
*************************************
       Commodore Free Magazine
    http://www.commodorefree.com/
*************************************

         Issue 49, March 2011

      Free to download magazine
  dedicated to Commodore computers
  Available as PDF, HTML, TXT, SEQ,
      D64 disk image and now as
        ePUB and MOBI e-book

=====================================

*************************************
              CONTENTS
*************************************

* Editorial
* NEWS
  - Speedlink Competition Pro
  - Games That Werent: Starglider 2
  - Amiga Media Center (AMC)
  - C & A Fan 7 Released
  - AmigaOne X1000 News Update
  - Commodore: A Company on the Edge
  - Charpad V1.7 Released
  - Turbo Demo Card
  - c64midi.com
  - C128 System Information 7.5
  - VICE Emulator Update
  - Ultimate pack for MorphOS 2.7
  - Commodore C64 - Car wash
  - Retro Gaming Newsletter
  - DotBASIC Free Download Released
* Interview with Lukasz Dziwosz
* What is Midi
* To Have And To Hold
* Back to the Past: Iss. 10, Jul 2007

=====================================

*************************************
              EDITORIAL
*************************************

MUSIC

This month is another loose issue
based around music, I did an
interview with Lukasz Dziwosz, owner
of www.c64midi.com and I have
re-done an article about Midi and
how to connect the various pieces of
hardware to your Commodore machines,
although this really relates to the
Commodore 64 its can be used for any
Commodore hardware as long as the
computer had a Midi interface made
for it at some point in its history.

The website www.c64midi.com seems
another great idea and you wonder
why no one has attempted it before,
I know there are various archive
projects for musical instruments but
don't know of any other websites
devoted to just the Commodore 64 and
Midi. Did the Plus 4 and Commodore
16 have much Music software produced
for the machine? Let me know if you
are a plus4/16 midi user I would be
very interested in what software and
hardware was produced for the
machine.

ORDERS GENTLEMEN PLEASE

I have on order a Commodore Book: A
Company on the Edge, if I ever
manage the time to finish reading it
I will print my review in a later
issue of Commodore Free magazine.
Having read the first book "The
Story of Commodore: A Company on the
Edge" I am looking forward to the
extra content that has been included
in the new edition. Some information
about ordering the book and a German
version is printed in the news
section of this issue of Commodore
Free.

HERE COMES THE SUMMER

Looking out of my window it would
appear here in the U.k. at least
Summer has finally decided to emerge
from its long winter slumber, a
large yellow burning object has
appeared in the sky and looking back
at historical documents I see this
usually named "the sun" it does seem
to have an amazing effect on the
temperature, and should I ever feel
the urge to venture out into the
wild I must remember to ensure this
new mystical "SUN" is working on my
"out side days"

NOT ONLY BUT ALSO

I have finished an the magazine with
an article called "to have and to
hold" its basically about how
software is now virtual rather than
a physical, and touchable item, what
I mean is that most of the time we
now download files and don't
actually have a physical media to
play. How long will it be before
CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray have
disappeared and we have to download
everything. Some will welcome the
idea, although I did see a
downloadable book priced at 8 and
the same book from a well known book
suppliers as a physical paperback
I.e. cut down ex tree edition cost
only 6 not sure this is actually
process from the point of view of
the purchaser, especially when the
book will have to have been supplied
in a digital format.

AND FINALLY

My friend told me he was going on
holiday for 2 weeks the conversation
then went like this

ME I asked "when are you going"

My friend looked at his watch,
thought for a moment, then looked up
at me and said "late August!"

Regards
Nigel (supposedly the editor)
www.commodorefree.com

=====================================

*************************************
                NEWS
*************************************

*************************************
   SPEEDLINK COMPETITION PRO 25TH
         ANNIVERSARY EDITION
*************************************

COMPETITION PRO 25th Anniversary
Edition & Games Collection Gold

The Golden Competition Pro is a
special edition of the legendary
classic of a joystick, finished with
an exclusive, stylish gold lustre.
Each of these limited edition
joysticks includes a certificate
bearing its unique serial number,
identifying the joystick as a real
collectors' item for gaming
enthusiasts.

The accompanying CD-ROM includes 50
original C64 and Amiga(R) games from
the golden age of home computing
that will revive the 80s on your
Windows(R) PC

10,000 joysticks are available with
certificate of authenticity

A standard edition joystick is also
available

http://www.amigakit.com

Priced at 20 the limited gold
edition will be something to show
off to your pc mates.

Specifications

* Digital USB joystick for the PC

* original Competition Pro design

* micro switches for that original
  sound and outstanding robustness

* extremely rugged stick with metal
  springs

* 4 fire buttons and a switchable
  autofire function

* special limited edition; includes
  serial number certificate

* 50 classic games on one CD:
  comprising 25 of the best Amiga
  Classix(R) and C64 Classix(R)
  titles respectively

* no driver needed

-------------------------------------

*************************************
 GAMES THAT WEREN'T: 'STARGLIDER 2'
            1989 RAINBIRD
*************************************

The sequel to one of the biggest
16-bit vector games was started on
the C64 way back in 1989, trying to
improve on the original version.

Way back in August 1988, the 16-bit
versions were reviewed. In the
interview with Jez San that
followed, he says:

"In the end we found some good
Commodore 64 programmers and they
are going to be working with us.
We're going to supply our routines
and lots of help, and they're going
to be programming the 6502...
everyone in our company is a 16-bit
programmer, no-one wanted to go back
to 8-bit."

Additionally worthy of note, but the
Amstrad and Spectrum versions
actually surfaced... so no doubt
this was no impossible conversion.

An official conversion in the
making, which seems to be what we
have here. Similar to Mercenary, but
nowhere near as good, the game was
scrapped due to speed issues, a
shame as it was starting to develop
nicely and take shape. With the
preview which has been out there for
a while, you can actually leave the
planet, and go into 'Elite' mode and
hunt around. Quite an impressive
preview, it's not known how complete
this preview actually is - though it
actually seems to be we believe
practically the complete game.

Recently in 2009, we had an email
from Pete Baron who said that this
was his game!.... Whilst working on
Myth, Pete was offered to do the C64
conversion. In total, 6 months was
spent on actual coding whilst doing
Myth, and Pete spent a lot of time
trying to get up on the 3D side of
things on the C64. He had never done
any 3D work on the C64 before, but
had been promised by Jez Sans to get
any resources possible from their
team to help. He had some info, but
had to do a lot of working out
himself. He managed to get some
routines and got to work. A bit
through the project, Pete
demonstrated things to Jez who felt
the game was far too slow. Pete then
tried to improve things, and did
manage to... but then Space Rogue
happened...

Space Rogue featured solid filled
vectors on the C64 and was very,
very fast for a 0.98mhz machine. It
blew Pete's work out of the water
and Jez had seen it too. They now
had to try and match Space Rogue, so
Pete now had the impossible mission
of getting a solid version working.
He did just that, but the frame rate
was just too poor filled in. In the
end, the project was canned and no
more. (You can read more detail from
Pete in the Creator Speaks section)

Just how the game sneaked out in its
current form is unknown, but the
fantastic news was that Pete did
actually do a complete conversion of
the game in the end that never got
released, and in two flavours... the
wireframe edition, and potentially a
filled vector version too.

Pete in late 2010 dug out all the
remains he had of Starglider 2,
which was believed to be the very
last build of the game. Jani
Tahvanainen very kindly spent a lot
of time digging through and
reconstructing the game.
Unfortunately though it seems that
once compiled, that even though the
date suggests it was a last build -
the preview seems far more complete
in comparison.

The version salvaged does not
feature a complete game panel area,
and starts with a test screen with
Pete's name mentioned and a date of
1988. You can use the F1 key to
start moving around, and going into
space just gives you a black screen.
Unfortunately although the Solid 3D
flags were present in the source
code, the actual implementation
doesn't seem to be present.

It is believed that an additional
block of work was done to get the
panels in and starfields, and the
solid 3D work was completed. It
seems very much so that the preview
which we already had may well be a
build from the very final version of
the source code. Just sadly we won't
be able to unlock the solid 3D
version without the source. As a
result, this could be a complete
version of Starglider 2, though it
may need playing through to clarify.

However, as well as getting a build
of the game which has elements not
in the preview, a long lost piece of
work by Bob Stevenson has been
salvaged, and would have been the
game's loading screen. Also Pete has
very kindly allowed us to release
the source code that was recovered,
which you can now download to check
out for yourself. There are two
versions, Pete's original supplied
source code, and a tweaked/fixed up
version by Jani.

So we have to now close the case for
this one (Unless the supplier of the
old preview to GP has the sources?),
as what Pete recovered was all that
Pete had and could still be read
from disk. Every physical piece of
media was dumped after digitally
preserving what could be preserved,
and before Pete left the UK to
travel the world.

Have an explore around and see what
you can uncover. Maybe there is more
to the old "preview" than we all
first thought?

Space exploration going a step
further on the C64... Case closed!

Frank and Andrew.

CREDITS

Code: Pete Baron
Music: N/A
Graphics: Bob Stevenson and Pete
Baron

(Additional source credits - Glenn
Rune Gallefois, Pete Baron, Bob
Stevenson, Patrick Furlong, Jazzcat,
Jani Tahvanainen)

http://www.gtw64.co.uk/Pages/s/Shots_
Starglider2.php

-------------------------------------

*************************************
      AMIGA MEDIA CENTER (AMC)
*************************************

We are glad to announce that
purchasing AMC once means you get 3
licenses. This way you can install
it for example 1x on AROS, AmigaOS
and MorphOS (still in progress).
Just run the registration process
again on another hardware and send
the resulting .rgs-files to
activation@a-mc.biz

The only thing you have to take care
of is that the activation-file will
be personalized so don't share it.

If you don't know what AMC is... it
is a Media Center application like
Apple's Frontrow, Geexbox and XBMC.

Organise and consume music, videos
and photos
Listen to web-radio or watch Web-TV
(including recording)

Supporting USB-Remotes.

More info via: www.a-mc.biz

Some videos can be seen on
www.aresone.de (gallery)

The license can be bought on
www.ares-shop.de

Fabio Falcucci
and Pascal Papara

-------------------------------------

*************************************
        C & A FAN 7 RELEASED
*************************************

http://www.ca-fan.pl/

CREDITS

* Graphics: Black Light of FanCA
* Design: Black Light of FanCA
* Text:
  - Arti of FanCA
  - Don Rafito of FanCA
  - MrMat of FanCA
  - Nitro of Black Sun
  - p.a. of FanCA
  - Ramos of FanCA, HVSC Crew, Samar
    Productions
  - Skull of FanCA, Samar Productions
* Linking: Black Light of FanCA
* Interviewed: Boguslaw Radziszewski

http://www.ca-fan.pl/rokdownloads/num
ery-cafan/CAFan_7_high.zip
http://www.ca-fan.pl/rokdownloads/num
ery-cafan/CAFan_7_low.zip

-------------------------------------

*************************************
     AMIGAONE X1000 NEWS UPDATE
*************************************

PENGUINS ANYONE?

As part of the pre-qualification
process, Varisys have created a
minimal PowerPC Linux kernel to
ensure that all components and
subsystems are working as expected
on the revision 2 Nemo motherboard.
Understandably, Linux driver support
is far more extensive and by
creating a minimal Linux system
Varisys can demonstrate that the
board they deliver to the AmigaOS4
developers it fit for purpose. As an
extension of this testing process we
have commissioned Varisys to create
a desktop Linux port complete with
GUI. Although we realize that many
Amigans will exclusively run
AmigaOS4 we thought that giving the
AmigaOne X1000 a working Linux
option would add extra value and
allow users to run software and
utilities that may not be currently
available under AmigaOS4.

"IT DON'T MATTER IF YOU'RE BLACK OR
WHITE"

We have been working very closely
with AmigaKit to produce "AmigaOne
X1000" and "Boing Ball" branded
peripherals and merchandise to
compliment the excellent A1-X1000
tower case design created by Andrew
Korn. In July 2010, AmigaKit began
selling a matching black A1-X1000
PS/2 & USB compatible "Boing Ball"
keyboard and mouse. These
peripherals can be used with the SAM
range as well as PC or Mac computers
and are also compatible with Classic
Amigas by using Cocolino, Micromys,
Subway USB or Deneb USB devices. The
original A1-X1000 design was based
around a black tower case but, after
receiving many requests from
customers, we decided to also
produce a white version with
matching keyboard and mouse
combination. AmigaKit began stocking
the white mouse at the end of 2010
and hope to be in a position to
offer customers and Amiga resellers
a choice of the black or white
"Boing Ball" tower case in the near
future.

A-EON Technology CVBA
http://www.a-eon.com/news.html

AMIGAONE X1000 & CLASSIC AMIGA
EXPERIENCE

A-EON Technology is pleased to
announce that the next issue of
"Amiga Future" magazine will contain
an update article with a general
review of the AmigaOne X1000
development. Issue 89 (March/April)
should be released in early March
and can be ordered from the Amiga
Future website.

http://www.amigafuture.de/portal.php?
page=2

Also, behind the scenes, a special
AmigaOne X1000 forum has been
established on the Hyperion
Entertainment Message boards for the
exclusive use of A1-X1000 Beta
Testers for dissemination of news
and information relating to the
A1-X1000 project.

We are also pleased to support
(through Trevor Dickinson) the
AmigaBounty.net JIT/E-UAE project
recently assigned to lmos Rajnai
the author of Petunia for AmigaOS4.
Although our main interest is for
the AmigaOne X1000 we believe that
JIT/E-UAE development will benefit
all AmigaOS4 users. In a related
development, as part of Trevor's
Developer Hardware donation
programme, Jan Zahurancik has been
working on a AmiKit E-UAE distro for
AmigaOS4. The combination of Rachy's
JIT/E-UAE with AmiKit's Classic
distro should provide all AmigaOS4
users with the ultimate Classic
Amiga experience. Please visit the
AmigaBounty.net and AmiKit websites
if you wish to donate towards these
worthwhile projects.

LINKS:

JIT enabled E-UAE for AmigaOS4
http://amigabounty.net/index.php?func
tion=viewproject&projectid=35

AmiKit - the ultimate Classic Amiga
distro
http://amikit.amiga.sk/

Finally, we have been informed that
Mathias Parnaudeau (the author of
"Song Player") has written a review
article for the Obligement Webzine
on the PA Semi PA6T-1682M CPU which
powers the AmigaOne X1000. We are
told the article should appear on
the Obligement website within the
next few days.

http://obligement.free.fr/

A-EON Technology CVBA

-------------------------------------

*************************************
  COMMODORE: A COMPANY ON THE EDGE
*************************************

From: bbagnall
To: Commodore users
Subject: UPDATED: Commodore Book: A
Company on the Edge

Thanks to everyone for their
interest in the book! I wanted to
post an update and answer some
questions here. The book is now
available in wide release. There was
some craziness for a while on Amazon
regarding the pricing of the book
and availability but it seems to be
ironed out now.

You can also go to your local
bookstore and if they don't have a
copy they should be able to order it
in relatively quickly.

We're currently looking into ways to
make it easier for Europeans,
especially in the UK, to get their
hands on the book. I've heard it can
be painfully slow and expensive to
order the book from North America,
so hopefully we'll have a solution
soon for readers to get the book
locally.

The same goes for Australia, which
is especially slow and costly.

Regarding the German edition, as
Robert mentioned this is quite
outdated as the translation was
based on "On the Edge". German
readers who want the updated
material would be best to wait for a
translation of "Commodore: a Company
on the Edge".

I hope those of you who have the new
book are enjoying it. Don't hesitate
to email me your frank comments and
criticisms.

http://www.variantpress.com/books/on-
the-edge

-------------------------------------

*************************************
        CHARPAD V1.7 RELEASED
*************************************

http://noname.c64.org/csdb/getinterna
lfile.php/95811/charpad17.zip
http://www.coder.myby.co.uk/index.htm

Also available is Sprite pad

The other applications presented
here, Sprite Pad and Char Pad are
cross-development tools aimed
squarely at developing graphics for
Commodore 64 games and will
hopefully ease and inspire the
production of new games software for
this immortal and unique platform.

Please note that all our software is
written in C/C++, runs on Microsoft
Windows and does not require
installation or additional libraries
to be installed

NEW FEATURES...

* Variable tile sizes, currently
  1x1, 2x2, 3x3, 4x4 or 5x5.

* Pixel level editing of whole tiles.

* 80x50 and 40x25 map editor modes.

* Map flood-fill + copy & paste any
  map area.

* Move & Mirror tiles or maps.

* Powerful character set optimizer.

* Collision "material" editing &
  grouping for easy software
  collision detection.

* Export any data in raw or PRG
  formats.

* Load and save SEUCK compatible
  background files (including Jon
  Wells' sideways SEUCK mod).

-------------------------------------

*************************************
           TURBO DEMO CARD
*************************************

Turbo Demo Card - The TDC (Turbo
Demo Cart) is a 2 MHz speeder for
the Commodore 64. At the moment
there is only a proto type but you
can view two little demo's, Doom 64
and Black Hole, that are working on
a 2 MHz C64. The trick is based on
over-clocking the CPU and stopping
the CPU when the VIC chip does its
job

http://projekt64.filety.net/index.php
?dir=TDC/

-------------------------------------

*************************************
             C64MIDI.COM
*************************************

LukasSid has started a new web page.
On this web page you will find
information about midi hardware and
software. If you have any
information, pictures, software or
hardware related to making music
with Commodore 64 computer, not
mentioned on this web page you can
contact the team of www.c64midi.com

COMMODORE FREE: Also this month has
an interview with LukasSid

-------------------------------------

*************************************
     C128 SYSTEM INFORMATION 7.5
*************************************

C128 System Information 7.5
MIRKOSOFT released version 7.5 of
his System Information for the
Commodore C128. With this update you
can now recognize new type of
storage devices like the SD2IEC.

http://noname.c64.org/csdb/release/?i
d=97831

-------------------------------------

*************************************
        VICE EMULATOR UPDATE
*************************************

http://vice-emu.sourceforge.net/

The Commodore Emulator has received
another update

VICE is a program that runs on a
Unix, MS-DOS, Win32, OS/2, Acorn
RISC OS, BeOS, QNX 4.x, QNX 6.x,
Amiga, GP2X, Dingoo, Syllable or Mac
OS X machine and executes programs
intended for the old 8-bit computers.

The current version emulates the
C64, the C64DTV, the C128, the
VIC20, almost all PET models, the
PLUS4 and the CBM-II (aka C610).

This file lists the most important
user-visible changes for each
official release of VICE. See
`src/ChangeLog' for a more detailed
list of all the changes in the code.

UPGRADING

If you run into trouble please try
removing any VICE configuration
files left from previous installs.
(vice.ini / .vicerc / vice2.cfg /
vice-sdl.ini depending on platform)

CHANGES IN VICE 2.3

GENERAL

* Added x64sc, the accurate C64
  emulator:

  - VIC-II emulation rewritten from
    scratch using results from
    extensive testing with newly
    written test programs on real
    hardware.

  - Emulation is done on a cycle by
    cycle basis combined with pixel
    exact dot clock domain handling.

  - Accurate handling of all
    possible in-line splits of
    VIC-II registers and graphics
    data.

  - C64 model and even individual
    chip revisions can be selected
    for very detailed emulation of
    their differences.

  - Equally accurate PAL, NTSC and
    PAL-N emulation.

  - We believe x64sc is one of the
    most accurate C64 emulators at
    the moment.

* Drive improvements, including weak
  bit emulation.

* Major reSID overhaul:

  - Emulation of all known pipeline
    delays for full cycle accuracy.

  - New shift register model based
    on revectorised die photographs.

  - Accurate DAC models based on
    revectorised die photographs.

  - Emulation of floating waveform
    DAC input for waveform 0.

  - Advanced 6581 transistor level
    filter model based on
    revectorised die photographs,
    yielding unprecedented accuracy.

* CRT Emulation (former "PAL
  emulation") is now available
  regardless of video mode or -chip
  and works in all emulators. NOTE:
  Colour gamma range changed. You
  may need to set to 2.200 manually.
  (ColourGamma=2200)

* Added "True aspect ratio" option.

* Sound buffer overflows reduced and
  the error replaced with a warning.

* Various monitor improvements (io
  details, expansion port status ...)

* Removed little used Emulator ID
  feature.

* VIA wrap handling rewritten to fix
  problems with timer 2.

* Added autostart option to do LOAD
  ,8 instead of ,8,1.

* RESTORE key presses are now
  distributed randomly across a
  frame.

* Improved accuracy of CIA
  interrupts. (6526/6526A selectable)

C64/C128 CHANGES

* Cartridge emulation improvements.
  Many broken cartridges fixed, and
  the  following ones added:

  - Action Replay 2
  - Action Replay 3
  - Capture
  - Diashow Maker
  - EXOS
  - Final Cartridge Plus
  - Freeze Frame
  - Freeze Machine
  - Game Killer
  - MACH 5
  - Magic Voice
  - MMC Replay
  - Prophet 64
  - Snapshot 64
  - Super Explode V5
  - Super Snapshot

* Added emulation of the
  pass-through port of MMC64, Magic
  Voice and IEEE488 cartridges.

* CIA TOD 50/60 Hz toggle emulation
  fixed.

* Improved 1351/paddles port MUX
  emulation.

C64 CHANGES

* Added Drean (PAL-N) emulation.

* Fixed bug with autostart mode
  Inject-to-RAM. It now writes to
  RAM under I/O correctly.

C128 CHANGES

* Fixed a bug with autostarting t64
  images.

VIC20 CHANGES

* Added Vic Flash Plugin cartridge
  emulation.

* Fixed video cache & reverse bug.

* Fixed bug in attaching 4kB
  cartridges.

* Fixed autostarting bug, mostly
  seen with tape images.

PLUS4 CHANGES

* Fixed crashes in NTSC mode.

* Added v364 speech emulation.

PET CHANGES

* Added DWW emulation.

* Added userport DAC emulation.

CBM2 CHANGES

* Split 5x0 and 6x0/7x0 settings in
  the configuration file.

UNIX CHANGES

* (Xaw) The menus can now be
  operated without holding the mouse
  button down. Keyboard control is
  also available (Shift-Alt-Z for
  left menu, Shift-Alt-X for right
  menu).

* (Xaw) Lightpen/gun support added.

* (GTK+) Fixed aspect ratio option
  added.

MS-WINDOWS CHANGES

* Implemented run time DX9 toggling.

AMIGAOS CHANGES

* Added support for arm-aros.

* Made the UI more complete.

DOS CHANGES

* Made the UI more complete.

MAC OS X CHANGES

* Added IO Tree to display a tree of
  IO registers and decode their
  meaning. Currently only the C64 IO
  registers are supported, but you
  can extend the IO Tree yourself by
  editing the "IOTree.plist" file.
  Please submit your IO Tree
  extensions!

* Added Debugger Windows for Memory,
  Register and Disassembly Display
  These windows assist the monitor
  mode and display the machine
  state. A popup window in the
  disassembly view allows you to set
  and alter breakpoints.

* Joysticks with sliders and hats
  are now supported. A single
  joystick can be shared for HID
  device a and b. Some workarounds
  for broken USB devices added.

* Added "virtual" auto-fire to
  Joystick settings.

* Added True Pixel Aspect Ratio
  Display. This simulates the
  behaviour that the screen of an
  emulator is smaller in width if
  the pixels are not squares.

* Fixes in x64 and x128 osx keymaps.

* Correctly restore scale, position,
  and ordering of all emulator
  windows.

* Added 64 Bit compiles using gcc
  and clang compilers.

SDL UI CHANGES

* Added vsid UI, FFMPEG and printer
  menus. The UI is complete.

BEOS CHANGES

* Fixed sound hang.

* Made the UI more complete.

OS/2 CHANGES

* The OS/2 port is now compiled
  using openwatcom.

* Made the UI more complete.

-------------------------------------

*************************************
 ULTIMATE 1.6.4 PACK FOR MORPHOS 2.7
*************************************

http://www.meta-morphos.org/

meta-morphos.org announced the
availability of the pack Ultimate
1.6.4 for MorphOS 2.7.

Look at the readme file before the
installation.

LIST OF CHANGES :

* add Transfert (v1.0),
* add Audio Evolution 4 demo,
* add Ultimate update (old MOS Live
  upgrade) for updates,
* add TSteel skin,
* add SCANdal 1.5 DE,
* add SimpleCat 3.22 FR,
* add Meridian 3.11 FR,
* add Transfer FR,
* add Giana's Return v1.1,
* add Gribouillis 2.6 r324 (archive
  standalone),
* add Last.fm v0.5 plugin for
  AminetRadio,
* add ColEm v1.0r6,
* add GoogleTool v1.10.
* add possibility to install
  'Applications' on other partition
  different than sys:

* update LHA (v2.7.10),
* update http.stream Reggae class
  (v51.13),
* update BoingPairs (v1.1),
* update SCANdal (v1.5b2),
* update LoView (v2.05),
* update MPlayer (r32620),
* update ScummVM (v1.2.1),
* update GetVideo (v0.28),
* update IceFileSystem (v2.2)
  version not registered,
* update youtube.js script for OWB,
* update CRABUM (v1.4),
* update SimpleCat (v3.22),
* update Keymap sbar(v20.14),
* update DriveLamps sbar (v52.8),
* update of Wetter (v2.2),
* update Elephant (v1.7),

* modification of the screen bar
  module prefs,
* modification of the Polynet prefs,
* modification of the url shoutcast
  in ANR,
* modification of the Ambient prefs,
* remove of bad assigns (TVPaint,
  RadioSrcipt).
* remove of AmiTradeCenter,
* correction of mimetypes 'x-adf'
  and 'x-dms',
* and more...

-------------------------------------

*************************************
      COMMODORE C64 - CAR WASH
*************************************

An article about controlling a
Staudinger GmbH. toy car wash using
a custom interface and a commodore
64 running a program written in
Basic. The listing can be downloaded
as a D64 image from the site
Staudinger GmbH. make educational
toys that can be controlled via PLC
The Car wash (says the article)could
be controlled via any Commodore
machine but this article covers only
the Commodore 64

The article describes the parts
needed and how to make the interface
and a description of the inputs and
outputs

The full article can be read here

http://www.richardlagendijk.nl/cip/ar
ticle/item/c64_car_wash/en

-------------------------------------

*************************************
       RETRO GAMING NEWSLETTER
*************************************

1. ARG @ MIDWEST GAMING CLASSIC SHOW
IN BROOKFIELD, WI (10TH ANNIVERSARY)

The Midwest Gaming Classic is the
largest all-encompassing electronic
gaming trade show in the Midwest,
celebrating it's 10th anniversary in
2011! Take a look at a brief
introduction from one of the event
founders to see what to expect.

Our 10th anniversary event will be
held on Saturday, March 26, 2011,
from 10:00am to 8:00pm and Sunday,
March 27, 2011, from 10:00am to
5:00pm. Also, don't miss our Arcade:
Factory to Floor tour Friday, March
25th.

The Midwest Gaming Classic is also a
great opportunity for people who
usually only play games online to
get acquainted with electronic
gaming and play some great classic
arcade games.

Come and see the Arcade Retro Gaming
team and explore the Multiple
Classic Computer live on a big
screen TV.

We will have a special surprize
during the show for all Arcade and
Classic Computer fans.

2. NEW RELEASE: MCC-216 PONG LIMITED
EDITION WITH 255+ C64 GAMES

NEW product in our Online Store !

The MCC-216 Pong Limited Edition is
for all C64 fans who like to get
more exiting games.

This bundle ships now with more than
255+ C64 games and the ATARI 2600
core.

Do you miss your C64 and ATARI 2600?
How about 255+ C64 games on one
system? This bundle is the answer
for you.

Please check out our Online store
for more details:

* MCC-216 S-Video (Pong Limited
  Edition)

* MCC-216 VGA (Pong Limited Edition)

3. WORLD WIDE SHIPMENT

We are very pleased to announce that
we ship our products now world wide.

Please visit our E-Bay store for the
latest products from ARG:

http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/arcader
etrogaming

ZZZZZZ  HAPPY RETRO GAMING  ZZZZZZ

4. BLOG FOR THE MULTIPLE CLASSIC
COMPUTER, RETRO GAMER AND ARCADE FAN

Arcade Retro Gaming is proud to
present to the Retro Gamer, Arcade
Fan and Multiple Classic Computer
user his own forum.

Now you can add your own feature
whish list for the AMIGA
implementation.

Don't miss out to sign up and start
blogging.

In this forum you can chat with
friends, post your fun experience
with the MCC and classic games, ask
technical questions, join the
growing development community, check
the schedule for retro gaming
events, post your own setup and your
classic computer selection, talk
about retro games and development,
sell/buy/trade and much, much more.

Don't miss out on this and SIGN UP
today on our BLOG home page.

www.Blog.ArcadeRetroGaming.com

VIDEO

Dear Retro Computing and Arcade Fans,

We just released our new video which
presents the new Commodore C64 on
the Multiple Classic Computer
MCC-216.

Please enjoy the link enclosed:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7FX2Y
aAcTI

Please visit as well our BLOG:
http://www.blog.arcaderetrogaming.com
and send us your comments.

Thanks for watching our new movie.

Happy Retro Gaming and Classic
Computing !

ONLINE:

http://www.arcaderetrogaming.com
http://www.mcc-home.com

ONLINE SHOPS:

http://s318412817.e-shop.info/
http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/arcader
etrogaming

-------------------------------------

*************************************
DOTBASIC RELEASED AS A FREE DOWNLOAD
*************************************

http://8bitcentral.com/

INTRODUCING: DOTBASIC PLUS

Back in 2004 or so, I met Dave
Moorman at the Louisville Kentucky
LUCKI expo. Dave was showing off a
new programming extension he was
writing called DotBASIC. It was
impressive. It boasted mouse
support, windows and menu creation,
and a lot of other neat features. It
also introduced me to event regions.
These are areas of the screen
defined to trigger certain actions
when the mouse pointer moved over it
or clicked on it. Very impressive.
It also seemed kind of complicated
and clunky, at least for a novice
programmer like myself.

Dave was (and is) a charming guy, so
we talked quite a bit at that expo.
I purchased a Loadstar Tower CD from
him, and he sent me home with a copy
of DotBASIC. As soon as I returned,
I promptly put it in a box and
forgot about it.

About a year later, I was struggling
to find a usable BASIC extension for
the Commodore 64. There are a lot of
them, I tried most of them, and they
were all lousy. Each had some
serious flaw that made it basically
(pun) useless - which probably
explains why there was never an
extension made for the C64 that
really took off. Finally, I
remembered DotBASIC. I was still
somewhat put off by its complexity,
but I printed out the documentation
and jumped in.

There was a learning curve, but when
it finally clicked into place it
seemed as though DotBASIC was
everything I was looking for. It was
powerful, it didn't require any
special hardware (like a Simon's
BASIC cartridge, for example), and
best of all - the programs I wrote
with DotBASIC could be run on any
stock C64 just like a regular BASIC
program. I was in love.

I contacted Dave Moorman to report
my enthusiasm (and a few bugs), and
was surprised to learn that he had
scrapped DotBASIC in favour of an
all new project: DotBASIC Plus. He
sent me a copy, and I was blown
away. The power of the original
DotBASIC was still there, but the
complexity was gone. With DotBASIC
Plus, Dave had created an
environment that could give novice
C64 users a way to create very
professional looking programs in
BASIC.

The DotBASIC Plus documentation was
a series of mostly unorganized
Loadstar text files that I printed
out on a dot-matrix printer. To make
things easier, I converted all these
texts to a Microsoft Word document.
I tidied up the formatting a little,
prettied it up a bit, printed it
out, and found that I had something
far more practical and better
looking than those original text
files. For my own amusement, I
continued to spruce up the document
and emailed the result to Dave as a
Christmas gift. Dave was
appropriately impressed, and soon we
both had the idea that, with some
work, this document could be made
into a professional looking DotBASIC
Plus User Guide. I loved the idea. I
thought DotBASIC Plus was a great
program and it deserved a great
looking manual.

THE DOTBASIC PLUS UTILITY DISK MENU

What seemed like a straightforward
task turned into a two year long
labour of love. As I edited the
manual I found myself trying out
most of the commands and features so
that I could be sure I knew what I
was talking about as I worked. Soon,
I started discovering bugs and by
default became a beta-tester. As I
would ask Dave for clarifications,
he would often get ideas for new
features that required more testing
and documenting. While Dave remained
the primary author, I wound up
writing a significant amount of new
material to fill in gaps Dave left,
subjects he ignored, or to tie
together disparate bits of text.

It was a very fun, very engaging
working relationship and the result
was a great product that Dave sold
at a reasonable price. When Dave
exited the Commodore scene, he
kindly gave me permission to
continue distributing DotBASIC Plus
however I saw fit. After a lot of
thought, I've made the decision to
release DotBASIC Plus as a free
download. While DB+ is certainly
worth paying for (and I'll be glad
to accept any donations), my biggest
motivation is to see DotBASIC being
used. So here it is.

DB Design, one of the many tools on
the DotBASIC Utility Disk

The download includes the DotBASIC
Library disk in D64 format. Also
included is the DotBASIC Utility
disk, which is provided as a D81 or
four D64s. There's also a disk of
"extras" and finally, the DotBASIC
Plus User Guide, in PDF format.

Enjoy!

Download here:
http://fullmeasureband.com/files/dotb
asic.zip

WHAT IS DOTBASIC?

If you are interested in BASIC
programming for the C-64, then you
have probably used a BASIC Extension
at some point. Most of us are
familiar with Commodore's Simons'
BASIC cartridge. Unfortunately, most
of these extensions aren't very
useful. Simons' BASIC, for example,
has a pretty lousy set of commands.
Many of them are basically (pun)
useless. It's also a very confusing
set of commands - there are no
consistent conventions used, making
it necessary to constantly refer to
the manual.

Further, a program written with
Simons' BASIC can only be run on a
C-64 with a Simons' BASIC cartridge.
Pretty limiting.

DotBASIC Plus is similar to other
extensions in one way: you get a lot
of new commands (or DotCommands, of
course) - over 100 so far. But
that's where the similarities end.

THE DOTCOMMANDS

Over 100 new commands, all using a
consistent, easy to remember syntax:
.command,parameters

So, the DotCommand that draws a box
on the screen is .BOX, the
DotCommand that creates a scrolling
menu is .SCMENU, and so on. All the
new commands work just like regular
BASIC commands

MODERN GUI WITH COMPLETE MOUSE /
JOYSTICK SUPPORT

With DB+ you can create modern
looking programs with just a few
lines of code. Your programs can
have mouse support, complete with a
great looking 'arrow pointer', drop
down menus, file requestors and more.

TRANSPORTABLE

Your programs will run on any C-64.
Although everyone should own DB+, of
course, you don't need to do
anything special to run a program
written in DotBASIC.

DOTBASIC PLUS IS ALWAYS GROWING

With DotBASIC, you include the
DotCommands you need by creating REM
statements at the top of your
program. If your program will use
the commands .SPRITE, .SID, .MENU,
and .STASH, for example, you would
add a line like this:

11 REM.SPRITE,.SID,.MENU,.STASH

As you are coding, you can include
new DotCommands as you need them by
simply amending your REM statements.

This method has two big advantages.
First, it makes your programs
smaller. Why waste all that RAM for
100 commands if you only need 5?
More importantly, it means that new
DotCommands can easily be added to
your library. When new updates are
released, simply add the new files
to your Library Disk and start using
the new DotCommands.

Some "Extras" for your amusement are
included.

WHAT'S INCLUDED

The Library Disk contains all the
DotCommands (so far). The Utility
Disk is full of tools, including a
screen and font design program, a
sprite editor, and more. You also
get an 80 page manual. The manual
has a professional look, with
detailed reference charts,
tutorials, screenshots and a
complete index.

=====================================

*************************************
    INTERVIEW WITH LUKASZ DZIWOSZ
      Owner of www.c64midi.com
*************************************

Q. Please introduce yourself to our
readers

Hi my name is Lukasz Dziwosz known
to some as dj Lukass or
luke-beataddicts or LukasSid, I was
born in Poland, However I moved to
London and have lived there since
2002

Q. When and how did you receive your
first Computer what was it and how
did your hobby take off from there

I was about 12 years old when my Dad
bought us a Commodore 64. I was more
into demos and SID music than games
though. Latterly after 18 years I
rediscover the Commodore 64; but
this time as a midi synthesizer,
thanks mainly to the Messiah
cartridge.
http://www.8bitventures.com/mssiah/ma
in.php

Q. Can you explain your love of all
things Commodore Related?

First i saw a Commodore 64 in my
school friend's house; I suppose I
must have been about 8 years old it
was however "love at the first
sight" and I have been in love with
the machine ever since

Q. Do you think ducks feet are to big

Ermmm "You talking to me?", Well yes
and no, yes they are big but I
presume without them they wouldn't
swim as well. Although on land they
do look strange

Q. Can you explain your website
www.c64midi.com what do you hope to
achieve

The website is about making sure
that all music making programs and
hardware for Commodore 64 ware
preserved and documented.

Q. The site is quite new at the
moment, when will more content be
added

Yes the site is new, however I'll be
adding new material every 2-3 weeks
or so as I get time to update things.

Q. Are you more reliant on user
support or do you have quite a lot
of hardware and software personally
to add to the site

I got nice collection of both
hardware and software myself; but
I'm sure there is more stuff out
there, if your are reading please
get in touch with me.

Q. How can our readers help you with
the project

Any reader can send me scans of
manuals and adverts as well as
d64/g64 images; once received I will
verify them and then post them on
c64midi.com where they will live
forever (I hope).

Q. If our reader has a software
package can you explain some good
ways how to create D64`s of this
software or would you prefer them
send the disks and you create the
disk images by way of a donation

I'm learning that process of disk
imaging myself at the moment; I have
been speaking to some guys on
lemon64 they have all the knowledge
and processes required to archive
files. I have just purchased a Zoom
Floppy now and I just need to modify
my 1541-II drive this is how I plan
to create image files of my personal
software collection. I should be
ready soon to add more stuff very
soon and will update the website at
regular periods. I would prefer to
receive d64's instead of real disks
through the post; but I can help
when I master the archiving process
myself.

Q. Can you explain what Midi
hardware and software is to our
readers

Ok briefly here goes

Midi hardware is a device with an
interface called a (midi interface)
no surprise there, the interface
allows other hardware to connect and
communicate,

Midi software comes in all sorts of
configurations, you have software
that will record note presses and
can then send the information over a
midi interface to a midi hardware
device

I suppose that's the description
however they is a lot more to midi
than just this brief outline

Q. So Midi is a protocol standard to
connect other compatible devices and
communicate to them by some form of
language

Yes correct, midi is a protocol with
the language you can synchronize
musical instruments but you can also
send data like patches (presets) to
synthesizers and even note data (so
play this not for this duration at
this time). The great thing about
Midi is that is multiplatform! You
can synchronize 30 years old
machinery with modern computers. So
you could have a Commodore 64
controlling something that is
brand-new, this is why the standard
is so exciting

Q. Can you describe some of the
products that were created for the
Commodore 64 with midi control in
mind

The Most recent is the Messiah
cartridge which is a set of four
programs for c64, it's a must have
for any music producer who likes the
real sound of the Sid chip. But in
the Commodores history we have had
things like Midi controllers from
various companies to actually
control various hardware we have had
sequencer programs to write music,
but the list is really quite endless.

Q. Were there any successful bands
using Commodore 64`s, For example; I
know Vince Clarke of Erasure/Yazoo
used to sequence tracks on a BBC
Micro computer

Well I don't know to be honest,
there were some very complete
packages produced but as to famous
user I don't know.

Q. What midi hardware do you own and
what is your most treasured
possession

I have quite a few midi interfaces
for C64 like Sonus and Passport,
nothing to excited really . I also
have Yamaha DX7 synth. I suppose the
Commodore 64 is the most treasured
possession though.

Q. What is the midi hardware you
would like to get hold of the most

I would love to own Moog Song
Producer and Seinberg Midi Interface
with original copy of Steinberg
Pro-16, this was the first ever
product of Cubage makers.

Q. I believe things like patch
editors were created for various
synthesizers (actually I know this
for a fact as I have 2 such editors)
can you explain to our readers what
a patch editor is and how you would
use it with the Commodore 64 ;

Let's say you got Yamaha DX7, well a
patch editor will let you edit
sounds or voices on your
synthesizer. You can also store them
on Commodore disks for future use,
some makes editing the machine more
accessible and easier.

Q. What limitations did the
Commodore 64 and Midi impose to the
song creator, for example what was
the maximum number of tracks and
song length the machine could
handle, and do you know any ways
people managed to get round this,
for example I used my machine to
program drums I would have a number
of drum sounds on different
channels, I would record an 8 bar
loop on a sampler then trigger the
sampler to play the loop, this would
save memory from the machine as I
would sonly have to trigger 1 event
every 8 bars and also only need 1
channel to send the trigger (or key
press on). I would also miss out
some notes on heavy sequences the
theory there was they wouldn't be
herd with all the other instruments,
hence I would save maybe 1 or 2
notes from memory and be able to use
this elsewhere :-(

That's why the C64 was never a
serious computer for musicians I'm
afraid. The Atari ST was the first
computer that could really do what
people wanted to do. The C64 however
has got a Sid chip.

Q. The main problem for me was the
"real-estate" needed to have all the
hardware connected and plugged in;
it also takes some considerable time
to set everything up, I know you
have sound modules capable of
multichannel and multivoices but to
get the retro feel you need analogue
hardware and most was only capable
of 1 midi channel. I suspect only
real diehard composers are still
using the Commodore 64

I don't think anybody uses C64 for
that. I think its better to use it
as a instrument or patch librarian.

Q. Do you actually compose music
with Commodore hardware

Yes I use Mssiah and Cynthcart. I
also use Dr.T's Librarian for Yamaha
DX7. I have a brilliant sound
collection for that synth and its
all stored on 5.25" Commodore disks.

Q. Many people may ask "what was
wrong with the SID chip" that we had
to use Midi devices

Sid wasn't truly appreciated in the
80's so people used the C64 to
synchronize other instruments.
Today people are using other
instruments to synchronize the good
old C64 and it's Sid chip. It's a
Funny old world when you think about
it.

Q. I had many happy hours creating
tunes with my Commodore and external
hardware, ok it wasn't any good but
that didn't matter much it was the
process that interested me.

I wish to have more time to do that.
Wasting time on Commodore stuff is
what I love..

Q. If you were the owner of
Commodore what would you have done
differently?

In the 90' I would work more on new
OS for Amiga instead making game
consoles.

Q. Is there any other comments you
would like to add

Please if you are reading this and
have anything musical or music
hardware and software for the C64
then I urge you to get in touch with
me, and you can do that via a
contact form on the website.

Thanks

EDITORS COMMENTS

Making music with the Commodore 64
was a truly superb waste of time, I
would sit for hours programming
voices and copying music from
manuscripts and trying to get some
sort of "musical" output from my
commodore, later as I obtained midi
hardware playing the same music and
my creations became a bit of a
hobby. I moved to the Amiga and my
midi hardware was useful then I used
Drt`s kcs 3.5 level II on the Amiga
and although I have used things like
Cubase on the pc, nothing was as
intuitive for me as Drt`s, it even
had a built in programming language,
that was totally lost on me, I did
figure out how to program things
like every 7th note if it's a g
increase the volume by 10% however
if its an f reduce the volume by 25%
etc but never really full explored
its full potential

=====================================

*************************************
            WHAT IS MIDI
*************************************

MIDI (musical instrument device
interface)

Is a language, a description of
playing the music, the language
sends note information as a series
of instructions. These instructions
can include; what note to play, at
what pitch the note should be played
the duration or time the note should
be played and the tempo or speed at
which the notes should be played.
Other information could include what
instrument or voice to use and at
what volume the instrument should
play the note. Midi works on
channels with the original
specification featuring 16 channels.
So each device would need to listen
on a set channel, you could have a
drum machine on channel 16 and bass
synthesizer on channel 10 for
example, without this of course all
the synthesisers attached would
think the information is for them
and play simultaneously.

Because the MIDI information is sent
as a language or series of Data
statements it is therefore possible
to change the information; so you
could for example change the pitch,
volume, instrument by the Midi
program. Of course this is more
flexible than a digital recording or
sample where the information is
fixed.

So Midi instruments are therefore
controlled via a language or
programming set of instructions,
this information can as you would
expect be saved to a file and played
back at a later date. This ability
is what made Midi so popular, and of
course the ability to store the data
for editing at a later date, or
passed to friends to replay.

The Midi standard covers both the
software language and the hardware
to connect devices together, before
its creation it could be difficult
to synchronise various pieces of
hardware together, and sometimes
with no set way to record data. It
was not usual for the instruments to
trigger pre programmed music
patterns on other devices.

The midi hardware can be a device
plugged into a computer to send or
receive data, a keyboard a sound
processing unit or a digital
recording device (sampler) The
original specification of the
standard was to allow communications
in real time between enabled
devices; however over time the
interfaces and cables have developed
originally the specification was a
serial Din plug, now USB and Fire
wire interfaces have emerged.
However related to older Commodore
hardware we will mainly be looking
at the Din plug connectors, this is
due to the fact all the Commodore 64
interfaces had a Din plug connector.

The format of the midi files is
.MIDI, extensions to the format have
added more features over the years

To control a keyboard from your
computer you need

* A keyboard with a midi interface

* A Midi interface for your computer

* A Connection cable normally a
  Dinplug

Most instruments have a Midi in and
a midi out. Some also feature a midi
through port.

To control a synthesizer from your
computer you would take the output
of the computer side to the input of
the Synthesizer, the through port
permits the chaining of devices so
you can add more equipment to the
loop

This is a simplistic look at the
requirements to give a brief
understanding of how to connect a
basic system, something that may
confuse people initially is the
sounds are played from the keyboard
or synthesiser NOT the computer
itself so your synthesizer would
need to be plugged into headphones/
speakers or a mixing unit

Regards
Commodore Free

=====================================

*************************************
         TO HAVE AND TO HOLD
          By Commodore Free
*************************************

I noticed recently that we seem to
be loosing "the Physical device";
what I mean by this is; with so many
flash games and java devices around,
it doesn't matter what hardware you
use as they game will play on
anything capable of displaying flash
and java. So it seemed to me that
the actual hardware is not important
and we don't actually own a
cartridge or cd, with the games
listed as just a download or even a
website link where we can play the
game online. This could be seen as
progress by most people, as after
all it frees the user from the
proprietary formats, although some
hardware manufacturers would like to
tie us to the hardware and ensure
games only work on that system.

So; then as Commodore users where
does that leave us? Well I think it
means that now we need to archive ,
collect and ensure as many machines
as possible are in working order and
can be demo`d to the younger
generation. As the reliance on
physical devices disappears we need
to ensure that future generations
can see the hardware.

I personally think Its great to grab
an old tape and put it into a
machine and then type "load" and
watch the screen as the game loads
into memory, it is still a magical
process to me and brings back the
same feelings as when I first
received my Commodore computer a
good number of years ago, probably
far more years than I care to
remember. What Will our children
remember about the hardware of
today, after all a PC is just a pc
isn't it, some are faster than
others, so is an old Dell 486 any
different to a modern Dell (or
another machine manufacturer) apart
from the speed is there really a
market to collect such old machines?

I suppose (although I haven't
explained myself very adeptly) that
Commodore hardware is special, yes
we all have 1 or two items we have
purchased and spent more than we
should have, I have bought items on
Ebay that I would never have been
able to afford as a child, but
remembered looking at the adverts
and the item has stuck with me into
adulthood.

Today's emulators are getting better
and better but can they ever reach
the point where we can say they are
better than the real physical
hardware. I personally don't think
so, yes they are valuable tools for
development and even allow you to
use commodore's in places where
taking a real machine would not be
practicable like on holiday, you
could play Commodore games on your
IPhone or other mobile phone if you
really wanted to. Would you really
want to take a Commodore 64 TV and
disk away with you.

So it looks like we will have a
world where the hardware is
unimportant, as long as the device
has enough power to turn on and
connect to the web, this will then
permit the various applications held
on websites to process all the
user's needs, word process, picture
editing and playing games. Progress
is a great thing but I will miss
having my software as a "thing I can
hold"

Personally I still miss being able
to buy all my music on vinyl and
having games on tapes and disk, yes
they load quicker now when using
d64`s with extra hardware and you
cant really spill tea on a virtual
disk, but something is lost maybe
its magic, yes that's it some of the
magic has gone, from the process of
getting the software putting it into
a device and then loading it.

Either the magic has gone or my old
age has come really early, imagine
telling your kids about the process
of loading a game

* Get the tape
* Put it in the datasette
* Turn on
* Type load and press return
* Wait 20 minutes
* Restart the process if you get an
  error
* Then eventually you can play the
  game

Hmmmmmm looking at this it does
sound a bit rubbish doesn't it

=====================================

*************************************
          BACK TO THE PAST
         Issue 10, July 2007
            By Neil Reive
*************************************

As we continue our 'Back to the
Past' feature, we go back to July
2007 and look at issue ten of
Commodore Free... The front cover
reported some sad news with the
passing away of Jim Butterfield. Jim
was known as 'The Commodore Guru and
was a renowned programmer of public
domain software.

In the news section there was an
eBay listing of a C64 disk
containing rare music demos from
legendary music artists from the
1980s: Rob Hubbard and Martin
Galway. With such tunes from classic
such as Thing on a Spring, Parallax,
Wizball and more, it seemed to be a
rare find indeed. However, the
editor explained that similar
compilations were freely available
to download years previously. Also
in the news was an update on the
IDE64 Prototype and the Commodore
Scene VGA project, which had been
terminated.

As usual, CF catered for the coders
in all of us with various articles
on programming. In Programming The
Great Adventure of Creativity and
Logic, Dave Moorman took us through
Process Logic, statements, commands
and more. The HEX files series
continued with part 5 as Jason Kelk
took the reader through some code
writing.

The first interview of the month was
with Mario Misic, host of The Big
Book of Amiga Hardware mirror site.
The BBoAH is basically a website
with articles on the Amiga's
hardware, as well as offer downloads
of installation guides and manuals.
However, the downloads were removed
due to requests from the copyright
owners, resulting in Mario remarking
that "The BBoAH Team is annoyed
about copyright owners, who actually
support the AMIGA platform in NO
WAY, but "attack" the BBoAH with
legal and copyright." - something
that Commodore Free knows all to
well, as issues 1, 2 & 3 had to be
removed for similar reasons.

Next up is an interview with
Frantic, a member of a demo group
called Hack'n Trade and Codebase 64.
Codebase 64 was a wiki website set
up to include articles on C64
coding. A Potrace creator FAQ
preceded an interview with Peter
Selinger, creator of the raster to
vector software program. Steve Judd,
creator of the SLANG 6502 C64
programming language, was next up to
get the CF interview treatment.

Nick Coplan, creator of HDD64, was
also interviewed. HDD64 is a program
that allows the use of a PC to be
used as a hard drive on the C64.
"Isn't using a PC for backup and
loading applications a little like
worshipping the devil?" asked out
intrepid editor. To which Nick
replied: "Some find it a wonderful
irony to make a "modern powerful
machine" act as a slave to a humble
8bit machine from 25+ years ago ;)"

And rounding off the interviews this
month was an interview with Jim
Butterfield, which had been
re-printed with permission from
radiks.com. When asked what he
thought of the computing evolution
since the days of the PET, Jim
replied, "the average computer user
today has a lot less fun than we
still have with the early machines.
The industry message today is "Buy
it and use it, and then turn it off.
Don't worry or think about how it
all works". That's sure a lot less
fun for tinkerers.

=====================================
