njd@ihlpm.ATT.COM (DiMasi) (03/17/87)
Greetings all you 8-bit fans,
I FINALLY got OMNIVIEW XL/XE installed in a 130XE. (This was my
second XE; I destroyed the first one with my ham-handed attempt
to install a RAMROD board myself; this time, I started with a new
machine, the old one being beyond reasonable repair [est. $110 to
$120], and REX TV Service socketed the chip for me, for the cost
of the socket only [of course it was a $3.50 socket, but I'm not
gonna complain!!].)
I have run some simple functional and "compatibilty" testing on
it and have a couple of comments.
First, I was pleasanly surprised by the following: The manual
states that OMNIVIEW should work with any DOS that doesn't hide
"underneath the cartridge" or OS [ROM address space, a/k/a the
upper? 16K of an 800XL for one]. Well, I had thought this meant
that I wouldn't be able to run DOS XL in the "S" (Supercartridge)
or "X" (XL/XE machine) extended mode, because it does just what
the manual is talking about (as I interpret it). I tried it
anyway just to see what would happen. I booted up my 130XE with
OPTION depressed, which running OMNIVIEW, causes BASIC to come up
(great if you don't use BASIC a lot, like me). DOS XL came up
happy as a clam. I typed CAR to get to BASIC, and then hit <CTRL
A> RESET to switch to 80 columns. No problem. (By the way, I
don't have the Commodore cable that came with my 1802 monitor
fixed up [w/a 5-pin DIN plug, I hope it will work] yet, so
I'm "seeing" composite color. I was able to read the display
amazingly well, despite the low-res. monitor mode and red
smudges from artifacting. I also like the dual-background-color
feature, the text colors have been chosen well.)
Then, I hit RESET to switch back to 40 columns; no problem. Now,
back to DOS XL. I hit <CTRL A> RESET again, and there I was
talking to DOS XL in 80 columns. I hadn't even expected 80
columns to work with BASIC, given that I am running DOS XL in "X"
mode (stuffs itself into the 16K given that I was running DOS
2.30[?]X [i.e. renamed DOSXL.XL to DOSXL.SYS when I set up my DOS
boot disk]), and therefore was violating what the manual says!
Whether I am somewhat ignorant of the truth behind the docs. or
whatever, I am very happy with this beastie so far.
I have only found one piece of commercial s/w in my small
collection that barfs on my "130XEO" (how's that for shorthand?),
and that is the word processor that a nice s/w store owner sold
me a couple? of years ago, Datasoft's "Letter Wizard." I really
don't care, because I am going to switch to using OmniWriter
which came with OMNIVIEW, but my wife was a bit upset (she has
been using L. Wiz. more often than ever lately). I offered to
convert her files for her, but it looks like she will be playing
"musical computers" with my "old" 800XL (SIO A/B switch, anyone?)
I haven't tried a couple of relatively unimportant programs yet,
namely Flight Simulator II which I can't land without a death-
defying adventure (I'm not a power pilot anyway, I fly sailplanes
[gliders w/long wings]), and a game I bought "long ago" that I
never play ("The Eidolon" is much more fun, especially since I
got it at Toys R Us for $10. How do they do it? Mine them from
a hole in the ground?).
If I notice anything worth commenting on when I try OmniWriter
and OmniCom (I can hardly wait), I'll post another article.
(Actually, I see that I'm going to miss "snapshot" [capture],
I've been using [old APX] Chameleon for a long time! I tried
JHP's Kermit + VT52, and ACSTERM, but there's nothing like 80
columns for editing/more-ing etc. on UNIX!)
Sorry if this article is too long for your tastes. (I was born
with a hard-coded "-v" option!)
Nick (no more desoldering chips from computer PC boards for me) DiMasilong@sask.UUCP (Warren Long) (03/21/87)
As a followup to the last note about Omniview, after spending weeks trying to get vt10sq running (I kept thinking the problem was with the UUencoded file), I discovered that my version would run on a friend's unmodified 130XE, but not my 130XEO. Warren -- =-=-=-=-=-Warren Long at University of Saskatchewan, Canada-=-=-=-=- Home: 78 Carleton Dr.,Saskatoon, Sasakatchewan, S7H 3N6 Phone: (306)-955-1237 =-=-=-=-=-U-Email: ...!ihnp4!alberta!sask!long -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-