Commodore Free 34/Commodore_Free_Issue_34_2009_Commodore_Computer_Club.d64/commodore pt 2

Text File | 2009-01-01 | 10.3 KB | 327 lines

u


=====================================
      Welcome to the Commodore
       Lord Ronin from Q-link
=====================================

               PART 2

Why I even have a programme that will
print out a cheque for your cheque
book. Though now days there is a
special ink that is wanted at some
banks. Or they don't accept the
cheque. But I have made and used them
in the past. Not really into spread
sheets. Never got my mind around that
one. But there are many spread sheet
programmes for the Commodore. I may
still have one that prints sideways,
for the long rows. Even have a box of
paper for that style. Data bases, of
simple talk, making files and lists.
Easy to do on the Commodore. There
are programmes for that from simple
type it in yourself, all the way to
big fancy factory programmes.

Have other ideas for things, past the
above, and wonder if the Commodore
can do more? Yeah that is a cheap
intro to things past the usual
computer stuff. Yeah, oh yeah man the
Commodore can do more. Want to
install a picture on the screen or
into a document? Well there are
programmes to do the installation
part. But gang, we have a hand
scanner that I have used often. We
have had digital stuff, like Computer
Eyes. That is a thing that will take
an image from a video camera, or from
a really good paused video tape, or
as the booklet says from a laser
disk. Hey that give you an idea how
long we have had digital video
capture? Oh it works from DVDs as
well. Another one is called Video
Byte II. That one even makes the
image into a Koala picture for you to
edit. That is the lead in for the
fact that there are art - drawing
programmes for the Commodore. Koala
being what I have seen most of the
other tools and programmes that I
have played with, use for a standard.
I prefer another one. but there are
converter programmes to make one
drawing art into another. So if you
like to draw, or feel the desire to
draw, but are worried that some one
might see your work. (I feel that
way). You can make the work on the
Commodore save it or just delete it
before some one can sec it, I do that
last part a lot.

Why we even have a voice digital
device. Actually there are several of
them that I have seen over the years.
One that is easy to find is S. A.M.
This will speak out the words of a
document for you. Well you can make
it do other things in speech as well.
This is just the most common work
that I have seen for the programme.
Though I have seen or is that heard
the speech in games as well as in a
typing programme that tells you the
character that you have pressed. The
other one that I use is Covox Voice
Master, goes back to about 1985.
Takes my voice and uses it in a
programme. I used to make some voice
intros to the monthly disk for my
group. Till the guy that could
programme that moved away. This one
even states it has voice recognition.
Though to be honest it isn't easy or
cheap to find and get.

Games, Writing, Spread Sheets, Files.
Data Bases. Drawing, Voice. What else
can this fantastic machine do? Well
it can make music as well as sound
effects. There arc many books on that
subject. Which as I write this arc
being preserved. Same as Commodore
magazines. Keeping the information
alive for the old timers and for us
the new guys. Not that your music
will sound like the 101 strings doing
a Vivaldi piece. But on the other
hand, it isn't going to sound like
elevator music either Sound effects
are a thing that makes games sound
and play better. Even the razz when
you type in something in your work.
Letting you know that you smegged it
up. That is a sound effect. Buzzers*
crying, blasts, shots, clink of
swords, crystal glass being rubbed.
Bells and whistles and vast amount
more can be made. Which leads me to
the last part of what your machine
can do.

You can programme it! Old timers will
say that this is an obvious
statement. For them it is, for me it
was just a simple statement that I
figured I would never do in my life.
Ah, I was wrong. But for the new
guys, and here the younger new guys.
Hey there, you can programme the
Commodore. And if you are like most
of the people that I have met. who
use the more contemporary platforms.
You don't know what I mean by that
statement. Old timers that have read
this far. What I am saying here is
that there is a generation of users
of computers that have no idea about
being able to sit down and tap the
keys to make something from scratch.
They don't know about type in
programmes, or the simple fact that
they can programme the computer, or
even what the term programming means.

Right back to the new guys. What this
means is that you can sit down at the
blue screen on your 64. Then you can
create your own programme to do
something. Poorly stated in that
sentence. But it is the truth, you
can make your own programmes. There
are several ways to approach this
act. Tell you now, that not every one
that uses the Commodore is interested
in programming it at all. Anyway, if
you have the users guide for the 64
then you have a basic familiarity to
it and if you don't I heard that it
is online in a PDF (EDITOR online
edition:

 http://www.lemon64.com/manual/ PDF
 http://www.commodore.ca/manuals/c64_
  users_guide/c64-users_guide-01-
   setup.pdf

40 column text version:
 http://www.commodorefree.com/tools/
  guide/40column.txt

and D64 of user guide:
 http://www.commodorefree.com/tools/
  guide/guide2.zip and part 2:
 http://www.commodorefree.com/tools/
  guide/guide2.zip)

That book will have you making some
simple things. Well it is a real mind
blower for some to see that balloon go
across the screen. Or the little
symbol bounce around the screen.
Because they sat down and typed in the
code. OK millions of others did the
same thing. Majority of them felt the
same sensations. I felt it and still
do when I mess with Basic v2. Had a 15
year old in my users group who was
blown away, when he made a simple
programme that had his name appear on
the screen. After a simple input
prompt. I gave him the lines from my
demented mind, he typed them in and
was floored. Gives you an idea of the
lack of hands on the machine and how
far we have moved from the Personal
in Personal Computer. Anyway he
bought a system and became a member
till he moved away. Buried himself in
programming and made a couple simple
demos and a text game.

There are other ways to make things
for yourself in programming. The one
that is called programming by some
and not programming by others.
Happens to be using creators. I have
used some that make 2D RPG games.
Learning one that makes text games.
There are some that are called
"Construction Set" that will make
games for you to enjoy. But though
there are many of these out there for
you to experiment with, not everyone
will agree that it is real
programming. Oh there are some tools
for programming. There are also
languages that the Commodore will
accept. At the start it has Basic v2
at your fingertips. You can start to
type in lines right at that blue
screen. Well that is the level my
group is at the moment. So the rest
of this is 2nd hand information. Most
of the guys that I have talked to,
that programme, went to ML after
Basic. ML is Machine Language, and
there arc assemblers for it, which I
know little about. ML in general will
make the programme do more and run
faster and in some aspects be
smaller. Other languages that you can
use on the Commodore are, Comol,
Cobol, CP/M, Fortran and others.
Those are just the ones that we have
books on, in the groups library. I
also have a C programming tool disk
from a company. Which I have never
used.

OK programming isn't for everyone.
Some of my members don't want to
programme. They got burned out after
some of the dull lessons from some of
the sources we tried out. Others are
real keen on the idea. Some just want
to use the game creators for making
their desired projects. But there is
another thing you can do with your
Commodore. Hardware work, that is for
those that have an electronics
interest. Adding a reset switch to
the 64. Making, well a mess of stuff
as there are books out there and in
some older electronic mags, some
projects that you can create and
install, or use with the Commodore. I
remember one in a book we have, that
is sometime to do voice. That is one
that a member wants to build. First I
have to teach him basic electronics.

OK I am on page #5 in GeoWrite. Where
I am doing this article and 100 of
all my writing work. Done on the
Commodore in 2009. 1 haven't
scratched the surface of what you can
do with the Commodore. Hey there is
telecommunications. Like a BBS. and
yeah I know some of the new guys
don't know what that is, and no this
isn't the place for that one. I have
done BBS articles before. Just say
that it is a place where a computer
can talk to another computer over the
phone line. User can leave mail, post
in message bases, up and down load
files and play games. Doing it with
your Commodore. If you have the right
connections. Like a direct dial shell
account, and the Commodore with a
modem and a terminal programme that
docs ASCII/ANSI You can go on the
Internet. I did it for over 10 years.
Till I got DSL and haven't yet
connected my Commodore to the Linux
system to go online with DSL and the
Commodore.

There is so much that you can do with
the Commodore. Hope that I have
demonstrated this to you the new
guys. But to answer the question of
what can you do with the Commodore?
Simply one hell of a lot more than
you expected and then some. But how
to get the information to learn? Well
you have started out real good. You
arc reading a Commodore publication
that gives you much better
information and contents than I can.
There are online places to down load
files. They also have links to other
places. Which have links to links ..
you get the idea. There is a lot on
line to discover. There are also mail
lists, irc chats where people of
Commodore interests hang out and most
of them are willing to lend a hand.

So new guy. you are not alone, you
have a system that will challenge
your mind, and not your wallet. A
system that is upgradable and 999%
backwards compatible to 1982.
Something that will have you thinking
and creating your own things from
your own interests. A system that has
not fallen into the land fill. That
has outlasted the company. Where
people still make software and
hardware for it in a cottage
industry. Most of them are very
helpful to the beginners. So yeah man
you have the worlds greatest
computer. Welcome to the world of
Commodore.

-------------------------------------