I just picked up an Apple SoftCard /// still shrinkwrapped. I almost
hate to open it up but I want to use it in my Apple /// since I collect
to learn and use instead of reselling. I'm pretty sure this is the
original shrinkwrap looking it over and the stickers on it but it made
me wonder. Is there any way to really know if someone is selling
you something that is in the original wrap or something they just re-
wraped? Guess you just have to follow the old "buy be ware".
-----
David Williams - Computer Packrat
dlw(a)trailingedge.com
http://www.trailingedge.com
> I just picked up an Apple SoftCard /// still shrinkwrapped. I almost
> hate to open it up but I want to use it in my Apple /// since I collect
> to learn and use instead of reselling. I'm pretty sure this is the
> original shrinkwrap looking it over and the stickers on it but it made
> me wonder.
Woha. Dont open. At least that what's I would do
(especialy since my Apple /// was stolen 2 weeks ago :().
Try to get a second one.
> Is there any way to really know if someone is selling
> you something that is in the original wrap or something they just re-
> wraped? Guess you just have to follow the old "buy be ware".
Yes, or at least there are some hints. First, the type
of platic film is changing constantly (but you need a bit
experiance, since not only the material is different over
time, also for example, at the same time, companies in
Europe liked different material than those in the US).
Second the aging is visible thru the consistence. While
the years it gets harder and harder. Even if you get the
same material as uses when original, it takes some years
to get the softener out. And third: In a lot of cases
there are stickers on top. If you rewarp the card you
loose them. And most visible, forth: if you juse it
there will be dust on the card and traces on the books.
I always try to keep original packt items as they are,
althru I have some early singleboarders (i.e. 6800),
where I have to fight myself every time I see them :)
Gruss
H.
--
Ich denke, also bin ich, also gut
HRK
At 21:55 10/09/98 EDT, SUPRDAVE(a)aol.com wrote:
>I tested the three C64s i got and none are getting video on a known working
>composite monitor. im also not getting a beep when i try ^G (assuming a
>speaker is inside the computer) do these systems need an rf modulator or
>require a tv?
If you're plugging the composite monitor into the RCA plug on the back of
the C64 you're not going to have much luck. That's the RF output. The
composite video is, if I remember correctly, on pin 4 of the AV DIN socket.
The C64 does not have an internal speaker. Sound is modulated on the RF if
you connect it to a TV, otherwise it's present on pin 3 of the AV DIN
connector. Either way, ^G does *not* give you a beep on a C64. To get
sound out of it you need to resort to POKEing (I can't remember exactly
where you need to POKE, but I'm sure someone else on the list can).
Regards,
| Scott McLauchlan |E-Mail: scott(a)cts.canberra.edu.au |
| Network Services Team |Phone : +61 2 6201 5544 (Ext.5544)|
| Client Services Division |Post : University of Canberra, |
| University of Canberra, AUSTRALIA | ACT, 2601, AUSTRALIA. |
> On Mon, 31 Aug 1998 19:23:11 +1, "Hans Franke" <franke(a)sbs.de> wrote:
>>>does anybody know who has right now the rights for
>>>the KIM-1 design and the respective ROM code?
>>>Or more in general - is there any successor for
>>>the Commodore Semiconductor divison ?
> I did some research on this about 18 months ago in preparation for
> contacting Commodore's bankruptcy counsel to see about purchasing the rights
> to Commodore's 8-bit technology.
> Even though I read the Chapter 11 reorganization plan and Chapter 7
> liquidation motion, and my corporate counsel looked at the docs, it's really
> hard to trace the chain of asset transfers, since I could not find a
> specific list of those assets sold; only broad "all intellectual property"
> language was used.
> Collectively, Commodore's assets were sold to Escom (a German computer
> manufacturer) for $14 million, $4 million of which realted to CBM and $10
> million related to Commodore International Bahamas, Ltd. an affiliate of
> CBM. The former CSG operation located at 950 Rittenhouse Road in Norristown
> PA was purchased by GMT Microelectronics Corp., a company formed by former
> CSG management in order to purchase the chip-making assets. The purchase
> price was $4.3 million plus another $1 million to clear EPA liens. Assets
> included the plant, equipment, other inventory items at that location. Last
> year, I made a field trip to GMT and verified that they exist and are
> operating out of the old CSG building.
Did you talk to them ? Their website (http://www.gmtme.com/index.html)
presents only a few new products - noting of the old stuff.
> The non-CSG assets stayed with Escom until they filed for receivership
> (bankruptcy), in 1996. The assets were then sold to a Netherlands-based
> company (Commodore NL??), who then sold the Amiga assets to Gateway (the
> Holstein cow people). I don't think that anyone truly knows who owns the old
> 8-bit assets. Commodore NL sells PeeCee compatible machines under the
> Commodore name, so I'd bank on Gateway owning them. If anyone on this list
> knows anyone at Gateway, now may be the time to use the relationship.
I think this is a formidable example for all our old (pre 1980)
toys - Almost all of the small (and even some of the big)
manufactiurers/designers have vanished. So who owns the design,
the ROM code, the spechial chip designs, the manuals and any
other soft ?
Gruss
H.
--
Ich denke, also bin ich, also gut
HRK
--- Paul Grammens wrote:
If it is the same drive as the Mac
drives, you should be able to pick up a replacement for a dollar or two,
worst case.
--- end of quote ---
As far as I know, it is the same in almost all respects, right down to the model number. But, the Lisa version supports the Lisa's auto-eject feature when shutting down from the front button, whereas the Mac version does not.
-- MB
Try taking the output of the VIC through the inputs of a VCR. I'm not sure
about this, but if I remember the monitor that was with my C64, there were
two audio, and two video jacks, or a special cable that would combine
everything into one plug. There was also another cable that would allow
the computer to connect to a TV (had a converter and Audio/Video in one RCA
jack, like a Nintendo). However, I no longer have the computer, so I can't
be sure, but I do remember the four RCA jacks and the single multi-plug on
the back of the monitor. There was also a switch to change from 60-75Hz (I
think). The monitor would NOT work with a standard composite computer,
such as an apple.
--
-Jason
(roblwill(a)usaor.net)
ICQ#-1730318
----------
> From: Marion Bates <Marion.Bates(a)Dartmouth.EDU>
> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
> Subject: Re: VIC-20 -- no sound
> Date: Thursday, September 10, 1998 6:55 PM
>
> They didn't, so I made one to match your description here. It checks out
fine with the multimeter, but I still get video with no audio. Leads me to
believe there's a problem with the VIC itself.
>
> Or maybe my TV is really weird. There's been an anomaly with the C64 for
as long as I can remember, which is that when I use the video cable (the
one that splits into three RCA's, one for video and two for sound) with the
video-in jacks on the TV, I get a nice, sharp, black and white display, no
color. If I use the composite port and a TV/game modulator box, I get
(cruddy) color. I've checked every setting I can find on the TV for
color/B&W stuff, but everything looks right. ???
>
> Thanks again for the help.
>
> -- MB
At 09:37 PM 9/9/98 -0500, Doug Yowza wrote:
>
>Note the smiley. I liked it, though. It's almost believable. You can
>construct an entire alternate reality on this kind of stuff.
I recently saw a web site with dozens of fake press releases like this
one about TeX. Some were funny, many were not. I forget where it was,
and my bookmarks aren't telling.
>What do you think it would take for Linus to sell out?
Sell out? To me, the more interesting prospect is that there's no
reason to buy him out, or anyone else out. For that matter, he may
have already sold out; see below.
I've been cultivating a pet theory lately regarding the assimilation
of Linux by Microsoft.
I believe it would be possible to refine a layer of compatibility
into WinNT that would allow more and more Linux software to be
recompiled to run under WinNT as-is (or someday, even running the
executables directly.)
I like tossing this idea on the table at programmer lunches just
to see the reactions it provokes. Because of the freeware nature
of Linux, as long as Microsoft abides by the rules of releasing
the *relevant* source code, they'd be free to assimilate as many
freeware tools as they like. Today they'll ship you a service pack CD
for $9.95; tomorrow they might ship a $9.95 Linux compatibility CD,
or even give it away as a promotion.
The average Linux-head has a hypocritical hatred of Microsoft
when considered in the light of their devotion to portable,
run-everywhere source code. Why shouldn't Linux freeware run
under NT, too?
Of course, Linux is many different components. The bulk of it,
as Richard Stallman tries hard to remind us, is based on GNU tools.
Linus made the kernel, and hordes of programmers have refined
the drivers and many other parts.
For a while, there's been a project to make a Unix compatibility
layer for GNU tools, at <http://www.cygnus.com/misc/gnu-win32/>.
Steve Chamberlain <sac(a)transmeta.com> was the original author of
this CygWin32 software. Note the e-mail address - Transmeta,
Silicon Valley's mystery company of the moment. Oh, that's
where Linus works now, too. Speculation about Transmeta includes
the development of graphics chips and emulator chips that mimic
various CPUs and OSes.
When I present this possibility to Linux-heads, their first reaction is
a fearful "But why would Microsoft want to do that?" I respond,
"To run all that great Linux application software," a double-whammy
that underscores the lack of anything truly comparable to
Microsoft Office in the Linux market. To ask why Microsoft would
assimilate Linux forces one to consider which Linux apps are most
useful to anyone but the most nerdy.
Do we really need to reproduce the kernel? WinNT already has a
microkernel architecture that, in theory, allows different OSes
to be placed on top - that's how Win32, OS/2, POSIX and DOS/Win16
live there. See <http://www.sysinternals.com/ntdll.htm>
and other pages there for a nice discussion of this.
Implement a layer of HAL that talks to Unix-style device drivers, add
an X Window server to the top layers, expand the present POSIX support,
enhance the GNU Win32 effort, make a more Unix-like shell, and presto,
Microsoft assimilates a great deal of Linux. All the Linux programmers
are working for Microsoft, unless they explicitly do something to
prevent it.
Think I can sell the idea to Uncle Bill, or do you think he's already
Microserfs working on it? And perhaps even Ballmer is thinking about it:
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/zdnn_smgraph_display/0,3441,2134010,00.ht
ml>
Freedows is an interesting effort to run Windows apps under Linux:
<http://www.freedows.org/english/high/index.html>.
As for the ten-year-rule, I think the assimilation of Linux into
WinNT will be good for emulators in general, making it possible
to download old Apple II executables and double-click on them
and automagically start the right emulator.
- John
If no one has the LCD, I have a color/mono (switchable) Magnavox
Professional CGA/composite (switchable) monitor with built-in sound that I
can use. Does anyone have the pinouts for the LCD? I have an old CGA LCD
that I may be able to use to make my own (maybe).
ThAnX,
--
-Jason
(roblwill(a)usaor.net)
ICQ#-1730318
----------
> From: Jim <jim(a)calico.litterbox.com>
> To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
> Subject: Re: WTB: Apple // (I think)
> Date: Thursday, September 10, 1998 12:09 AM
>
> You're looking for an apple IIc. Unfortunately the LCD screen is a VERY
rare
> perepheral commanding a multi-hundred dollar price. The 9 inch diagonal
> green monochrome screen isn't MUCH bigger and is far more common.
>
> You can get them refurbished (I think) from alltech electronics
(www.allelec.com)
> or go to comp.sys.apple2.marketplace - I think the basic 2c is going for
> around US$22 for the machine and the power supply.
>
> The 9 inch monitor goes for $49US from Alltech - refurbished. Probably
> less on comp.sys.apple2.marketplace.
> --
> Jim Strickland
> jim(a)calico.litterbox.com
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> Vote Meadocrat! Bill and Opus in 2000 - Who ELSE is there?
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
