Monthly Archives: February 2019

QStripper

Norman Dunbar writes:

QStripper, a utility that extracts text (only) and text formatting, from a Sinclair QL “Quill” document, has moved house. It’s now on GitHub at

https://github.com/NormanDunbar/QStripper

There’s a new release out today, version 1.16, which is an enhancement requested by Derek Stewart over version 1.15. It now allows you to use your own background image rather than the one I installed at version 1.13, a NASA image of Jupiter.

Windows users, I’ve noticed that 1.15 onwards requires a new set of Windows Support Files. Sorry about that, circumstances beyond my control I’m afraid. The release area is https://github.com/NormanDunbar/QStripper/releases

A new image is specified by having a file called background.png in the directory holding the executable file QStripper.exe.

background.png if found is loaded as the background image.

It defaults to the inbuilt image if background.png is not found.

Note that the filename of the image is case sensitive – must be in lower case.

Marcel Kilgus Site Updates

Marcel Kilgus writes:

For those that don’t monitor my blog or the QL-Forums, here are a few updates that happened the last few weeks:

I’ve decoded the GoldCard boot/patch ROM code

I’ve hunted down a crash in Minerva

(includes comments by the man Lau Reeves himself!) and released a new version “1.98a1” accordingly

I’ve released QMON/JMON for free

I’ve released a picture of the QMON successor SMON that was unfortunately never finished

https://www.qlforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1392&start=60#p25802

I’ve uploaded an update to my PNGConv tool as the 13 year old binary exhibited some problems:

I’ve released a new QL-SD demo disc that now includes many QL games, some for free for the first timehttps://www.kilgus.net/2018/12/17/ql-sd-demo-update/

QL Assembly eMagazine

Norman Dunbar writes:

Issue 6 of the QL Assembly eMagazine is now, finally, available for download.

Things are a little different now. I’m hosting all the code in the eMagazine, as well as the source (LaTeX) for the eMagazine itself on GitHUb. Each issue is available as a “release”. Don’t worry, if you happen to go to the old download location, you’ll see a message telling you where to go to get the latest issue.

All the releases are here:

https://github.com/NormanDunbar/QLAssemblyLanguageMagazine/releases

while the latest edition, Issue 6, is at

https://github.com/NormanDunbar/QLAssemblyLanguageMagazine/releases/tag/Issue_6

You will most likely be wanting the pdf and the “CODE.zip” links, unless you want to see how the eMagazine is put together, in which case, feel freeto help yourself to one or other of the “SourceCode” links.

Prowess eBooks

Derek Stewart has made eBooks of the main four manuals and programming documents for Prowess and Proforma.

Download them in .epub, .mobi, .pdf and .azw3 formats for your favourite eBook reader from http://www.dilwyn.me.uk/docs/ebooks/index.html If anyone has any more Prowess apps not yet preserved on my site, or more recent versions than already on there, please send them to me to add. Best way is to email them as zipped attachments. Prowess page is at http://www.dilwyn.me.uk/prowess/index.html

SMSQ/E v3.34

SMSQE 3.34 is out.

Mostly bugfixes for Q68, but also a new SSJOB command courtesy of Per Witte, who also extended the JOB_NAME command to work in compiled programs. Marcel Kilgus contributed updated QL-SD drivers, while Wolfgang Lenerz provided some improvements and bug fixers for the Q68 and Q40/Q60. Downloads of the binaries and sources plus list of changes at http://www.wlenerz.com/smsqe/

SMSQ/E and SBASIC Manual

Version 1.06 of the SMSQ/E and SBASIC guide is now available to download from my website at http://www.dilwyn.me.uk/docs/ebooks/index.html . The manual may be read online (HTML file) or downloaded in a variety of formats (including eBook formats) from that page. The SMSQ/E operating system sources and binaries are available to download free of charge from Wolfgang Lenerz’s site at http://www.wlenerz.com/smsqe/

QL Wifi

We’ve already brought you news of Johan Engdahl’s QL wifi interface:

Back in November, Johan sent the following news about it to the “Sinclair QL For Everyone” group on Facebook:
“For those of you that has bought my QLwifi adapter, for QL as well as ZX Spectrum 128K/IF1, and for those of you that has not yet done so 🙂
“To ease your life with the adapter I´m in the progress of coding server and client applications for easy file transfer to/from your machine and other useful stuff.
“To be able to support both Linux and Windows, for the server part, I´m coding portable C++ code, which will work on both platforms.
“I´m hoping that first release would be available around X-mas / New Year.
“Files for Linux and Windows will be binaries ready to run, for ZX it´ll be TAP and for QL it´ll be MDV image.”
Johan has also announced he can supply 3D printed aftermarket QL riser legs (QL feet!) at €5 per pair of feet plus postage and packing, and also he’s created a 3D model of the MDV collar which, according to Sinclair, is a mandatory modification and is supposed to go under the rightmost screw on MDV2 to prevent the lid from touching the microdrive thus misaligning the head. He provided the .STL file to download from the Sinclair QL For Everyone group on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/30699392074/