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PeBo

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Posts posted by PeBo

  1. Posted

    Profitez!

     

     

    actually it's usually « Profitez-en », but colour me suitably impressed - both in you're french and this très-cool little proggie.

     

    I have never seen a TI line-draw screen saver before. Thanks for the introduction!

     

    You're absolutely right too... the grown-ups and smarterer peeple on the board should definitely consider working on a F18A update (maybe after a scanline toggler).

     

    Thanks brother

    • Like 1

  4. Posted

    I'm collecting all kinds of little assembly proggies to add to the BOOT menu (and with a nanoPEB volume size, everything I find can be neatly held on the BOOT disk itself with room to spare)

     

    PALEA5 is such a (tiny and) great piece of instant gratification (although IMHO Titanium looks better without it) that I'm wondering if anyone has written a small Assm program I could add to BOOT that would turn F18A scanlines on and off.

     

    I've read the threads on how to do this via programming, have my dip switches set to accept setting this via program, but I have less than zero Assembly knowledge so I get completely lost.

     

    Anyway, it would be as handy as PALEA5 or XB27MENU in a BOOT arsenal

     

     

     

     

     

    • Like 1

  5. Posted

    OK, first of all Gazoo/tursi and all the other olf farts involved, thank you for the 060715 version of the XB2.7 "Upgrade Kit". Nothing could be easier (and safer?) to use. It works flawlessly without giving stupid folks like me access to stuff we shouldn't have access to (GROMCFG).

     

    Boot works exactly as advertised with the upgrade.

     

    Sort of.

     

    The « C » menu item refuses to bring me to the Extended Basic 2.7 prompt. The screen just goes blank then goes back to Boot (please say I'm not the only one). That's with lowercase « c ». With UPPERCASE « C » my console just locks up.

     

    All the other cyclable « C » GROM entries work fine, only XB2.7 fails.

     

    If I use the little assembly program XB27Menu (thanks Gazoo, that's brilliant) everything is kosher.

     

    Am I maybe using the wrong version of Boot??? (sorry I'm finding so many variants and mods, I've lost track of which one was the final one recommended.)

  6. Posted · Edited by PeBo

    I always thought the 'sliver'/black design, along with the matching sidecars and sort-of matching PEB, had a nearly Bang and Olufsen feel to it when compared to the small system designs of the time (which were nearly all variants of beige). It was designed to look high-end tech.

     

    When you're trying to cut costs though, having the added production expense of a "clip-on" outer shell - that suited no real purpose but esthetics - certainly makes no sense.

     

    I often wish they had considered simply releasing the beige consoles in black. I guess the logic was that if you have to compete with everyone else, in a market where you're failing miserably, you are wiser to look more like everone else. (even back in the 80's though, I thought the better solution would be dropping restrictive 3rd party software licensing and let a massive influx of 3rd party software sell the machine (and, by association, your own software - which was where the big bucks were)

     

    What's surprising on the poll question though, is when I've shown both consoles (pictures - I only have 'sliver'/black consoles) to friends who never owned a computer « back-in-the-day », the choice is overwhelmingly beige.

     

    (I thought Mary-Anne was much sexier then Ginger (but neither held a candle to Ellie-May Clampett!). My own 'sliver'/black consoles...they're Emma Peel in a skin tight black leather jumpsuit and thigh-high stilleto boots!

  7. Posted

    Great choice (both in what you're doing for your son, and the quality of this collection of courseware)

     

    It covers Math, Reading and Grammar from (traditional) Grade 3 through 8, and Math, Reading, Writing, Science and Social Studies (last one might be a bit dated) from Grade 9 through 12.

     

    These are not cutesy edu-game programs like the Scott Foresman series (which ARE wonderful for what they are), these are serious educational courses, that are still presented in a manner that can keep kids engaged (and, as someone mentioned elsewhere in these forums, without the endless distractions of using an internet era computer as a teaching tool).

     

    And heck, they're pretty darned swell for teaching yourself just how much you've forgotten over the years (like how much you hated Algebra and Trig!)

     

    As I said the entire 481 courseware disk series is readily available , and the interpreter is available though mdude on ebay in the $50-$60 range for a sealed set, which includes 2 Survey disks (DS) to help parents determine their child's progress. If you write to Mike, he may have an open box available cheaper (that's how I got mine).

     

    Highly recommended, especially if you're giving your kids the gift of a home education.

  8. Posted

    TIDISK files are just a raw sector dump, so if that is what you have (I'm a little confused by the thread), you don't need to do anything to use them with Classic99, either rename to .DSK or use them as-is without renaming. Classic99 doesn't look at the extension except as a user-helper, so it won't care.

     

    If they are 1600 sector disk images from the CF card, I'm not sure what will happen. The Classic99 DSR will probably work (? not tested). The TI DSR will certainly not.

     

    I don't think I've tested Plato, either. If they are using sector access or something like that they should still work..

     

    Well I have now tested it, and I am happy to say that although they are a major waste of space on a nanoPEB with it's 1600 sector volume size, they do indeed work mounted into a CF volume. Plato immediately recognized and identified the course when it was mounted into DSK1, and loaded it without problems (man, I still hate Fractions!)

     

    My concern was not in regards to using them in Classic99...I was simply curious whether they would need some kind of conversion to .dsk format for use with the nano, since I had never seen the TIDisk extension before. I assumed incorrectly that this might be the case since TI99Dir would not allow me to see a directory of contents. (no doubt because of the special format)

     

    Now I just need to find a product number to content guide, so I can figure our what each disk actually is. Come to think of it, I actually seem to remember that I actually posted a list myself a couple months ago. It's sad when you've become too old to know what you know... kind of a Donny Rumsfeld thing!)

     

    But, as I said they work perfectly if someone else would like to load them up for their kids - they are, after all, excellent elementary and highschool courseware even by today's standards.

     

    With over 480 courseware disks on the whtech CD though, it will be far more practical to install these on an HxC eventually where I can create disks of the original size. It WILL be an outstanding collection to have though, so until I grab a Lothrek device (purchasing a dozen DataBioTics games has put a major hole in my wallet for awhile), I might just pick up a 512MB CF card, and use it as a giant Plato repository.

     

    Of course, the question is, do I really want to relive all those years of classes?? (At least this time I won't constantly be getting the strap for disrupting the class)

    • Like 1

  9. Posted

    Honestly, it is more of a collector's item these days than anything else. Shame TI didn't stay in the market long enough to exploit the MBX to it's fullest.

     

    Too bad they didn't stay in the market long enough to give us a full production run of 99/8's!!! (which probably wouldn't have needed the MBX to duplicate many of it's functions!)

  10. Posted

    Actually, I've seen pictures of prototype MBX units that were black and silver--and with black joysticks. I've never seen either of them in the wild though, so your wallet is probably safe PeBo.

     

    Yup that would be this one, but I do not believe it was ever produced, so my money is safe (although the photo would suggest there was a proto-type (or, come to think of it, is that just a standard TI sidecar, redressed to LOOK like an MBX?? Sure doesn't look much like the final released product)

    post-40994-0-39615900-1434051035_thumb.jpg

    • Like 1

  11. Posted

    Actually that was very informative. I'm trying to see if it's worth getting one or not. So basically other than for the joystick (which I don't care for actually) it's not really worth getting? I assumed that the voice synth would be better than the standard speech sidecar, but everyone seems to be saying the opposite.

     

    Well I wouldn't say they are not worth getting (although at an average price of $300-$400 (Canadian) they are definitely not worth getting). If you accept the fact that you are buying a curiosity more than a meaningful add-on, it is a pretty cool gizmo. As I said, the voice recognition, although hardly impressive in 2015, was jaw-dropping in '84, they joystick is awesome (but only useable with MBX games) and it's the only way to play MBX Baseball (which to me is the real reason to buy it).

     

    If you find one cheap grab it, but remember, there were only 11 carts ever released, 4 of which are purely for very young children "Mmmmm, A Strawberry!".. So you really are buying it as a collector item, or to play ONE game that cannot be played otherwise.

     

    So buy one if it's under $100. (like that's gonna happen)

  12. Posted

    save 2600,

     

    I also agree that those cassette racks are kick-a$$! I've also found that 8track rack slots are a perfect height to hold standard TI carts (altough a wee bit deep). Have to come up with a solution myself as things are getting tight in my current stop-gap storage solution. Probably build something custom (meaning visit a cabinet maker friend of mine with a couple 20's, a 40 ouncer of Canadian Club and a sample cart case.)

     

    One thing is certain, TI did not anticipate the collector mentality of displaying our carts when they came up with the design.

  13. Posted

    Well PeBo, I'm losing my touch, this is the best I could do...

     

     

    Actually much much better. I'll award a silver star.

     

    And dont worry... I've lost my touch, hearing, eyesight, wasteline and mind (would have lost my heart too, but they just keep replacing parts...think it is more bovine than human these days)

     

    and don't even ask about various body functions...they might not be lost, but they sure don't "function" like they used to!

  14. Posted

    These are really wonderful! If I my make a suggestion however, would it be better if the background was something other than white? It just seems a bit too vivid to my eyes...

     

    Actually, although it does look white in the photos, I believe folks will attest that they print a silver-gray (printe at 300 dpi on glossy paper, it looks KINDA similar to the colour stock Atari silver labels), changing the background colour (actually the foreground layer XORed to look like it is behind the logos) is easy though. If you'd prefer a different colour let me know, and I'll PM it to you (don't want to clog this thread with a bunch of slight-variants).

  15. Posted

    I had an MBX system « back-in-the-day », and it's real advantages were that joysticks were wonderful, and in 1983 having voice recognition blew away all my Commodore and Atari friends...worked pretty well too! But all that goodness was only available to MBX games. Did nothing to existing games or your own programs (not sure about Assembler, but certainly no calls added to XB as far as I can remember)

     

    I agree with OLD CS1 that the stock speech-synth sounds better.

     

    My problem with the unit is that all the games (except baseball) worked just as well without it (the great joystick, keypad and voice recognition were just added goodies). There were also SO few games ever produced that, at today's prices, it has become one of those medium-high-end collectors-only items.

     

    If I could find one in decent shape for $100 or so, I'd grab it for Baseball alone (a very good baseball game for the era and the ONLY game that makes full use of the system), but they are currently so above my toy-budget that they're not even tempting. (thank gawd they didn;t make a black/aluminium version, or I may not be able to say that.)

     

    I guess that wasn't exactly what you asked is it?

    • Like 1

  18. Posted · Edited by PeBo

    Thanks Ω but...

     

    ...'cmon, compared to Capital «C» contributions from folks like Tursi or Gazoo or Rasmus...or how about the kick ass ToD editor from Fritz442 or Chris Schneider's newsletter (think about it a monthly newsletter for the 4A IN 20-FRIGGIN-15!)

     

    I'm probably missing dozens of others who's offerings go far beyond cutting and pasting found art!

     

    Are they good? Ya, I thought they turned out pretty damned schweet (if I didn't I wouldn't have posted them ). So don't misunderstand "lame" as an annoying false sense of modisty, think of it within the context of what other folks bring to the table.

     

    They brought caviar,red wine and fine cheeses. I brought fritos!

     

    NOW! Ω...DUDE!! I love ya like a brother, but you've really gotta get yourself an exacto-knife and stainless steel ruler!

     

    (Rule of labels: Blades Good, Scissors Bad)

     

    <evil grin>

    • Like 1

  19. Posted · Edited by PeBo

    Always looking for (lame?) ways to contribute, and I had some spare time today.

     

    Sooo, I decided to create end of cart labels for the atarisoft cartridge collection. They are the most easily stacked carts since they are flat, but it's useless to do so, since there are no end of cart labels to know what's what.

     

    I didn't do one for Robotron or Superstorm since I wasn't sure if the boards required for a hummingbird eprom would fit in an atarisoft case. Also didn't do Joust because, well does anyone reaidng this actually HAVE Joust? (to those who respond yes, I respond; « [email protected]@RD! »)

     

    It was a creative decision not to have them fit right across the available space (I also noticed that some of my atarisoft carts have an etched outline of where a second label was likely planned, and I thought it just looked better to size them to fit that.)

     

    I've attached them as a bmp file (so as not to be lossy), and also have them saved in CDR format if someone has CorelDraw Suite and would like the layered images for ease of editing.

     

    HIGHLY recommend printing them on glossy stock. They just look better.

     

    Hope someone can use them.

    atari cart labels.bmp

    • Like 11

  20. Posted

    Plan on buying an HxC and using it as a second (or first Floppy).

     

    Would also like to mod my RS232 for HDX file serving (to me, a GREAT storage solution if you have a spare PC to use as your TI file server)

    But I would NEVER get rid of my 5.25" Floppy drive.

     

    There's just a warm and fuzzy feeling of nostalgia that is provided with every whir, clack, grind, grunt and knock that no other storage medium can provide (not even 3.5" drive has quite the same wonderful late 70's / early 80's sound).

     

    From my perspective it is a required part of vintage computing. All the other fancy gizmos are just nice because we've been spoiled by space and speed over the past couple of decades!

     

    There will always be a place for in my heart (and my PEB) for a "obsolete tank of a drive that is hard to get diskettes for".

  21. Posted

     

    Aside from getting your FAC and a short wait what do you find so controlling about our gun laws? :?

     

    Absolutely nothing. Nada. Zilch.

     

    In fact, I'm quite happy with our gun laws exactly as they are.

     

    I am also the son of a hunter, so I know exactly how to acquire a firearm (easily, quickly and legally) on this side of the border.

     

    But within the context of a thread where using Tiger II tanks to drill holes into a Peripheral Expansion Box has been raised, my comments should not have been construed to hold any basis in reality whatsoever! Nor should they have been assumed to have been a reflection of any real opinion I might have.

     

    Although I do think Ed in SoDak was serious about using a tank for gopher hunting, which is a bit scary when you think about it.

     

    If this thread was actually meant to make you think about anything.

    • Like 1

  24. Posted

    Thanks to all...thought it would just be changing the extension as Lee suggested, but ti99dir doesn't recognize them as .dsk OR TIFILES (I read somewhere that the header info is in kept in a non-standard location on these as a form of poor man's copy protection - not sure how true that is, but it seems likely that it's something like that)

     

    Anyway, usually if ti99dir doesn't recognize something as a dsk file, neither does dsk2cf, so who knows if I will succeed.

    If I have any success, I'll try your batch as well schmitzi.

     

    Really have to get myself an HDX or HxC solution soon. The nanoPEB is a wonderful stop gap for mass-storage (+memory/rs232) solution, but I'm finding its inability to be used in tandem with real floppy drives to be right pain in the butt.

     

    With all the infocom and scott adam's adventure tapes/disks converted to .dsk format (hell the whole scott adams collection fits on a single volume!!), I'm surprised no one ever worked on a solution to get these working

     

    (of course maybe they did and I just don't know about it - which brings me here)

    • Like 2

  25. Posted · Edited by PeBo

    At the risk of demonstrating my stupidity....

     

    I just grabbed a PLATO interpreter cart figuring I had the full 481 courseware disks from the ftp.whtech_files CD, but when I went and looked at them, I noticed they are all in v9t9 format. (*.TIDISK)

     

    I'm OK working with Classic99 .dsk files or TIFILES in Ti99dir, converting back and forth with ease. But while Ti99dir reads the volume information fine on these TIDISKs I can't figure a method to get these converted to .dsk format for use with a nanoPEB, and have no way to copy them to a real floppy. I'm sure it's something straightforward and I'm simply overthinking the problem, but I guess someone will have to walk me though this one.

     

    Ahh senility...it would bother me if I could remember past 5 minutes ago.

    • Like 1
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