CP/M clones & compatible OSes

Sure, but you misunderstood me. AFAIK the original cartridges were not jsut a signle stnadard IC, and there is no single, stanmdard. IC with more cpaactiy that you cna just plug in. Ot make a cartridge you have to desgin some logic to interface a memory device to the Z88. And to design that logic you have to understnad the interface between the cartridge and the rest of the Z88. I have no idea how easy it is to find this information, but it would appear if you know it, it is possible to make other thigns that interface to the cartridges (origianl or modern). In aprticular, say, a USB-interfaced reader/writer. [...] [Amstrad PCMCIA card] Surely it depends on how often you haev to do it. It's way too much work if you only ever have to transfer data once. It nay be worth doing if you need to do it time and again. It takes considerable time to set it up the first tiem, after that it's very easy. Sure. Bu to stick wit hthe bookcase example, you know enough about woodwork that if Ikea don't ahve soemthign that will suit your needs, you could make it from scratch. Or you could modify an Ikea bookcase to suit your needs (been there, done that...) To get back ot classic computing and making up cables. I have the tools and probalby the skill to make a connector. I could turn the pins from metal rod, drill the insualtor using the vertical side lto give X_Y positioningm, mill the hosuing gto ma metal block (wasteful, but I don't have a usitable press to firm it from a metal sheet) and so on. But I am not going to do that for a DB25 plug. I will got to any one of a number of suppliers and buy one. As will jsut about anyone elre here. But if I need a strange connector that's no longer made -- say the large 9-pin plug used on old Creed teleprinters -- then I would make it myself. It would be worth spending the tiem to get the machine running again. SImialrly, I am not going to make M3 screws from scratch, I can buy a bag of 100 for a few pounds. But when I needed M3*0.6mm screws -- the old French ones -- to fix a telephone, of course I made them. There was no other way. I don't much like programming. But I know enough C to write simple utilities when I have to. I'd rather not, but given the choice between speind in evening writing a little code and having a non-working machine, I'll do the former. OK, most of us work with classic computers as a hobby, and by defintion a hobby is soemthing you enjoy doing. You don't pick a hobby that you hate :-) However, in classic computing (as in any hobby?) there are many different things to do. So you will never want to do (I do not want to write an emulator for any classic computer I own, I don't want to write a new OS for such a machine. You don;'t want to attack a PDP11 with a logic analyser). There are things you do enjoy (I _do_ want to attack a PDP11 with a logic analyser). That's fine, we each do the bits that interest us. However, sometimes oyu have to do soemthing you don't like that much. I don't like cleaning keycaps. It's boring. But I find I have to do it on just aobut every classic computer I get. I don't enjoy cleaning up the remains of a platten roller in an HP9810 (it's the most disgusting goo you cna imagine, and it gets everyhwhere), but I love that family of machines so muc htat I will do it. You don't enjoy soldering up cables, but I would argue sometimes you would ahve to do it to get a mahcine running. As an aside, you were lucky. Qume had a strange 20-somethign bit parallel itnerface to soem of their diasywheel printers, the bits sleecte the chracter on the wheel, how much to move the carriage after pritning it, etc. Not easy to capture on another machine at all. Oh, and Diabloe had a similar interface on some models of the 630 printer. It wea similar, but certainly not the same... It's much less of a pain in the backside that finding you have a USB device but no driver exists for the version of the OS you happen to be running :-). At least with RS232 I have a fighting chance of being able ot fix it myself. I would rather sit down with the 'scope and datacomms analyser than play telephone tag with a so-called technical support department... Unfortuantely life is not only what you enjoy. Not even in hobbies.