----- Original Message ----- From: "Gene Heskett" <gene.hesk...@verizon.net> To: <users@openoffice.org> Sent: Thursday, March 12, 2009 7:38 PM Subject: Re: [users] Re: ver 3 is rubbish.
> On Thursday 12 March 2009, Ugly Me wrote: > >----- Original Message ----- > >From: "James Knott" <james.kn...@rogers.com> > >To: <users@openoffice.org> > >Sent: Monday, March 09, 2009 4:12 PM > >Subject: Re: [users] Re: ver 3 is rubbish. > > > >> Robert Hodgins wrote: > >> >> Hmmm. My Commodore 64 had a tape recorder.... > >> > > >> > My Timex Sinclair saved to a tape recorder. Never could get the thing to > >> > load a program, though. > >> > >> Write only storage? ;-) > > > >WORN - Write Once Read Never. > >The Atari 8-bit series had tape decks like that. > > > Neither had a patent on WORN. LOL! It probably wasn't DESIGNED that way; that's just how it happened.\ The cure was to pitch that 20$ deck in the > trash and use one that had honest erase and bias oscillators in it instead of > magnets, thereby lowering the tapes background noise about 30db. When folks > asked me for some little program that ran on a coco, what they got was a hi > bias metal tape, recorded one track only, in a 4 track stereo cassette deck. > No one ever reported that it wouldn't load. I'd put 2 or 3 copies on a short > cassette and I don't think anyone ever had to use the 2nd or 3rd copy. > > I'm surprised you recall those days, they are about 20 years back up the log. Nightmares don't go away easily, my friend. Luckily - and this wasn't a cure, but it helped - you could SAVE a file just like any other file in its native format, or you could LIST a file. In the BASIC language, of course, the LIST command typically lists the file to screen (on the Atari you can be redundant and type LIST E: to mean the same thing, E: referring to Editor, combination of Screen and Keyboard.) To be sure you can do a LIST S: to the screen. To the keyboard I suppose, but it's pointless. I forget if the listing goes to oblivion or if you get an error sending output to an input-only device. Regardless, my point is you could also do a LIST C: to list, per se, the file to tape (or to disk if you wish, but I found it helpful with the tape device. I used the original pathetic 410 unit). The effect was that when you do a normal CSAVE (filenames were not used on Atari tape files) it saves a file quickly in a compressed (they called it "tokenized") format. When you try to load it back in, and it's corrupt in any way - you're S.O.L. whereas if you did an ENTER C: to load a LISTed file, at least it would load in what it could and if it craps out part way, you would at least salvage what the system managed to load up to that point. It became my standard until I managed to afford a 5ΒΌ" disk drive. Same commands would apply except using a D instead of C. While all my reference books are long gone I have found copies of some of them online. Just for the torture. --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: users-unsubscr...@openoffice.org For additional commands, e-mail: users-h...@openoffice.org
