> > I don't understand why you still talk about SDF. I think everybody knows > > what is it, and why is it. > > I'll continue to bring up as long as you continue to suggest that I created > it for no good reason: "Si ignored, and made his own standard - oooh like > Microsoft"
I really don't understand you. Please look to your message history and see why I wrote "like Microsoft". It has nothing to do with SDF. Do you really think I'm so stupid? No. Not "so" ;-) > > But there aren't any utils which can be used to make SDF from original > > diskettes, so we can't use it. > > Nothing's been written yet, but I've not even finalised the SDF disk format! > The images floating around were just test images that have no header, and > have a fixed 80 track size (though they can be reformatted to other formats > <= 80 tracks within SimCoupe). At the point SimCoupe gets an official > release then there will be an SDF specification describing them. SimCoupe > will support reading the old images, but will only write out the newer > format ones. So you admit there're no pubilc utils, and you even not finised SDF yet. So why you say we don't need any other format (SAD)? I hope all existing "floating around" images will be supported (or converted by some util). > > We need SAD since, we can't use SDF so simply. > > I can't actually remember the last time I used a util to convert from a real > disk to an image. I did a batch conversion ages ago for all my real disks, > and I've tended to just use those images with SimCoupe. Under W2K you can > access regular format SAM disks with SimCoupe to read/write physical disks > to use stuff on the real SAM, so there's no real need to frequent disk > conversions. The same thing is possible under Win9x (tho much slower) and > under Linux too. > > It's this lack of need (for me anyway) that's meant I've spent time on the > main SimCoupe program rather than writing conversion utilities. I do still > have the SAM program to allow a long-winded conversion of protected disks to > SDF images, but I've only had to use it 4 or 5 times so far for the few > protected disks I have. "We need" doesn't really include me anyway. You admit there're no pubilc utils, and you even not finised SDF yet. So why you say we don't need any other format (SAD)? You write that you have your SDF-make util for Sam. But can other people use it? I can't. > > Generally I don't like DSK, since there's no file header and the same > > extension is used by tens other emulators. > > They're a fixed size so they're easy to spot. If you organise your hard > disk so they're under a branch for SAM stuff then there's no problem with > knowing whether or not they're SAM images. > > It's only more complicated due to the Win32 file association for the shell, > but even that is only a problem due to there being only one default handler. > It's still possible to write a shell extension to handle the types > along-side other programs that use the same .DSK extension. Yes, it's always possible to let all files on hard drive has ooo extension, and write a special handler which will recognize whether it is an executable, word document, sam diskette image, etc. Yea, great, great. I know this since ZX32 emulator use ZIP extension for its files. Really "great". Instead of simply clicking on the file, I must right-click and select the operation "open with zx spectrum emulator" in the menu. I hope you understand that I can't set this as a default action, since I much often work with ZIPs normally than opening them with an emulator. > > SDF is good, but I have never seen a public converter > > real_diskette->image_file. > > It depends whether you expect it to create an image from ANY real SAM disk - > it's fine for normal format disks, but is a lot more complicated for > copy-protected disks. A proper solution would end up different on each > platform and require a fair amount of work. If you say you did SDF to handle all diskettes, so I want a converter for it. Any converter of regulatr diskettes to SDF is a shit, since we have DSK and SAD already, so you haven't need to develop SDF. I don't understand you. On one side you trully say SDF is better, it can handle all diskettes. On other size you say: "Let's use it only for regular diskettes." Aren't regular diskettes the ones which can be read directly to emulator? (I'd like to know what version of emulator do I need to try this, since I'm affraid my PC BIOS is not able to handle 10 sectors per track DD diskettes. Neither way.) > About 18 months ago you said you'd be looking at SDF<->real_disk conversion > after your exams - did you ever get around to it? Look to previous sentence. I unfortunately bought a new computer. Although I have the same diskette drive, I have changed the mainboard. Now I'm not able to read ANY sam diskettes. > > DSK<-->SAD converter (2sad). Everything is free, public, and with sources. > > I downloaded the 2SAD utility from your page but the source wasn't included. > Where can I get it from? I haven't it here, so I can't help. Look at NVG. Search sad2dsk and/or dsk2sad. 2sad is based on that sources. > > 1. you don't support US keyboard > > It should support ANY keyboard, including US, French, German etc. All you > do is press the key combination you normally use to generate the symbol and > the correct sequence is generated for the SAM. > > Perhaps you're using an ancient version, or have your keyboard set up > incorrectly in Windows? What makes you think it doesn't support US > keyboards anyway? @ is switched with " That's probably all. I may have an old version. But I haven't seen an official announcement of a new version on sam-users for years. Am I blind? > > 2. you changed F1-F12 key functions > > So what? I also changed plenty of other things too... (anyway, Mr Pot, > you changed Allan's layout as part of your SimCoupe tweaks). Yes, but Allan's agreed with it, since his mapping was a bit obsolete. > > So you work like Microsoft. > > We all know you're very pro-MS, so I'll take this as a great compliment! > Thanks! ;-) Not so quickly! ;-) > > You do a very good output, but ignoring everything done by others, and > > giving thousands or "reasons" why this and that was ignored. > > Who/what have I ignored? Do you mean that I'm not blindly accepting any > enhancement suggestion made? Or that your upset that I didn't use your > disk/key enhancements from the old version in the new one? > > There are actually more people working on SimCoupe than there ever have been > before, and it's been enhanced a lot more in the last year or so than in the > same period before that. Yes, this is how Microsoft works. Enhancements. Enhancements. Don't look to people. Just enhance. > Anyway Aley, why is it you're so pleasant in private e-mails to me, and such > a tosser on the list? (sorry Frode, already washed my mouth out with soap!) >Si Maybe since I'm not a professional fighter. Fighting on the list, but resting at home. :-) Actually, you started this one. Aley
