RE: Re: [ql-users] Just an idea for a new Product.....
One more reason to believe that Irish are similar to Greeks... they try to maximise profit in all situations:-) Why do you think we invented Ouzo? (Which is the drink made out of the crap left when ALL other possible alcoholic drinks are made...) Ffibys My step-daughter brought a small bottle of ouzo back for me from holiday last year. I'd had a bad day and sat down with the bottle one friday night. Wasn't a happy chappy for a day or two after (well, my excuse is I don't drink much usually unless with Darren and I wasn't up to Ouzo) - it even made me stay off the QL for a day or two, now that is BAD :o( Oh yeah...Blame me for your alcoholic ways when you're in Ireland... 8-)# I recall my first encounter with ouzo tooI drank an entire bottle at a greek night in my local pub (don't ask). Took a large fried breakfast the next day to sort me out, and I made friends with a large packet of alka-seltzer too. Darren. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: Re: [ql-users] Just an idea for a new Product.....
On Fri, 29 Apr 2005 04:52:41 -0400, Darren Branagh [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: snip Oh yeah...Blame me for your alcoholic ways when you're in Ireland... 8-)# It's known the world over that our friend Darren is the root of ALL evil ;-) I recall my first encounter with ouzo tooI drank an entire bottle at a greek night in my local pub (don't ask). Took a large fried breakfast the next day to sort me out, and I made friends with a large packet of alka-seltzer too. Darren. Tsk tsk... foreigners... Ouzo should ALWAYS be consumed with extremely salty food and diluted with 3 parts water for each part ouzo (it is an aperitif after all) ;-) OR with Orange juice... a screwdriver of sorts (but with a blunt edge and crooked stem I guess ;-) ___ 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: Re: [ql-users] Just an idea for a new Product.....
Oh yeah...Blame me for your alcoholic ways when you're in Ireland... 8-)# Who else is there to blame ;-) I recall my first encounter with ouzo tooI drank an entire bottle at a greek night in my local pub (don't ask). Took a large fried breakfast the next day to sort me out, and I made friends with a large packet of alka-seltzer too. Darren. Hmmm, fried breakfast after Guinness doesn't work. In fact, your stomach is usually OK after Guinness UNTIL you eat :-( Dilwyn Jones ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
RE: Re: [ql-users] Just an idea for a new Product.....
Hmmm, fried breakfast after Guinness doesn't work. In fact, your stomach is usually OK after Guinness UNTIL you eat :-( Hm Neither does coffee flavoured sausages... remember that? 6am I think at a services stop on the way to Bristol with Hilary O'Kelly. Darren. Yes! First and only time I heard Hilary o'Kelly swear I think. Good job it was coffee all over his sausages and not his QL as we were on the way to a QL show! How is Hilary these days? I haven't heard from him in ages. Is he still living in the castle in Laragh? Dilwyn Jones ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: Re: [ql-users] Just an idea for a new Product.....
On Wed, 27 Apr 2005 14:38:18 -0400, Malcolm Cadman [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: In message [EMAIL PROTECTED], Darren Branagh [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes Reminds me, I really must organise another Irish Show, maybe in Galway for a change. Would that be an Irish Show or a show held in Ireland ... :-) Who cares... if there's plenty of Guinness it won't make a difference anyway ;-) Ffibys What's the drink of choice in Galway, Darren - Guinness or Murphy's? Dilwyn Jones ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
RE: Re: [ql-users] Just an idea for a new Product.....
On Wed, 27 Apr 2005 14:38:18 -0400, Malcolm Cadman [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: In message [EMAIL PROTECTED], Darren Branagh [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes Reminds me, I really must organise another Irish Show, maybe in Galway for a change. Would that be an Irish Show or a show held in Ireland ... :-) Who cares... if there's plenty of Guinness it won't make a difference anyway ;-) Ffibys What's the drink of choice in Galway, Darren - Guinness or Murphy's? Dilwyn Jones Knowing how tight Galwegians are, the one with the lowest price and maximum alcohol content!! :-)) Guinness is the mainstay everywhere but Munster - particularly Cork. Though Pints are *MUCH* cheaper here than in the east - amazing but true. Some pubs here charge 2.95 euro, up to 3.50 euro in others. In Dublin over 4 euro is commonplace noweven touching 5 euro in some hotels. DB. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: Re: [ql-users] Just an idea for a new Product.....
On Thu, 28 Apr 2005 07:28:39 -0400, Darren Branagh [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: snip Knowing how tight Galwegians are, the one with the lowest price and maximum alcohol content!! :-)) See I told you in the past Darren that Irish and Greeks are not that all different ;-) heehee Guinness is the mainstay everywhere but Munster - particularly Cork. Though Pints are *MUCH* cheaper here than in the east - amazing but true. Some pubs here charge 2.95 euro, up to 3.50 euro in others. In Dublin over 4 euro is commonplace noweven touching 5 euro in some hotels. One more reason to believe that Irish are similar to Greeks... they try to maximise profit in all situations:-) Why do you think we invented Ouzo? (Which is the drink made out of the crap left when ALL other possible alcoholic drinks are made...) Ffibys ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: Re: [ql-users] Just an idea for a new Product.....
One more reason to believe that Irish are similar to Greeks... they try to maximise profit in all situations:-) Why do you think we invented Ouzo? (Which is the drink made out of the crap left when ALL other possible alcoholic drinks are made...) Ffibys My step-daughter brought a small bottle of ouzo back for me from holiday last year. I'd had a bad day and sat down with the bottle one friday night. Wasn't a happy chappy for a day or two after (well, my excuse is I don't drink much usually unless with Darren and I wasn't up to Ouzo) - it even made me stay off the QL for a day or two, now that is BAD :o( -- Dilwyn Jones -- Internal Virus Database is out-of-date. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.308 / Virus Database: 266.9.18 - Release Date: 19/04/2005 ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: Re: [ql-users] Just an idea for a new Product.....
- Original Message - From: Dilwyn Jones To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, April 22, 2005 12:01 PM Subject: Re: Re: [ql-users] Just an idea for a new Product. - it actually looked more like runny mascara than anything else so I hope wasn't being wound up about it all! Watch it, Dilwyn. Any more remarks like that and I will hit you with my handbag! ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: Re: [ql-users] Just an idea for a new Product.....
One technique is to get an 0870 (national number) at 7p a minutes and 1p or 2p of the call charge is given to you, this is like the system that free ISPs use and if I had the money for a second line for a QL ISP I would use. The Phone Coop (http://www.thephone.coop) used to offer this service for free, I do not know if they still do. Don't forget to add the 1-2 minute recorded announcement about 'please listen to the following options carefully .. calls may be recorded for training and' followed by the options in a complex manner and 'to 'repeat these options key 9' by that time you have spent a bit. And then you get 'all of our operators are busy. Your call is important to us (but not important enough to actually employ anyone to answer it) so please hold the line until an operator becomes available (or until we have made enough to retire)' -- Roy Wood I worked for a company called Patientline for a while. They had a system similar to this. In their case, ripping off customers and sheer greedy profit was NOT the motive, but it was seen by customers as such and people used to go ballistic with us front line staff about it. People were paying up to 50p a minute for making calls to patients in hospital and the call started with a long announcement plus if you didn't know the number to get through to the patient's bed you had to go through announcement plus wait until able to speak to operators. Presumably it all mounted up. There are sometimes legal announcements you have to make - in these cases, these premium rate numbers should start free until the end of announcements and recorded music until you actually get through to a person. In terms of making money - good idea. In terms of upsetting your customers, not a good idea. It all adds to the Rip-off-Britain impressions we have. Dilwyn Jones ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: Re: [ql-users] Just an idea for a new Product.....
Users that confuse the both need a quick lecture that's all... That was my point Marcel, Jochen and I choose to sell it. They know the price. Try arguing with the man at the petrol pump on a slack day or the supermarket checkout at night by saying - there are not many people buying why not halve the price. What a stupid remark to say Roy. You will never get someone with the authority to do anything remotely approaching that on a till nowadays. And anyway there's always half the tills needed at any given time so there aren't any slack times (sarcasm aimed at modern businesses not at Roy). You'll probably get a free black eye from a p***ed off bored spotty teenager to match Geoff Wicks's through trying it and nothing else. Dilwyn Jones ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: Re: [ql-users] Just an idea for a new Product.....
So whats wrong with the demo version of QPC2? You can check out most of the new facilities and run most new programs. Enough to satisfy curiosity, I should think. No, not really, not without being able to save config files etc. A reminder here that there are programs like my own Launchpad out there which write frequently to disk as part of any norml usage - change anything in Launchpad, it immediately writes out new configuration files which of course gets stopped by QPC2 demo. (just a reminder and not getting at anyone in particular since someone asked me about Launchpad not running on QPC2 lately and it turned out it was the demo version of QPC2 not allowing saving after about 2 days of fruitless bug hunting). Dilwyn Jones ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: Re: [ql-users] Just an idea for a new Product.....
Am Fri, 22 Apr 2005 8:41:22 + hat Dilwyn Jones [EMAIL PROTECTED] geschrieben: It all adds to the Rip-off-Britain impressions we have. You could replace Britain by every EG-country, I'm afraid :-( The latest trick I had to undergo with the German Postbank two days ago. After the usual announcements and advertising a very friendly male voice asked me whether I wanted more advertising or information about just another bullshit. As I didn't want either of them I waited for another statement or something like press 1 ...9 on your telefone but nothing happened. Then I began to rail a bit and the voice said. I'm sorry but I can't understand what you said. and began to repeat everything from the very first start. You can imagine that my railing did not get friendlier. Only when (after repeating this unproductive dialogue for a while) I stopped to say anything, then, after quite a while, the voice said, Because I cannot understand what you are sayin I will connect you with an assistent Which was, what I had wanted all the time! More than three minutes connected, before even being able to say what I want, a really good deal for the company %-(#?^ß*! Wolfgang ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: Re: [ql-users] Just an idea for a new Product.....
Dilwyn Jones wrote: You'll probably get a free black eye from a p***ed off bored spotty teenager to match Geoff Wicks's through trying it and nothing else. I did not know the Quanta chairmanship fight was actual ;-), seriously I am sad to hear someone has hit Geoff and hope he is alright. -- Tarquin Mills (Chairman) ACCUS (Anglia Classic Computer Users Society) http://www.speccyverse.me.uk/comp/accus/ http://www.PetitionOnline.com/Spectrum/ (We want a Spectrum +4) ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: Re: [ql-users] Just an idea for a new Product.....
You'll probably get a free black eye from a p***ed off bored spotty teenager to match Geoff Wicks's through trying it and nothing else. I did not know the Quanta chairmanship fight was actual ;-), seriously I am sad to hear someone has hit Geoff and hope he is alright. I don't know what actually happened though judging how much joking and bantering there was about it I doubt it was anything bad like fighting or anything like that at all. I didn't know about it until Tony Firshman showed me the photo and suggested a caption competition or something with Geoff stood right behind him - it actually looked more like runny mascara than anything else so I hope wasn't being wound up about it all! Dilwyn Jones ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: Re: [ql-users] Just an idea for a new Product.....
- Original Message - From: Tarquin Mills To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, April 22, 2005 11:48 AM Subject: Re: Re: [ql-users] Just an idea for a new Product. Dilwyn Jones wrote: You'll probably get a free black eye from a p***ed off bored spotty teenager to match Geoff Wicks's through trying it and nothing else. I did not know the Quanta chairmanship fight was actual ;-), seriously I am sad to hear someone has hit Geoff and hope he is alright. Actually I was viciously attacked by a kerbside in the vicinity of Gatwick Airport, and I still don't know how it happened. On my way back through London, I was stopped by someone on the tube who asked me what had happened. He added, I was a bit afraid to ask you, because I thought you might be a really hard type. Thus very good for my street cred! Best Wishes, Geoff ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: Re: [ql-users] Just an idea for a new Product.....
At 11:48 22/04/2005 +0100, you wrote: I did not know the Quanta chairmanship fight was actual ;-), Surely not so, I thought he was a cert for the job. Transformation from rebel to house-trained seemed complete. -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.308 / Virus Database: 266.10.2 - Release Date: 21/04/2005 ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: Re: [ql-users] Just an idea for a new Product.....
Dilwyn Jones writes: So whats wrong with the demo version of QPC2? You can check out most of the new facilities and run most new programs. Enough to satisfy curiosity, I should think. No, not really, not without being able to save config files etc. A reminder here that there are programs like my own Launchpad out there which write frequently to disk as part of any norml usage - change anything in Launchpad, it immediately writes out new configuration files which of course gets stopped by QPC2 demo. (just a reminder and not getting at anyone in particular since someone asked me about Launchpad not running on QPC2 lately and it turned out it was the demo version of QPC2 not allowing saving after about 2 days of fruitless bug hunting). Might be an idea to pre-configure all software to be able to run from a RAM disk out of the box. That way punters can try it out in a controlled environment, and QPC demo users wont be stuck. Per ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: Re: [ql-users] Just an idea for a new Product.....
I really cannot imagine that a price of 45 pounds is unaffordable. One visit to a restaurant with your family is likely to be more expensive. Bad example if you live in the US ;-) hehe (You can feed 4 for about $20... mind you not a fancy restaurant but a lot of food nonetheless... how do you think I got to be SO Huge? :-P) You don't live in flaming Rip-Off-Britain do you? (Though that doesn't seem to have helped me lose weight). Yes but why shell another $100 for Windoze? It makes more sense to run QPC2 under WineX (as it requires DirectX or maybe compile it with SDL or something ;-) so that compatibility is ensured maybe even under FreeBSD/Linux?) There are such options available to those who know about them. The 'unknown' factor means people may be reluctant to try them, but the options are there. Regardless, the fact of the matter is that QPC2 is a great piece of software :-) Anyone who uses it regularly would agree with that as long as the proce is acceptable to them. At the end of the day it's choice...pay and get the best or use the (good) free options like QLay2 and uQLx and QDOS Classic. Dilwyn ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: Re: [ql-users] Just an idea for a new Product.....
We're not competing with Linux or anything else - what we have is unique, thanks to many people. I'd say that EVERYBODY who puts time into QDOS/SMSQ does it because he likes it ... some do it for free, some don't, but isn't it up to them? This view fits in with what people tell me, that they like and use QDOS or SMSQ/E because it is is interesting and different. You can write your own programs and generally tinker with a computer at your leisure without it being the same old Windows you use every day at work. We do need to attract some new and/or ex users, and we are fortunate in having high end QPC2 and Q60 to choose from at one end of the QL scale and the free emulators at the other, with an excellent moderately priced high compatibility QDOS emulator in the middle of the proce scale. We all have our preferences as to QL systems, the point is there is a good choice which you don't always get in this kind of situation. Dilwyn Jones ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: Re: [ql-users] Just an idea for a new Product.....
One can make money with free software also, but by adding value instead of charging for the rigths over the binaries. Added value can be: - Distribution packages (Disk/CD/DVD) - Handbooks and documentation - Commercial support (e.g. for those who bought the package/docs) - Provide development for a donation (but the resulting code will be free) - A piece of hardware that uses the free software Nobody will gain a monopoly on such an added value, because the software itself remains free. Nevertheless successful business around free software has proven to work, especially in the embedded systems market. It requires flexibility though. Even in the QL scene, selling added value for free software is not impossible. E.g. the QDOS Classic/Q60 Linux CD sold well, although the software was free and one could have also downloaded the contained pieces at no charge. Also developers of free QL software have been given donations. Such ideas came too faint and too late for the QL probably. Peter I don't always agree with what Peter says, but I think he makes his point well here. This is certainly food for thought. I know myself having put most of my older programs onto my website for free download, I still get people asking for copies on disk or CD or for minor updates for their own needs for which they are willing to pay modest amounts. I must admit, I'm seeing both sides of the viewpoints presented here today. It will be very interesting to see how this dicussion develops. Dilwyn Jones ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
RE: RE: [ql-users] Just an idea for a new Product.....
About USB keys with emulators: Well, the Spectrum one we are doing has taken Dixons by storm, they are very excited about it. I know the Emulator DVDs and CDs are popular too in mainstream stops. So let you do a QL one with the Spectrum emulator.. Arnould ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: Re: [ql-users] Just an idea for a new Product.....
1. Multiple QXL.WINs on a single DVD. Users will need to know how to set up for these in QPC2. Not all emulators can access QXL.WIN in a sub-directory. I intend to tackle the details of QXL.WIN file handling in the next part of 'Start Here' in QL Today. I believe there is software to read QXL.WIN files on other systems but I did get reports of people being unable to access the QDT QXL.WIN files on the CD so I would be grateful for more details on this. If Daniele Terdina, Rickard Zidlicky and Phoebus are lurking here today, can you let us know if the various QemuLators and uQLxes can handle a QXL.WIN in a sub-directory? e.g. can they access C:\foo\QXL.WIN Or only C:\QXL.WIN, D:\QXL.WIN and so on? Also, can a QXL access more than one QXL.WIN anywhere other than root directory? Suspect the answer is no if using vanilla QXL SMSQ, yes if using qxl smsq/e The apparently simple answer is to put all the software into a single QXL.WIN, but then you run into the infamous QL 36 character filename limit unless you shorten directory names, I'm already close to that on some of the CDs. Even worse, some of the emulators have files which even go beyond what you can put on an ISO9660 CD, not to mention the QL fileame limit! Dilwyn Jones ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: Re: [ql-users] Just an idea for a new Product.....
I would be interested in the DVD, but, as I am limited to plain vanilla QDOS emulation (uQLx, QLAY), because, I can't justify the outlay for QPC2. (I'm not saying that it's over-priced, but in a limited and shrinking market, no selling price can be a commercial proposition, so better surely to drop the price and get some new sales than leaving it at a price where it costs a comparable price to complete linux distro, complete with professional manuals, and 6 cds or so of applications, or an oem version of Windows) The point is that QPC2 has represented a great deal of work on the part of Marcel who is still at university and has a low income. If you take it that the LINUX distribution and that Windows is more widespread then the payment you are making in respect of the work put into their construction is far higher. If you had a similar payment to make to Marcel for the time effort and dedication he has put into making QPC2 such a superb system you would be paying a lot more. I'm of the opinion that the respective merits of the various emulators reflect their prices quite fairly: 1. The free ones (QLay and QLay2) are perfectly adequate. uQLx is especially so for Linux users. 2. QPC2 is the most expensive but is the only one with all the new facilities. No matter what the price, it won't get into much wider circulation than it already is in a QL community where Quanta membership and QL Today readership is in the hundreds rather than thousands. 3. QemuLator is a great mid-ground for those who want to use QDOS and get a step up from QLay. Excellent compatibility with QDOS, can run Gold Card smsq/e if required, surprising turn of speed, option of QemuFast. I think the point here is that people have a choice. If you feel your needs don't warrant purchasing QPC2 with all the latest bells and whistles, fine, there are some pretty good free or mid priced emulators available for several platforms. In my case, I wanted to be able to use both Windows and SMSQ/E without having two separate computers, QPC2 happened to fill my needs better than anything else and I couldn't justify the cost or space requirements for a Q60. Likewise, people who simply want to write the odd SuperBASIC program or run a QDOS program will be quite happy with QLAY or similar I suspect. Dilwyn Jones ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
RE: RE: [ql-users] Just an idea for a new Product.....
(This might be a duplicate email, if so apologies, but I don't think the original got through) Darren Branagh wrote: BTW, a novel idea in my new employers is coming to fruition - we own and sell the disgo brand under the guise of clever stuff ltd. (see www.mydisgo.com) - it's the pioneer of the USB thumbdrive market. We happened to realise we had a lot of old 32Mb and 64Mb drives left (obsolete these days - amazing but true) so we have remarketed them to get rid of them - we have changed the cap to a multicoloured one and loaded them with ZX Spectrum emulators and games - them are due to be sold in Dixons, PC World etc. in the next few months. The marketing name is the rainbow drive, geddit? The plan is to do Atari and MAME versions too. We have just started selling a FOUR GIGABYTE one - Which has its own ARM processor onboard -and plan to sell some with DVD movies preloaded. Now, wouldn't a QL one be a great idea?? Imagine... I already have a 64Mb one with a QXL.WIN on it - loads of QL stuff will fit on it. What sort of prices are we talking of in small quantities for the 32MB and 64MB models? I've been asked several times to make a little CD or similar with a free QL emulator on board and some games and general packages controlled by a simple front end (a plug and go QL complete with software). 32MB or 64MBwould carry an emulator and plenty of software with ease. People like Norman Dunbar and Ken Bain have already described in detail how convenient these flash memory devices are. I'd welcome ideas and comments on whether this is a good idea or not. Here's a suggestion to get the ball rolling: 1. Put a QL emulator on it. 2. Put some QL games and other free software on it. A short QL demo might be an idea if someone is interested in writing one. 3. Put the QL manual on it (these are available on my website). This would also eventually encourage users to learn a little bit of SuperBASIC perhaps, and their QL interest might go beyond the QL On A Stick 4. Put a sweet and simple front end, which could even be a SuperBASIC program, to let the user select which game or program to run, preferably with a short screen of information before the program starts, especially if it's a program which does not return you cleanly to the menu. 5. A fairly short DOS or Windows text file to explain what it's all about, or a printed sheet of instructions. To all intents and purposes, this would make it like one of these stand alone video games packages, but one which works by plugging into a PC rather than stand alone. How I see all this is as something which might tempt ex QLers back via a simple to use system which does what most users remember their QLs by - simple to use computer, which is just that little bit different to other computers, free word processor, database, spreadsheet and games, and ability to use it all from a simple little PC plug in device which requires no desk space or space for other computers, and above all hopefully nostalgia will encourage users to take up the QL again without major investment of money or space or effort! I've convinced myself, where can I buy one Darren? ;-) Dilwyn Jones ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
RE: RE: [ql-users] Just an idea for a new Product.....
Dilwyn wrote: What sort of prices are we talking of in small quantities for the 32MB and 64MB models? Pennies really... The 64Mb ones no longer show of the system, as they are not obsolete although I know we have at least 100 of them in stock. Just to put it in perspective, 128Mb ones (huge storage by QL standards) are selling at roughly EIGHT POUNDS EACH, selling in blocks of 10. Expect 64Mb to be about a fiver, probably less. I've been asked several times to make a little CD or similar with a free QL emulator on board and some games and general packages controlled by a simple front end (a plug and go QL complete with software). 32MB or 64MBwould carry an emulator and plenty of software with ease. People like Norman Dunbar and Ken Bain have already described in detail how convenient these flash memory devices are. I have a 2GB one now, and have my life on it. Absolutely indispensable piece of kit. I have several episodes of Star trek, a few QL bits inc. a QXL.WIN, and a load of photos of the kids and work related spreadsheets and word docs- basically anything that can be stored in a file can be put on this. Better still in the docking station we do. A lovely little weighted desktop USB slot which has a long cable leading around to your PC, - very handy for making those hard to get at USB ports more accessible - if like me you don't have USB ports on the front of your machine. See the website. I'd welcome ideas and comments on whether this is a good idea or not. Here's a suggestion to get the ball rolling: 1. Put a QL emulator on it. 2. Put some QL games and other free software on it. A short QL demo might be an idea if someone is interested in writing one. There is a QLDEMO thingy in the quanta library, though it probably needs updated... Esp. for high colour. 3. Put the QL manual on it (these are available on my website). This would also eventually encourage users to learn a little bit of SuperBASIC perhaps, and their QL interest might go beyond the QL On A Stick Indeed. 4. Put a sweet and simple front end, which could even be a SuperBASIC program, to let the user select which game or program to run, preferably with a short screen of information before the program starts, especially if it's a program which does not return you cleanly to the menu. Yes, easy to program and easy to use. I was going to do this for the QL DVD idea anyway. 5. A fairly short DOS or Windows text file to explain what it's all about, or a printed sheet of instructions. Easy. To all intents and purposes, this would make it like one of these stand alone video games packages, but one which works by plugging into a PC rather than stand alone. How I see all this is as something which might tempt ex QLers back via a simple to use system which does what most users remember their QLs by - simple to use computer, which is just that little bit different to other computers, free word processor, database, spreadsheet and games, and ability to use it all from a simple little PC plug in device which requires no desk space or space for other computers, and above all hopefully nostalgia will encourage users to take up the QL again without major investment of money or space or effort! Well, the Spectrum one we are doing has taken Dixons by storm, they are very excited about it. I know the Emulator DVDs and CDs are popular too in mainstream stops. I've convinced myself, where can I buy one Darren? ;-) Well, maybe Roy Wood can get alternate ones cheaper from Hamiltone, might be worth checking. There are lots of companies doing them - TwinMOS, Kingston, Iomega, etc.. We are quite cheap in that we manufacture them too. The other thing to ask is were have all the 8Mb and 16Mb ones gone? Are they still in use, or Are they in desk drawers or skips somewhere? Perfectly usable for QLers Well, I can get concrete pricing if you want it, The more we order the cheaper they will get - Doubt I can buy quantity at cost, maybe this is a worthwhile spend for some QUANTA funds? Or would this be deemed pushing it as it isn't QL native hardware...?? Darren. Dilwyn Jones ___ 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: Re: [ql-users] Just an idea for a new Product.....
Considering that I have (twice, I believe) on this list published a routine to set the name of a QXL.WIN container file, and have gone to a lot of trouble to produce a handy little PE utility, called Qwirc, that is designed to do just that and a lot more besides, I dont quite see why. And if the WIN_DRIVE command is not to people's liking, there is a little utility by me called QXLWINManager to change drive references. Between Qwirc to rename them and QXL WIN Manager to reassign and the SBASIC WIN_DRIVE command, should be easy enough to manhandle your QXL.WINs now. Dilwyn Jones ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
RE: RE: [ql-users] Just an idea for a new Product.....
What sort of prices are we talking of in small quantities for the 32MB and 64MB models? Pennies really... The 64Mb ones no longer show of the system, as they are not obsolete although I know we have at least 100 of them in stock. I was leading up to a suggestion for making a proposal to Quanta to apply for funding to create A QL On A Stick for ex-QLers and retro enthusiasts to try to widen QL usage, but I forgot to add that part in the original email as I got a bit disturbed by an irate customer. I have a 2GB one now, and have my life on it. Absolutely indispensable piece of kit. I have several episodes of Star trek, Hmmm, Star Trek rates higher than a QL in your life? ;-) Better still in the docking station we do. A lovely little weighted desktop USB slot which has a long cable leading around to your PC, - very handy for making those hard to get at USB ports more accessible - if like me you don't have USB ports on the front of your machine. See the website. I had that problem and found that buying a little 4 port hub with a cable was actually easier and cheaper from people like EBuyer than trying to buy a simple extension cable! There is a QLDEMO thingy in the quanta library, though it probably needs updated... Esp. for high colour. Err, to be honest, I'd rather leave GD2 out of this, especially if using QLay 2 or another emulator not supporting high colour. In the spirit of this, the people it's meant to appeal to are retro and nostalgia people, so closeness to an original QL might be th eorder of the day. 4. Put a sweet and simple front end, which could even be a SuperBASIC program, to let the user select which game or program to run, preferably with a short screen of information before the program starts, especially if it's a program which does not return you cleanly to the menu. Yes, easy to program and easy to use. I was going to do this for the QL DVD idea anyway. IIRC, Ron Dunnett used to have something similar on his Qubbesoft PD Library disks. And Ian Bruntlett many years ago produced something to make disk front ends (the name B0Peep springs to mind, not sure if it was that or something else). I've convinced myself, where can I buy one Darren? ;-) Well, maybe Roy Wood can get alternate ones cheaper from Hamiltone, might be worth checking. I was part joking, as I have 64MB and 128MB units already, but there was a serious side to my comment to try to convey the fact that I'd already convinced myself this was a good idea if someone could be persuaded to put together an emulator+free software+front end+instructions package. them too. The other thing to ask is were have all the 8Mb and 16Mb ones gone? Are they still in use, or Are they in desk drawers or skips somewhere? Perfectly usable for QLers Might be worth an Ebay or similar search for redundant equipment. 16MB is probably the absolute minimum even for a QL emulator though. Well, I can get concrete pricing if you want it, The more we order the cheaper they will get - Doubt I can buy quantity at cost, maybe this is a worthwhile spend for some QUANTA funds? Or would this be deemed pushing it as it isn't QL native hardware...?? It's directly QL related, a fairly low cost approach to trying to widen QL usage. Let's see what other people think. Dilwyn Jones ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
RE: RE: [ql-users] Just an idea for a new Product.....
Pennies really... The 64Mb ones no longer show of the system, as they are not obsolete although I know we have at least 100 of them in stock. I was leading up to a suggestion for making a proposal to Quanta to apply for funding to create A QL On A Stick for ex-QLers and retro enthusiasts to try to widen QL usage, but I forgot to add that part in the original email as I got a bit disturbed by an irate customer. Lovely! Just had a chat with the Manager who looks after Disgo - he doesn't know what show of the low-end stuff is left since the Dixons/Spectrum Emulator deal was done, so he'll get back to me. He also mentioned that if we ordered over 100 units, he could get then branded with any logo we want on them, so either the QUANTA logo of SINCLAIR QL in the infamous Sinclair font maybe? Nice thing to own for nostalgias sake.. I think it's a great idea, but may be worth shopping about anyway; Roy? Do you do USB drives? I have a 2GB one now, and have my life on it. Absolutely indispensable piece of kit. I have several episodes of Star trek, Hmmm, Star Trek rates higher than a QL in your life? ;-) When you have a mental 2 year old running amok, your spare time is best served in front of the TV (or laptop) :-)) There is a QLDEMO thingy in the quanta library, though it probably needs updated... Esp. for high colour. Err, to be honest, I'd rather leave GD2 out of this, especially if using QLay 2 or another emulator not supporting high colour. In the spirit of this, the people it's meant to appeal to are retro and nostalgia people, so closeness to an original QL might be th eorder of the day. Then the QLDEMO is probably perfect, didn't you have it on your website? The one that shipped with the QL originally? 4. Put a sweet and simple front end, which could even be a SuperBASIC program, to let the user select which game or program to run, preferably with a short screen of information before the program starts, especially if it's a program which does not return you cleanly to the menu. Yes, easy to program and easy to use. I was going to do this for the QL DVD idea anyway. IIRC, Ron Dunnett used to have something similar on his Qubbesoft PD Library disks. And Ian Bruntlett many years ago produced something to make disk front ends (the name B0Peep springs to mind, not sure if it was that or something else). Yes - Ron's was very well laid out. He had a system of only putting 10 programs on each disk, regardless of how much spare space was left. The 10 program names were displayed and could be highlighted and run - was nicely laid out on the screen too and a doddle to use. I've convinced myself, where can I buy one Darren? ;-) Well, maybe Roy Wood can get alternate ones cheaper from Hamiltone, might be worth checking. I was part joking, as I have 64MB and 128MB units already, but there was a serious side to my comment to try to convey the fact that I'd already convinced myself this was a good idea if someone could be persuaded to put together an emulator+free software+front end+instructions package. I know:-)) Put still it's a good idea and worth looking at by several of us... I know Steve Reyal and I saw some 8Mb Disgos at a Computer Show in Tottenham Court Road in London about 2 years or so ago for only £1 each, but didn't think of the QL usability!! Pity, the guy had a box full, probably could've had them all for 20 quid. Well, I can get concrete pricing if you want it, The more we order the cheaper they will get - Doubt I can buy quantity at cost, maybe this is a worthwhile spend for some QUANTA funds? Or would this be deemed pushing it as it isn't QL native hardware...?? It's directly QL related, a fairly low cost approach to trying to widen QL usage. Let's see what other people think. I think so... we'll see. Anyone from QUANTA care to comment?? Darren. Dilwyn Jones ___ 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: Re: [ql-users] Just an idea for a new Product.....
Whoops Hamiltone DO do them, they are listed under RAM (weird, but then I suppose they are..) 128MB USB 2.0/1.1, 4003, Samsung £8.48+VAT = £9.97 inc. Darren. ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: RE: [ql-users] Just an idea for a new Product.....
Lovely! Just had a chat with the Manager who looks after Disgo - he doesn't know what show of the low-end stuff is left since the Dixons/Spectrum Emulator deal was done, so he'll get back to me. He also mentioned that if we ordered over 100 units, he could get then branded with any logo we want on them, so either the QUANTA logo of SINCLAIR QL in the infamous Sinclair font maybe? If you must! Nice thing to own for nostalgias sake.. I think it's a great idea, but may be worth shopping about anyway; Roy? Do you do USB drives? Don't have to come to any quick decisions, but worth finding out. Bear in mind that buying up cheap disgos might be one thing, finding time/person to do a good software package might be less easy and take longer! There is a QLDEMO thingy in the quanta library, though it probably needs updated... Esp. for high colour. Err, to be honest, I'd rather leave GD2 out of this, especially if using QLay 2 or another emulator not supporting high colour. In the spirit of this, the people it's meant to appeal to are retro and nostalgia people, so closeness to an original QL might be th eorder of the day. Then the QLDEMO is probably perfect, didn't you have it on your website? The one that shipped with the QL originally? Yes, it's in the Psion programs page IIRC (not sure how I ended up putting them there). Along with Quill, Archive, Abacus, Easel and the QL Games cartridge. I think these are configured mostly for microdrive in the versions on the website, but a simple FLP_USE MDV or stuffing them through DP's Transfer Utility or the CST Convert_exe should fix that. http://homepages.tesco.net/dilwyn.jones/psions/psions.html IIRC, Ron Dunnett used to have something similar on his Qubbesoft PD Library disks. And Ian Bruntlett many years ago produced something to make disk front ends (the name B0Peep springs to mind, not sure if it was that or something else). Yes - Ron's was very well laid out. He had a system of only putting 10 programs on each disk, regardless of how much spare space was left. The 10 program names were displayed and could be highlighted and run - was nicely laid out on the screen too and a doddle to use. What I can't remember is if this was a simple basic program or what, probably worth looking into how he did it. I was part joking, as I have 64MB and 128MB units already, but there was a serious side to my comment to try to convey the fact that I'd already convinced myself this was a good idea if someone could be persuaded to put together an emulator+free software+front end+instructions package. I know:-)) Put still it's a good idea and worth looking at by several of us... I know Steve Reyal and I saw some 8Mb Disgos at a Computer Show in Tottenham Court Road in London about 2 years or so ago for only £1 each, but didn't think of the QL usability!! Pity, the guy had a box full, probably could've had them all for 20 quid. :-) Dilwyn Jones -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.308 / Virus Database: 266.9.18 - Release Date: 19/04/2005 ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
Re: RE: [ql-users] Just an idea for a new Product.....
Dunno what further info there is to give; I'll put EVERY CD I currently sell onto just one DVD disk, of course you'll need a DVD-ROM drive as opposed to a CD-ROM to read it, but it will be totally usable under QPC as are all the CD's. Pheobus is right; is would need a decent front end, and I'm looking into writing one for it relatively simple programming but still a lot of work as all the programs would have to be listed and accessed. All if its worthwhile of course. I know the main reason I got from people as to why they didn't buy my DVD documentary was that, being QLers, they didn't own a DVD player or a DVD-ROM drive, and there wasn't any way of playing it on a QL. This has probably changed a lot in the 2/3 years since I did the DVD, as stand alone players are now readily available for pocket money prices, and they were quite pricey back then, not to mention DVD-ROM drives - in my new job here selling PC products, we don't even stock CD-ROM drives anymore as DVD-ROMs have got so cheap. So, is there a market? Hi Darren, I touted this idea at Portslade on SUnday, only two people said they might be interested, another three said they thought it might be a goodidea but they probably wouldn't buy it themselves. Points you'll need to consider: 1. Multiple QXL.WINs on a single DVD. Users will need to know how to set up for these in QPC2. Not all emulators can access QXL.WIN in a sub-directory. 2. The different - and + formats 3. Many of the current QL CDs have different stuff in the QXL.WIN to what they have outside that. COnsider the Literature CD and the Documentation CD for example. You'll either need a good front end or a good set of documentation explaining where everything is. At the moment, copies of all my CDs are on my hard disk like this: C:\QXL contains one folder for each CD: C:\QXL\DOC is the documentation CD C:\QXL\REL is the religion CD and so on. C:\QXL\PDL is my PD library You have to be careful users can find everything as there'll be so many small files on the DVD between everything. Dilwyn Jones ___ QL-Users Mailing List http://www.q-v-d.demon.co.uk/smsqe.htm
RE: RE: [ql-users] Just an idea for a new Product.....
Food for thought I personally think it's a good idea, put then again it may lead to more problems than its worth due to the sheer bulk of info that would be on the disk - gigabytes of QL data is a *LOT* of data... It's a great one stop shop idea though... one disk and get every bit of useful documentation, freeware, program, shareware and clipart etc. that was ever worth having. BTW, a novel idea in my new employers is coming to fruition - we own and sell the disgo brand under the guise of clever stuff ltd. (see www.mydisgo.com) - it's the pioneer of the USB thumbdrive market. We happened to realise we had a lot of old 32Mb and 64Mb drives left (obsolete these days - amazing but true) so we have remarketed them to get rid of them - we have changed the cap to a multicoloured one and loaded them with ZX Spectrum emulators and games - them are due to be sold in Dixons, PC World etc. in the next few months. The marketing name is the rainbow drive, geddit? The plan is to do Atari and MAME versions too. We have just started selling a FOUR GIGABYTE one - Which has its own ARM processor onboard -and plan to sell some with DVD movies preloaded. Now, wouldn't a QL one be a great idea?? Imagine... I already have a 64Mb one with a QXL.WIN on it - loads of QL stuff will fit on it. Darren. -Original Message- From: Dilwyn Jones [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: 18 April 2005 14:28 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: RE: [ql-users] Just an idea for a new Product. Dunno what further info there is to give; I'll put EVERY CD I currently sell onto just one DVD disk, of course you'll need a DVD-ROM drive as opposed to a CD-ROM to read it, but it will be totally usable under QPC as are all the CD's. Pheobus is right; is would need a decent front end, and I'm looking into writing one for it relatively simple programming but still a lot of work as all the programs would have to be listed and accessed. All if its worthwhile of course. I know the main reason I got from people as to why they didn't buy my DVD documentary was that, being QLers, they didn't own a DVD player or a DVD-ROM drive, and there wasn't any way of playing it on a QL. This has probably changed a lot in the 2/3 years since I did the DVD, as stand alone players are now readily available for pocket money prices, and they were quite pricey back then, not to mention DVD-ROM drives - in my new job here selling PC products, we don't even stock CD-ROM drives anymore as DVD-ROMs have got so cheap. So, is there a market? Hi Darren, I touted this idea at Portslade on SUnday, only two people said they might be interested, another three said they thought it might be a goodidea but they probably wouldn't buy it themselves. Points you'll need to consider: 1. Multiple QXL.WINs on a single DVD. Users will need to know how to set up for these in QPC2. Not all emulators can access QXL.WIN in a sub-directory. 2. The different - and + formats 3. Many of the current QL CDs have different stuff in the QXL.WIN to what they have outside that. COnsider the Literature CD and the Documentation CD for example. You'll either need a good front end or a good set of documentation explaining where everything is. At the moment, copies of all my CDs are on my hard disk like this: C:\QXL contains one folder for each CD: C:\QXL\DOC is the documentation CD C:\QXL\REL is the religion CD and so on. C:\QXL\PDL is my PD library You have to be careful users can find everything as there'll be so many small files on the DVD between everything. Dilwyn Jones ___ 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
