>> JPG viewer on a stock C64: >> >> http://www.ffd2.com/fridge/jpeg/index.html > > Hm... it works on an EMULATOR... but I'd love to see if it could work on > an actual Commodore 64... > > If it did, I would be astonished. I am astounded even by this > "theoretical" test of the software! I knew the 64 was a fantastically > powerful computer for an 8-bit machine, but I had no idea it could be > pushed THIS far.
I haven't personally tried it on a real C64, but I do intend to. I think that the images will probably look even better on a real C64 connected to a TV or composite/separate video monitor, for the simple reason that they are not as sharp as modern day monitors, making the images appear smoother and less pixilated. > If a 64 can disply a JPG image, it might be possible to write a simple > web browser program under GEOS that would actually display inline > images. No telling exactly how the 64 would render the pages, but > theoretically speaking... There are a few web browser attempts for the C64, again I haven't tried any of them. Some run on a stock machine, and some take advantage of or require an upgraded system with SuperCPU, RAM expansion, hard drive, etc. Here's a few links: http://videocam.net.au/~colinjt/wave.html http://www.armory.com/~spectre/cwi/hl/ >> And I've seen C64 Demo programs that display images that look like they >> are >> using Hundreds of colors. I think that there are two main programming >> tricks to do this (these are just off the top of my head, and could be >> somewhat to completely wrong): > > Whether you're wrong or not, the fact is that programmers have been > forcing the 64 to do things it wasn't "designed" to do almost ever since > the machine became popular with code tricks much like the ones you > describe. There were some of the simpler "trick" programs I even > understood much of the theory behind, and it was amazing what you could > get the 64 to do by manipulating registers and cutting into system > timing and interrupts. I think that's what I really love about the C64, so many of the coolest programs for it are things that shouldn't work at all, and some are really crazy - have you seen the one that makes a C64's floppy drive play music by running the drive head stepper motor at different speeds? >> I had a program that >> used the C64 as an alarm clock, shouting (customizable) increasingly >> aggressive warnings at you every time you hit the snooze button. > > What kind of warnings, if I may ask? :) Oh, I think one of the later ones threatened to blast me out of bed with a small thermonuclear device. You have to hear it in the computer voice to really appreciate it. I think the program might have been called "WAKE UP!" > I still have one part for my old 64, though. I kept the modem. Why? > Briefly, I used it to experiment with the Commodore 64 to see if it > could still communicate with "modern" computer bulletin boards (back in > 1996). It worked fine, and I met my fiancee on one of those boards > through the 64. So the purhcase of that modem brought me to my > fiancee. So, silly as this might seem, that modem has great sentimental > value. Heheh, I know where you're coming from there. I met my girlfriend online, when I was running a Power Mac 6400. Now I get guilt trips from her if I ever mention selling it, modifying it, or taking it out of active service. ("But I met you on that computer! DOES OUR LOVE MEAN NOTHING TO YOU?!?!?") I wonder if she'd notice if I put a 6500 motherboard in it. =o) But really, it does have sentimental value to me, also because it was my first computer - all my dabblings in old 8-bit computers came after I already had the PowerMac. -John -- The iMac List is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | - Epson Stylus Color 580 Printers - new at $69 | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> iMac List info: <http://lowendmac.com/imac/list.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/imac-list%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
