blakespot

FWIW I talk about many word processors of olde in this post, including Word Writer ST along with a screenshot. https://bytecellar.com/2016/06/05/a-look-back-at-three-decades-of-word-processors/ bp

I have an Atari ST demo slideshow disk that I don't see online and I want to turn it into an .ST image to archive. I currently have an STm with an HxC2001 in an external enclosure acting as A: and B:. My two SF314s are not connected. I plan to connect one of the SF314s to the chain-off port on the HxC2001 enclosure (which has standard rear ports for the SF354 drive its replaced) and thereby have flash for A: and floppy for B: I am wondering what util disk I might use (that is a disk image) to load via HxC that will read a floppy and save it as an .ST image. I can create a "blank disk" on the HxC and use it in A: after the util is loaded to store the .ST image, assuming it will fit on a 720K image. Can someone point me to a util disk that would help me out here? I've looked around and am not easily finding what I'm looking for. (I will then need to use the HxC util to convert the .ST image to .HFE so that the HxC can read it, annoytingly.) Thanks. bp

The crappy keyboard's key switches. I had and have an STm and they keyfeel is terrible. I had a Mega ST2, and am told it had a mechanical keyboard that felt nice, but I don't recall. I didn't have it long and I was not a keyboard geek as I am now. I have a room full of computers and the STm's feels the worst, easily. bp

Does anyone happen to have the Audio Light 1985 Seasons Greetings slideshow + music demo? Apparently it's in connection with Antic and surely was made using an early version of their Music Studio. Here's a video of the demo: I recorded this demo in 2010 on an emulator and apparently had the disk image back then, but I cannot find it now. Many thanks. bp

Wow. I was not trying to call you out! The game is lovely and FAR better than the '92 "Centipede" Millipede clone from the PD group in my view, but having gotten a superb Apple IIgs port of Centipede ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcmpkEUQznM ) where the mouse control is perfect, I had to ask. Good work on the port and I imagine powers that be found a mouse not a "gaming device" surely! I love the port, would love it more with mouse support, but thank you for that awesome game on the ST! (I am __NOW__ agnostic (I was in the Amiga ST wars...) and love Amiga, ST, Apple IIgs and all the rest now -- and have them all in my basement.) bp

I think I have a copy of that movie on VHS. Oh wait... bp

I’ve been wanting an ST Centipede release lately what with a dead on 60fps perfect Centipede release that just landed on the Apple IIgs. What’s odd to me - I got Millipede last night - is that it seems it’s stick-only. No mouse control! It’s a trackball game ffs! So it’s not very playable. It’s better than that PD Millipede clone from 1992 that’s called “Centipede,” but I can’t believe there’s no mouse control option. bp

I have two of these SD Card Drive Paks made by R. Taylor and I'm trying to get new files installed on the SD. On the FB group I was told the SD card is std FAT32 and can be mounted to Windows and .BIN, etc. just copied over. I can't get Windows or macOS to recognize either of the Paks' SD cards. What is the process of getting a new .BIN installed on a "volume" on the SD card? I am trying to run Twilight Terminal, which is not on the bundled software (that I can see). Many thanks.

I have one of Roger Taylor's "SD Drive Pak"s with the SD card full of volumes. Video: Info: http://www.colorcomputer.net I want to install a new BIN (Twilight Terminal) on the SD card so I can run it. The documentation doesn't show install procedures that I can see. Can anyone advise me here? Thanks. bp

Bad times have come... bp

I spotted an all-in-one sort of system stand / enclosure for the Atari ST and thought I'd share it because this kind of thing is RARE. I spent years in search of one before finally finding it (due to posts I'd made long before in search of it). The one I had back in 1987 (ordered out of a STart magazine) and then sought out later is the Micro Way A520 STation. It's a nice looking unit that just houses the floppy drive and power bricks. The unit for sale here is rather more kludgy looking, in my opinion, but seems to have an integrated power strip. At any rate, someone out there might be interested, I felt. The ST in this package looks a little rough, though. https://www.ebay.com/itm/ATARI-520-ST-SM-124-Zubehor-Floppy-Mouse-u-s-w-funktionstuchtig/392430657917?hash=item5b5eb0a17d:g:zTAAAOSw6ypc2tWO My A520 STation can be seen in this tweet I just made.

I did not come from an A8 background, but I have been enjoying my “recently” acquired 130XE and PAL 800XL of late (well, second set of those as well, as an “ingot” killed my first two in the space of 5 minutes). I purchased a SIO2SD from Lotharek on eBay because his eBay offerings, unlike the web store, came with a 4GB SD card full of games and demos. Great for me, not having favorites already on the platform. Sadly the SD card failed, and I now have nothing to run on the units. I assume someone else must have purchased the same, here, and I’m asking if such a person might image that SD card and give me access to it so I can get back to enjoying the A8s again. I’d be in your debt if you can do this for me. Thanks. bp

Looks worse than I remember. Arcade quality, indeed... Thanks for the info. bp

I have the vaguest recollection of this game on my TI-99/4A from back in 1983/4. It was one of the last games I purchased for it, and I believe it was one of only two or so that I mail ordered, the other being Moonbeam Express from Moonbeam Software. Both of these games were Extended BASIC games, which would explain why I recall Aztec Challenge being so amazingly slow. I didn't enjoy the game, I recall. I sold the TI (not due to Aztec Challenge) and moved to an Apple //c a short time later. I have reacquired a TI system, more recently. Just FYI. bp

Oh? So it wouldn't work right off. I have no scope. I have a voltmeter. Am I lost then? bp

I still have the orig Playstation I purchased in 1996. It's worked quite well over the years. I modded it long ago. A year or so ago the occasional CD would not load or load slowly. I assumed drive was about to give up the ghost. Then the machine wouldn't spin at all and the display would flicker repeatedly. I assumed a PSU failure had taken place -- replace it with an eBay unit (with a blue LED) and that problem went away. But the CD-ROM drive problem got worse. Finally I couldn't load anything. It sounded like a spin issue. So, I bought a replacement new mechanism on eBay and installed it. I hear spinning and seeking, but the spinning doesn't last as long as it should and the seeking sounds stuttered -- as if it's having trouble focusing - not normal. So I looked and there was no other seller of such parts so I rolled the dice and purchased ANOTHER mechanism from the same guy and it's the same thing. Spinning that slows down -- I can hear like 5 spins per second before it stops, and it won't load anything. The seek sound sounds labored also. This is the unit and vendor I twice purchased for my SCPH-1001: https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-OPTICAL-LASER-LENS-MECHANISM-for-SONY-Playstation-SCPH-1001/360534474878 Does anyone have any advice here? For whatever reason I'd like to keep this unit working rather than buying a used, modded PS1. Thanks. bp

Hmm. I purchased Thrust from John Dondzilla at classicgamecreations.com back in 2007. I thought it came with an insert for the screen, and so I spent an hour looking all over the room for it last night (I want to picture it in a game competition over at r/Retrobattlestations) and couldn't find it. I then dug around in email and see that Jonh indicated it doesn't come with an insert and that he was unaware of any being available. I guess it didn't come with one, for me anyway. But I've seen a few photos of an insert in place and it sounds like some of you have one. Is that true? Does anyone know where I can purchase this insert today? Also -- how is the mini game activated? It's hidden I suppose. Thanks. https://www.flickr.com/photos/blakespot/2380594010/in/photolist-9CCmS6-5HtBhz-4NTdCS-4CnaEj-4BgFzZ-4BfNv1-4ChSYg-4CnaGC-4CnaHW-4ChSUz-6i9aJV-51sc4F bp

http://ataritools.fr...NIX-PROJECT.htm Did this ever get released? I was surprised to see no version of Phoenix for the A8. bp

I have an Atari 800XL PAL unit with Supervideo XL mod that I paid a good bit for from Germany. The keyboard in it had a stuck key. I confirmed it was mechanical. Air did not help so I took the membrane loose. Apparently a mistake. Replacing after cleaning, only the function keys work. Reseated cable repeatedly. I was going to buy another unit on eBay and take the keyboard, but they are too expensive, so I will not be watching scene demos on this but shelving it, it seems. I can't afford a new one. (Someone is currently selling a PIECE OF FOAM from the box of a 600XL for $32....) Before I close the door on my A8 experience for probably a decade, I wanted to see if anyone had a spare keyboard for the unit that I could buy for a fairly low price. Probably not, but I wanted to take one more chance before I put this broken system away. Thanks. :-/ bp

Hah. I've thought about such things. There is the Atari Falcon with an '030 on a 16-bit RAM bus and the Mac LC/LC II with an 020 (and 030 respectively) on 16-bit busses. I wrote this letter 12 years ago to the editor to RetroGamer magazine (which got published in issue 11, actually) in response to a piece they'd written. Take it as you will. - - - - - "I wanted to report a bit of an error in the Apple IIgs article that ran in issue 9. The author refers to the IIgs as a "16-bit" machine, akin to the Amiga and Atari ST. That comparison is inaccurate. The Motorola 68000 in the Amiga and Atari ST is a "16/32" bit processor in that it has an internal 32-bit architecture (32-bit registers, etc.) but sits on a 16-bit data bus. It does not communicate externally at 32-bits. The WDC 65C816 in the Apple IIgs is a "8/16" bit processor in that it has an internal 16-bit architecture, but communicates with the rest of the world in 8-bits. (Likewise the Sinclair QL uses a Motorola 68008 CPU which is basically a 68000 that, while sporting a 32-bit internal architecture, communicates with the rest of the system by way of an 8-bit data bus.) So if the Amiga/Atari ST is considered 16-bit, thenthe IIgs would have to be called 8-bit. If you call the Amiga/Atari ST 32-bit machines - which would not be an entirely wrong description, then the IIgs becomes a 16-bit machine. This is quite an important distinction that was not made clear in the article." - - - - - It's interesting that both the Sega Genesis/MegaDrive and the Super Nintendo were "16-bit" game machines of the same generation, but the former used a MC68000 and the latter used a 65C816. They can't both be "16-bit" machines. bp

...but that does make me ask. Does the 9995 in the Geneve have access to more Than 256 bytes of 16-bit RAM? Surely it must. How is the memory structured in the Geneve? bp

Hah, well, there are a few other violations of that in the posts over the years. Perhaps more "8-bit" in spirit... :-) bp

Thanks so much, mizapf! I've added this to my aforelinked christmas demo roundup blog post. Such a rare thing, that little program on that little platform. bp

That would be swell. However long you think? Obv the full run-through and if it repeats or persists forever in some way, maybe overall 4 or 5 mins? Whatever you think. Thanks! bp

I was hoping a video existed already. I am not currently setup with MESS to emulate Geneve, I'm afraid. Would be superb if you had the ability and inclination to do so, I must say. bp