Off the Net
By Tim Swenson
Every once in a while I'll spend some time checking out what's
available on various QL related Web sites. Here is what I found
recently.
QLAY - QL Emulator for MS-DOS
Just realeased is QLAY, a new QL emulator for MS-DOS. QLAY is a
freeware program that emulates a 128K or 768K QL. It comes with
the JS ROM, but ToolKit II ROM images can be added. QLAY is at
version .7, which means that a lot of important features are not
avaialable. QLAY does not recognise SER, FLP, HDK, or NET
devices. MDV image files are used for storing data.
QLAY requires a 386 with at least 16 Meg of memory. A 486/66
will emulate a QL at full speed (some what slower than QPC).
Even though QLAY is a bit limited in getting data in and out of
it, it emulates a QL pretty well. To demonstrate how it works,
QLAY comes with an MDV file with QUILL. When running QLAY with
the QUILL MDV file, after the emulator starts, it boots up into
QUILL. With my limited testing, QUILL works just like it does on
a real QL.
QLAY is written by Jan Venema of the Netherlands. Jan plans to
continue development to get a "real" working QL on a PC. This
will include support of QL disks, saving files in the hard drive,
printing to the parallel port, etc. When version .9 comes out,
Jan plans to make all of the source code available. QLAY is
available from Jan's web page:
http://www.inter.nl.net/hcc/A.Jaw.Venema
Jonathan Hudson's Updates
Jonathan Hudson has a number of updates of his software available
on his web page. In brief they are:
QTPI v.1.62b (5/11/97) Beta test of QTPI. Includes pbox console
enhancement, Large (wide) screens, new config options, etc.
QDOS XPR v3.56 (5/11/97) These file transfer protocols are
needed for QTPI. The reported fix is it correctly reports
transfer percentage for large files.
QFAX v2.82 (3/28/97) Minor update. Adds 200dpi mode to printfax
and fixes "SAVE" bug in qfaxthing.
ATP v1.42c (3/19/97) Removes the random, irritating, and
invariably untrue "packet too old" message. This update only
contains the fixed binary file.
UNPIC v0.02 (3/19/97) Tools to convert _scn and _pic images to
GIF, TIFF, BMP, or PCX.
Winexplore v2 (2/13//97) C68 demo program to explore window
events, with source code and wm_prt (read pinter with timeout)
code. Modified for correct timeout handling in action routine.
QFAX v2.81 (1/12/97) This version provides no new features, but
fixes known bugs in the previous release.
QEYES (3/2/97) A version of Xeyes or Google-eyes. Eyes on
screen follow mouse cursor. Featured in QL Today.
QPC Support Page
Marcel Kilgus, the creator of QPC, has put up a QPC support page.
It primarily lists the current versions of QPC, SMSQ/E, Config,
and the Installation program. Marcel reports that he is working
on version 1.20 of QPC. He is also working on a different
version of QPC that uses a new emulation technique that should
speed things up. Also on the page is a PD version of QPC
(version 1.15). There is also a "hard disk" file that contains
software, the manual, and sample AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS
files. This "hard disk" file is about 1.5 Megs, so it may take a
while to download.
Ergon's Web Page
Ergon Development has a web page with a number of usefull
utilities to download.
PICE v2.1 - allows the QL to redraw partially overlapped windows.
Requires PEX (available on web page) or PIE. Also requires
Minerva or SMSQ.
Turbofix v2 - Allows the use of some Turbo Toolkit keywords on
Minerva or SMSQ.
CPU Toolkit - Two keywords to tell you what type of CPU you have
(68000/8, 68020/30, or 68040), and how fast your (Super) Gold
Card is running.
Another one of their pages lists PD versions of some of their
software.
MasterBasic v1.46 PD - MasterBasic is a development and debugging
utility for SuperBasic and SBasic.
DEA Intelligent Disassembler v5.21 PD - DEA takes an executabe
file and converts it back to assembler code. Usefull if you want
to figure out how a program works.
Floppy Disk Utilities v1.21 PD - Aimed for the (Super) Gold Card
user, thise utilities pack includes a disk editor, disk
copier/formatter/verifier, File Recover, Collect, and Print
Sectors.
Availability
All of the above listed files (except for the QPC "Hard Disk"
file) are available from QHJ Freeware, on either HD or DD disks.
Please format the HD disks before sending them, my floppy drive
refuses to format them properly.
QHJ Freeware
c/o Timothy Swenson
38725 Lexington St. #230
Fremont, CA 94536