Martin Head has
been tinkering with a new directory device driver that supports longer
filenames (up to 72 characters), by adding a path to the start of any file name
provided by the operating system, on a per job basis.
So each job
could have a LFN1_ device pointing at a different directory on the same storage
medium.
This is just a
proof of concept at the time of writing (Martin announced it on 3rd May 2019 on QL Forum)
This is a screen shot from QPC2 showing DIR with and without the added path:
Martin says
that he has got QPAC2 to recognise the LFN device.
Andrei Tenu has
released QL Commander v2.0. This is a new version of the same program
originally released last year via QL Forum.
The author
describes it as “an orthodox file manager (OFM), inspired by the Norton Commander
that was widely used in late ‘80s and during the 1990’s on PCs. QLC provides a
text-based user interface for managing files on top of QDOS, on expanded QLs.”
QL Commander
has a dual window display, letting you see the list of files from two devices
at once and is text-based and keyboard controlled, although the author states
that “mouse functionality is panned to be integrated” at some point.
An 18 page PDF
manual is supplied.
QLCommander can
run both in QDOS and SMSQE. In QDOS it will run in mode 4. In SMSQ/E it can be
configured to run in all modes, including high res and 8 bit colour and high
colour modes.
Fonts and
uncompressed mode 4/8 512×256 pixel graphics and text files can be viewed from
within the program.
The program can copy multiple files and/or directories, including subdirectories (tree copy and delete). It can also use a copy of QDOS Unzip to unzip a zip file.
Cesar Hernandez
has uploaded the latest version of the ZEsarUX multi-emulation system for Unix
system. It emulates various Sinclair systems, including MK14, ZX80/81, Spectrum,
QL and Z88, plus various other compatibles and related systems. ZEsarUX source
code and binaries are distributed under GNU GPL license.
A new version
of QPC2 will shortly be available – some of us have been fortunate enough to
Beta-test an early release. Here’s some notes from the text file which came
with it:
5.00 Converted most parts from assembler to C,
except the emulation core
First
version that is not compatible with Windows 95 anymore :- XP or later is needed
now
Finally
a new DirectX11 based screen driver! Much more compatible and faster.
Old
screen driver still included for WINE or other situations.
QPC_QLSCREMU
emulation now goes both ways, making it compatible with basically all old
software
Improved
FLP driver including a new write cache for very fast disc writes
DOS
driver can now save QL header information like QemuLator
DOS
driver translates file extension separator “_” vs. “.”
(configurable)
DOS
driver transparently translates illegal Windows filenames like “con”
into “con_”
DOS
driver moves files when creating directories like the SMSQ/E drivers
DOS
driver returns the correct size of sub-directory entries within directories
DOS
driver returns all filenames in correct upper/lowercase spelling
DOS
driver RENAME now also works on XP
WIN/DOS/FLP
configuration now has auto-complete edit fields
Some
improvement to power management
Improved
BEEP emulation (especially for short beeps)
Implemented
STOP 68000 instruction
Scan
all monitors for biggest resolution, not just primary
During the
German ZX meeting a few months ago, too, a new EasyMenu was created by Marcel
Kilgus, fixing a small bug that resulted in long startup time on the Q68.
Marcel doesn’t think that the bug has other ill effects, but updating certainly
will not do any harm:
Download the full
Easyptr package, including the new Easymenu 4.11, from Marcel Kilgus’s website
at:
Q68 users can
now opt to try out a version of Minerva for their system. This was ported by
Jan Bredenbeek who has made it available via Github.
The Minerva
operating system was originally designed as a replacement ROM operating system
for the Sinclair QL computer, currently licenced under GPLv3. This port is
aimed at the Q68, an FPGA-based replacement board for the QL. It is not
intended as a serious alternative for the SMSQ/E OS supplied with the Q68, as
SMSQ/E is far more extensive and better suited to support the Q68 hardware than
the 48K ROM-based Minerva.
We just provide
this port to demonstrate the Q68’s ability to run ‘oldskool’ ROM images, give
Q68 users the Minerva look and feel, and maybe provide an opportunity to run
badly written software that doesn’t run on SMSQ/E (but chances are big that
this software won’t run on Minerva either).
The current
Minerva build is based on v1.98, with a few modifications to run successfully
on the Q68.
While the
original Minerva for QL was 48K in length, this version is a 96K ROM image. In
addition to the operating system, there is a keyboard driver specific for USA,
UK and German keyboard layouts, together with a SDHC card driver. MDV driver is
disabled as there is no MDV hardware on the Q68.
By default, the
devices win1_ and win2_ will be mapped to container files QLWA.WIN on SDHC
drives 1 and 2 respectively. If present, the devices qub1_ and qub2_ will be
mapped to Qubide container files QL_BDI.BIN on SDHC drives 1 and 2
respectively. This can be changed by configuring the Q68_ROM.SYS file.
Maximum RAM is
limited to 16MB because of the slave block structure, while the Q68 serial and
network ports are not supported.
Thanks to Klaus
Frank and Brian Kemmett, we believe we now have the complete set of QL User and
QL World magazines from 1984 to the last known issue May 1994 scanned and
available to download as PDF files.
Note that many
of the scans are very large, up to about 80MB in size, so be aware of this
before downloading!
Brian Kemmett
has also scanned the four issues of the short-lived SUB (Super User Bureau)
magazine and they are also available as PDF files.
Klaus Frank
also scanned the QL New User Guide supplements which appeared in QL World
magazine over the years. Thanks also to Cristian from QL Forum who was able to
process the file to improve the scan quality and reduce the file size somewhat.
These latest
scans join the existing scans of QLUB, QL Adventurers Forum and QL Leisure
review magazines.
Damon Chaplin
has kindly given permission for the ArtIce (v1.1) and MiceArt (v1.2) programs
to be released as freeware now.
Formerly
published by Eidersoft, these programs are intended for use with the ICE (Icon
Controlled Environment) system. Artice v1.1 is for the original ICE system,
while MiceArt v1.2 is for use with the mouse version of ICE.
Both versions
come with PDF manuals.
I don’t have a
copy of ICE to ensure these actually work! If anyone is able to check them, we
could do with a screen shot if possible to add to the QL Wiki.
Both Artice and
MiceArt can be downloaded from the Graphics page on my website:
Thanks to the
hard work of Klaus Frank in Denmark, I’ve been able to add further scanned
copies of QL World magazine to the Magazines Page on the QL Home Page.
This means we
now have a pretty complete collection of the PDFs up to the end of 1991.
It is worth
mentioning that scanned copies of QL Today magazines are also available online,
from Urs König’s website. The English editions may be downloaded from:
Qombi is a new
game from Per Witte. It runs on modes 16 to 33 GD2 colour systems only and
needs just under 1MB of fast disk space and 1MB RAM with a minimum screen
resolution of 512 x 384 pixels.
The
rules are pretty easy to pick up, but here they are:
There
are 81 cards. Each card has four attributes: Shape, Number, Colour, and Fill.
Each attribute has three different “states”: The shapes are Ovals, Diamonds,
and Rectangles. Numbers are One, Two and Three. Colours are Red, Green, and
Blue. The fills are Full, Shaded, and Empty.
Initially,
12 cards are laid out on the table. If you can make up one or
more
tricks, you can remove those cards. After one or more tricks have
been
removed, You can replenish the table repeatedly, until the deck is
exhausted.
A
trick is any three cards that have from zero to three attributes in common,
with all the remaining attributes being different.
Points
are given for each trick removed: one for each difference, two for each
similarity. The points double for each extra trick removed without replenishing.
Replenishing costs three points, unless you remove all the cards from the table
in one turn.
If
you get stuck and cannot remove any tricks from a full table, you can
select
one or more cards and have them replaced. Each card replaced costs three
points.
You
can choose to play a timed game, it which case you start off with 20 extra
points. However, each minute used, costs one point.
No
news yet on a release date at the time of writing, sadly.
