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Tulip to Relaunch C64

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the blast-from-the-past dept.

Ola "4pLaY" Jensen writes "The Dutch PC manufacturer Tulip who bought the Commodore brand name has decided to finally do something with it and re-launch the C64 in some form. Exactly what it will be is still a puzzle in my mind but from reading their news it seems to be a PC with some OS flavour with a C64 Emulator." I spent many hours on a C64 when I was in elementary school, and this brings back a lot of memories.

49 of 282 comments (clear)

  1. What's in store for a moderm C64? by Chmarr · · Score: 4, Funny

    So... what kinds of things do we REALLY expect from a newly-introduced machine?

    - DRM! No, you won't be able to play any of those old C64 games. You'll need to wait for the secret-key-signed versions... that is... until this version's DRM is cracked

    - Dolby 5.1! Now you too can play those Bruce Lee games, and Jumpman, in fantastic 3D sound

    - 24 bit colour! Okay, so you only get 16 colours total, but... you get a fantastic choice of exactly what shade of red you'd like

    - super-basic... does away with basic keywords and reprograms each of the graphic character sets to be a word all of its own

    - Games on tape are replaced with a CD rom... AUDIO CD roms :)

    - Keyboards no longer a couple of inches high... now a couple of feet high! Who needs a desk!

    - And other fantastic improvements...

    1. Re:What's in store for a moderm C64? by WWWWolf · · Score: 3, Informative
      Games on tape are replaced with a CD rom... AUDIO CD roms :)

      *Yawn*... that was already done for Commodore 64 around late '80s, if I remember correctly. There was an adapter that plugged in the tape drive connector, and the cable was plugged in CD player audio out.

      And everyone was amazed on how much stuff you could fit on the CD, even when this particular method wasted space tremendously compared to plain old data CDs. =)

    2. Re:What's in store for a moderm C64? by FrostedWheat · · Score: 4, Interesting

      There was an adapter that plugged in the tape drive connector, and the cable was plugged in CD player audio out.

      Ohhhhh I remember those.

      We hooked up a regular tape player to a small low-powered FM transmitter, and in two other rooms hooked up a radio reciever to the C64's using that CD adapter. Playing a C64 tape ('Ghouls' if I remember correctly, anyone remember that?) we where able to load the game on both machines at the same time from one tape. Amazingly, it worked. Most of the time. Sometimes one would load but the other would just stop mid-way.

      Ahhh, those where the days!

      Come to think of it, that could have been one of the first wireless networks! If only it had been two-way!

    3. Re:What's in store for a moderm C64? by Tim · · Score: 3, Funny
      "DRM! No, you won't be able to play any of those old C64 games. You'll need to wait for the secret-key-signed versions... that is... until this version's DRM is cracked"

      Yes, just imagine...Compute!'s Gazette might still be here, had they only been able to protect their MLX source from the rampant pirate hordes:

      49152 :076,032,195,000,001,003,051
      49158 :004,032,184,192,169,004,079
      49164 :133,252,169,216,133,251,182
      ...


      as it was, it was just too easy to duplicate....
      --
      Let's try not to let fact interfere with our speculation here, OK?
    4. Re:What's in store for a moderm C64? by avij · · Score: 4, Informative

      Forget the "low-powered FM transmitter", try the official radio stations instead. When I was young (circa 1987 or so), there was a weekly radio show for computer enthusiasts. It had an interesting feature: they were broadcasting C64 programs on the air, and anyone with a tape recorder and a radio were able to record the programs and then run them. It actually worked pretty well, all the programs I received that way worked nicely. A really efficient method for transmitting programs, I'd say.

      --

      Follow your Euro bills at EBT
    5. Re:What's in store for a moderm C64? by mrkrittman · · Score: 2, Informative

      Back in the early 80's, when the BBC Micro used to be around, the BBC used to transmit a programme called "The Chip Shop" on Radio 4 which featured software for the Beeb that you could tape off the air and then load into the computer.

      They also used to broadcast BBC Micro software using Ceefax, which you could download onto the machine using a teletext adapter.
    6. Re:What's in store for a moderm C64? by Pflipp · · Score: 4, Funny

      I have been able to convince my little brother (then a fan of the new "house" music), that the audio noise on C64 tapes was a new sort of house.

      He told me and my other brother that he liked the "music".

      --
      "We can confirm that Debian does *not* ship the version with the trojan horse. Our version predates it." [CA-2002-28]
  2. Why wait? by Mr.+Bones. · · Score: 2, Informative

    If you're running gentoo:

    emerge app-emulation/frodo

  3. Release it as a wrist watch... by clambake · · Score: 4, Interesting

    You could probably fit that c64 computeing power in a watch AND provide an LCD screen capable of rendering the stunning CGA style graphics all at a reasonable price and footprint... It would actually be a lot of fun to hack around with... I might see if I can do it myself if they don't. :)

    1. Re:Release it as a wrist watch... by Micah · · Score: 2, Interesting

      The C64 VIC video chip was far more powerful than any CGA display! CGA only supported four colors at a time; the C64 supported 16. With CGA you had to choose between text or graphics mode, and in text mode no graphics were allowed. The VIC could display sprites in text mode. Sprites are completely independant of the rest of the display, and could be moved to a different location on the screen with a single POKE command in BASIC (well, two of them if you wanted to change the X *and* Y coords). It also supported interrupts when the monitor reached a certain scanline -- so you could change the color of something -- the screen background, border, or a sprite, in the middle of the screen with a quick asm hack!

    2. Re:Release it as a wrist watch... by usotsuki · · Score: 2, Informative

      Yesh.

      -uso.

      --
      Dreams, dreams, don't doubt dreams, dreaming children's dreaming dreams. Sailor Moon SS
  4. Neato... by The+Master+Control+P · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The only problem is, you can get a C64 and pretty much any game ever written for it on Ebay. A basic computer with cables starts around $10. I mean, Commodore sold, what, 22 million of 'em? Games are $5 each, other accessories are in the $10-30 range.

    Something we DO need to get a modern version of is Tandy's portable disk drive - Those things cost a fortune. I paid $40 for a drive in questionable condition, because it was the first to be seen on Ebay in weeks and those gauranteed to work cost $80+.

    Besides, there's something to be said for using the original. Despite the free availability of emulators, people consistently pay thousands of dollars for an Altair 8800 or Imsai 8080. I would if I could afford it.

  5. I was hoping they'd bring back the hardware. by FauxReal · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The custom synth chip made for the C64 is in short supply, in fact from what I understand there arent any bulk ones left. It's the basis of some pretty neat modern synth projects including the SidStation, and the amazing DIY project The MIDIbox Sid. You might wanna check out this interview with Bob Yannes the designer of the SID chip.

    --
    Deltron 3030 - Virus (music video)
    1. Re:I was hoping they'd bring back the hardware. by wkitchen · · Score: 2, Informative
      Then there's the big cartridge port that I've never programmed, but I think it's something like the user port, perhaps a bit more advanced.
      The cartridge port gives you access to the processor bus, minus a few address lines. It can only address 8K directly, but has a couple of i/o lines that were sometimes used to swap different pages of ROM or RAM into the 8K space. It was typically used for ROM cartridges and RAM expansion cartridges, but it could also be used to map in additional i/o ports (potentially lots of 'em, if that's what you needed), or other neat tricks. Technically quite a different animal from the user port, but certainly very versatile and accessible in the same geek-friendly spirit as the user port and joystick ports. There was a company called Jason Ranheim (I think) that sold an EPROM programmer and blank cartridges with eprom sockets, along with some nice little software tools for rolling your own cartridges with up to 128K of EPROM. That was a fun tool. I learned a lot while playing with my C64.
  6. Re:Bitter memories by Walt+Dismal · · Score: 4, Funny
    Oh, you're just jealous because some people can survive on $400 a year, yogurt, and a loincloth. You're spoiled rotten. When I was a kid, we only had punched cards and we LIKED it.

    I skipped lunch for 13 years, saving my lunch money to buy a 5-1/2 diskette drive for my C64. And when I bought it, I was so cool, I got laid almost every night. Hurrah for the C64.

  7. Well, I have it on a phone by mccalli · · Score: 4, Informative
    Don't know about a watch, but it's certainly available on phones.

    Got a Symbian Series 60 phone (Nokia 3650, 7650, Ericsson P800)? Well then, go here for a C64 emulator. Works well on my 3650.

    Cheers,
    Ian

    1. Re:Well, I have it on a phone by ultrapenguin · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Wow.
      You mean you can load arbitrary software in the 100k-byte range on your cellphone in europe/america and use/play the software you just loaded?

      How do you transfer it to the phone? IRDA or cable of some kind?

      Being in japan really sucks, the cellphone revolution is passing everyone by in here.

      Latest phones boast "20kbyte java deluxe" applis that cannot access hardware, screen, or anything on the phone directly, and run slow as molasses.

      That, and there is no method to load the stuff into the phone other than downloading them at 9600bps from a website, no possibility of remote debugging, and if the applet crashes, you have no way to find out what went wrong etc (the phone will simply display a error box and terminate the applet).

      Pretty amazing that nokia/etc phones are so much further along when it comes to writing your own software for them.

    2. Re:Well, I have it on a phone by ultrapenguin · · Score: 3, Informative

      can't say for other mobile operators in japan, but NTT DoCoMo with its 5 manufacturers doing their cellphones (Sony, Mitsubishi, Sharp, Fujitsu, and someone else I cant remember), does not have anything even remotely similar to what you describe. I know for a fact there is no development environment which would allow hardware-access to the phone, and definitely not anything in the hundreds of kilobytes we are talking about with a project such as this c64 emulator.
      There's the Iappli java which is horribly limited, incompatible between different manufacturers, slow, and does not let you directly access any hardware except the vibrator / screen backlight, and is limited to 20k .jar size.

      I think the target market here is different.
      in Europe they go for usability and computer connectivity.
      Here, they go for useless shit like hello kitty backgrounds and 64 voice ring patterns and washed out 640x480 pinhole cameras for underskirt photography.

    3. Re:Well, I have it on a phone by Stuart+Gibson · · Score: 2, Funny
      Here, they go for useless shit like hello kitty backgrounds and 64 voice ring patterns and washed out 640x480 pinhole cameras for underskirt photography.
      And that's why Japan is great.

      Goblin
      --
      It's all fun and games until a 200' robot dinosaur shows up and trashes Neo-Tokyo... Again
    4. Re:Well, I have it on a phone by juhaz · · Score: 2, Informative

      Those three mentioned devices are phone/pda combinations and thus it's quite obvious that they need to have bit better software platforms to be of any use.

      For your regular phones, things aren't quite that well. Mostly its those very same java midlets (memory is probably somewhere in ~100-300k range depending on the phone, no size limits other than that for invidual midlet, AFAIK, but I may be wrong).

      No access to hardware worth mentioning (in addition to MIDP standard, manufacturers own extensions that tend to be mostly useful for games, fast screen access, controlling vibrator/backlight, etc. Nokia phones, for example don't even have socket connections for tcp/ip, only http).

      And the stuff still must be downloaded over the air (GPRS in most new phones is max 50kbps or so), or with data cable that tends to cost another ~50 euros. Maybe with bluetooth if the phone has it, cheaper ones dont.

  8. 80's technology rebirth by SystematicPsycho · · Score: 2, Funny

    Is there an 80's home entertainment rebirth going on? First it was the atari 2600, now the commodore 64. This is what emulators are for.

    Anyway, they should bring back the commodore 64 to set a revival in the good old "GOTO".

    --
    Analytic & algebraic topology of locally Euclidean meterization of infinitely differentiable Riemmanian manifold
    1. Re:80's technology rebirth by chadjg · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Said SystematicPsycho, "Is there an 80's home entertainment rebirth going on? First it was the atari 2600, now the commodore 64." Yes, I think there is a rebirth going in progress because the people that remember are to the point of having more disposable income than sense. Technology that makes it relatively easy to do helps too. Who else played Jumpman till their thumbs were red & swollen? Anybody else think they were so cool for finding and changing the strings in Oregon Trail to start out with $100,000? Fun stuff...

      --
      Why do I have this? I don't smoke.
  9. VICE emulator by DGolden · · Score: 4, Informative

    If you want VICE, an excellent, essentially perfect, C64 (and C128, and some other CBM-machines) emulator, then it's here.

    I still use it about once a week when I feel nostalgic - while the graphics of C64 games totally suck, some of them still have better gameplay in my opinion than many of today's.

    Plus there's some games I had in primary school that I've never completed (or looped, for those games that don't really end).

    It's about 2 to 4 times faster than a real C64 on my now-ancient 400MHz PC.

    I remember laboriously translating 6502 assembly into DATA statements, by hand, when I was learning to program in the 80s - the C64 BASIC was so unutterably pants (yes, it was made by MS), that people jumped to assembly to get anything non-trivial done. Then I got a C128 with a built-in assembler.

    --
    Choice of masters is not freedom.
    1. Re:VICE emulator by anon*127.0.0.1 · · Score: 3, Funny

      Yeah, I was pretty surprised to see that GTA:Vice City runs under a C64 emulator! Seems like a pretty kludgy way to get things done, but it's a great game so I guess I won't complain.

      --
      I am NOT a man!
      I am a free number!
  10. Cognitive Dissonance by heironymouscoward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It works like this. Bunch of people sit around saying, "wouldn't it be cool if...", and soon come up with a bunch of ideas. Unnoticed, the hard facts of reality gather round and start to ask for attention. "But will it sell?" "Does anyone actually want it?" "Did you check the current market for this product". >SPLOIT!SPLOIT!wicked thoughts.

    --
    Ceci n'est pas une signature
  11. C-one. by pmsr · · Score: 3, Informative

    Been there, done that.

    http://c64upgra.de/c-one/

    /Pedro

  12. Hobbyist shakedown by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    "Currently there are about 300 commercial websites that use the name Commodore or Commodore 64 without having a license from Tulip. Tulip will not allow unauthorised use of the Commodore brand."

    So the thanks to all the people who have kept the name alive, archived all the old software and created amazing new programs and hardware is a kick in the face in the form of a cease-and-desist? Forget about VICE or CCS64, now you must use (and pay for) the "official emulator".

    Is this really the only way Tulip could reclaim the money spent buying the Commodore brand?

    1. Re:Hobbyist shakedown by Alan+Cox · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Well they say *commercial* web sites. In addition there are huge numbers of non infringing uses of a trademark that even if they were so inclined they could do nothing about.

  13. C64 vs Speccy by PhotoBoy · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Hurrah, now we need someone to re-release the Spectrum and we can all relive the golden years of our childhood- arguing in the playground over which machine is better!

    And if someone can re-release the old BBC Micro both Spectrum and C64 owners will have someone to ridicule. Chucky Egg in all green? Nah.

    1. Re:C64 vs Speccy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      In my playground, Spectrum owners ranked lower than BBC Micro (Model B) owners. The BBC owners were only just below C64 owners, and mainly because the C64 had some US-import games (the british games were much of a muchness.)

      The BBC's higher-res was far more valued than the spectrum's higher color count, especially since many people still had B/W TVs (!), and the fact you had the same home computer as your school's computer made life easier.

      Sure, the spectrum had colored blobs, but you could actually make out what the characters were supposed to be on the BBC and C64

      The BBC owners could and did download games from their TV (BBC TV), and they actually had keyboards and the only non-sucky 8-bit BASIC. Plus, the sheet-metal BBC case was way cooler than the flimsy C64 and Speccy.

      We all laughed at the poor sod who bought a VIC-20 a year AFTER the C64 came out. It was an early lesson in don't-beleive-a-salesman for him and his parent...

    2. Re:C64 vs Speccy by bigredswitch · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Only the posh kids had Beebs! I bet you even had disk drives with yours?! The Speccy was the only machine for me in the early 80s.

      --
      After about three months of relentless Willy action I reckon I'm now as good as when I was 10.
  14. err, no. learn to read please. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    If you could actually *read* you'd see that they want to sue about 300 commercial sites which are using the commodore trademark, then release the only "official" C64 emulator (and work towards shuttig down distribution of any other emulator), work with one software distributor who currently holds many rights to a lot of games and in general give up up the buttocks to every project which currently keeps the C64 "alive"

    -t

  15. 64 Bit computing by Fritzed · · Score: 5, Funny

    Hmm, in some form. . .

    Maybe that means they will try and start competing, after all, 64 bit processors are IN!

    -> Fritz

    --
    Spooooon!!!!!
  16. Re:that is cool by WegianWarrior · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I'm sure someone will manage to get it running some flavour of Linux. In the mean time, I'll be happy to run Contiki on my real C64 - unless someone can come up with a linux-distro for it that is.

    If this 'new C64' turns out to be naught more than a reasonable standard PC bundled with an emulator and some repackaged software, porting Linux to it should be as hard as placing the Knoppix CD in the drive and booting it up...

    Personaly, I would think it would be great if they brought back to life some of the old hardware - the VIC was an interesting grapichscontroller with it's independent sprites, and the SID could make music like no chip has before or after.

    If you're a youngster and wish to learn more about one of the most influential micros in the early 80's, you may want to look at Marko Mäkelä 8-bit server. His document page is a treasure in it's own right.

    --
    Everything in the world is controlled by a small, evil group to which, unfortunately, no one you know belongs.
  17. reset by noisehole · · Score: 5, Funny

    back in those days you had to buy a reset button as expansion for about 2. it was plugged in the back slot of the c64.
    i remember collecting all these POKE commands you had to enter for some sort of cheat after a soft reset and getting back into the game with a SYS command.

    and still, if im playing games on my box im using emulators. c64 was, is and will be my favourite home computer. those times just rocked!

    and yeah, i still got the holer for the 5.25" disks so you could use them from both sides.

    buying reset buttons and using holers on floppy disks, heh nostalgia... who is with me?

  18. press statement by wdebruij · · Score: 2, Informative

    from http://www.c64.org/ :

    "Global re-launch of COMMODORE by TULIP COMPUTERS N.V. and IR"
    by SCouT on Sat, Jul 12, 2003 15:00:25

    Amersfoort, July 11, 2003

    Today Tulip Computers NV (Tulip) and Ironstone Partners Ltd. (Ironstone) signed a licence agreement for a partnership, which is a major step in the global re-launch of the Commodore brand name.

    Tulip will receive a license fee for all Commodore C64 products delivered by Ironstone, installed on all computer brands using the Microsoft or any other operating system and all Commodore 64 branded products. In addition, Tulip will receive a license fee over the revenue from software downloads, subscriptions and advertising.

    Even today there is still an extensive group of about 6 million loyal Commodore users and enthusiasts around the world. This community is currently spread over hundreds of unofficial websites. The community craves acknowledgement and authenticity from the true Commodore C64 brand. Tulip is the owner of the brand name Commodore. Through this partnership Tulip grants to Ironstone the exclusive rights to exploit the official Commodore C64 web-portal and use of the Commodore 64 brand name.

    Ironstone and Tulip invite the Commodore community to join the official Commodore C64 web-portal. Currently there are about 300 commercial websites that use the name Commodore or Commodore 64 without having a license from Tulip. Tulip will not allow unauthorised use of the Commodore brand.

    In this partnership, Ironstone will create the official Commodore C64 games and community portal designed to focus and harness the power of the Commodore C64 user base and to efficiently provide the services required by these individuals for a fee. The founders of Ironstone are experienced and successful, in previous similar projects Ironstone achieved a subscriber to pay subscriber conversion rate that was unparalleled in the Internet space.

    The main objective of the Ironstone official C64 portal is to unite this massive global fan base of passionate enthusiasts. Through its web portal, Ironstone will market the official C64 emulator in various software and hardware formats. The games offered by the Ironstone web-portal will include the famous 'classic' C64 games as well as exciting new games and will also sell its Commodore-branded products through the site.

    Tulip will get full access to the estimated 6 million users and will also sell its Commodore branded products through this portal. Tulip will introduce, the upcoming months, new hardware products under the Commodore brand name, being able to use the C64 emulator.

    According to Bjorn Bruggeman, Brand Manager Commodore: "Through strategic partnerships we're creating a web of Commodore partner companies. Each partner, or licensee, is selected on his unique expertise and will focus on a specific market segment within the Commodore strategy. The synergy advantages are huge. The license agreement with Ironstone is an important step in this process and will enable Tulip to enter a complete new era with almost unlimited e-commerce opportunities. "

    Darren Melbourne, Creative Director, Ironstone Partners commented, " The license deal with Tulip is a huge breakthrough for the millions of C64 enthusiasts and retro gamers around the world who are still loyal to this incredible games system. Ironstone is committed to bringing this technology and games library back to prominence on every platform available to us."

    Commodore C64 facts and figures

    The C64 is the biggest selling home computer in world history.
    The C64 has an unparalleled heritage as a groundbreaking games and home use PC.
    The C64's role in the evolution of the modern games industry was incredible powerful and the echoes of its influence still reverberate through the industry today.
    Even today there is still an extensive group of about 6 million loyal Commodore users and enthusiasts around the world.
    A countless number of hobbyists and Commodore

  19. Danish C64 band by henriksh · · Score: 3, Informative

    There's a danish band called Press Play On Tape that makes music based on old C64 games. The music's very good.

    You should especially check out their "Game Boy Band Video" (downloadable from the band's website) - it's hilarious!
  20. a bit of history by wdebruij · · Score: 3, Informative

    As a dutch citizen I have seen many Tulip computers through the years. The company has been on the brink of bankrupcy a number of times. To divert this they have tried to reuse the commodore brand name previously.
    I'm not quite sure when it was. Even google
    (= god) couldn't tell me. It was probably somewhere around 1995

    1. Re:a bit of history by pe1chl · · Score: 4, Interesting

      >The company has been on the brink of bankrupcy a number of times.

      Probably again...
      They show all the characteristics: digging through their old stack of patents and finding violations, and now looking in the pile of "brand names" they own and trying to cash-in on those.

      From the entire article it is apparent that they expect nothing less than a steady stream of royalty money coming in all by itself by just declaring "commodore is our brand name", fighting all people who setup sites of their own, and bringing out some software emulator for the PC that they blindly assume 6 million people will buy from them.

      I think it will be a great disappointment.

  21. Re:You can run a C64 emulator in smart phone by martingunnarsson · · Score: 2, Informative

    There's also an emulator called Pocket C64 for PocketPC PDA:s.

    --
    Martin
  22. Emulating a C64 on a PC? by El · · Score: 2, Funny

    Isn't that sorta like modifying your 350ZX to make it look just like a '57 Edsel?

    --

    "Freedom means freedom for everybody" -- Dick Cheney

  23. Is this good news?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful
    As heise online news reported yesterday (in German),
    Tulip to intensify marketing of the Commodore brand

    According to estimates by the Dutch computer maker Tulip, owner of the Commodore trademark, there are still approximately six million loyal Commodore users world-wide. This community is said to use countless web sites for information or software downloads. 300 commercial web sites are reported to use the "Commmodore" (sic) and "Commodore 64" denominations without license. The unauthorized use of these trademarks shall no longer be tolerated in the future.

    Tulip and Ironstone Partners Ltd, the anglo-canadian games rightsholder, have agreed that the latter will build an official C64 portal, the proceeds from which are to be shared with Tulip. Ironstone is to market the official C64 emulator through the new portal. In the months to come, Tulip intends to release new hardware using the emulator. The agreement intends to give the go-ahead to an entire network of strategic alliances, promising "almost unlimited opportunities for e-commerce." (mw/c't)
    Hopefully this will not turn out like something along the lines of "Thanks to all the supporters for keeping the scene spirit -and hence the value of the ancient trademark- alive for a decade or so beyond the demise of the original manufacturer. Now to express our gratitude and renewed interest in the platform, we reserve the right to greet them with our most grateful cease&desist letters."
  24. Not the first time the C64 has been re-released by Cloud+K · · Score: 2, Informative

    Slashdot article on Commodore C-One here

  25. Re:C64 and CDs by Hank+the+Lion · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Another question, the CDs were probably 74 minute CDs, so wouldn't a simple 90 minute tape hold more data than a CD?
    No, it wouldn't. CDs have almost perfect channel separation, so you could put one side of the tape on the left channel, and the other one on the right.

  26. Hopefully they'll remember too .... by Usagi_yo · · Score: 2, Funny
    Include the caps lock and unlock key CUZ there is nothing more irritating then reading posts from people posting from COMMODORES.

    lol, Lameness filter wouldn't let me do the whole thing in caps .... kinda cool.

  27. Re:Broadcasting C64 programs over the air by Stuart+Gibson · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Well, if it was Aphex Twin music, I'd be very impressed that their songs were runnable on a C64 :)
    Well, why not, they've already managed to conceal faces and other images in their recordings which are only visible when run through a spectrograph:

    More info here

    Goblin
    --
    It's all fun and games until a 200' robot dinosaur shows up and trashes Neo-Tokyo... Again
  28. The CommodoreONE by downix · · Score: 2, Informative

    What I'm concerned about is Jens CommodoreONE project. First new-Commodore hardware in ages, and I have this feeling that Tulip is going to squish her, for nothing other than keeping their brand name alive.

    --
    Karma Whoring for Fun and Profit.
    1. Re:The CommodoreONE by Tumbleweed · · Score: 2, Informative

      The thing about the Commodore-One, despite it's name, is that it's not _just_ a C64 platform - it runs 'personalities' like C64, but also the Atari 8-bits, Apple ][, etc. Basically anything that ran on a 65C02-type platform. Also, it's using the version of the 6502 with the 24-bit memory addressing, so it'll have lots of RAM, and it is a MicroATX mobo, so it fits into normal computer cases, etc. The newer proc they're using is 20MHz, too, so it's a bit faster than the original hardware platforms.

      The original hardware platform I find the most interesting is the Atari 800 - I had no idea Jay Miner started there - the machine had several co-processors to handle graphics, sound, and i/o, all to take more of the load off the CPU. Plus the CPU ran at 1.79MHz, unlike the Apple ][, which ran at 1. If I had known that, I may have been an Atari user instead of an Apple user at the time. The bad thing about the Atari 800 was the expandability compared to the Apple. The Apple had like 8 slots in it, with great stuff like 80 column cards, super serial board, etc. Plus it was easy to expand to beyond 48K of RAM. The Atari 800, as far as I can tell, was stuck at 48K, and never got beyond 128K in its line (with Atari 130XE). I had a 512K RAM expansion card for my Apple //e towards the end of its life, and that made a _huge_ difference.

  29. Re:Fastload cart (was Re:reset) by AnotherBlackHat · · Score: 2, Interesting

    IIRC, Fastload sent the data using a handshaked (clocked) protocol.
    Turboload used the standard (asynchronous) protocol built in,
    it just turned off the screen which prevented the 40 cycle drop out that occured when the C64 fetches a new character row.
    (It should have turn off sprites since they steal cycles too, but nobody's perfect.)

    Vorpal on the other hand blanked the screen, turned off sprites, used both data lines to transmit in an asynchronous manor,
    and recorded the data in a different format, yielding a 25 to 1 speed improvement.
    (About 1/2 the speed of the IBM PC's 5.25" single denisty floppy)
    Timing was so precise that it had to account for the different clock speeds of
    the pal (.985 Mhertz) and the NTSC (1.0227 Mhertz) and 1541 (1.000 Mhertz) when transmitting the data.

    To appreciate how stupid all this really is,
    you have to realize that the C64 has a custom chip that implements their serial protocol,
    and the clock and data lines weren't attached to anything.
    With a tiny amount of software, and two extra traces on the motherboard,
    the 1541 could have been 12 times faster than it was.

    -- this is not a .sig