As of the beginning of July, the QXL’s operating system (SMSQ) is at v2.57.
The enclosure noted that the SDATE function now returns the proper date if input by the user. In previous versions, I observed that some $trings were prematurely truncated; and, though this is not mentioned as being corrected, it has been.
The video remains diminutive, though I recall that there was a note included with the distribution suggesting that the documentation on the pointer environment be consulted (Oh, really!?!).
The TURBO compiler still returns ERRORs when simple BEEP statements are included, among others.
DISK TAGs
There is a new feature starting (and, hopefully ending!) with SMSQ v2.57 —DISK TAGs (my designation). The TAG consists of an additional label to the file header which identifies any valid, physical medium in the system with either “QDOS” or “MSDOS” followed by the medium’s density (DD HD ED). This is either a blessing or a curse, depending on your point of view.
The observant reader will note that “ED” disks are identifiable. I don’t know if this is a carryover from SMSQ/E for the SUPER GOLD CARD, or if you can actually read/write to ED drives with a QXL. Of course, the latter would suggest a new, QXL-only, ED format since 2.88 meg capacity is NOT compatible with the (SUPER) GOLD CARD’s 3.2 meg capacity.
One of the things that I really don’t like about the TAG is that it gives a spurious label to the QXL’s WIN()_ drives. The WIN()_ drives are tagged with “DD” since a separate provision was not made for WIN()_ drives such as “WD”. Clearly, the operating system is looking for the “next” highest TAG, and failing to find one, it cycles back to the next possible option (i.e., DD). This will surely be “corrected” with the next release.
While the TAG may seem like a clever idea, in practice you will NOT find it difficult to quickly differentiate between DIRectories unless you suddenly get into the strange habit of using the “dot” delimiter for EVERYTHING instead of the “underscore” that QDOS uses.
In an effort to “eliminate” the spurious “DD” tag on my QXL WIN()_ drives, I did try reformatting one of my partitions under the new SMSQ just in case there was a change in the FORMAT routine. The spurious label remained.
Consequently, the new versions of QLAMBer and QLuMSi have been re-coded to ELIMINATE the TAG.
TASKMASTER and QRAM
From what I can tell, TASKMASTER can NOT be run on a QXL. While there are some advantages to TASKMASTER over QRAM, I have always found the ‘CTRL C(ascading)’ toggle a much more convenient way to TASK Switch QDOS programs; and, QRAM’s core code is bundled with the SMSQ operating system.
Having said that, there was a query I read somewhere that I wish to address regarding bypassing the TASKMASTER’s DATE setting routine [relevant to (SUPER) GOLD CARD users].
The key to bypassing TASKMASTER’s DATE setting routine is to avoid it. Now that probably sounds “stupid”, since that is precisely what those who are encountering THAT screen are trying to do.
So, how do you avoid the DATE setting routine?
Of course it was an accident that I discovered the solution to this vexing problem. In fact, I was perplexed the first time I LOADed TASKMASTER and the DATE setting routine did NOT appear! A quick examination of the disk’s DIRectory revealed the answer.
If you look at the “Super_Boot” you will see that there are two related files: Last_Time & Set_Time. So, the simple solution is to DELETE or RENAME (suggested) the two related files from your start_up disk and TASKMASTER will progress to its next phase.
Now, I have to admit that I have some START_UP disks where this works, and other disks where TASKMASTER balks at LOADing. I haven’t investigated why this happens; so, this may-or-may-not work for you.
SMSQ WIN()_ CORRUPTION
I had previously related an earlier-and-recurrent problem which I had thought might have been the result of my mis-use of the FDREAD and FORMAT programs (C. Hochstaetter) in concert with earlier versions of SMSQ. This might have been the case, but I now suspect that the problem lies elsewhere.
I have to say that this might be due to the SuperStor Data Compression, so I made contemporaneous backups of ALL the files, and then re-FORMATted the partition, re-compressed the drive, and they replaced the files from the tape that I had.
I then decided that the size allocation was larger than it had to be, so I re-FORMATted the WIN2_16 from the original 24 Megs. This house-keeping should have solved the problem; but, after some time, the WIN2_ became corrupted, AGAIN!
Well, AFTER the third re-FORMAT, I finally noticed that my WIN2_ drive had an “out-of-balance” sector count — something like 51226/32768.
The problem is that the QXL.WIN file on DRIVE D: was still the original size! Oy!
I cannot say exactly when this sector imbalance transpired. It may have become imbalanced immediately after the QDOS re-FORMAT to a smaller size; or, it may have occurred sometime thereafter. Either way, I might have noticed this sooner, if the net viewing area on a “regular” VGA monitor was larger than 9.5″ diagonally.
So, the process was the same as previously noted:
1) determine which is the "last" readable file;
2) WCOPY all "good" files to another medium (e.g.,
disks on flp2_)
3) exit to DOS
4) delete QXL.WIN from the associated DOS directory
NOTE: make sure you are in the proper drive for the particular WIN()_
WIN1_ is on C:
WIN2_ is on D:
WIN3_ is on E:
WIN4_ is on F: et cetera
5) return to SMSQ
6) FORMAT WIN()_megabytes_size
7) WCOPY files from your backup back to WIN2_
- When in doubt, transfer files to a floppy disk since the WIN()_ might hang up on a “bad” file.
I was going to say that I hadn’t had a recurrence of the WIN()_ corruption; but, a READ/WRITE problem did crop up a week ago when I got a “medium full” message with about 12 meg of free space available. I’ll keep you posted.
FALKENBERG KB Interface.
The FALKENBERG keyboard interface has been around for several years now, but it is worth “looking at” in light of the fact that the latest version of the HERMES “chip” is supposed to incorporate a PC-AT KB interface, too; but, the new HERMES “chip” appears to have a price which is similar to the price of the old HERMES chip plus the cost of the FALKENBERG KB interface.
The main reason to consider an alternate keyboard to the original QL keyboard’s bubblemat-and-matrix combination is for KB continuity, if you have frequent occasion to use a PC keyboard somewhere else. This is also true if you do a lot of keyboard entry — numerical or word processing.
The KB interface is expensive (about $100); but, the price may come as the gotta-have-it-first group of QL users move on to the new HERMES chip and board.
Whichever KB interface you might ultimately select, you probably won’t be sorry. I’m glad I have a FALKENBERG interface because I still use my standard QL (w/ GOLD CARD) a lot, simply because the QXL is incapable of compiling S(uper)BASIC code.
UNINTERRUPTABLE POWER SUPPLY
Several months ago, I got the UPS (uninterruptable power supply) and TAPE BACKUP that I had previously contemplated. Unless you only play games, the UPS is a good idea no matter what computer you are using. It seems like a particularly good investment to protect a QXL card from any jeopardy.
While I experienced power outages with every-other thunder-storm when I lived in Taos, this has not been a problem while living in Albuquerque. Of course, the weather-wise might suggest that it is because it has NOT rained in my neck-of-the-woods for the past two Summers! Still, living “in the city” is no assurance against a power failure — construction crews with a back-hoe have been known to have the same net effect as a lightning strike in the nearby mountains!
The price on smaller units seems to have come down by about 33% in the past year; so you should not have a problem to find a 250 VA unit for under $80.
The UPS may be one of the better computing investments I have made (behind the QL, the FALKENBERG keyboard interface, the GOLD CARD, the QXL, and DBEasy … not necessarily in the particular order listed).
So, my power to my QXL is stable. I just hope that “original” QXL users who bought their QXL’s a couple of years ago continue to receive uninterrupted SMSQ upgrades until the operating system is considered to be stable.
HAPPY TRAILS,
AND COMPUTING, TO YOU …