Re: OT: Spamfighting (was: All YOUR Romantic Needs - Relationship101.com 9857)

On Fri, 16 Feb 2001 08:39:15 GMT, Nate / DAC <nos...@nospam.com> provoked the
following text:

>> >isn't a Posix system at all, just another unix-like operating system. No multitasking
>> >support either.  (For that, get JOS :)
>> JOS? Don't know that one. But what i _do_ know is that multitasking is
>> impossible on a C64/128, it could do taskswitching though.
>Not at all.
>
>A Stock C64 can multitask with LUnix (note the exact spelling).  This one
>is pre-emptive, but I don't know if it's threaded or not, been a while
>since I last played with it.  Very Unix-like.

Funny, besides myself you are the only one i have ever seen mentioning LUnix.
I have played around a bit with it too.

>For Super-CPU accellerated machines, JOS does a great job.  This one is
>multi-threaded pre-emptive multitasking.  Also very Unix-like.
>
>The other night, for example, I as running two GUI interfaces (by
>accident, I only meant to load one), four shells were open with bitmap
>soft-80 display drivers, a starfield/warp demo (similar to the windows
>screensaver), reading a text file as needed, and an IRC client was open.
>
>The GUI looks similar to Windows variants, however it's not complete
>(author has been spending his resources on other parts of the OS).  It
>features a backdrop image (root window, wallpaper, whatever you like to
>call it), which is a red Ferrari, joystick control for the pointer (with a
>unique accelleration routine..starts out slow, and speeds up, then slows
>back down to a stop when you let go...ingenious!), mouse support is
>coming.

Of course, you could use a 1351 mouse in joystick mode. As soon as mouse support
is here you can use it in proportional mode as it should.

>Others who have used it report that it can access the Internet (telnet
>only for now) via the usual PPP over TCP/IP, like any modern PC.

COOL!!! I thought that only Novaterm offered TCP/IP.

>What C64/128 can't do (at least, without a hardware addon of some kind) is
>memory protection, which people seem to think is necessary for
>Multitasking to occur.  All it does is protect programs from each other
>(fat lot of good it does since the OS usually shuts them down anyway)
>
>Now then.....you were saying? :)

Okay, i'll shut up.... :-)))

>> However, back when my 128 still worked, i have had a tool that used
>> the processor in whatever floppydrive you had as a copro. All drives
>> you have could be used to that purpose. (but it was advisable to leave
>> 1 drive untouched or you wouldn't have drive access). Something like a
>> rudimentary Breowulf cluster, only slower :-)
>
>Most disk-turbo routines use this capability also, running code inside the
>drive to take some of the load off the C64 itself.  Unfortunately it
>doesn't apply too well to much outside of, say, compressing data or
>something.

Dunno, i thought it showed great promise. It came with a demo that did a complex
calculation in dual CPU mode as well as in single CPU mode. Dual CPU mode was a
lot faster, needless to say.

>That is, something that involves sending out less data than it takes in,
>because of how slow the serial bus is.
>
>Now if you have a CMD Hard Drive, which offers Parallel,

You don't need a CMD drive to have a parallel drive. There were/are kits around
that had a flatcable with a socket for one of the chips (can't remember which
one, i thionk it was one of the CIA chips) and on the other end it had a
userport connector. I think the exact layout must me on the web somewhere.
Anyway, with that kit you could have a standard 1541 in parallel mode.

>you have a much
>more powerful "coprocessor" (aside from what the Super CPU does) that just
>happens to have 64K of RAM, and up to 4 gigs of SCSI-Interfaced mass
>storage atached to it (up to 96 gigs with custom software), and the
>possibility to add CD-ROM, ZIP, and other SCSI devices.

I know.

>> Hold on, it was not really a tool but a demo, but it came with VisAss
>> sources so that the code could be incorporated in your own code.
>> Alternatively, the program could be called from floppy IIRC.
>
>One of my favorite disk drive demos was one that vibrated the drive's head
>(by rapidly sending signals to the stepper motor) to play simple one-voice
>music :-)

I had that one! It came with a number of song, "99 Luftbalons" amongst others.

>> Ah... The C64/128 could have come furter that it already went....
>Believe me, it HAS. See also:
>
>Hardware: Creative Micro Designs (Super CPU, RamLink, etc)
>http://www.cmdweb.com/cbm/index.htm

I know this site. I have ordered my FD4000 from them. I also have been a
subscriber to CW from issue #1 through to #24.

>Music: Compute's Gazette SID Collection
>http://members.xoom.com/cbm_files/music.html
>
>Music: High Voltage SID Collection
>http://home.freeuk.net/wazzaw/HVSC/

I haven't looked, do you need a SIDSymphony for these tunes?

>Software: Applications, Technical Documents
>ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/cbm

One of the best known CBM FTP sites.

>Software: JOS (Unix/X -like multitasking OS, very good)
>http://www.jolz64.cjb.net/
>
>Software: CLiPS (Windows-like multitasking OS, also very good)
>http://www.clips64.de
>
>Software: Wheels (single-tasking Mac-like OS, official GEOS upgrade)
>          The Wave (Semi-graphical Web Browser)
>          GeoFAX (Fax-modem software for GEOS/Wheels)
>http://www.ia4u.com/~maurice

Jos looks appealing and so does Clips. I liked GEOS so i'm sure i'd like Wheels,
i already knew GeoFax but this is the first time i have heared of the Wave. Pity
they don't show any screenshots...
Does it run standalone or does it need GEOS/Wheels?

>Books:  The Internet for Commodore Users
>http://cbm.videocam.net.au/tifcu/index.html

Then you wil like this one too, an (offline) HTML browser for the C64:
http://hem.passagen.se/harlekin/

>Documentation:  Project 64
>http://project64.c64.org

Ermm... 404....

>Need I say more? :)

Oh, but there is a lot more to be said.
As i wrote before, the C64/128 could have come further than it already went.

]My biggest disappointment was that many of these sites haven't been updated in
ages.
-- 
        Peter Punk
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