webiste
The above event will be taking place
on 5-7 JULY 2013 -
At SNIBSTON DISCOVERY MUSEUM, ASHBY
ROAD, COALVILLE, LEICESTERSHIRE LE67
3LN.
The Saturday and Sunday are the
general days for the public when the
Amiga area will be up and running.
Members of Amiga North Thames will be
present, and we will have various
Classic Amiga computers running
classic games such as Stunt Car racer
and multi player Skidmarks on various
tables.
Alongside the Classic Amiga stuff
there will of course be new
AmigaOS4.x machines running various
bits and bobs.
AROS and MOS will also be
represented.
I am proud to announce that AmigaKit
and A-EON will be in attendance
throughout the whole weekend selling
and demonstrating products.
On a personal note, this will be the
last UK Amiga event I will be
co-ordinating. It has been a
frustrating experience this time
round, with many emails going
unanswered.
So, lets all have a final hoorah! -
Hope to see you all there!
Event Website:
www.silicondreams.org.uk/
-------------------------------------
*************************************
ULTRA ELECTRONICS ACQUIRES
PRIVATELY-HELD AMIGAONE X-1000
MAKER VARISYS
Quick Facts
*************************************
www.rttnews.com/2131234/ultra-electro
nics-acquires-privately-held-varisys-
quick-facts.aspx
Ultra Electronics Holdings Plc.
(ULE.L) Thursday said it has acquired
privately-held Varisys Limited for an
initial cash consideration of 16
million pounds. Additional payments
of up to 2 million pounds will be
payable, based on performance over
the next two years.
Varisys is a designer and
manufacturer of products for
high-performance, embedded computing
applications. Its products and
services portfolio includes bespoke
solutions for customers operating in
the aerospace, defence,
telecommunications, and industrial
sectors.
The acquisition will give Ultra an
organic capability in this niche
area, allowing group businesses to
meet customer requirements more
quickly and cost-effectively.
Varisys is a British company based in
High Wycombe, UK. It was acquired
from its founders Paul Gentle and
Adam Barnes, both of whom would
remain with the business under Ultra
ownership.
-------------------------------------
*************************************
NEW! A604N MEMORY EXPANSION
*************************************
www.amigakit.com
The new A604n memory expansion for
the Amiga 600 replaces the older,
discontinued design.
Features a clockport expansion header
for compatible upgrades.
It is now available for pre-ordering,
and orders will be sent from our
store next week.
Features
A604N MEMORY EXPANSION FOR THE AMIGA
600
* Expand your A600 to 2MB chip memory
* 22-pin clockport header for adding
selected clockport expansions to
your A600
* Expansion port for the new
Indivision ECS
scandoubler/flickerfixer
* Fits into trapdoor (under side of
Amiga 600). Printed instructions
included.
* 2 year warranty
* Optional Real Time Clock Module -
same RTC as ACA 1220/1232.
The second clockport is designed for
use with the Subway USB controller
(available separately). The Subway
can be mounted at the same time as an
optional Indivision ECS as shown in
the picture below:
DIRECT PRODUCT LINKS:
UK Store:
amigakit.leamancomputing.com/catalog/
GBP.php?url=product_info.php?products
_id=1151
Europe:
amigakit.leamancomputing.com/catalog/
EUR.php?url=product_info.php?products
_id=1151
USA:
www.amigakit.us/product_info.php?prod
ucts_id=1151
Canada:
amigakit.leamancomputing.com/catalog/
CAD.php?url=product_info.php?products
_id=1151
-------------------------------------
*************************************
X-BENCH 0.90ALPHA
The Amiga Game Launcher & More !
*************************************
News from JimNeray
X-bEnCh 0.9A is available !
X-bEnCh is an Amiga game launcher &
More …
With 128 colors on screen (even on a
simple A500), this Frontend can
autoscan your hard-drive to find all
your whdload games or your .exe and
organize them in launching listings.
X-bEnCh can also manage manuals
listings and have an internal script
system, the X-bEnCh Scripts (For non
whdload games for exemple). It
requires very few ressouces, and is
compatible with all Amiga setups.
X-bEnCh also has an integrated CLI
fully compatible with the Workbench
CLI features.
As always you can download it on Jim
Neray / Amiga Dev www.jimneray.com/
Please note that this version is not
complete. I put it online because
there has been no update since last
March, but all is not yet
implemented. I will soon release some
new 0.9x updates (0.91/0.92 / ...) to
add all the missing features and fix
some bugs that are already known.
MAIN NEW FEATURES:
Top15 listing - This new feature is
able to create a top of all your
lists. Note that the top15 is already
functional as previously planned.
Thedatabase is created from the 0.8x
versions.
Multikeys FastJump - Simply type the
name of the game that you want, and
the new search engine will drive you
directly to it
XplorEr - The long awaited X-bEnCh
file manager is finally here! Still
young, it will evolve quickly in the
next release.
ACTUAL FEATURES LIST:
* 128 colors on screen for all Amiga
* Autoscan and organize your whdload
.slave and yours .exe from your HD
* Unlimited subdir level scan
* Internal script system
* Up to 6 launching lists in parallel
* Unlimited number of entries in each
list
* Top15 listing
* Autoscan and use Whdload Tooltypes
* If no Tooltypes are available, you
can set up default Tooltypes.
* MegaRam mode to gain extra chipram
without rebooting
* FastJump mode to jump where you
want in a list from the keyboard
* Files/Dirs manager included
(Xpl0rEr)
* Integrated cLi 100% Amiga cli
compatible
* System friendly setup panel
* Dedicated installer for an easy
installation
* Many more will come in the next
releases.
COMPLETE RELEASE NOTE:
X-bEnCh 0.90Alpha (06/06/13)
Xinit1.7
* Now updates the Top15 list in the
Init process.
* Now checks if some args are sets
with the setup for the loadwb cmd.
* Is now able to init to the Xplorer
if set in the setup.
Xmenu1.6
* Bug with a mouse plugged in the
joyport1 fixed.
* The menu is sorted with the Xplorer
in 2nd position now.
* You can now use the "Enter" key to
validate your choice.
Xlaunch1.9
* Top15 feature implemented.
* Multikeys Fastjump implemented.
* Added the display of the WhdL
Requester if enabled in the setup.
* Bug with the Microsys joy/mouse
adapter driver fixed.
* Bug with a mouse plugged in the
joyport1 fixed.
* Fixed the repeat latency of the
"Tab" key.
* You can now use the "Enter" Key to
validate your choice.
Xcli0.71
* Added the "topupdate" cmd to
manually update the top15 list.
* Updated the "help" cmd.
Xplorer0.1
* Very first public version of the
Xbench Files/Dirs manager.
Xsetup1.6
* Reactivity optimised.
* No you can use the setup (if you
want) without mouse or keyboard.
* Added a path requestor for the 6
launching lists.
* Renamed the "Boot From" to "Boot
To" in the "Startup" tab.
* Added a LoadWB args textfield to
the "Startup" tab.
* Added the Top15 On/Off switch to
the launcher tab.
* Added the WhdLReq On/Off switch to
the launcher tab.
* Look optimised.
* "Xplorer" option added to the "Boot
To" switch in the startup tab.
Xexit0.6
* Better temp files cleaning before
leaving.
Xinstaller0.4
* The ASL path requester is now
disabled if you don't have rom
2.0+.
* Custom text font issue fixed.
* Bug when using a custom file system
(SFS for example) is fixed.
* "D" (Directory) button is renamed
to "P" for Path requester.
-------------------------------------
*************************************
ANTIRYAD - NEW COMMERCIAL
3D-ENGINE FOR AROS X86/X64 (68K
PLANNED)
*************************************
Antiryad Gx is a unified cross
platform and multi core 2d and 3d
game engine that has been in
development since 1997. The
information about the program says
that it today rivals and even
surpasses many commercial game
engines in feature-set and stability.
MAIN FEATURES
* Complete 2d and 3d graphic engine.
* Integrated editor and tools.
* Particle, water and volumetric fog
effects.
* Fast collision system.
* Realtime shadows.
* Video codec for mobile and desktop
systems.
* Full game framework.
* Network engine.
* Modularity, other middlewares like
3d engine, physic, script language
or network library can be plugged.
* Simplified and documented API
completely platform independent.
* Supported languages are C, C++ and
Gel (embedded fast and simple
script).
* Develop once for several platforms.
* Free with standard license.
* Antiryad Gx was used to create more
than 35 projects by various
companies and organizations.
To be published for AROS X86/64 in
September. With A version for 68k is
planned but no date has been
confirmed for the release.
A SUMMARY:
www.aros-platform.de/html/arkham.html
MORE INFORMATION AND SCREENSHOTS:
www.arkham-development.com/
-------------------------------------
*************************************
WOOKIECHAT BECOMES OPEN SOURCE
SOFTWARE
*************************************
WookieChat has now been released as
open source software under the terms
of AROS Public License 1.1. The
project is hosted at sourceforge.net:
sourceforge.net/projects/wookiechat/
WookieChat is a multi-platform
(AmigaOS 3, AmigaOS 4, MorphOS and
AROS), MUI-based IRC client that was
initially developed by James Carroll.
I'm currently looking for people
interested in either maintaining the
MorphOS/AmigaOS builds and/or
improving the existing program. If
you are interested, just let me know.
FEATURES INCLUDE
* Tabbed display using either Buttons
or a Listview
* Graphical Smileys
* Nick completion using the Tab key
* Configurable background and text
colours with loadable/saveable
profiles
* Auto-unaway when typing
* Chat logging, and redisplaying of
logs when reopening a tab
* Automatic reconnect upon
disconnection
* File Transfer support, with ability
to specify a port range to transfer
over
* Context menus for performing
commands on the nick list
* Automatic connection of favourite
servers
* Automatic joining of favourite
channels
* Automatic login for the Nickserv
service
* User specified startup commands for
each IRC network (Perform on
connect)
* Global and also Server specific
user preferences
* Automatically changes your nick
when your ghost times out
* Direct connection chats
* ARexx scripting interface
* Multiple server support
* Buttons/fields to control channel
properties
* Channel List for networks
* Supports channel prefixes specified
by the server
* Supports user-modes specified by
the server
* Scripts and Commands can be
executed for different Events
* Configurable highlight for words
you want to watch out for
* Built-in highlight for whatever
your nick is currently set to
* A counter is displayed showing the
total amount of unread messages for
each tab
* Configurable sound alerts
* Three coloured states for activity
in a tab: 1. non-chat 2. chat 3.
highlight
* Popups may appear for different
events
* UTF8 to ASCII character conversion
* Server password support
-------------------------------------
*************************************
ATHEROS 54MBPS WIRELESS DRIVER
FOR OS4
*************************************
A driver for Atheros AR5000-series
54Mbps 802.11g wireless PCI cards has
been released for AmigaOS 4. It
supports WPA/WPA2 encryption (as well
as WEP), and is available for free on
Aminet. aminet.net/package/driver/net
/atheros5000 PCI-Express cards may
also work but are untested.
Versions of the driver are already
distributed with AROS and MorphOS,
but it is unlikely to become
available for AmigaOS 3 because of
DMA requirements.
New Indivision 1200 AGA MK2cr *Pre
Order At AmigaKit.com*
www.amiga.org/forums/showthread.php?t
=65044&goto=newpost
www.amiga.org/forums/showthread.php?p
=736433#post736433
AmigaKit
The new Indivision 1200 AGA Mk2cr is
now added to the AmigaKit.com
webstore and is available for
pre-ordering:
UK Store:
amigakit.leamancomputing.com/catalog/
GBP.php?url=product_info.php?products
_id=1148
EU Store:
amigakit.leamancomputing.com/catalog/
EUR.php?url=product_info.php?products
_id=1148
USA Store:
amigakit.leamancomputing.com/catalog/
product_info.php?products_id=1148
Canada Store
amigakit.leamancomputing.com/catalog/
CAD.php?url=product_info.php?products
_id=1148
-------------------------------------
*************************************
2013 C4 EXPO CANCELLED
*************************************
The C4 Expo is the Midwest's finest
retro computing and gaming expo! The
Organiser recently posted an
explanation about the sudden
cancellation.
The website showed the following
information
For 6 years our Commodore Club had a
successful yearly expo. Times were a
bit harder last year, and we did not
have the funds. For 2013 we are
coming back with a vengeance, and
opening up the expo to all things
retro computing and gaming. There
will be vendors and users from all
realms of retro computing and gaming!
Atari, Commodore, Amiga, SNES, NES,
you name it!
So it was sad that i read the news
from www.c4expo.org/
Announcement from the website
Due to unforeseen circumstances
regarding my health and employment
status, I am unable to continue to
head this event. Our club is in a
state of change, and the club is
unable to take over at this time. I
have been heading this as an
individual, and my attempts to bring
other groups into the fold have not
worked out. My current work schedule
will keep me out of town during the
planned event dates.
For all of you who contributed
financially to this event, please
send me a paypal address to process
your refund. I am in the process of
getting my deposit back from the
venue, and everyone should be
refunded in a few weeks. For those
just looking forward to reviving C4,
I apologize. C4 has always been
something I felt was truly special in
the retro world and I hope someone
will pick up the torch for next year.
-------------------------------------
*************************************
RETURN 14 RELEASED
*************************************
From: Milo Mundt
Sent: Monday, 27 May 2013, 21:14
Subject: RETURN 14 released
RETURN magazine is a high quality
German language print magazine
covering all the classic and also
unknown 8-bit computers and consoles
from A (Atari) to Z (ZX Spectrum). In
this edition:
* Cover story: the Vectrex console in
detail
* The Making of Assembloids
* Interview with enthusi (creator of
Assembloids)
* Review: Zak McKracken
* May I introduce: CP/M
* Create adventures easily - using
Inform 7
* RETURN to play Vectrex games
* Rescuing data with KryoFlux
* Computer magazines of the 80s:
Joystick
* Book review: Commodore Hardware
Retrocomputing
* Atari & C64 cover disk
* Event report: DoReCo
* Crossover: Warlords
* Extra Bytes: Neo-Geo (Part 1 of 2)
* Zapped: The 8 most fascinating
vector games in 8-bit
* Remix download: Deadlock (Dr.
Future)
* News and events from the scene
RETURN issue 14 is available for
orderering via the website
www.return-magazin.de only!
Cover small resolution download:
www.returnmagazin.de/fileadmin/_proce
ssed_/csm_Cover_Ausgabe_14_1000px_693
ef48d86.jpg
Cover medium Resolution download:
www.returnmagazin.de/typo3temp/_proce
ssed_/csm_Cover_Ausgabe_14_1000px_8cd
175fe7b.jpg
Cheers,
Milo Mundt
RETURN Magazin
www.return-magazin.de
-------------------------------------
*************************************
REVIVAL STUDIOS CLASSIC GAME
RELEASES PRESS UPDATES
*************************************
From: Revival Studios
Sent: Friday, 31 May 2013, 13:03
Subject: Revival Studios Classic Game
releases press updates
Hi there,
It's been a while since my last
mailing, but I've been very busy on
several classic game projects to be
released later this year. The fact is
that I'm doing everything myself, and
I've been so busy that I haven't had
time to inform you guys about the
latest updates ;-) A basic rule of
thumb is that there would be an
average of 2 releases per month from
Revival Studios, so please keep
visiting the website
(www.revival-studios.com), or email
me if you are looking for updates.
To make things easier for you guys, I
now have a release schedule
accessable from the left-hand menu of
my website that I will also include
in my emails in addition to game
announcements.... All games in
italic/bold are now out for release
and available for review. All
cassette-based games are available as
binary for reviewers. For cartridge
based games (videopac/coleco/etc)
there are solutions available for
larger and print-based magazines.
Please contact me for more details.
Here is my latest release-schedule
for 2013:
January:
* COMMODORE PET - Down! (tape)
February:
* VIDEOPAC / ODYSSEY2 : Air Assault
(cartridge)
March:
* SINCLAIR ZX-81: Shifted (tape)
* COMMODORE PET: Stairrunner (tape)
April:
* SEGA SC-3000: Astrododge (tape)
May:
* Commodore PET: Shifted (tape)
* Sinclair ZX81: Rush (tape)
June:
* VIDEOPAC / ODYSSEY2: Mage2 - The
Dark Mirror (cartridge)
* Commodore PET: Rush (tape)
* SEGA SG-1000 / SC-3000: Shifted!
(cartridge)
* MSX / MSX2: Shifted! (cartridge)
July:
* COLECOVISION: Shifted! (cartridge)
August:
* VIDEOPAC / ODYSSEY2: Down!
(cartridge)
* Sinclair ZX81: Boxing Champ (tape)
* Commodore PET: Boxing Champ (tape)
September:
* COLECOVISION: TBA Q3 (cartridge)
* MSX / MSX2: TBA Q3 (cartridge)
* SEGA SG-1000 / SC-3000: TBA Q3
(cartridge)
October:
* VIDEOPAC / ODYSSEY2: Exile
(cartridge)
* Commodore PET: Exile (tape)
* Sinclair ZX81: Exile (tape)
November:
* COLECOVISION: TBA Q4 (cartridge)
* MSX / MSX2: TBA Q4 (cartridge)
December:
* SEGA SG-1000 / SC-3000: TBA Q4
* There is stuff in development for
Spectrum, C16, VIC-20 and other
platforms, but these will be updated
in the schedule when more info
regarding release is available.
As you can see above, most PET/ZX81
stuff for the rest of 2013 is
finished, for which review copies are
available, however, make sure the
reviews are published/posted on or
after release date and no sooner.
Kind regards,
Martijn Wenting / Revival Studios
Revival Studios - Game development
for Classic systems such as the Atari
, Colecovision, Commodore, MSX , Sega
, Videopac/Odyssey2 , Vectrex , ZX81
and more.
www.revival-studios.com
-------------------------------------
*************************************
8-BIT DESIGNS IS NOW TAKING
ORDERS FOR THE NEW MULTICART 64
*************************************
Multicart 64,is a C64 cartridge which
contains 63 games, utilities, and
applications...
retro-link.blogspot.com/2013/06/multi
cart-64-is-now-available-for-sale.htm
l
Video of Multicart 64 is now at
youtu.be/Rd5KZte2p_Q
and
blip.tv/episode/6597060
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
From: Charles Gutman
To:Commodore Free
Subject: Multicart 64 is NOW
AVAILABLE!!!
The Multicart for the Commodore
64/128 was "Officially released" late
last night on the Google comp.sys.cbm
group and I just wanted to give all
those in the Commodore and video game
communities FIRST OPPORTUNITY to own
one!
I DO take Paypal at THIS email
address and the "Options & Prices"
are listed BELOW THIS EMAIL for your
viewing according to your specific
needs. Currently I already have 5
ordered, but only TWO that went
through and that still leaves me with
22 STILL LEFT to interested parties.
So again, I just wanted to let all
those out there that might be seeking
A TON of programs on ONE CARTRIDGE
that IT"S HERE!!!
Thanks for your time and have a
blessed day!
Charles> 8-Bit Designs
MULTICART OPTIONS & PRICES
* A) DIRECT to board $34
* B) EPROM SOCKET $36
* C) ALL SOCKETED $38
* D) DIRECT TO BOARD WITH CASING $40
These prices INCLUDE SHIPPING to the
"Lower 48" in the U.S. For other
areas, please contact me so we can
discuss the shipping price for YOUR
AREA! ;)
8-Bit Designs is now taking orders
for the new Multicart 64, a C64
cartridge which contains 63 games,
utilities, and applications. Some of
the games are Attack of the Mutant
Camels, Centipede, and Frogger; some
of the utilities are C64 Diagnostic
and Magic Mon; some of the
applications are Facemaker, Calc
Result, and Graf64 -- all easily
accessible through a F-key menu. For
the full list of programs included
and pictures of the cart and
screenshots, go to
retro-link.blogspot.com/2013/06/multi
cart-64-is-now-available-for-sale.htm
l
Here is what Charles Gutman of 8-Bit
Designs has to say about Multicart 64
--
"My first run of Multicart 64 is
done.
Here's the "Options List" for those
who desire to fit it to their needs:
A) Chips soldered direct to board-
the cheapest and simplest option for
the vast majority of people for both
cost, and the fact that it can be
fitted into a cartridge casing very
easily.... ;) (Most sales will come
from this option I'm certain) $34.00
B) EPROM is "socketed." This option
allows the user to swap EPROM with
others that they desire to program,
allowing for an even higher usage of
the cartridge than it was originally
designed for. $36.00
C) All socketed! I have no idea why
anyone might want the board totally
socketed unless they desire to
replace the parts in the future, or
maybe use the board for other
applications; however in the event
that you do desire to have the WHOLE
BOARD socketed, then this is your
option! $38.00
D) Now this is the option that I know
that a lot of people will be asking
about as well -- direct to the board,
but inside a cartridge casing with a
label! $40.00
These prices include shipping to the
lower 48 in the US. For shipping
outside the US, contact me."
You can contact Charles at
charlesgutman(at)gmail.com. Payment
by postal money order or by Paypal.
International orders by Paypal only.
No credit cards through Paypal.
The Multicart 64 is based on Fotios'
FB-Jumbocart1, the prototype of which
was last seen at the Commodore Vegas
Expo in 2007. Fotios and Charles have
worked on this to get it out to
market.
Truly,
Robert Bernardo
Fresno Commodore User Group
videocam.net.au/fcug
July 27-28 Commodore Vegas Expo v9 -
www.portcommodore.com/commvex
-------------------------------------
*************************************
ANALOGIC COMPUTERS - RETAILER &
REPAIR CENTRE
*************************************
A recent forum post and email to
Commodore Free suggested Analogic
Computers are still around selling
Amiga computers and have a repair
centre.
www.analogic.co.uk/amiga.asp
Analogic Computers (UK) Ltd.
Unit 8 Ashway Centre
Elm Crescent
Kingston upon Thames
Surrey KT2 6HH
Tel: 020 8546 9575
Fax: 020 8541 4671
E-Mail:info@analogic.co.uk
Opening Hours
Mon-Fri: 8.00am - 5.30pm
Sat: 9.00am - 1.00pm
Though they are still up and running,
and still list Amiga and Atari
hardware, there isn't much to see on
their website: just the usual memory
upgrades and a replacement mouse. I
don't know what they can and still
repair, but it's useful that
companies are still supporting the
Amiga in some form or another. My
emails for more information never
received a reply!
-------------------------------------
*************************************
AMIKIT FOR REAL AMIGA V.0.3 RELEASED
*************************************
NEWS FROM AMIGAKIT
AmigaKit are happy to announce the
release of the much awaited update
for Real AmiKit version. Full and
update v0.3 archives are available
for download for free at:
real.amiga.sk/
New features include more
applications and memory card support.
Now you can use AmiDock or AmiStart
for launching your applications,
streaming music with AmiNetRadio, or
using compact flash cards to transfer
your data. New wallpapers were added
as well. Enjoy!
In the first place you will find a
nice and easy to use update installer
that delivers the following:
- AmiDock re-positioned, so it will
seem transparent. It will let you use
more space on the screen, and if you
use Workbench2000 you will see also
(full instructions in the package)
that you can "put away" AmiDock and
as the WB2000 taskbar disappears, you
will have more desktop space.
- New AmiDock icon on the
Workbench2000 bar.
- AmiNetRadio installed and working
without FPU.
- AmiStart installed and working
without FPU or RTG. A very powerful
and fast Amiga is required though, or
you can use it under emulation. Try
it!
- General PCMCIA support; DH0 and
Fat95, so most of the cards should
work.
- More wallpapers and a new 256
colors drawer.
- New bootpics to choose.
- Changed the top bar text to
"real.amiga.sk".
- Changed position-info for Magellan
icons
- FreeWheel running from the
WBStartup now. Run Exchange commodity
to configure it.
- HippoPlayer running with BlurScope
as a new option on Workbench2000 bar.
BlurScope is an external player, so
before now you had to open first HiP
and then search for the Scope... Now
they work together, and are living on
Worbench2000 bar. Click and the show
begins...
- IconLib 46.4.284 by Peter Keunecke.
And... Chewaka's voice for WookieChat
on AmiDock was added!
Thanks a lot to Thomas and PeterK for
their continuous support.
-------------------------------------
*************************************
WINUAE 2.6.0 AVAILABLE
*************************************
NEW FEATURES:
* Full 68030, 68040 and 68060 MMU
emulation. Amix, Linux, NetBSD,
Enforcer, WHDLoad MMU option and
more fully working.
* Game Ports panel Remap GUI
rewritten so that it's more
intuitive and supports manually
added events.
* SCSI and ATAPI (IDE) CD drive
emulation.
* Built-in full CHD CD and HD image
support. HD image support is
read-only.
* Partial partition hardfile on the
fly eject/replacement support,
requires filesystem that has
removable drive support.
* Multiple Direct3D shader filters
can be enabled simultaneously,
optionally shader can be now run
after scaling and filtering.
* Directory filesystem shortcut
(.lnk) and symbolic links are
mapped to Amiga soft links.
* Added support for mountlist-like
hardfile configuration files.
* 100Hz+ vsync mode black frame
insertion support, reduces LCD
motion blur.
UPDATES:
* A590/A2091/A3000 SCSI emulation
compatibility improved. (Amix,
NetBSD etc..)
* A2065 network adapter compatibility
improved. (Early NetBSD versions)
* Multithreaded IDE and SCSI
emulation, slow read or write
operations won't temporarily pause
the emulation anymore.
* When CPU double faults, emulated
CPU is halted instead of forcing
instant emulated hardware reset.
* Custom chipset emulation improved.
* Full Amiga file timestamp
resolution (1/50s) support on FAT
directory filesystems.
* Max supported resolution increased
to 8192*8192 (NV Surround/AMD
Eyefinity)
* CD32 CD detection works again in
JIT mode.
* AROS ROM replacement updated.
BUG FIXES:
* If display mode switched from RTG
to native (or vice versa) and
WinUAE window had no focus:
emulation incorrectly started
receiving keyboard input.
* 1.5M chip ram option didn't work.
* GamePorts panel Swap Ports button
cleared custom mappings.
* 68060 CPU and More compatible
checked was unreliable.
* 68040/68060 no FPU/FPU disabled
exception stack frame fixed.
* A2024 and Graffiti emulation memory
leak fixed.
* FPU rounding mode was reset when
using filters.
* Some USB game controllers had ghost
events (move axis, button event is
triggered or vice versa)
* CD32 CDs with multiple tracks
didn't boot.
You can download it here:
www.winuae.net/files/WinUAE2600.zip
-------------------------------------
*************************************
NEW WEBSITE/FORUMS MYTECHBRIEF
*************************************
----- Original Message -----
From: MyTechBrief
To: commodorefree@commodorefree.com
Subject: New website/forums
Hello,
I'd like to start by saying I really
like reading Commodore Free. It's
easily one of my favorite magazines.
I'm a big fan of both Retro Gaming
and Vintage Computing, so I always
enjoy finding new websites to read
that cover those topics.
I started computing back when I was
in school. I started with Apple II
computers when I was in middle
school. I continued working with them
into high school, and during this
time, I purchased my first home
computer, a Commodore VIC-20. Later I
went to a 64, a 128, and an Amiga
500, until I made my way to an Amiga
3000. Now I'm mainly a Mac user, but
also work with Linux and Windows. On
the gaming side of things, I had an
Atari 2600 way back , and actually
got away from gaming for a while, but
now I'm involved in both retro gaming
and gaming on modern systems.
About a year ago, I launched a
website by the name of MyTechBrief at
www.mytechbrief.com. The website has
been growing, but we re-launched the
website just days ago . The updated
website is much easier to read, and
is more pleasing to the eye. It also
has some new categories and other new
features. These include a Polls
section where we'll be regularly
conducting polls. It also includes a
Forums section.
The website covers a wide range of
topics from Video Gaming to Action
Figures/Fantasy/Sci-Fi, to
Audio/Video devices such as Media
Streamers, Computer Accessories,
Mobile Devices such as Tablets and
Smartphones, Technology in Education,
to Eco-Green Technologies. Two of the
sections I'm most excited about are
Vintage Computing and Retro Gaming. I
realize that there are many websites
covering technology, but we hope to
become popular in that space. For
Retro Gaming and Vintage Computing, I
realize that there's far fewer
websites. I wanted to expand into
this area because of my own personal
interest and the fact that few
websites cover it. With the launch of
the forums at
www.mytechbrief.com/forum we have
also added areas for both Retro
Gaming and Vintage Computing. I
believe there is even a smaller
amount of forums for these areas, so
I hope these forums are a place that
people can meet up with other
enthusiasts, exchange knowledge, post
questions, and help each other.
MyTechBrief just has one writer in
these very new areas, . We plan to
add more writers shortly so that we
can post a reasonable amount of
content in all areas. We expect our
readership to quickly grow with the
launch of our updated website. Along
with this, we hope to be able to
offer content to these communities.
If there are any announcements to
make, such as vintage computing or
retro gaming gatherings or any other
type of announcements, then I'm glad
to post them here. Feel free to
contact me with any information that
you'd like to share with the
community.
My partner, Rick Otto, has already
posted an article in the Vintage
Computing section covering Vintage
Computing Podcasts. There are plans
to do the same for the Retro Gaming
category. He'll also write articles
covering websites for each category.
We'll do our best to introduce our
readers to websites and podcasts in
these areas, and also to become a
gathering place with the forums for
enthusiasts. Feel free to bookmark
the website, and also save my email
address. I'm always glad to make any
announcements for the community. I'd
appreciate it if you could give a
shout to your community about our new
website.
You may find these links helpful:
Retro Gaming: www.mytechbrief.com/gam
ing/retro-gaming
Vintage Computing: www.mytechbrief.co
m/hardware/vintage-computers
Forums: www.mytechbrief.com/forum
Thank you for your time,
Mark Weigl
MyTechBrief
COMMODORE FREE: BLUSH! Ah geez thanks
-------------------------------------
*************************************
HYPERION ENTERTAINMENT BLOG
More Noise from ACube
*************************************
The VIA Envy24HT www.via.com.tw/en/pr
oducts/audio/controllers/envy24ht/
audio driver has been updated and now
supports the VT1618 Codec. www.via.co
m.tw/en/products/audio/codecs/vt1618/
That means you can now use
inexpensive PCIe
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCI_Express
audio cards such as the Syba
SD-PEX63034 www.sybausa.com/productIn
fo.php?iid=1201 in your AmigaOne 500
www.acube-systems.biz/index.php?page=
hardware&pid=7 and AmigaOne X1000
www.a-eon.com/x1000.html systems.
Here is a list of audio cards that
are known to work with the Envy24HT
audio driver:
* Terratec Aureon 5.1 Sky
* Terratec Aureon 7.1 Space
* Terratec Phase22
* Terratec Phase28
* M-Audio Revolution 5.1
* M-Audio Revolution 7.1
* ESI Juli@
* ESI Juli@ XTe
* Speed Dragon EAU01A-1 www.speeddrag
on.com/index.php?controller=Default
&action=ProductInfo&Id=366
* Syba SD-PEX63034
If you happen to have any other audio
card that works with this driver then
please notify us via the AmigaOS
contact form. www.amigaos.net/contact
Special thanks to ACube Systems
acube-systems.biz/ for helping to
improve the Envy24HT driver.
The updated driver is being delivered
to registered AmigaOS users using
AmiUpdate. amiupdate.codebench.co.uk/
If you have any support issues with
the driver please use the AmigaOS
support forum support.amigaos.net/
for assistance.
-------------------------------------
*************************************
REGENERATOR 1.3
By n0stalgia
*************************************
Welcome to Regenerator - an
interactive disassembler for C64
binaries. Regenerator will load any
standard C64 .PRG file (or VICE
snapshot) and disassemble it for your
convenience. There are a few options
you can choose to change the output,
and a few tools to make the output
look better and more useful to
programmers. There are a few tools
like this one out there, but we
thought none are really simple to use
and up to the task, really. :)
Oh, and you will need .net 3.5 (or
4.0) runtime. Download from the
Microsoft place.
Regenerator makes files compatible
with 64tass. The output should be
directly compilable by that
assembler. However you might need to
uncheck the "Use Illegal Opcodes"
option since 64tass chokes on illegal
opcodes.
First thing to do is to use the
"LOAD" button to load any .PRG file.
Right away you will be presented with
the initial disassembly in the main
window of the program. You can scroll
around to inspect it.
The main window consists of several
columns - first column is the line
number, then the address, then the
bytes that make up the instruction,
then the label (if any), the
instruction itself and the comment.
*NOTE*: The "END" address always
denotes last byte+1 - so basically
the start of the next block of data!
LICENSE:
This is a freeware program. You are
not allowed to charge any money for
it or for any media that this program
is put on. Otherwise, you can freely
distribute it.
CHANGES:
1.3:
* Added REMOVE command to remove part
of the data from disassembly
* Added EDIT BLOCKS window to Edit
all the DATA, TEXT and REMOVED
blocks manually.
* Added COPY to Clipboard
functionality (insert key) with
FULL or CODE only modes.
* Added possibility to add
user-defined COMMENTS to the code.
This can be done as a FULL line
comment or as a SIDE comment !
* Added USER LABELS - you can now add
a label to any address and it will
be used in the disassembly. If
there should be an automatic label
generated for it, then it will be
over-ridden. Also added USER LABELS
editor, which is part of the old
Label Prefixes window. You can
add/edit and remove user labels as
well as have a general overview of
them from within this screen.
* Fixed the Add BLANK LINE and Remove
BLANK LINE so it actually works as
it should.
-------------------------------------
*************************************
THE DIRMASTER V6.2 (WITH DRIVE
NUMBER SELECTION)
*************************************
clr : clear directory
home/| : go to first/last file
crsr u/d : move between files
crsr l/r : 10 files ahead/back
del : delete actual file
inst : insert a 'blank' file
d/f7 : show disk directory
@ : disk command
e : edit filename (full-screen)
(use crsr, sh+return and clr)
m/space : move file
x : (un)expand filename
b : change number of file blocks
z : set file blocks to last sett.
shift+b : change number of free
blocks
h : change disk header
~ : change disk id
shift+t : change filetype
t : set filetype to last setting
a : change track/sector
shift+a : change loadaddress
r : read directory
w : write directory
o : edit bam-message (asciicode)
shift+o : edit bam-message
(screencode)
shift+* : (re)set * infront of
filetype
shift+x : (un)expand all files
s : alphabetic sort
i : insert separator
shift+i : insert stamp
shift+m : put seperator over name
(mask)
f1 : enter separator editor
f3 : enter stamp editor
f5 : load dir, seperators or stamp
f6 : save dir, seperators or stamp
p : (un)protect file
shift+p : (un)protect disk
shift+f : format disk (9 sec)
v : validate disk (max 20 sec)
f : find hidden files
u : unlock disk
, : protect all files
. : inverse all protections
y : save header into buffer
shift+y : load header from buffer
= : copy dir to stamp
shift+s : save dir/stamp/sep into
buffer
shift+l : load dir/stamp/sep from
buffer
shift+e : swap dir/stamp/sep with
buffer
+/- : change drivenumber
csdb.dk/getinternalfile.php/117216/Di
r-Master_v6.2_(with_drive-no_select).
zip
-------------------------------------
*************************************
JACK 4.0 (MUI) NOW AVAILABLE
*************************************
News fromdjrikki
At long last the wait is over. I am
pleased to announce the release of
Jack 4.0.
Jack is a multi-purpose commodity for
AmigaOS, AROS and MorphOS.
The AmigaOS version can be downloaded
from www.os4depot.net, versions for
AROS and MorphOS will appear in the
next few days.
If you're eager to download
straightaway, then please remember to
check the 'Upload' queue on OS4Depot
first.
Jack 4.0 has been completely written
from the ground-up. Bye-bye to the
custom interface - Jack now fully
embraces MUI.
MAIN FEATURES:
* Comprehensive AmigaOS App-Store
piggy-backing onto the already
brilliant OS4Depot.net. Includes
integrated Arexx Support for
developers
* Donate easily to your favourite
AmigaOS third-party developers
* Quick access to AmigaOS Preferences
* Screen snapshooter
* AmigaOS Knowledge Base
* Image Editor, includes Batch-image
processing
* Speedy access to all your connected
devices
* Support for Push4Dock - quick
access to your Documents, Images,
Music and more...
* Quick Access to WordNet - Thesaurus
* Basic file-management, Make New
Drawer, Delete, Rename and Add
Comment
* Open your files in Helper
Applications
* Integrated Weather Forecast for any
location in the world
* In-built file-search
* Currency-Converter
* Quick Filer access, opens two
instances in one simple click
* Access Popular Amiga websites
quickly and easily from the
Dashboard
Be sure to read the known bugs and
limitations mentioned in the
documentation.
Jack 4.0 fully takes advantage of MUI
Royale 1.0, however a few limitations
have been identified in the
documentation, and Andreas (of
Hollywood fame) is working hard to
resolve them. I can in turn update
Jack itself when this is complete .
I hope you enjoy the new release of
Jack.
www.facebook.com/jackforamigaos
jackforamigaos.wordpress.com
-------------------------------------
*************************************
SYSTEM 3 REVEALS 'PUTTY SQUAD'
RETURN TO MARK 30TH ANNIVERSARY
*************************************
Source of information unkown?!
Although I copied the text below from
Digital Spy
System 3 has announced the return of
Putty Squad.
The company will revive the 1992
Amiga game as part of the
celebrations of its 30th anniversary.
The platformer's graphics have
received a complete overhaul, free
downloadable levels are planned, and
location-based services will be on
offer addingxtra content.
"Working on such a prestigious title
again - and to bring it up-to-date -
brings back many great memories. Fans
of the original are [going to be]
excited to get their hands on the
return of the morphing blue blob
hero," said System 3 CEO Mark Cale.
"Putty Squad will be available on
multiple platforms, where gamers can
reconnect with their classic hero,
discovering Putty unlike before."
The game will be released on
PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Xbox
360, PC, Wii U and Nintendo 3DS in
the summer. Sadly a new Amiga version
is not part of the celebration. But
if your a big Putty fan and own one
of the mentioned systems you should
get some fun out of the new release.
Read more: www.digitalspy.com/gaming/
news/a481863/system-3-reveals-putty-s
quad-return-to-mark-30th-anniversary.
html#ixzz2TQpTJp9P
Follow us: @digitalspy on Twitter |
digitalspyuk on Facebook
-------------------------------------
*************************************
PACK CHRYSALIS 3.1.3
*************************************
Associations of MorphOS users WArMUp
and AFUM are pleased to offer the
pack Chrysalis 3.1.3.
This pack allows you to quickly
obtain a preconfigured and complete
environment .
This pack is not official. It must
installed just after a clean
installation of MorphOS 3.1
(registered or not).
To install the package, simply mount
the ISO image and click the "Install
PackChrysalis" icon.
The ISO image is freely downloadable
from the following link:
meta-morphos.org/download/pack/chrysa
lis.iso (570 MB)
Feel free to improve this pack by
providing a software uppdate,
translation, idea, etc ...
Also remember to support developers
MorphOS www.meta-morphos.org/sections
.php?op=viewarticle&artid=23 for the
adventure continues.
Thank you very much.
Papiosaur
www.meta-morphos.org
This is the list of news (in
alphabetic order) :
* ACE 1.5
* AHIW 2.20
* Ask Me Up 1.1.1 demo
* Boschs 2.6
* codesets 6.15
* IceDoctor 1.3
* MagicSVG 1.1
* MAME 0.148
* MirrorCopy 2.4
* New plugins Hollywood
* New mimetypes : Edit with Scribble
/ Open docx files with Scriba)
* New MUI classes
* Odyssey 1.20
* RDesktop 1.6.1
* Scriba 1.8.0
* Sqrxz 3 1.05
* SteamDraw 2.4
* VAMP 0.94B
-------------------------------------
*************************************
AMIGA ENCOUNTER HD WALLPAPER BY NYKK
*************************************
News from djnick
Hiya.
I've created another dark HD
wallpaper for you, called "Amiga
Encounter".
Take a look here:
djnick2k.deviantart.com/art/Amiga-Enc
ounter-HD-wallpaper-by-nykk-deetronic
-371121577?q=gallery:djnick2k&qo=0
or here:
www.amiga-look.org/artwork/amiga-enco
unter-hd-wallpaper-nykk-deetronic
Some old news [just copy/paste text
from DeviantArt]:
For Amiga fans - I've created a set
of 12 HD wallpapers resized into 6
different resolutions:
800x600; 1024x768; 1280x1024,
1440x900, 1680x1050 and 1920x1080px
djnick-hd_wallpapers_01.zip download
link:
os4depot.net/index.php?function=showf
ile&file=graphics/misc/djnick-hd_wall
papers_01.zip
In this archive you will find
following images:
Abstract, Abstract v2, Abstract v3,
Impact, Matrix [+Matrix col2], Futur,
Retro, Retro v2, Space
[+Space-green], The Ball, The Ball v2
and Xtra.
nykk // deetronic | www.djnick.rs |
www.youtube.com/djnykk
-------------------------------------
*************************************
'ULTIMATE NERD CHICK' PROMPTS C64
CLONE CANCELLATION
Project Bread Bin... binned
*************************************
A damning tweet from one Jeri
Ellsworth, described by a Register
reader as "the ultimate Commodore 64
nerd chick", has put the mockers on
Project Bread Bin, one retro-tech
fan's dream to build a cut-price
Commodore 64-compatible computer in a
keyboard case.
www.theregister.co.uk/2013/05/10/ells
worth_tweet_prompts_bread_bin_cancell
ation/
C64 fan Daniel Biehl called out to
the crowd to request $150,000 to fund
the device's development.
COMMODORE FREE NOTE: From what I
read, Jeri thought the project was a
'scam', and it seems that Daniel
hadn't thought the project through to
the extent of figuring out the
costing for the project. He denies
the project was a swindle, and The
Register article suggests that
enthusiasm can get ahead of a
project's rationale.
-------------------------------------
*************************************
AMIMAG - #01
*************************************
aminet.net/package/docs/mags/AmiMag_0
1
AmiMag is a French pdf magazine for
Amiga users.
In this edition:
* Time Machine,
* History AmiMag,
* Wave nostalgeek,
* Amiga yesterday / Today,
* Atari 2600,
* Interview: Imre Antal,
* Micro Kid's,
* DémoMania,
* 3583 bytes free,
* CD-32,
* Replace the hard drive,
* Interview: Orion,
* Pin-Up Page and ExtrAmiMag.
-------------------------------------
*************************************
RETROGAMING TIMES MONTHLY 108
*************************************
May 2013...Oh Yeah!!
With summer right around the corner,
why not treat yourself to a nice cool
glass of Kool-Aid, as this month we
take a look at Kool-Aid Man on the
Intellivision to get you into the
summer spirit!
www.retrogamingtimes.com/magazine/?is
sue=108&theme=purple
This Month's Features:
* More 64! - Seuck Competition 2013
* Sega vs. Nintendo - Des Gamer's
Team
* Des Gamer - Fanboyism, And The
16-Bit Console Wars Part 2:
Graphics
* CoCoLicious! - Chasing Sound On The
CoCo 3 Reviewing Sound Chaser - a
CoCo Music Player from Bill Pierce
* The Retro Junkies - Kool-Aid Man
For The Intellivision!
* MAME Reviews - Fitter/Round-Up
* Apple II Incider - Leisure Suit
Larry/Softporn Adventure
* NES'cade - Road Fighter
* Caught On Film - Fix-It Felix, Jr.
* The Pixelated Mage - Aero Fighters
2
* More!
Retrogaming Times Monthly, now
running 186 months in a row!
-------------------------------------
*************************************
KRIEG IM WELTRAUM - C64
*************************************
Krieg im Weltraum is a new game for
the Commodore 64, made by DATA-LAND.
The game is inspired by the game
Cosmic Conflict! for the Odyssey 2
and Videopac+. The game is a 3D
shoot'em up, with a 120 degrees
panoramic view, 2 weapons systems,
and extra-terrestrial artificial
intelligence.
csdb.dk/getinternalfile.php/116605/Kr
ieg_im_Weltraum.zip
-------------------------------------
*************************************
AMIGA FUTURE #102
*************************************
PREVIEWS:
Chaos
REVIEWS:
Vampire FPGA, 1980's Football
Manager, Szalter, Grand Prix 500 II,
Frogatto & Friends, Scripted Amiga
Emulator, Pandora Part 2, Dir Me Up,
Simplemail, AmiCygnix 1.3, Fast
Compress, StormC5 Editor,
Videoclipper, AmigaAMP, SteamDraw
2.3, MUIbase 3.0, Chrysalis Pack,
eGame, File transfer through FTP,
RealAmiKit 0.2b.
SPECIAL:
Classic Reflections (9) DCE Computer
Services
OTHERS:
Interview Cameron Davis, Interview
Frédéric Laboureur, Messebericht
Retro Madrid 2013, Editorial,
Inhaltsverzeichnis, News, Impressum,
Inhalt LeserCD, Leserbriefe,
Vorschau.
COVERCD CONTENTS:
EXTRA:
Eddi Edwards SuperSki, Grand Prix 500
II, Super Sport Challenge,
Videotitler
PUBLIC DOMAIN:
AmigaOS4:
ffmpeg_os4, maclikedock, MCE-OS4,
pengobrain_os4, ReportPlus-OS4,
VAMP-OS4,
AROS:
darkplaces.src-aros,
etlegacy.i386-aros,
fheroes2.src-aros,
gigalomania.i386-aros,
nrg2iso.i386-aros, pengobrain_aros,
pushover.i386-aros, VAMP-AROS,
Classic:
aca620rd, AHIW-OS3, AmiQuake2,
AmiSystemRestore,
Apollo_1260_80Mhz_AGA, bde64,
Blizzard_1260_80Mhz_AGA, blobwars,
BoardsLib, BOOM, byte2c,
CDPlayer371p, ChannelEditor, daa2iso,
DeadMetal11, dmg2iso-morphos,
DumpA1000BootROM, dvdauthor, edgar,
eGame, etlegacy.src, fat95, fheroes2,
fourmaze, freesynd-src, freesynd,
gigalomaniasrc, HollyPaint, HWP_APNG,
HWP_FLICAnim, HWP_JPEG2000,
HWP_MovieSetter, HWP_MUIRoyale,
HWP_OggTheora, HWP_OggVorbis,
HWP_SQLite3, HWP_SVGImage,
HWP_VectorGfx, HWP_XMLParser, lpatch,
MagicSVG_1.0, MagicSVG_1.1, MCE,
ngl-ArTKanoid-JJ-AGA,
ngl-ArTKanoid-JJ-RTG,
ngl-MUIMine-WarNPieces,
ngl-MUIMineDZ-Boing,
ngl-MUIMineDZ-RMX,
ngl-MUIMineDZ-RMXv1.1,
ngl-RetroNoid-RTG,
ngl-RetroNoidV12-AGA,
ngl-RetroNoidV12-RTG, nrg2cue,
pengobrain_os3, pfs3aio,
PFS3_svn_134, pgp5gui, powersdl,
powersdl_src, pushover.src,
ReportPlus, Squax, StrifeAGA-1.0,
Szalter, To-Do, ToDisk2.6,
TVSBasketball_2012-2013, uif2iso,
uqm-src, uqm, VAMP-OS3,
widelands-src.tar, widelands,
MorphOS:
cavestory.ppc-mos, dvdauthor-morphos,
MCE-MOS, mpo2jpg_morphos,
ReportPlusMOS, VAMP-MOS,
Multimedia:
BoingsWorld Podcast Episode 37 and 38
-------------------------------------
*************************************
SPINDLE FOR THE C64 RELEASED
*************************************
www.linusakesson.net/software/spindle
/index.php
INTRODUCTION
Spindle is an integrated linking,
loading and crunching solution for
C64 trackmos. By hiding the details
of the storage model, it allows the
demo coder to focus on effects,
transitions and flow.
Independently developed demo parts
can be chained together easily, in
any order, facilitating exploration
of the design space in order to
arrive at a rough cut. Spindle then
assists the coder by suggesting where
and how filler parts could be crafted
to improve the loading process. A
visualisation of block demand and
memory usage over time provides
further optimisation hints.
Spindle is equipped with a
cutting-edge IRQ loader featuring
scattered loading, state-of-the art
serial transfer routines and GCR
decoding on the fly. The compression
scheme is optimised for extremely
fast scattered decrunching at the
cost of sub-optimal compression
ratio. As measured on a private build
of my demo, Shards of Fancy, the
average compression ratio is 45%, not
counting internal fragmentation.
Currently, only single-side trackmos
are supported. The data is laid out
to minimise seek times: The first
demo part is located near the middle
of the disk, and the following parts
are stored in order from outer to
inner tracks. Directory art can be
supplied in the form of a text file.
While Spindle uses its own
D64-compatible storage format, it
respects and coexists with the native
commodore disk structure, so demo
disks can be adorned with noters and
other auxiliary files using standard
tools like c1541.
-------------------------------------
*************************************
KRILL'S LOADER, REPOSITORY
VERSION 146
*************************************
BUILDING BINARIES INSTEAD OF CA65
OBJECT ARCHIVE:
In loader/src, enter "make prg
INSTALL=1234 RESIDENT=5678 ZP=90"
with suitable hexadecimal addresses
without suffixes. This builds
install.prg, loader.prg, and
loadersymbols.inc, plus a zip file
containing these files. Incbin the
binary files and include
loadersymbols.inc in source files to
use loader labels, e.g. "jsr
loadraw".
DISABLING WATCHDOG WHEN LETTING THE
LOADER STARVE:
Not giving the loader enough free
cycles will make the watchdog reset
the drive.
Disable the watchdog by setting
DISABLE_WATCHDOG to 1 in
loader/include/config.inc.
DETECTING DISK (SIDE) CHANGES:
When loading via directory, load a
file that has a unique name and is
present only on the expected disk
side. Cycle until no 'file not found'
errors occur.
When loading via track and sector,
load a 1-byte ID file that is present
on the same block on all disk sides.
Cycle until loaded block ID matches
expected ID.
krill.earthtomoon.net/loader-v146.zip
-------------------------------------
*************************************
DOYNAMITE 1.0 RELEASED
*************************************
csdb.dk/getinternalfile.php/116973/do
ynamite 1.0.zip
WHAT IT IS
Yet another Lempel-Ziv cruncher for
the 6502.
Specifically, it is a traditional
bit-packed LZ coder which has been
optimized for decrunching speed at
the expense of code size. It achieves
decent compression ratios and high
throughput by nearly keeping up with
a 1541 loader.
WHAT IT ISN'T
* Tiny. The decruncher is nearly a
page long.
* It will not (yet) generate
self-extracting executables.
* It is inefficient at in-place
decompression. The worst-case
safety-zone is larger than a page
due to literals copied in reverse.
* It is purely a cross-development
tool. There is no native C64
cruncher.h
* The decruncher relies on
self-modifying code and will not
run from ROM (NES cartridges, etc).
* It is unsuitable for very slow
(datasette) or very fast
(cartridge) loaders. Try Exomizer
or LZWVL.
CREDITS
This project is a fork off of HCL's
excellent ByteBoozer, from which the
basic encoding has been inherited.
Note: Any gains in compression ratio
over BB are solely due to improved
parsing and tweaked offset lengths.
Bitbreaker has made several important
contributions to the project;
including some critical bug fixes to
the project, the non-streaming
version of the decruncher as well as
other features I have yet to
incorporate.
-------------------------------------
*************************************
AMIKIT 1.6.5 RELEASED
*************************************
We're proud to announce a new AmiKit
version that increases icon
loading-speed by 15% - 20% thanks to
PeterK's improved icon library. New
AmiKit also updates programs like
NetSurf, MUIbase, LAME etc. and
several libraries. The update gets
installed automatically via Live
Update (and works with Real AmiKit
too).
WHAT IS AMIKIT?
AmiKit is the high-end distribution
of the best classic Amiga software
running on Windows, Linux or Mac (and
recently on real Amiga too).
For more information and free
download please visit AmiKit website.
amikit.amiga.sk/
KEY FEATURES OF AMIKIT:
* full & exclusive applications
included
* compact visual and functional
design
* three different working
environments: Magellan, Scalos,
Workbench
* automatic Live Updates that keep
your AmiKit always fresh and up to
date!
* true-type fonts, DualPNG icons and
24bit visual themes
* easy and fully automated
installation and un-installation
* various add-ons - games package,
expert programs, etc.
* and much more...
-------------------------------------
*************************************
ALADDIN4D TO GO SHARED-SOURCE
*************************************
In an effort to renew development
efforts for Aladdin4D we will be
making it shared-source commercial
software. What this means is source
code to Aladdin4D 5.x & 6.0 will be
shared with key programmers in the
AROS, AmigaOS 4 & MorphOS
communities. Money will be paid out
to any major changes they make to the
code for example adding a MUI
interface, native MorphOS or AmigaOS
4 version, completing Aladdin 4D 6.0
for OS X Etc. Because of programmer
issues, Aladdin4D 5.x was taken off
the market in October 2012. Aladdin4D
will be available again as an Instant
Download, but any sales will go into
the programmer pool to upgrade the
software. When DiscreetFX acquired
Aladdin4D the dream was to have a
modern, maintained, beginners 3D
animation/rendering package for
AmigaOS,MorphOS & AROS. Hopefully the
shared-source initiative can make
that dream come alive.
We welcome your feedback to this
change of plans, and look forward to
your feedback. We only want the best
for Aladdin4D and its
installedcustomer-base and fans
Best regards
DiscreetFX Team
www.discreetfx.com/
-------------------------------------
*************************************
NEW AGA SDL DEVELOPMENT
*************************************
News fromNovaCoder
And now for some Amiga news....
I'm currently working on a new SDL
library that is a cut-down version
specifically made for good old AGA
Amigas (like mine!).
As people know, I've ported a few
games now, and usually have to rip
out all of the SDL code and replace
it with my own Amiga AGA code. This
can be a very time consuming process,
so I decided to give an SDL library
port one more try.
I've managed to knock together a
working AGA SDL library which I'm
using to port Descent Rebirth to AGA.
Restrictions:
1. Only AGA 8-bit full-screen modes
supported (320x200 -> 640x480).
2. No CDROM support
3. No OpenGL (obviously)
4. No hardware accelerated graphics
(again, kind of obvious)
This library is already being used to
port NetSurf to AGA :)
If I can get this working properly,
it should make it much easier to port
a lot of new stuff to AGA quickly.
www.amiga.org/forums/showthread.php?p
=733965#post733965
-------------------------------------
*************************************
CROPKY - A NEW AMIGA GAME
*************************************
News from mailman
Cropky is an Amiga version of Dots -
an abstract strategy game played by
two people on a sheet of squared
paper. The rules are a bit different
from the original Dots game - your
aim is not to capture enemy dots, but
to link two dots together with a line
drawn in any direction you want as
long as you don't cross already
existing lines or you have where to
draw another line (the dot is visible
not farther than one square distance
- vertically, horizontally or
diagonally).
Cropky is a conversion of a game
under the same title from Atari
XL/XE. The original idea comes from
Krzysztof "Kaz" Ziembik, who was
persuaded to give permission to
create the Amiga version by Mariusz
"Ramos" Rozwadowski. With the
abilities and knowledge of Adam Stach
(programmer), Piotr "Piesiu" Radecki
(graphics) and Piotr "Pece" Cieœlik
(music), they created a neat and
not-so-easy game running on any Amiga
with at least 1 MB of RAM.
The game can be downloaded as an
ADF file dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/
33833039/files/games/cropky.zip
or LhA archive. dl.dropboxusercontent
.com/u/33833039/files/games/cropky.lh
a
There is also a Polish manual in PDF.
dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/33833039/
files/games/Instrukcja.zip
-------------------------------------
*************************************
STEAMDRAW 2.4 RELEASED
*************************************
SteamDraw is a 2D-Vector-GFX-Program
for MorphOS which saves and loads
(limited) files in SVG format. And
has now beem updated to version 2.4.
The Main change over the earlier
version 2.3 release is a reworked
edit tool that now allows you to
modify objects with just one click.
New in 2.4:
1-click edit mode enabled when
hoovering about handlepoints
(mousepointer will change) you can
still manually select objects before
or after selecting a tool from the
toolbox or contextmenu. These things
are still a bit rough, but should
give you an idea how it will shape up
later.
Status: in development
Version: 2.4
Date: May 1st 2013.
Download: here.
Requires: MorphOS 3.x
icons and buttons by André "JoBBo"
Siegel
Download with Grunch or:
www.steamdraw.homepage.t-online.de/St
eamDraw.lha
-------------------------------------
*************************************
PUBLIC RELEASE OF CORE OF THE
ACE128TOS
*************************************
ace128.mirkosoft.sk/files/sincore128p
ublic.rar
Public release of core of the
ACE128TOS, adjusted for programmers
in assembly or Basic language and not
complete. This is a cut and adjusted
core.
8-BIT EDITION
Minimal requirements:
* Commodore 128(D)(CR)
* VDC 8563 every revision / 8568
* 16kB VDC RAM
* RAM Expansion at least 512kB or no
RAM expansion using Disk Swapping*
* floppy disk drive
* mass storage device with at least
16MB
* RGBI display or Composite display
for RGBI monochrome**
* composite display
* printer (optional)
* Nic (optional)
* keyboard
* mouse (or other input device)
16-BIT EDITION
Really minimal requirements:
* Commodore 128(D)(CR)
* VDC 8563 every revision / 8568
* 16kB VDC RAM
* CMD SuperCPU128 optional with
SuperRAM
* RAM Expansion at least 512kB or at
least 1MB SuperRAM or no RAM
expansion using Disk Swapping*
* floppy disk drive
* mass storage device with at least
16MB
* RGBI display or Composite display
for RGBI monochrome**
* composite display
* printer (optional)
* Nic (optional)
* keyboard
* mouse (or other input device)
* very fast devices are recommended
for Disk Swapping , e.g. CMD RAMLink,
CMD RAMDrive, CMD HD connected by
parallel cable, Rear Admiral
HyperDrive or other
**RGBI Composite monochrome causes
problem using Commodore 128DCR (8568
chip)
Published by Miro Karkus in Releases
* 30.4.2013 9:02:55
We created a new webpage to publish
the first parts of the OS.
As first we want to publish SinCore -
the base of system. Of course, it's
not the pure core that we used: it's
adjusted for assembly programming or
BASIC use by everybody...
Later we want to publish more parts,
and in the near future, a DEMO
Release. There is no Demo video - the
demo version is where you can test
the working parts of the OS.
-------------------------------------
*************************************
PRESERVEC64DB VERSION 1.1
*************************************
- version 1.1, released by M4Z on 2nd
of May 2013
- version 1.0, released by M4Z on 2nd
of May 2010
PreserveC64DB is The 2nd generation
of the ultimate searcher tool
collection since 2004:
An application for organizing and
searching digital objects for
Commodore 64 digital media. Written
in PHP using MySQL database.
UPDATES IN VERSION 1.1
* Code updated to work with newest
version of PHP (XAMPP version
1.8.1)
* Minor improvements based on
feedback over the last three years
* Show load address of data ex.
{$0801}
* Identified files infected with
virus
* Search : search file by md5(data)
value
* Importer: statistical information
after a new collection has been
imported
* Matcher : groups added from [edit]
* Unique : unique executable files
there is in a non-imported
collection
[FEATURES]
* [ Search.....] Filename, Sysline,
Label, BAM & md5-value
* [ Matcher....] Scan your archive
for missing releases
* [ Import.....] Import your
collections of Commodore data
* [ compare....] Compare uniqeness of
a new collection against the
database
* [ Unique.....] Show unique
executable files in a new
collection
* [ Publishers.] Add information
about publishers when cataloguing
your archive
* [ Collections] Fast view of your
imported collections
* [ Statistics.] See detailed and
statistical information of your
collections
* [ Missing....] View or add missing
release information
* [ Help.......] Help file
[SUPPORTED FILE TYPES]
Fully : D64, D71, D81, LNX, PRG, Pxx,
T64, SPY, LBR.
Partly: G64, TAP, X64, ARK, ARC &
CRT.
[CREDITS]
Application : m4z
ReaderClass : wreg, ymgve & m4z
(csdb.dk/release/?id=72587)
Supporters : cba, acidchild, mason,
morpheus, swasti, jazzcat, maestro &
sailor
[QUICK INSTALL]
1) Download and install XAMPP:
www.apachefriends.org
2) Start via the [control panel]:
Apache and MySql (check if it's
running in your browser by typing:
127.0.0.1)
3) Copy all the files of spunk to
XAMPPs sub dir: /xampp/htdocs/spunk/
4) Edit config.php and correct
ARCHIVE_PATH to the location of your
c64 files: e.g. DEFINE(ARCHIVE_PATH,
"d:/c64_archive/");
5) Test/Run the searcher system with
this url in the browser:
127.0.0.1/spunk/
Once again: Time to enter real life
:)
EOF.
csdb.dk/release/index.php?id=118589
csdb.dk/getinternalfile.php/116868/Pr
eserveC64DB.v1.1.Spunk2G.zip
This is the three year long awaited
update of the searcher tool
collection S*P*U*N*K.
Based on the ReaderClass by Ymgve,
Wreg & M.d.Z: 64 Reader Class V0.64
This is the most powerfull tool for
collecters to search (filename,
sysline, ...), organize, catalog,
repair, compare their beloved
archives of C64 history. Connects to
CSDb to get group names, id etc.
Requirement: PHP and MySQL.
Easy to install - Easy to use.
m d Z
-------------------------------------
*************************************
AMIGA ARTICLES ON OBLIGEMENT
*************************************
The following articles have been
added to the website of the french
Amiga/MorphOS magazine Obligement
(obligement.free.fr) The archive now
contains more than 3500 Amiga
articles (excluding translations).
* March/April 2013 news.
* Old articles from A-News 25 to 28:
review of Workbench 1.4 beta,
review of Workbench 2.0 (AmigaOS
2.0), file: Zorro III, report:
AmiExpo 1990 Chicago, review of
Professional Draw 2.0, review of
Volumm 4D, hardware: A2024,
hardware: Amiga 3000, etc.
* Interview with Petro Tyschtschenko
(former président of Amiga
Technologies).
* Interview with Larry Kaplan (former
developper on Atari 2600, from
2006).
* Hardware: Romy A4000.
* Hardware: CDTV.
* Hardware: create your own ROM 3.9.
* Review of PUAE 2.3.3 on Android.
* Review of OpenBOR 3.0.
* Review of Gravity Force.
* Review of Hook.
* Review of Oh No! More Lemmings.
* File: games with shoot'em up
phases.
* File: Amiga in TV and cinema
(update).
* Tutorial: speed up your
PowerPC/Warp3D games with FullWin.
* Tutorial: installation of ClassicWB
3.9 on WinUAE.
* Tutorial: installation of the
AmigaOS 3.9, with its Boing Bags,
on WinUAE.
* Special quizz about the Amiga 3000.
-------------------------------------
*************************************
AMIGA HISTORY
*************************************
arstechnica.com/series/history-of-the
-amiga/
AMIGA history now up to part 8
* A history of the Amiga, part 8: The
demo scene
* A history of the Amiga, part 7:
Game on!
* A history of the Amiga, part 6:
stopping the bleeding
* A history of the Amiga, part 5:
postlaunch blues
* A history of the Amiga, part 4:
Enter Commodore
* A history of the Amiga, part 3: The
first prototype
* A history of the Amiga, part 2: The
birth of Amiga
* A history of the Amiga, part 1:
Genesis
-------------------------------------
*************************************
RGCD NEWSLETTER APRIL 2013
*************************************
Welcome to the RGCD April Newsletter
- delivered to your inbox on the last
day of the month, no less! We've been
super busy as usual over at RGCD,
with a total of three releases in the
past month and a whole load of stuff
bubbling away on the back burners
that'll be ready to announce in the
near future. So, what's been rolling
off the retro assembly line? Read on
and all will be revealed!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
MOJON TWINS 2-GAMES-IN-1 CARTRIDGE
AVAILABLE! (C64)
It's been a long time coming, but we
have finally completed our official
cartridge compilation of The Mojon
Twins Nanako in Classic Japanese
Monster Castle and Sir Ababol, and it
is available to buy now from our
shop!
Although the plan was originally to
put them out as separate releases, it
seemed a shame to waste the ROM
space, so we've managed to squeeze
both games and a menu onto a single
64KB cartridge. Changes over the
previous versions available on CSDB
include two minor NTSC bugs fixed, as
well as Nanako now being fully
playable via joystick - making it
available at last for GS owners. The
64KB PCB is housed in a transparent
purple cartridge shell illuminated by
an internal LED, and the game comes
complete with a printed manual and a
vinyl Mojon Twins sticker.
The cartridge version is available in
two packaging types, a standard card
carton and a more expensive 'deluxe
version' that comes in a plastic case
(a Universal Game Case with a
specially cut foam insert to hold the
cartridge as shown below). The
standard version is priced at £22,
whereas the deluxe version costs £27.
Shipping is £4 for UK/Europe and £5
for the rest of the world. A digital
version of the game will also be sent
out to all customers following
receipt of payment.
As a joint RGCD/Mojon Twins/Psytronik
production, we've handled the
cartridge production whereas Kenz at
Psytronik has compiled a three game
pack on disk and tape, including
UWOL: Quest For Money (a game we
previously released on cartridge last
year). Psytronik Software are selling
the game on premium/budget disk and
tape for £9.99/£4.99 and £3.99
respectively (plus shipping) via
their Binary Zone Retro Store.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
UWOL: QUEST FOR MONEY & NOT EVEN
HUMAN ON SALE (C64)
To celebrate the completion of this
project, we've put the UWOL cartridge
temporarily on sale, with £5 off the
cost price. Not only that, but fans
of Assembloids might want to check
out Dr. Martin Wendt's previous game
Not Even Human - which has also been
dramatically price slashed!
This promotion won't last forever, so
grab them now.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
JAGWARE COLLECTION 1.0 AVAILABLE!
(ATARI JAGUAR CD)
Jagware presents a new Atari Jaguar
CD compilation of four puzzle games
from four groups; Do The Same from
Cerebral Vortex, Diamjag by Orion,
Atomic Reloaded from The Removers,
and Beebris by Reboot - all four of
which support online scoreboards. But
that's not all - also included is an
exclusive early look at the alpha
build of 'Project II', Reboot's
ambitious forthcoming horizontal
scrolling shmup.
CVSD's Do The Same is a beautifully
presented tile-rotation game where
your goal is to match a given pattern
of blocks in as few moves as possible
(and before the time runs out). A
highly polished release featuring
backgrounds based on hand-crafted
clay models and 112 levels to beat,
Do The Same was previously available
on CD in very limited quantities -
now those who missed it in physical
form have the chance to grab it
again!
Next up is Atomic Reloaded, a logic
puzzle game inspired by Thalion's
Atomic in which you are tasked with
creating molecules from their
component atoms by moving them around
a maze. Described as 'Atomic as it
should have been', Atomic Reloaded
features 82 original levels
guaranteed to challenge even veterans
of the original!
Diamjag is an early release from the
prolific Jaguar coder Orion, in which
you must guide a ball-like character
around 28 single-screen mazes
collecting diamonds - the catch being
that when your ball starts rolling
you won't stop again until you hit a
wall!
Reboot, the organiser of this
project, has contributed Beebris, its
updated Jaguar conversion of one of
Law's old Atari ST releases based on
a 'popular tetronimo game'. With four
game modes, each with forty levels of
difficulty, Beebris remains one of
Reboot's more popular additions to
the Jaguar homebrew catalogue.
Jagware Collection One is a superb
compilation of games, but if you want
further incentive to pick up a copy
you may wish to consider that all
profits made through sales of this
Jagware release will be going toward
funding future Jaguar hardware
development by SCPCD, creator of the
JagCF and the Jagtopus 4-cart
programmer - the format on which
future cartridge games will be
distributed.
The physical release comes
cellophane-wrapped in a clear DVD box
with full colour, double-sided
printed inlay on a full-face printed,
glass-mastered CD, direct from the
factory (100% professionally produced
in the UK). Instructions for each
game are included on the inside of
the inlay. It requires no additional
hardware to run other than the Jaguar
CD console itself. As an added bonus,
a vinyl Reboot sticker will be
included with every order.
Priced at £24 (plus £4 UK/Europe
shipping, £5 rest of world) Jagware
Collection 1.0 is available to buy
from our shop page today!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
GUNS 'N' GHOSTS CARTRIDGE AVAILABLE!
(C64)
High fives all round! It has been a
long time coming (the tape, disk and
download versions have been available
since the 14th of April from our
partners at Psytronik), but I'm super
proud to announce that Georg
"Endurion" Rottensteiner and Trevor
"Smila" Storey's 72-level
demon-smashing Commodore 64 arcade
game Guns 'N' Ghosts is finally
available to buy on cartridge from
our shop!
Guns 'N' Ghosts is an intense action
game with a variety of play modes
that offer a particularly rich
two-player cooperative adventure, so
grab your shotgun, ready your psychic
powers, and help paranormal
investigators Trev and Georg
eradicate a monstrous mélange of
spooks & spectres!
Featuring box art by Smila, the 64KB
PCB is housed in a ghostly
transparent cartridge shell
illuminated by an internal LED, and
the game comes complete with a
printed manual and seven vinyl
stickers.
The cartridge version is available in
two packaging types, a standard card
carton and a more expensive 'deluxe
version' that comes in a plastic case
(a Universal Game Case with a
specially cut foam insert to hold the
cartridge as shown below). The
standard version is priced at £17,
whereas the deluxe version costs £22.
Shipping is £4 for UK/Europe and £5
for the rest of the world. A digital
version of the game will also be sent
out to all customers following
receipt of payment.
Please note that Pystronik Software
are also selling the game on
premium/budget disk, tape and as a
download for £9.99, £4.99, £3.99 and
£1.99 respectively (plus shipping)
via their Binary Zone Retro Store.
The even better news for cartridge
fans is that whilst fixing the
hardware incompatibility issue
responsible for the delay, Georg
managed to squeeze in one of his
earlier games as an exclusive Easter
egg - just check out the photos
above! We will be announcing the
'secret' to loading the second game
in the near future, but for those of
you wanting to try and find it
yourself the only hint you are going
to get is that it requires one single
input at a specific time. Happy
hunting!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
CALLING ALL BLOGGERS/REVIEWERS!
So, you've got a blog, youtube
channel, or maybe write for a
magazine? Would you like us to mail
you FREE review copies of our game
cartridges prior to release? You
would? Well, it just so happens that
we are currently looking to expand
the number of 'press' cartridges we
send out, so if you'd like to get
involved drop us a line introducing
yourself, your site/channel/mag and
give an indication of your current
readership. Obviously we can't give
cartridges away to everyone, but we
will take every request into careful
consideration.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
FORTHCOMING RELEASES!
Finally, you might be interested to
hear about these forthcoming releases
from RGCD:
* Woolly Jumper / Sheepoid DX (64KB
C64 Cartridge / Psytronik
Tape/Disk/Download) (May 2012)
* Full Circle: Rocketeer (Atari
Jaguar CD) (TBA)
* You Have To Win The Game (64KB C64
Cartridge) (TBA)
* Trance Sector CE (64KB C64
Cartridge) (TBA)
* Rocket Smash EX (64KB C64 Cartridge
/ Psytronik Tape/Disk/Download)
(TBA)
* Bomberland (64KB C64 Cartridge)
(TBA)
* Super Bread Box (64KB C64
Cartridge) (TBA)
More game release dates will be
confirmed soon!
Thanks for reading!
James Monkman / Heavy Stylus
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
RGCD ANNOUNCEMENT JULY 2013
No word from RGCD for two months and
then two emails in the same week? We
try not to make a habit of spamming
our mailing list, but we've been
working on this particular project
for so long that we just had to share
the news! :)
SHEEPOID DX / WOOLLY JUMPER AVAILABLE
NOW! (C64)
RGCD in association with Psytronik
Software are proud to present a C64
twin-pack of games coded by Richard
Bayliss of The New Dimension;
Sheepoid DX and Woolly Jumper are
finally available to buy on cartridge
from our shop!
Sheepoid DX is a specially
graphically overhauled and enhanced
version of TND's dual-axis Laser Zone
tribute that was originally released
by Psytronik in 2011. Planet Earth is
under attack from Space Goats and
it's your mission to wipe out the
strange alien threat and save the
Earth from ungulate domination!
Woolly Jumper is the full, enhanced
64K version of the game Richard
originally wrote for the RGCD 16K
Cartridge Compo, enhanced with proper
jumping physics by Dr. Martin
"Enthusi" Wendt. Poor Pepito the
sheep is lost in Mindspace, and you
must help him escape from this
nightmare by guiding him through 16
levels guarded by Green Martians,
Space Chickens and Wiggly Worms!
Sheepoid DX and Woolly Jumper are
PAL-only games, and have been
confirmed working on the C64, C128
and C64GS (although a second joystick
is required in port one to activate
the smart bomb in Sheepoid DX). The
cartridge version is available in two
packaging types, a standard card
carton and a more expensive 'deluxe
version' that comes in a plastic case
(a Universal Game Case with a
specially cut foam insert to hold the
cartridge as shown below). The
standard version is priced at £22,
whereas the deluxe version costs £27.
Shipping is £4 for UK/Europe and £5
for the rest of the world. A digital
version of the game will also be sent
out to all customers following
receipt of payment.
The cover art features illustration
and design by Smila and STE'86 and
the game comes complete with a
printed manual, and vinyl RGCD
sticker. The 64KB PCB is housed in
classic black cartridge shell.
Grab your copy now!
Please note that Pystronik Software
are also selling the game on
premium/budget disk and tape for
£9.99, £4.99 and £4.99 respectively
(plus shipping) via their Binary Zone
Retro Store.
Thanks for reading!
James Monkman / Heavy Stylus
-------------------------------------
*************************************
CBMSH UNIX SHELL FOR 6502 MACHINES
*************************************
Cbmsh is a unix-like shell for
6502-based commodore computers, like
the c64, vic-20 and c128. It features
the classic unix commands like ls,
more, echo, cd etc. adapted to work
on a commodore floppy disk or the
modern sd2iec standard.
If you want to know more, download
cbmsh and have a look at the README
and CHANGELOG files.
Cbmsh is distributed under the GPL
license.
It is based on the sash shell. It is
coded in C, and should be compiled
using the cc65 compiler.
www.opbyte.it/cbmsh/
-------------------------------------
*************************************
C16/PLUS 4 GAME ENDINGS
*************************************
Have you ever played a game and
wondered how it ends? Does it just
loop endlessly or is there some form
of real ending awaiting the player?
Well, with the aid of this website
you now know the answers to these
questions. With over 119 game
endings, the pages just show the
final screenshots or animation of the
game end. On the other hand, if you
haven't wondered about the game
endings, then the website address
won't be much help, but it does have
links for downloading the games!
plus4world.powweb.com/gameendings
-------------------------------------
*************************************
C64 - FM RADIO
*************************************
Listen to your favourite radio
stations on your Commodore. Timo
Voutilainen connected a RDA5807 FM
Radio module to the user-port of the
Commodore C64. The module uses only 6
connections: GND, +5V, DAT, CLK and 2
for the audio. Timo also has written
a program that controls the FM Radio.
sites.google.com/site/dividedbit/home
/c64-projects/fm-radio-for-c64
=====================================
*************************************
REVIEW: BERZERK REDUX
Cartridge File
By Commodore Free
*************************************
There is a Wikipedia entry here if
you want to read the history of the
game en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berzerk
Man, would I love to play the Atari
2600 version of this game?!
GAME SYNOPSIS
The astro date is 3200, and you are
the last survivor of a small group of
Earth people who came to the planet
Mazeon. Soon after landing, you
discovered the planet is a dark and
apparently uninhabitable place, but
by then it was too late to turn back
because your spacecraft had been
destroyed by Automazeons!
Now you are a prisoner here, trapped
in a maze where even the walls are
death to touch. Grim robot thugs
known as 'Automazeons' stalk you
relentlessly and you must
systematically pulverise them with
your laser gun before they eliminate
you with theirs.
You are never safe on the planet
Mazeon. Even when you've destroyed
the mechanical heavies, Evil Otto,
the mad and merciless mind behind the
robot gangs, leaps out from where
he's been observing the battle. You
flee in panic because you know that
you cannot kill him, and that, once
he catches you, you'll never escape.
He will pound you to a lifeless pulp,
grinning like a maniac all the while.
Your only hope is to get out of the
electrified maze before Evil Otto
catches you.
If you do get out, you'll find
yourself in another maze. Again the
faceless robots shoot at you, again
Evil Otto pursues you, again you must
dodge and shoot and run... in yet
another maze. It's enough to drive
you bonkers!
EXCLUSIVE TO THE CARTRIDGE VERSION
Several changes have been made to
Berzerk Redux since the last
available build (1.10):
The bitmap title screen now prompts
for fire to be pressed after a five
second delay.
When a maze is cleared ,the game
scrolls to the next one instead of
screen-flipping.
The room layout is the same if the
player takes the same route through
the maze, allowing for fairer
competitive play.
There is a hidden "master robot room"
where killing the master robot gives
a huge bonus score and extra life.
The door graphics are now like the
arcade rather than a crosshatch
pattern.
The game also supports high-score
saving to disk. When loading, the
game searches any connected drives
for a disk containing a save file. If
none exists, the user is asked if
they would like to create one, or
continue loading the game without
using a save file.
CREDITS
Berzerk Redux is an RGCD/Element 114
Software production, Copyright
2009-13.
Code/Design: Martin Piper
Graphics: Zeldin/Cascade
Music (Splash Screen):Necropolo
Music (Title Screen): Richard Bayliss
Character Set: Groepaz
Box Artwork: Flemming Dupont
Testing/Manual: James Monkman
Testing/Manual: David Simmons
Cartridge Hardware: Tim Harris
NTSC Testing: Ray Lejuez
LINKS
For more information on the team
involved in this C64 conversion,
visit:
* www.wellytop.com/C64.html
* www.cascade64.de
* tnd64.unikat.sk
* www.rgcd.co.uk
SOURCE CODE
www.wellytop.com/C64.html
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
* A Commodore 64/128/GS (PAL/NTSC)
(6581 SID Recommended).
* A joystick/joypad.
* A VDU preferably connected to a
loud sound-system
Imagine a small boy in a Smokey pool
hall with the bottom end of the hall
full of arcade games. One of these
games seems to have a man running
around a room while avoiding aliens,
but the thing that seems very odd is
that this arcade machine is actually
speaking to the players.
For me, this is a truly brilliant
game, and having seen the various
development versions as the game was
tweaked for release, I can only
congratulate all those involved in
it. I have a real love for this game,
as the intro above would suggest, and
so seeing as I'm very biased towards
it, I feel it's almost a travesty of
justice for me to score it. I think
my strong feelings will inevitably
show in the scores at the end. Most
people will probably dismiss the game
for its crude and sparse graphics,
but it's a game that you need to play
to appreciate. Sadly, because the
software is still under copyright, it
can't be sold; however, it can be
given away, and that's what RGCD have
done with the release. It's a shame
that some sort of compromise about
its sale hasn't been made, however
the main thing is that it exists.
My love of this game goes way back to
the arcades where I played the
original version, spluttering in a
smokey pool hall, trying to get on
the high score table. Back then I
played a version on the VIC called
AMOK (more about this later as I
review this VIC-20 classic - yes I am
more biased to the VIC version than
any other!)
WHAT IS IT?
Basically, you are on screen with
various obsticles to hide behind, and
various exits to get out the room;
however, there are robots that will
home in and try to kill you. You have
to kill them first, shooting them all
to gain a bonus. Hang around too
long, and you face the evil Otto.
Sadly, you can't kill him, and must
flee before he kills you.
Loading up the cartridge, you have to
have some way to get the cartridge
file of course VICE will load a crt
file and the game is available as a
D64 so you could copy this to a disk,
I have the CRT file dumped onto a
custom made cartridge just for the
review. Various methods exist so you
can copy the CRT to a cartridge.
So inserting the cartridge and
powering on...
Each release of this game got better
and better. The "splash" screen
loads...
Some great music begins to pump out.
It's very robotic in style. Think of
PHAT and robot like and you get the
idea of what the music will be: a
pumping bass, but without being a
techno dance thing.
The game tried to load a high-score
file, but if it doesn't find one, it
gives you the option to create one,
but you need a disk drive connected
to do so.
Starting up then:
Another great tune pumps out,
building up the suspense. Yes, it
looks as basic as the original game
did in the arcades back in the day.
However, it's in colour and doesn't
need an overlay on screen!
Yes, it's a stick man with a strange
walk and some dodgy-looking block men
posing as robots; however, this
doesn't detract from the game. With
various speech sounds belting out of
the SID chip, it needs to be played
before you dismiss it.
You're trapped in a maze, and need to
shoot the alien robots. If you shoot
them all in a room, you get a bonus,
but don't take too long about it or
the evil smiley face that is
non-destructible will come for you,
and if touched, kill you. Our man
can't touch other robots, as he will
die, and all walls are electrified
and kill on the slightest touch. You
can only shoot in the direction you
move; however, left, right, up, down
and diagonal movements are permitted.
This version does feel and look like
the original. You can see someone
playing it under the mame emulator on
youtube here
www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2pWsOqEzqI
and here on the real arcade machine
www.youtube.com/watch?v=m79Edlt9Ank
I was hooked the first time I saw it
at the time of its release in the
arcades. Maybe it's the speech, or
the frenzy of the action, but playing
this Commodore version takes me back
in a real nostalgic mood, especially
with the lights low. It's like I'm
there in that Smokey arcade playing
the machine for the first time again.
SCORES
Well this is difficult. Do I rate
this as a conversion or a standalone
release?
Nostalgia comes in, and its a bit of
bother really, so the scores are a
mix of all these!
Graphics: 6/10
they look like the originals, so
high scores for that, but on the
other hand, they are just stick men
Sounds: 8/10
samples, speech, and great music
Gameplay: 9/10
it was the precursor to Robotron
Overall: 8/10
although for a nostalgic game, it's
more like 10/10
Absolutely brilliant conversion,
completely capturing the feel of the
original, although not 100% accurate
as this version adds to what already
is a great game.
Well done!
=====================================
*************************************
REVIEW: VIC AMOK
By Commodore Free
*************************************
With a young boy shovelling money
into an arcade machine, imagine said
young man's amazement at reading a
review in a computer magazine of the
time that AMOK was being released:
basically this was the VIC's answer
to BERZERK.
Featuring full colour, sound and
optional joystick control, how much
fun could a young guy have? The game
was released in 1981 actually
thinking about it without the rose
tinted glasses I think I received
this with 3 other games in a pack,
maybe for a birthday or Christmas
present, anyway lets just say I
received it soon after launch!
If you want to see it played in the
flesh then look here
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bq0CTYotM08
Playing the game was hypnotizing for
me because of the speed the alien
robots moved. It was amazing that the
VIC was capable of making them zoom
so smoothly over the screen with such
speed. Such a great game.
Loading the game from tape
Well it does give the instructions,
Function key 8 starts the game while
the other function keys cycle through
the difficulty levels.
It's basically the same game as
BEZERK for the c64, and of course,
both were based on the arcade game.
The game is simple. You need to
escape from a maze full of robots
that you are trapped in. You can
shoot them, and move in all
directions while shooting in the
direction you move. The Robots will
come towards you and try to shoot
you. If you touch them then you will
die. All walls are electrified and
will kill you on first touch. You
must kill all the aliens in the room
and then escape through one of the
exits.
You will encounter a number of
different coloured robots. Each
colour reflects their difficulty or
skill. The robots can shoot multiple
bullets, but you can only shoot one
at a time, and will have to wait for
it to disappear before firing again.
The game has some colour clashing,
and yep, looking at it now, it's not
exactly perfect, but I think it's
stood the test of time really well.
SCORES
Graphics: 7/10
Sound: 5/10
just blips
Gameplay: 8/10
Overall: 8/10
It's a great game simple but good
=====================================
*************************************
Q & A WITH LENARD ROACH
Part 2: Programs
*************************************
blip.tv/bios/lenard-roach-and-his-pro
grams-at-commvex-2012-6565396
At the Commodore Vegas Expo v8 2012,
Lenard Roach speaks of his book,
Run/Stop-Restore; book publishing,
using a UPS, and his C64 BASIC
programs for home accounting. Filmed
by Robert Bernardo
Commodore Free continued their chat
with Lenard, and turned the
questioning to his programming on the
Commodore 64 --
- - - - - - - - - -
Q: Lenard, this is too cool for you
to sit down again and give us some of
your time to talk shop about the
Commodore.
A: The pleasure is all mine, I assure
you. The Commodore is a great machine
both for general as well as
recreational use.
- - - - - - - - - -
Q: What got you into the business of
writing Commodore programs?
A: I can thank my Commodore teacher,
Carl Zuel, and various Commodore
publications for that. I started with
type-in programs and noticed that
they were written in English, and
what I mean by English is that you
could actually read the code like a
story. I started fooling around with
the text of the programs, changing
PRINT statements first, and later,
with the help of Carl, I started to
learn the algebraic expressions and
what they mean. Later, I started
writing small coded text with my
twist of comedy, then progressed to
full-blown BASIC coded programs.
- - - - - - - - - -
Q: I see from your website,
lenardroach.com, that you have some
programs for sale. What are they, how
did they come into bring, and what do
they do? Let's start with "Check it
Out."
A: "Check it Out" was my first ever
major programming effort, which got
the attention of the editor at RUN
magazine. "Check it Out," in short,
allows you to print into the face of
a wallet size check all the necessary
information. All you have to do is
sign it.
- - - - - - - - - -
Q: Why did you write this program?
A: At the time I was writing about 15
to 20 checks each week to various
bills and organizations. What I
needed was a way to print off a check
like a payroll check, only smaller,
so I could save my wrists (carpel
tunnel was just starting to set in),
and also speed up the process of bill
paying. I started off with just a
simple printing program formatted for
a Commodore MPS 802 printer. From
there it grew to its present
functionality. This is where RUN
bought the work for $150 and
published it in the November/December
1992 issue.
- - - - - - - - - -
Q: Where does the program stand now?
Have you done anything more to it
since its 1992 release?
A: Since RUN owns the legal copyright
to the work, I can do very little to
it and publish it again. I have to
get permission from the present
owners of the copyright before I can
do a re-release, but to answer your
question, I've done some code
re-arranging so that reading the code
as text is easier. I've also updated
the code to accept information from
"Check Mate" whenever the user wishes
to access that data.
- - - - - - - - - -
Q: Let's talk a little bit about
"Check Mate." What's the story behind
it?
A: "Check it Out" and "Check Mate" go
hand in hand. After making a
successful hit with my first ever
for-profit publication, I sat down at
my Commodore 128 every night after
work and started coding, but it was
aimless typing with no central
direction. Each week, as I worked
with "Check it Out" I was noticing
something missing. A lot of my bills,
like rent, had a steady amount behind
them. Wouldn't it be neat, I thought,
to create a database-style program
that "Check it Out" could access so
that all users needed to do was call
up the data file, print the check,
and then sign? With a little help
from the disk-drive users' guide, I
wrote the code for "Check Mate". The
program worked great, but then "Check
it Out" needed to be revamped to
accept the incoming "Check
Mate"-created data, so a new version
of "Check it Out" was written to gave
access to said data. However, there
was no publication due to RUN owning
the copyright to "Check it Out."
- - - - - - - - - -
Q: But "Check Mate" can be sold since
it is a stand-alone work?
A: Yes. I usually sell both programs
as a set. The purchaser is buying
"Check Mate" and getting the new
version of "Check it Out" for free.
- - - - - - - - - -
Q: Okay, now we come to the program
named "TEA." Obviously this is an
acronym for something larger Care to
elaborate?
A: TEA is short for "The Envelope
Addressor." This is a short, 54 block
program that creates, stores, edits,
and calls off from disk the name,
address, and zip code of an
individual or organization and then
prints both the "to" and "from"
addresses onto the face of a #10 size
envelope. The program was published
in an issue of Loadstar magazine some
time back.
- - - - - - - - - -
Q: What's the origin behind this
Commodore work?
A: I was editor, publisher, and
distributor of the Commodore Users
Group of Kansas City's newsletter,
"Ryte Bytes." Just like writing
checks, my carpel tunnel started
acting up when it came to addressing
the envelopes to all the members, as
well as those clubs where we do
newsletter swaps. I decided that a
database and print routine needed to
be created on my Commodore, so once
again, necessity became the mother of
invention, and TEA was written.
Later, as the need arose, I revamped
TEA to include formats for #7 and
dual windowed envelopes, too. For the
upgraded version I renamed the
program TEA 4 2. I was going to
revamp the program a third and final
time to let it work on the Commodore
128, but a simple load of TEA 4 2 in
40 column mode on the 128 gives you
the same desired effects as if it
were in the 64 version.
- - - - - - - - - -
Q: Moving on to the last program in
the bunch, the simply named "The
Ledger." Where did this one come
from?
A: I tried writing a program based on
my ex-wife's budgeting book, which
was simply a ledger that followed the
spending on household bills, loans,
credit cards, medical expenses, stuff
like that. My first attempt, "The
Obligator Coordinator," was a dismal
failure, full of bugs and hard to
follow for the user. After a couple
of years passed under the bridge, I
sat down at my Commodore and re-wrote
the entire program, basically
scrapping the old code for fresh
ideas. "The Ledger" is a database of
information that can be changed at
the user's whim. Here the database
holds names, addresses, phone
numbers, and websites, as well as
amounts owed, paid, and due. The data
in each sequential file can be
arranged from two different points in
the program for quick access. Files
can be saved in order or from month
to month by simply saving the data
under a new file name like
"house.jan" or "house.1/13," etc.
- - - - - - - - - -
Q: Any improvements that you can see
for "The Ledger" now as to when you
first released it?
A: "The Ledger" was the easiest
program for me to write and the
hardest program for me to debug and
improve on. Even after all the alpha
and beta testing done by me and other
local Commodore users, bugs still
persisted. To my embarrassment,
during a demonstration at the 2012
Las Vegas CommVEx, bugs popped up
during the showing leaving me with
egg on my face. Still, attendees were
nice enough to buy a few copies with
the bugs and probably worked them out
during their spare time at the
Commodore. As for improvements, I'm
sure that I can make some upgrades to
the original code (it's obvious that
it needs it!), and I'm also sure that
I've mentioned a few of them in some
articles I've written, so when time
permits I'll sit down with the
program and go through it again to
see what I can see and definitely get
something done.
- - - - - - - - - -
Q: Any future projects that you have
in mind?
A: Well, I think I've taken my bill
paying and accounting series as far
as I know how. I would like to sit
down with some of those game
construction sets that are available
for the Commodore and take a crack at
making some games. I was quite the
pinball wizard back in my younger
years and I would enjoy building my
own pinball game. My son is a big car
fanatic, so a racing construction set
may help out there, plus, if there
are other varieties I would like to
try them, too.
- - - - - - - - - -
Q: Just as a side note, you mentioned
a comedy career. How is that doing
here in the 21st century?
A: I basically write comedy skits for
churches now, teaching the Bible and
the Christian life to younger people
with a twist of humor to keep it
interesting. I find that children
learn better when information is
mixed with a little humor. From what
I write for churches, I sit down just
after New Years, choose the best
skits from the previous year, and
compile them into my next book.
- - - - - - - - - -
Q: What would you like to leave our
readers with in this, part of your
interview?
A: Always continue to dream and to
achieve. Never stop doing either.
Commodore and other like devices
wouldn't be here today if someone
didn't come up with an idea to
achieve such things.
- - - - - - - - - -
Q: Thank you again, Lenard, for
taking time out to talk shop with us.
Will you keep us posted on any future
endeavors you have with the
Commodore?
A: Absolutely.
=====================================
*************************************
WHO OR WHAT WERE CMD
Creative Micro Designs
*************************************
Creative Micro Designs Inc was
incorporated on the 1st of December
1987, evolving from a company called
Fellows Inc.
In 1986 Mark Fellows, a degree
student with a major in computers,
started working on a project called
JiffyDOS version 1. This would be a
speed-loader system and toolkit for
the Commodore 64 range of computers;
the product was developed out of a
necessity of Mark's more than
anything else. He was writing a
Commodore sequencer program, but it
proved painful to load. Mark thought
he could re-write the Commodore's
Kernal (note the spelling of kernel,
see references) and DOS (disk
operating system) routines to make
them more efficient. The product was
honed for nearly 2 years, making it
very compatible and of course faster
than Commodore's version. It also
featured a DOS wedge, adding keyboard
shortcuts amongst other things for
common functions. Mark stopped
working on the sequencer and put all
his efforts into the JiffyDOS
product, even advertising it for
sale.
Mark then met Charles Christianson,
who had graduated with a degree in
business marketing, and was itching
to promote a real business. Mark and
Charles loaded games on a real
Commodore machine, each taking about
2 to 3 minutes, then Mark turned on
the JiffyDOS - and the same games
took less than 20 seconds to load
from the same Commodore system and
1541 disk drive! The pair worked
together on the product.
Both had full time jobs at the time,
but in October they decided to make
this a real business. Charles secured
investment of $10,000 from his
father, and set up a phone line at
their home. Charles was told it was
the MBA or the investment, so he took
the investment ,and thus created CMD
with 3 partners. In March 1988, Mark
was now working full-time for CMD
while Charles worked three quarters
of the time for CMD. The company grew
quickly in the first four years,
developing other products, including
JiffyDOS version updates, the CMD HD
series, and of course the RAMLink.
CMD grew to a company with a million
dollar turnover and over 300
products, securing the distribution
rights for the GEOS operating system.
The company was also a Commodore
repair, service and refurbishment
centre.
Later CMD would develop the SuperCPU
for the Commodore 64, with plans for
an upgraded version for the 128. It
was an accelerator card, speeding up
processing (to a maximum of 20MHz) on
the Commodore machines. Not only were
these products fast, they were also
reliable and highly compatible with
the Commodore 64 and its software -
most notably with GEOS, which CMD was
now distributing. While GEOS users
experienced slicker performance,
coders were also excited. Not only
could they still code on the native
machine, but compilation times were
greatly reduced. In 1989 CMD also
began working on a SCSI based hard
disk system that would incorporate
JiffyDOS. The CMD HD started selling
in 1990 and was very compatible with
the c64 and its software, featuring
disk partitions that emulated a real
disk to help compatibility.
In 1991, CMD took over the
development of the Swiftlink serial
port adapter and the SID Symphony
cartridge. Dr Evil Labs had
originally developed the products.
The Sid Symphony added a second SID
chip, and the Swiftlink was a
high-speed RS-232 interface allowing
the use of faster modems.
In 1992, CMD developed the FD-2000
floppy disk drive. This was
compatible with the Commodore 1581
drive, but could also use
1.6-megabyte disks. Coupled with the
JiffyDOS chip, not only was the drive
highly compatible, it was also
extremely fast. That same year CMD
opened an office in Austria named CMD
Direkt to promote CMD products in
Europe, and provide lower prices
(bypassing import tax). Rick Gaudet
translated many of the CMD products
into German. Unfortunately the office
was closed in 1997 due to high
operating costs.
CMD developed the SmartMouse in 1993,
a mouse compatible with the Commodore
1351 mouse with an extra button and
the inclusion of a real-time clock.
Maurice Randall, a Commodore
programmer and CMD fan, could not
find a backer to sponsor his racecar.
So he promoted CMD himself by putting
stickers on his Chrysler LeBaron
Coupe to advertise CMD, JiffyDOS and
the FD series of drives.
In 1994, CMD purchased the rights to
produce the Skyles Electric works 2+1
expansion cartridge, allowing
multiple cartridges to be attached to
the C64. The Commodore World
magazine, published by CMD, acted as
both a catalogue and promotional tool
for new products. Legendary
programmer Jim Butterfield was among
those who provided articles. The
bankruptcy of Commodore and the long
drawn out take-over that followed was
chronicled in the pages of Commodore
World.
In 1995, CMD brought out the revised
EX3 cartridge expander, which
replaced the 2+1, which was becoming
too expensive to manufacture. Later
the EX3 was modified to include a
horizontal port, and named the EX2+1,
because the 2+1 had featured a
similar horizontal port
In 1997, CMD produced the SuperRAM
card, giving users a way to add 16Mb
of memory to their machines. The card
fitted internally into the SuperCPU.
Later in the same year, the SuperCPU
128 was finally released.
Rumours also started that CMD was
working on a "home computer" itself,
with Commodore 64 compatibility and a
collection of hardware already
developed. Many people speculated on
a "super C64" with JiffyDOS, a
SuperCPU and a hard disk. It is
believed the design was shown to a
number of potential backers, however
no money was secured to make the
project a reality. With dwindling
sales to the Commodore community and
smaller runs of the hardware, the
cost of production increased and
prices were raised.
CMD stopped selling its products in
2001. Maurice Randall purchased the
rights to produce new CMD hardware
and software through his company
Click Here Software, buying up the
company's remaining inventory.
Sadly Maurice seems to be dragging
his heels on these orders, and is
best avoided at the moment as a
supplier of CMD hardware. For
example, I know users who have been
waiting 7 or more years for Maurice
to produce hardware for them. Maurice
seems to have now lost interest or is
too busy to work on these products,
and has gone quiet. Thankfully,
Commodore Free did receive a full
refund for its produces placed with
Maurice. So for the moment, Ebay is
the only place to acquire these
devices, although alternatives are
appearing, and various people have
been in talks and working on items
like the SCPU replacement. In any
case, the availability of SD card
readers has diminished the demand for
items like the CMD hard disk.
Next month, all being well, we will
look in detail at some of the CMD
products and what they could do for
you, the readers of Commodore Free.
Jiffy dos is available to buy legally
from Jim Brain. Jim also sells a
number of useful hardware items
store.go4retro.com/
REFERENCES USED IN THIS TEXT
Kernal
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kernel_(computi
ng)
Kernal is also a common misspelling
of kernel.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KERNAL
About the misspelling
The KERNAL was originally known as
the kernel inside of Commodores since
the PET days, but in 1980, Robert
Russell misspelled the word in his
notebooks as KERNAL. When Commodore
technical writers Neil Harris and
Andy Finkel collected Russell's notes
and used them as the basis for the
VIC-20 programmer's manual, the
misspelling followed them along and
stuck.
According to early Commodore myth,
and reported by writer/programmer Jim
Butterfield among others, the "word"
KERNAL is an acronym (or maybe more
likely, a backronym) standing for
Keyboard Entry Read, Network, And
Link, which in fact makes good sense
considering its role. Its original
purpose was to provide software
compatibility across machines by
having a standard series of calls to
built-in routines. Berkeley Softworks
later used it when naming the core
routines of its GUI OS for 8-bit home
computers: the GEOS KERNAL.
Commodore 64
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_64
DOS
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DOS
DOS Wedge
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DOS_Wedge
Commodore DOS
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_DOS
GEOS (8-bit operating system)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GEOS_(8-bit_ope
rating_system)
The Commodore GEOS F.A.Q. v1.4.1
www.landley.net/history/mirror/8bits/
geos/GEOSFAQ.html
The Unofficial CMD Homepage
www.cmdweb.de/
This article was written by Commodore
Free with substantial help from
Andrew Fisher. Commodore Free would
like to thank Andrew for his help,
and hopes he'll get well soon.
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