[Ql-Users] The QL Future
The QL Community is steadily reducing in size. So what can we do to stop the QL disappearing into oblivion? Other old computers have survived by ensuring that emulators programs exist in the public domain. The QL does have public domain emulators but they are a haste to use. The problem is in either they do not work with all programs or else by the time the person has learnt to convert the program so that i will run they have already decided the QL is not for them. There is one emulator which overcomes this problem and that is QPC2. However when you have bought it you find you need QPrint to use a printer! Then you find some of the best programs are commercal thats more expense. George Gwilt suggested at the Quanta AGM that Quanta should buy the rights to QPC2 Qprint with its surplus cash so that they could be part of the public domain and people could appreciate the QL for nothing. Unfortunately these seeds of wisdom fell on stoney ground. SO are you content to see the QL disappear into oblivion OR are you going to do something about it? ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] The QL Future
John Sadler wrote, on 9/Jun/10 08:29 | Jun9: The QL Community is steadily reducing in size. So what can we do to stop the QL disappearing into oblivion? Other old computers have survived by ensuring that emulators programs exist in the public domain. The QL does have public domain emulators but they are a haste to use. The problem is in either they do not work with all programs or else by the time the person has learnt to convert the program so that i will run they have already decided the QL is not for them. There is one emulator which overcomes this problem and that is QPC2. However when you have bought it you find you need QPrint to use a printer! Then you find some of the best programs are commercal thats more expense. George Gwilt suggested at the Quanta AGM that Quanta should buy the rights to QPC2 Qprint with its surplus cash so that they could be part of the public domain and people could appreciate the QL for nothing. Unfortunately these seeds of wisdom fell on stoney ground. SO are you content to see the QL disappear into oblivion OR are you going to do something about it? Surely there is not enough spare cash to buy QPC2 and Qprint, even if JMS (and Marcel) wanted to sell. Tony -- QBBS (QL fido BBS 2:257/67) +44(0)1442-828255 t...@firshman.co.uk http://firshman.co.uk Voice: +44(0)1442-828254 Fax: +44(0)1442-828255 Skype: tonyfirshman TF Services, 29 Longfield Road, TRING, Herts, HP23 4DG ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] The QL Future
On 09/06/2010 08:29, John Sadler wrote: The QL Community is steadily reducing in size. So what can we do to stop the QL disappearing into oblivion? Other old computers have survived by ensuring that emulators programs exist in the public domain. The QL does have public domain emulators but they are a haste to use. The problem is in either they do not work with all programs or else by the time the person has learnt to convert the program so that i will run they have already decided the QL is not for them. There is one emulator which overcomes this problem and that is QPC2. However when you have bought it you find you need QPrint to use a printer! Then you find some of the best programs are commercal thats more expense. George Gwilt suggested at the Quanta AGM that Quanta should buy the rights to QPC2 Qprint with its surplus cash so that they could be part of the public domain and people could appreciate the QL for nothing. Unfortunately these seeds of wisdom fell on stoney ground. SO are you content to see the QL disappear into oblivion OR are you going to do something about it? ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm It does depend to some extent on resources, but also enthusiasm. From the last Quanta survey, it appeared that most of their members do not use emulators, but rely on original hardware. It will be interesting to see what sort of response levels they get to the latest survey and whether this has changed. I would like to see Quanta work together with its members and the rest of the QL community to decide on how best to promote the QL and secure its continued future. I have made a few suggestions in the past, but unfortunately, the Quanta committee did not appear to grasp the concept behind the ideas, or how they can help to promote the QL. But then, it is not just Quanta who lack motivation to do anything about it... A case in point is the QL Wiki at http://www.rwapadventures.com/ql_wiki There are several ideas behind this site, which work together: a) To promote the QL, by increasing the amount of information available on the internet about its hardware, and software b) To preserve copies of QL documentation and help to make them more widely available. c) To preserve copies of commercial QL software, so that if users buy a second hand piece of software, to find that the microdrives will no longer load, or if they have moved onto emulators, they can readily purchase a working copy (on production of proof that they own the original). Unfortunately, despite my best efforts, the main contributors to the QL Wiki remain myself and Dilwyn Jones. When I ask for comments / feedback or assistance, the only response appears to be You have not included any information about [x] The QL Wiki is not designed to remain my site - it is for the whole of the QL community, yet why don't others pull their fingers out and contribute information to it / help to preserve images of software? From my own point of view, I am bound to concentrate on entering information which helps me to ensure the commercial viability of RWAP Software. This works and various people have come to my site as a result of the QL Wiki. However, none of the other traders or even Quanta have entered any information about their own products (I say traders, but we all know how many there are left in the QL community!). So, I have to agree with John's comments - are you content to see the QL disappear into oblivion, OR are you going to do something about it? -- Rich Mellor RWAP Services http://www.rwapsoftware.co.uk http://www.rwapservices.co.uk -- Try out our new site: http://sellmyretro.com ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] The QL Future
Tony Firshman wrote: Surely there is not enough spare cash to buy QPC2 and Qprint, even if JMS (and Marcel) wanted to sell. I've not heard of the proposal before, but I'm generally open to suggestions. QPCPrint (as the standalone executable it is now) is not for sale as its target audience shifted to mostly non-QL users and businesses with old DOS software, but the functionality could be integrated directly into QPC2 to achieve the same goal. Marcel ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] The QL Future
Rich Mellor wrote: However, none of the other traders or even Quanta have entered any information about their own products (I say traders, but we all know how many there are left in the QL community!). In these cases I normally follow the rules for Wikipedia which basically say you shouldn't write about your own stuff but let others do/judge it. This is one of the reasons why I generally don't write articels concerning QPC etc. Besides, I believe I've already done my fair share of work to help the QL stay alive... ;-) But I can very well empathise that the lack of contributions can be very discouraging! Cheers, Marcel ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Quanta Subgroups - Survival
-- From: Malcolm Cadman q...@mcad.demon.co.uk Sent: Tuesday, June 08, 2010 8:57 PM To: ql-us...@q-v-d.com Subject: [Ql-Users] Quanta Subgroups - Survival Overall a good number of subgroups, yet two definitely meet at someone's home, and three have no location for Meetings ( although one of these claims 12 Meetings a Year ). Leaving three subgroups that have a Venue. It seems to me that Quanta needs its subgroups to be active and thriving, to feed into the main organisation. Therefore continued support is vital to survival. It is my policy not to take an active part in this group, but I am prepared to make an exception occasionally. In this case because whenever you and I have ever tried to start a discussion on this subject in the past there has been no interest. As far as I can seen the present status is as follows: There are not 8 subgroups but 6. Surrey and Sussex have been saying for about 4 years now that they have no meeting place. It is reasonable to assume that means they no longer exist. Unless, of course, that group of men under Brighton pier are not alcoholics as I had assumed, but vagrant QL-ers. I also thought that Solent and Dorset no longer existed, but earlier this year Solent gave new meeting details. It is a pity they did not tell us what their numbers are and what they get up to. At the AGM John Mason confirmed that Dorset still exists, but is getting smaller and now barely viable. Since that time we have had the sad news of John Meadow's death. You know what happens in London. I believe you are getting smaller, but you do maintain a website and some trade in second hand goods. I think it's a pity the Quanta hierarchy do not want any more shows in the hall, but the officers have certified themselves as being too decrepit and senile to manage the stairs. Scotland also maintains a website and is remarkably active for an area with so few Ql-ers, mainly because of the enthusiasm of John Sadler and George Gwilt. They gave one member good support when he had problems with one of my programs. (Apologies, Colin, I still have not solved the problem.) Birmingham meet in a local pub and rely on the fact that inner city pubs are delighted to have any customers in the evening. They are a group of about 8 elderly men who meet to talk about everything and occasionally the QL. Interestingly six of them, including the chairman, are not members of Quanta. (The chairman for reasons of principle.) Manchester is the largest of the subgroups and you have to touch your forelock when you meet them because they are also the Quanta toffs. (Quanta is shortly to be renamed the External Affairs Branch of the North East Manchester QL User Group). For a large group they are surprisingly silent about what they get up to, probably because of years of covert plotting to take over Quanta. I once tried to goad them into telling us something of what they do by suggesting on this list that they were not really QL-ers, but a secret Elvis appreciation society, but it did not work. Manchester do not have a dedicated website in spite of the fact that the Quanta toffs are always moaning about how little interest the lesser mortals on other subgroups show in having a dedicated page on the Quanta website. All very hypocritical when you consider Quanta's specialist web staff hale from Manchester, Best wishes, Geoff PS Dilwyn, please feel free to reproduce this in its entirety in the Quanta Magazine, but somehow I don't think you will want to. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Quanta Subgroups - Survival
Manchester is the largest of the subgroups and you have to touch your forelock when you meet them because they are also the Quanta toffs. (Quanta is shortly to be renamed the External Affairs Branch of the North East Manchester QL User Group). For a large group they are surprisingly silent about what they get up to, probably because of years of covert plotting to take over Quanta. I once tried to goad them into telling us something of what they do by suggesting on this list that they were not really QL-ers, but a secret Elvis appreciation society, but it did not work. ;-)) Does that make John Gilpin or Keith Dunbar Elvis reincarnated? I will wait to see what the QL Today editorial team can discover :o) Manchester do not have a dedicated website in spite of the fact that the Quanta toffs are always moaning about how little interest the lesser mortals on other subgroups show in having a dedicated page on the Quanta website. All very hypocritical when you consider Quanta's specialist web staff hale from Manchester, Best wishes, Geoff PS Dilwyn, please feel free to reproduce this in its entirety in the Quanta Magazine, but somehow I don't think you will want to. Ummm, I'll take the excuse that I am not Editor and that this doesn't come within my News Editor remit :-/ And as I (to the best of my knowledge) have never been within range of a subgroup (nearest was Cheshire) I don't feel qualified to comment too much on that unless the few QLers west of Chester would like to form one? Also, I was rather disappointed with the response I got to my international groups requests. Despite trying to contact several individuals I knew of from former groups, I never got replies from most of them. So I took that as far as I could then gave up in disappointment. I was very glad to see individuals taking the initiative with the recent shows in Switzerland and Austria, of course. No user group in those countries didn't mean nothing happening of course. Dilwyn Jones ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] The QL Future
Rich Mellor wrote: On 09/06/2010 08:29, John Sadler wrote: The QL Community is steadily reducing in size. So what can we do to stop the QL disappearing into oblivion? Other old computers have survived by ensuring that emulators programs exist in the public domain. The QL does have public domain emulators but they are a haste to use. The problem is in either they do not work with all programs or else by the time the person has learnt to convert the program so that i will run they have already decided the QL is not for them. There is one emulator which overcomes this problem and that is QPC2. However when you have bought it you find you need QPrint to use a printer! Then you find some of the best programs are commercal thats more expense. George Gwilt suggested at the Quanta AGM that Quanta should buy the rights to QPC2 Qprint with its surplus cash so that they could be part of the public domain and people could appreciate the QL for nothing. Unfortunately these seeds of wisdom fell on stoney ground. SO are you content to see the QL disappear into oblivion OR are you going to do something about it? ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm It does depend to some extent on resources, but also enthusiasm. From the last Quanta survey, it appeared that most of their members do not use emulators, but rely on original hardware. It will be interesting to see what sort of response levels they get to the latest survey and whether this has changed. I would like to see Quanta work together with its members and the rest of the QL community to decide on how best to promote the QL and secure its continued future. I have made a few suggestions in the past, but unfortunately, the Quanta committee did not appear to grasp the concept behind the ideas, or how they can help to promote the QL. But then, it is not just Quanta who lack motivation to do anything about it... A case in point is the QL Wiki at http://www.rwapadventures.com/ql_wiki There are several ideas behind this site, which work together: a) To promote the QL, by increasing the amount of information available on the internet about its hardware, and software b) To preserve copies of QL documentation and help to make them more widely available. c) To preserve copies of commercial QL software, so that if users buy a second hand piece of software, to find that the microdrives will no longer load, or if they have moved onto emulators, they can readily purchase a working copy (on production of proof that they own the original). Unfortunately, despite my best efforts, the main contributors to the QL Wiki remain myself and Dilwyn Jones. When I have time I certainly hope to add to the QL Wiki. Perhaps I might even become a main contributor! When I ask for comments / feedback or assistance, the only response appears to be You have not included any information about [x] The QL Wiki is not designed to remain my site - it is for the whole of the QL community, yet why don't others pull their fingers out and contribute information to it / help to preserve images of software? From my own point of view, I am bound to concentrate on entering information which helps me to ensure the commercial viability of RWAP Software. This works and various people have come to my site as a result of the QL Wiki. However, none of the other traders or even Quanta have entered any information about their own products (I say traders, but we all know how many there are left in the QL community!). So, I have to agree with John's comments - are you content to see the QL disappear into oblivion, OR are you going to do something about it? George ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] The QL Future
I came on this list a couple of days ago. I was a QL user for many years and a regular attender at the London group. Some of you may even remember me I stopped using the QL a number of years ago and moved out of London. In an idle moment I wondered what was happening and rejoined the list. The thing that is immediately worrying is that so far every one who has posted is someone whose name I know. If no one new and active has come in during the last few years then the big bell is tolling! martinw ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] The QL Future
On 09/06/2010 20:17, Martin Wheatley wrote: I came on this list a couple of days ago. I was a QL user for many years and a regular attender at the London group. Some of you may even remember me I stopped using the QL a number of years ago and moved out of London. In an idle moment I wondered what was happening and rejoined the list. The thing that is immediately worrying is that so far every one who has posted is someone whose name I know. If no one new and active has come in during the last few years then the big bell is tolling! martinw ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm Hi Martin, It is good to see you contributing to the list and maybe we can persuade you to have a go on one of the emulators. There are quite a few people who have come to the QL in the past couple of years - many of them as a result of my own website and purchasing second hand items offered by myself and/or Quanta. Some are more active than others. However, I have a mailing list of over 1000 QL users and it is rare that any of them ask to be removed from the list (please let me know if you would like to be added). So, the market is not quite ready for the death knell. -- Rich Mellor RWAP Services http://www.rwapsoftware.co.uk http://www.rwapservices.co.uk -- Try out our new site: http://sellmyretro.com ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] The QL Future
What is the mailing list you're referring to, Rich? Bill Loguidice, Managing Director Armchair Arcade, Inc. http://www.armchairarcade.com Authored Books: http://www.armchairarcade.com/books Film: http://www.armchairarcade.com/film LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/billloguidice -Original Message- From: ql-users-boun...@lists.q-v-d.com [mailto:ql-users-boun...@lists.q-v-d.com] On Behalf Of Rich Mellor Sent: Wednesday, June 09, 2010 3:29 PM To: ql-us...@q-v-d.com Subject: Re: [Ql-Users] The QL Future On 09/06/2010 20:17, Martin Wheatley wrote: Hi Martin, It is good to see you contributing to the list and maybe we can persuade you to have a go on one of the emulators. There are quite a few people who have come to the QL in the past couple of years - many of them as a result of my own website and purchasing second hand items offered by myself and/or Quanta. Some are more active than others. However, I have a mailing list of over 1000 QL users and it is rare that any of them ask to be removed from the list (please let me know if you would like to be added). So, the market is not quite ready for the death knell. -- Rich Mellor RWAP Services http://www.rwapsoftware.co.uk http://www.rwapservices.co.uk -- Try out our new site: http://sellmyretro.com ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] The QL Future
On 09/06/2010 20:31, Bill Loguidice wrote: What is the mailing list you're referring to, Rich? Bill Loguidice, Managing Director Armchair Arcade, Inc. http://www.armchairarcade.com Authored Books: http://www.armchairarcade.com/books Film: http://www.armchairarcade.com/film LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/billloguidice -Original Message- From: ql-users-boun...@lists.q-v-d.com [mailto:ql-users-boun...@lists.q-v-d.com] On Behalf Of Rich Mellor Sent: Wednesday, June 09, 2010 3:29 PM To: ql-us...@q-v-d.com Subject: Re: [Ql-Users] The QL Future On 09/06/2010 20:17, Martin Wheatley wrote: Hi Martin, It is good to see you contributing to the list and maybe we can persuade you to have a go on one of the emulators. There are quite a few people who have come to the QL in the past couple of years - many of them as a result of my own website and purchasing second hand items offered by myself and/or Quanta. Some are more active than others. However, I have a mailing list of over 1000 QL users and it is rare that any of them ask to be removed from the list (please let me know if you would like to be added). So, the market is not quite ready for the death knell. I have a mailing list of all my customers and the ql-users email list which I send out the occasional email to, advertising forthcoming shows, news and trying to promote Quanta and QL Today membership ! I last sent out an email just before the last Quanta workshop in Birmingham... -- Rich Mellor RWAP Services http://www.rwapsoftware.co.uk http://www.rwapservices.co.uk -- Try out our new site: http://sellmyretro.com ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] The QL Future
-- From: Marcel Kilgus ql-us...@mail.kilgus.net Sent: Wednesday, June 09, 2010 12:10 PM To: ql-us...@q-v-d.com Subject: Re: [Ql-Users] The QL Future Tony Firshman wrote: Surely there is not enough spare cash to buy QPC2 and Qprint, even if JMS (and Marcel) wanted to sell. I've not heard of the proposal before, but I'm generally open to suggestions. QPCPrint (as the standalone executable it is now) is not for sale as its target audience shifted to mostly non-QL users and businesses with old DOS software, but the functionality could be integrated directly into QPC2 to achieve the same goal. At the 2007 Quanta AGM John Mason, the then chairman, made a passing reference to Quanta and QPC2, but the information he gave was not for Quanta buying the rights, but for Quanta to buy a copy as a gift for each member. This suggestion had been made by a member as a way of saving the QL. Obviously he decried the idea because it would not have been an effective way of using Quanta's capital. Firstly there are many Quanta members who have no desire whatsoever to own a PC and secondly over a third of Quanta members already owned QPC2. Had Quanta misunderstood what George had proposed or had there been 2 separate proposals about a Quanta involvement with QPC2? Best Wishes, Geoff ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] The QL Future
Evening all, SO are you content to see the QL disappear into oblivion OR are you going to do something about it? Well, I write articles for QL Toady (for no payment by the way) and hopefully, that helps keep the QL - in any shape or form alive. I also have the http://qdosmsq.dunbar-it.co.uk website as a subdomain of my business website to document the internals of QDOS and SMSQ. It too is a Wiki and while a number of QL names have joined the Wiki - which you don't actually have to do to read it - only myself and George Gwilt have so far contributed. This mailing list is probably the most frequently populated part of QL-Dom - and even here goes deathly quiet at times. My Articles in QL Toady are a mystery to me. Not that I don't know what I'm writing (well, most of the time I do!) but the lack of feedback from almost everyone in the entire world - I sometimes feel that I'm writing for three people - Me, George and a chap called Hugh Rooms who called me to task some time back and made a contribution to the Assembly series. Every time I ask for feedback, the silence is deafening. When I have time I certainly hope to add to the QL Wiki. Perhaps I might even become a main contributor! At the moment George, you are the main contributor to my Wiki as well. So, I have to agree with John's comments - are you content to see the QL disappear into oblivion, OR are you going to do something about it? Well, I used to follow the ZX-81 and then the Spectrum and then the QL - learning all that I could about these enigmatic little machines, but lets face it, we are all very similar to those old codgers who keep old steam railways alive. They too are getting fewer and fewer each year! The QL is dying, but we are doing what we can to keep its little heart beating as long as we possibly can. Without Marcel and QPC, I think it would have bean dead in the water years ago. Other opinions are available, of course, but they are wrong! ;-) (That last bit was intended as a joke, no flames or replies necessary!) One last point, no-one makes money from the QL any more do they? It's a hobby now, that's all. Cheers, Norman. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] The QL Future
Am 09.06.2010 um 21:17 schrieb Martin Wheatley: I came on this list a couple of days ago. I was a QL user for many years and a regular attender at the London group. Some of you may even remember me I stopped using the QL a number of years ago and moved out of London. In an idle moment I wondered what was happening and rejoined the list. The thing that is immediately worrying is that so far every one who has posted is someone whose name I know. If no one new and active has come in during the last few years then the big bell is tolling! martinw ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm I am kind of new here (although I owned a QL in the late 80ies). It started with a QL I bought on Ebay last year. In the meantime I own a Q40, two QLs and use QPC3. The QL brought my interest for coding back. Its more fun to code for a simple (but elegant) system like the QL. So I train my skills in SuperBasic and Assembler at the moment and hope, that this ends in new programs for the QL from me. So it´s not impossible, that at least users, who owned a QL in the past come back. I also noticed, that there is a high interest on QLs on ebay. What I miss (but what is understandable, because of the costs) is the lack of new hardware. Especially (apart from new Q60s;-)) some kind of SD-/CF-card-reader for the QL would be nice. Urs Koenig hit on this idea at the QL-meeting in Vienna last weekend. I knew from people, who bought a QL on ebay, but couldn´t use it, because of the microdrives and the lack of an easy way to transfer software from the internet to the QL (I know, that there are disk-interfaces, but for an QL-newbie its not so easy, to buy and use a disk-drive on the QL). With an SD/CF-card-reader someone would be able to load the SD/CF-card on the PC with software and then use it on a QL. There are similar solutions for the C64 or the Sinclair Spectrum. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] The QL Future - Never Say Die
On 09/06/10 21:21, Anton Preinsack wrote: Am 09.06.2010 um 21:17 schrieb Martin Wheatley: I came on this list a couple of days ago. I was a QL user for many years and a regular attender at the London group. Some of you may even remember me I stopped using the QL a number of years ago and moved out of London. In an idle moment I wondered what was happening and rejoined the list. The thing that is immediately worrying is that so far every one who has posted is someone whose name I know. If no one new and active has come in during the last few years then the big bell is tolling! martinw ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm I am kind of new here (although I owned a QL in the late 80ies). It started with a QL I bought on Ebay last year. In the meantime I own a Q40, two QLs and use QPC3. The QL brought my interest for coding back. Its more fun to code for a simple (but elegant) system like the QL. So I train my skills in SuperBasic and Assembler at the moment and hope, that this ends in new programs for the QL from me. So it´s not impossible, that at least users, who owned a QL in the past come back. I also noticed, that there is a high interest on QLs on ebay. What I miss (but what is understandable, because of the costs) is the lack of new hardware. Especially (apart from new Q60s;-)) some kind of SD-/CF-card-reader for the QL would be nice. Urs Koenig hit on this idea at the QL-meeting in Vienna last weekend. I knew from people, who bought a QL on ebay, but couldn´t use it, because of the microdrives and the lack of an easy way to transfer software from the internet to the QL (I know, that there are disk-interfaces, but for an QL-newbie its not so easy, to buy and use a disk-drive on the QL). With an SD/CF-card-reader someone would be able to load the SD/CF-card on the PC with software and then use it on a QL. There are similar solutions for the C64 or the Sinclair Spectrum. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm Hi Anton, SD/SF Card Readers are quite easy to do, most CF readers can plug into the IDE Interface. But the card has to be formatted to SMSQ/E or QDOS. Reading and writing to FAT formatted Card is another story, no device drivers. You might be interested to that only QL I do not have is non-working Thor 8, that I am trying to get up and running. I do not the think QL is dying, just the people who used to use it have moved onto other systems. -- Regards Derek ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] The QL Future
Hi Norman, My Articles in QL Toady are a mystery to me. Not that I don't know what I'm writing (well, most of the time I do!) but the lack of feedback from almost everyone in the entire world - I sometimes feel that I'm writing for three people - Me, George and a chap called Hugh Rooms who called me to task some time back and made a contribution to the Assembly series. It is at least for FOUR people - I read it when I lay it out and enjoy reading it, by the way :-) Every time I ask for feedback, the silence is deafening. It is generally very hard to get feedback, and it was already hard 10 years ago. One last point, no-one makes money from the QL any more do they? It's a hobby now, that's all. I would think so too. I enjoy doing the magazine and hope to add my share to keep the QL scene alive... as you will be able to see when the new issue will arrive (all posted, so you should have it sooner or later ... except from the visitors of the Vienna show who got it personally delivered), I have not raised the price, and added extra pages as well. Fewer subscribers mean, the costs per issue increase - the amount of time I have to spend remains the same. And yes, it's a hobby for me too. I still think QL Today is a kind of glue which keeps us QLers together. I am sorry I cannot pay for the articles, and I am sorry I don't earn money from the QL anymore (when I did many, many years ago, it was a rather more enjoyable time than it is now in some cases, but money has to come in somehow...) ... and the advertisers merely pay and paid in the past years for the copying costs of their advertising page (nothing to earn there too). And, as Marcel wrote to Rich's mail - I also feel when I put things about my own products into Wikis, it could be regarded as self-advertising. Cheers Jochen -- Jochen Merz Software - Kaiser-Wilhelm-Str. 302 - D-47169 Duisburg Tel. +49-(0)203-502011 Fax +49-(0)203-502012 Email: s...@j-m-s.com Homepage: http://SMSQ.J-M-S.COM ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] The QL Future - Never Say Die
On 09/06/10 21:21, Anton Preinsack wrote: SD/SF Card Readers are quite easy to do, most CF readers can plug into the IDE Interface. But the card has to be formatted to SMSQ/E or QDOS. Reading and writing to FAT formatted Card is another story, no device drivers. ... well that fits in well with the work Adrian Ives is doing. I haven't heard from him for a while, but he had skeleton drivers to write to the on-board FAT formatted SD card on UsbWiz, using a serial interface. That card could be written to on a PC, although execable files would need to be zipped by a QL system or written from a QL emulator. There are a few issue though. 1) I suspect it would need a QL with extra memory to be useful 2) It woud be very slow speed without at least Hermes 3) It needs a 5v power supply superHermes has 5v available and could probably work at 230400 bps, but this is moving away from a bare QL that Urs is looking to support. Tony -- QBBS (QL fido BBS 2:257/67) +44(0)1442-828255 t...@firshman.co.uk http://firshman.co.uk Voice: +44(0)1442-828254 Fax: +44(0)1442-828255 Skype: tonyfirshman TF Services, 29 Longfield Road, TRING, Herts, HP23 4DG ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] The QL Future
In message 428105907.20100609131...@kilgus.net, Marcel Kilgus ql-us...@mail.kilgus.net writes Tony Firshman wrote: Surely there is not enough spare cash to buy QPC2 and Qprint, even if JMS (and Marcel) wanted to sell. I've not heard of the proposal before, but I'm generally open to suggestions. QPCPrint (as the standalone executable it is now) is not for sale as its target audience shifted to mostly non-QL users and businesses with old DOS software, but the functionality could be integrated directly into QPC2 to achieve the same goal. Marcel Hi Marcel, That would be a nice addition to the functionality - awful phrase ( ! ) - of QPC. Keep up the good work ... :-) -- Malcolm Cadman ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] The QL Future
In message e1omqmr-0007an...@outmx02.plus.net, Martin Wheatley mart...@martinwheatley.plus.com writes I came on this list a couple of days ago. I was a QL user for many years and a regular attender at the London group. Some of you may even remember me I stopped using the QL a number of years ago and moved out of London. In an idle moment I wondered what was happening and rejoined the list. The thing that is immediately worrying is that so far every one who has posted is someone whose name I know. If no one new and active has come in during the last few years then the big bell is tolling! martinw Hi Martin, Welcome back ... :-) Probably most contributors on this list use a vast array of computers and other advanced hardware and systems. Yet, we all continue our fondness for the QL. The Big Bell as you put it, has been chiming for many years now - we just continue to enjoy the sound . :-) PS - The London venue has now been completely refurbished. Call in at some time, when you are able. -- Malcolm Cadman ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] Quanta Subgroups - Survival
In message ce65970b0d324a6c93c30293dadae...@geoffbqm5ccx41, Geoff Wicks gtwi...@btinternet.com writes -- From: Malcolm Cadman q...@mcad.demon.co.uk Sent: Tuesday, June 08, 2010 8:57 PM To: ql-us...@q-v-d.com Subject: [Ql-Users] Quanta Subgroups - Survival Overall a good number of subgroups, yet two definitely meet at someone's home, and three have no location for Meetings ( although one of these claims 12 Meetings a Year ). Leaving three subgroups that have a Venue. It seems to me that Quanta needs its subgroups to be active and thriving, to feed into the main organisation. Therefore continued support is vital to survival. It is my policy not to take an active part in this group, but I am prepared to make an exception occasionally. In this case because whenever you and I have ever tried to start a discussion on this subject in the past there has been no interest. As far as I can seen the present status is as follows: There are not 8 subgroups but 6. Surrey and Sussex have been saying for about 4 years now that they have no meeting place. It is reasonable to assume that means they no longer exist. Unless, of course, that group of men under Brighton pier are not alcoholics as I had assumed, but vagrant QL-ers. I also thought that Solent and Dorset no longer existed, but earlier this year Solent gave new meeting details. It is a pity they did not tell us what their numbers are and what they get up to. At the AGM John Mason confirmed that Dorset still exists, but is getting smaller and now barely viable. Since that time we have had the sad news of John Meadow's death. You know what happens in London. I believe you are getting smaller, but you do maintain a website and some trade in second hand goods. I think it's a pity the Quanta hierarchy do not want any more shows in the hall, but the officers have certified themselves as being too decrepit and senile to manage the stairs. Scotland also maintains a website and is remarkably active for an area with so few Ql-ers, mainly because of the enthusiasm of John Sadler and George Gwilt. They gave one member good support when he had problems with one of my programs. (Apologies, Colin, I still have not solved the problem.) Birmingham meet in a local pub and rely on the fact that inner city pubs are delighted to have any customers in the evening. They are a group of about 8 elderly men who meet to talk about everything and occasionally the QL. Interestingly six of them, including the chairman, are not members of Quanta. (The chairman for reasons of principle.) Manchester is the largest of the subgroups and you have to touch your forelock when you meet them because they are also the Quanta toffs. (Quanta is shortly to be renamed the External Affairs Branch of the North East Manchester QL User Group). For a large group they are surprisingly silent about what they get up to, probably because of years of covert plotting to take over Quanta. I once tried to goad them telling us something of what they do by suggesting on this list that they were not really QL-ers, but a secret Elvis appreciation society, but it did not work. Manchester do not have a dedicated website in spite of the fact that the Quanta toffs are always moaning about how little interest the lesser mortals on other subgroups show in having a dedicated page on the Quanta website. All very hypocritical when you consider Quanta's specialist web staff hale from Manchester, Best wishes, Geoff PS Dilwyn, please feel free to reproduce this in its entirety in the Quanta Magazine, but somehow I don't think you will want to. Hi Geoff, Nice to see you involved again ... :-) It would be useful to get the status of the subgroups all up to date. Meeting at a venue is quite different from meeting in a pub - a place where on is expected to purchase drinks of an alcoholic nature ... :-) Or, from meeting at someone's home. Of course, the latter is a resort to keep things going. So, overall maybe there are just 4 active subgroups now - in the UK ? -- Malcolm Cadman ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: [Ql-Users] The QL Future
On 09/06/2010 21:42, SMSQ - Jochen Merz wrote: One last point, no-one makes money from the QL any more do they? It's a hobby now, that's all. I would think so too. I enjoy doing the magazine and hope to add my share to keep the QL scene alive... as you will be able to see when the new issue will arrive (all posted, so you should have it sooner or later ... except from the visitors of the Vienna show who got it personally delivered), I have not raised the price, and added extra pages as well. Fewer subscribers mean, the costs per issue increase - the amount of time I have to spend remains the same. And yes, it's a hobby for me too. I still think QL Today is a kind of glue which keeps us QLers together. I am sorry I cannot pay for the articles, and I am sorry I don't earn money from the QL anymore (when I did many, many years ago, it was a rather more enjoyable time than it is now in some cases, but money has to come in somehow...) ... and the advertisers merely pay and paid in the past years for the copying costs of their advertising page (nothing to earn there too). And, as Marcel wrote to Rich's mail - I also feel when I put things about my own products into Wikis, it could be regarded as self-advertising. Cheers Jochen Believe it or not, there is still a burgeoning market out there for retro computers - I rely on them for my main source of income at the moment (since I was made redundant in December) and have successfully brought several new products to market (or made old ones available again), and all this helps. People do want new products, but they also want to be able to keep using their existing products, and that is why the software preservation side of the QL Wiki is equally important - many users find that as microdrive cartridges degrade, or they move onto an emulator, they no longer have access to their favourite programs, some of which are copy protected. We even have a version of QL Pawn which will run under an emulator (although you cannot save on q-emulator, but can on ql2k for some reason). Over the past few years, we have sourced and brought to market: - Replacement QL case tops and PSUs which had been lurking in one of Tony's sheds for many years - The Molex keyboard connectors for QLs, ZX81s and Spectrums (normally ruined when someone has used a keyboard replacement which plugs in in place of the old keyboard membranes (such as the Schoen keyboard) - A Compact Flash card interface for the ZX Spectrum (DivIDE Plus) - A Mouse and PC Keyboard Interface for the ZX Spectrum - Keyboard membranes for the ZX81, ZX Spectrum and QL - Keyboard faceplates for the ZX Spectrum - QWord It is continued activity and investment in these type of projects which is needed. The QL Wiki (and Norman's Wiki on the internal workings of the QL) all help to disseminate information and make the QL more attractive to new (and returning users). Prior to the QL Wiki, I had seen plenty of posts on discussion forums about what QL software had been produced and bemoaning the lack of any quality games (many people still believed it was just a business machine). As for Marcel's and Jochen's comments about posting information on wikis being regarded as self-advertising - well, there are some views on this: 1. Surely the software / hardware designers are best positioned to provide the background of the hardware and software? 2. The internet may be aimed at providing information, but 99% of sites (including wikis) are used for promotion of business - after all, not many people can afford to set up and maintain a website longterm without it providing some source of revenue. If someone is interested in reading about QPC2 for example, why leave it open ended as to where they can now obtain a copy from ? That is like telling someone about a wonderful product which will change their lives immensely, but if they want to get hold of it, sorry - just look on google and see if anyone else has listed it for sale... 3. What is wrong with self-promotion? Surely anyone who writes a CV out and puts it online on a job site is doing just that thing and nobody would argue against doing that. Rich -- Rich Mellor RWAP Services http://www.rwapsoftware.co.uk http://www.rwapservices.co.uk -- Try out our new site: http://sellmyretro.com ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
