Omega-TI

It's the name of the DOS written by Jedimatt42. I assume it uses "Force" because he's a Star Wars fan and "Command" because of the former "Command DOS" (4A/DOS). But you'll have to ask him.

Actually, I have exactly what I want in Force Command working with the FinalGROM. I load it first, and then I can run any EA/5 program and upon a clean exit be back at the DOS prompt without reloading. It's bloody freaking wonderful and a dream come true and even a check off my bucket list. The WANT comes into play because Extended BASIC is a cartridge BIN, so it supplants Force Command, but Matt figured out a way to even get by that, which was a genius move from my perspective. Now Force Command, being its own environment, over time is going to spawn more programs that use and enhance the Force Command experience. An Extended BASIC that exploits this environment, in an easy to use way can only benefit all it's users. A simple exit command in a version of Extended BASIC specifically designed to go with Force Command seems like a logical, useful and needed progression.

I guess programmers and users think differently. From my perspective, anything that makes the environment appear more closed, efficient and fluid is highly welcomed. There are already multiple versions of Extended BASIC floating around, what is one more that can fit the needs of a specific environment for it's users? On occasion one might decide to load XB directly from the FinalGROM for programming purposes, but then want to go directly into Force Command. True, ALT 12 on my Tursi enhanced keyboard does a reset to Force Command, but NOT if a different cartridge has been loaded, like Extended BASIC.

I would think that @jedimatt42 would be the one ask. He obviously knows, because of the FG99 statement he baked into Force Command. I would guess/imagine that the same block of code could be plugged into the right spot to modify TI Extended BASIC or any other XB .BIN for that matter.

If you want to see a better drummer (not the one above) that also emotes more than a little, check out this post linked below. I think you'll be amazed by the talent exhibited.

Seriously though, even though the elimination of the LOAD option is wanted, what I consider the most important and useful is a version of Extended BASIC that can take me back to Force Command by loading it directly off the FinalGROM.

TI writer was a thing BITD, then BA-Writer, especially the version Tursi made into an 80 columns, but yeah, now days, I find EDIT80 fills 90% of my needs.

Weird, if it could, but even then there is nothing handheld about that thing, it takes up major space on any desk. And as for accuracy, that thing never seemed to be that detailed. Now day's I'd go for a TIPI mouse or a trackball as a fall back.

Here you go @Schmitzi It appears the images in the post by @arcadeshopper are hosted at another site. Here are reposts of the images, and also in a .ZIP file. Images.zip

You got me me beat, I NEVER use DSK1.LOAD anymore for anything... EVER. BITD when I used separate diskettes for different programs it did save time, now it just an inconvenience. So, could you please toss a copy my way when you get it completed? 😁

While watching music videos on YouTube I stumbled upon this video, considering the talent she has on the drums, the eye candy was not necessary, but it was a plus... 🙈

What the heck? This is Western Washington! We're not used to this.

Matt wrote a really cool way to load up XB program from the Final Command DOS prompt, which loads XB from the cartridge, but upon exit reloads the Force Command so you do NOT have to mess with all the manual extraneous bull pucky. So yes, if you load XB without a program, and QUIT, BYE or whatever you still have the XB.BIN there, a modified BYE would eliminate all the BS and essentially do what the exit routine of FXMDXB does... reloads Force Command, dropping you instantly back into DOS.

I switched to RXB just recently, so I'm not locked in, but whatever version of BASIC eventually employs a modified BYE command and lets me enter and exit the BASIC editor with as little fuss as possible will be the version I adopt and stick with.

Within the awesomeness of Force Command environment working with the TIPI and the FinalGROM, I personally find that the DSK1.LOAD routine is not needed, or wanted as it gets in the way and slows one down, granted not by much, but users are different and like different things, if an author thinks it's silly, they don't have to support it. When I type XB progname it loads the program, which is really cool, but when I want to go straight to the XB editor I really don't want to have to hold down the space bar each and every time. As for the BYE command, Extended BASIC is in the FinalGROM, so it does NOT "automagically" return to Force Command upon exit like with the FCMDXB routine within a program called by Force Command. So, a modified BYE would load Force Command instead of simply returning one to the title screen where one has to manually reset the FinalGROM and then reload Force Command. This would make it "seamless", quicker and more like BASICA/GWBASIC returning to MSDOS in the past.

Most of us have regretting purchasing at least one item at some point in our TI journey. Also, for many of us, there are some items, now that we have them, cannot use our TI's without them. So, with this in mind, what was your biggest let down in a purchase and what has been your biggest thrill? My worst purchase was the Super Sketch, it did not work very well, took up too much desk space and could not be used in the matter I originally intended. For the biggest thrill I have to combine two items, the TIPI and the FinalGROM with a couple of recent software releases to tie them together, those two items compliment each other and raise the TI to new heights.

Ah, but thee can dream!

Here we go again, a possible round two, so if you missed exploiting the last one due to your old lady, this time just tell her, "My Turn!"

@GDMike are you going to route your TIPI's SD card to the slot in your media dashboard?

That would look better as a tower... Tweaked.mp4

What are the odds of ever seeing a modified version of Extended BASIC, custom configured to work with Force Command? I only see couple of modifications needed, for example an altered BYE command and the elimination of the DSK1.LOAD routine. Would there be anything else necessary, short of making it a complicated endeavor? What @jedimatt42 has done with FCMDXB is nothing short of awesome, and makes a dream come true, so if a tailored XB never happens, it's still close enough.

There was something I wanted "back in the day" that I thought would be cool, and I was thinking about it again last night. A device to give us "programmable macro keys" for the TI. No matter what program you are in/using it would simply send the same series of text to the keyboard. Back in my early 4A/DOS days it sure would have been nice to press two buttons to send some commonly used commands to DOS, XB or the editor of choice. Now that Force Command is even more useful and powerful than 4A/DOS ever was, it would be useful for sure. If I remember correctly, Telco had some programmable macro keys in it's program that even factored for delays, so one could log in to the BBS with one selection. A little macro key device would also have practical uses in other programs, not just Force Command, for example logging into Heatwave with the TELNET program could take two key presses, instead of entering the url, then the port number, followed by user number, and then password.

Try control H

... essentially my ultimate goal is to remove the PC from the equation altogether. As it stands now, you already have to know what it is you want before you go get it. Yes, I suppose you can already load an Extended BASIC program by typing: OLD URIx.PROGNAME and then saving it to the TIPI like SAVE TIPI.BASIC.PROGNAME, but not yet with EA/5's, at least to my knowledge. For sites like whtech, all that would be needed is a "simple" text based browser, which is something we do not currently have.