Best/Worst of the 64 -- your list?

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

I shouldn't even post a link to this since this layout is so, so early in the process, but this is sorta-kinda what I was thinking of.

http://www.robohara.com/temp/LawOfTheWest.pdf

Did I say that this was really well-done? Well-presented, well-written and captivating? I should have said that already, but my "scroll up" but-- err scroll-up functions are limited.

GOD I wish I had a C64 growing up. I'm gonna research flashcarts when I start getting paid again.

[Flack]

You don't need to research them, I'll tell you everything you need to know.

[AArdvark]

After reading 'Commodork' over the weekend I feel really really bad I did this...

Note the stereo input for the second sid chip, i was cool beans back then


And the headphone jack for quiet time at night


Then they all went away...



'Commodork' is:
For anyone who has ever put copies of 'Fast hack em' and 'Di-sectors hack disk' on RED 5-1/4 floppy discs (with black paper protectors), because they looked more important.
For anyone who has ever pulled a freshly copied 'Mail Order Monsters' from the 9 drive and held the still-warm floppy under their nose like a loaf of fresh bread.
For anyone who has ever put skull and crossbones stickers on their 1541's.
For anyone who has slowly, lovingly opened the blue and red cardboard box from Gold Circle with the $49.99 price tag and reverently pulled out a spanking new 1200 baud modem like it was a newborn.
For anyone who has just opened the clear plastic lid of someone else's floppy disk box and started thumbing through it and thought it was better than Christmas.

The book is great! I seriously wanted to go out and find another C64 V2. I started looking for phone numbers of BBS's in the area. (Hah!) I was even thinking of where to set it up. Then I had to get hold of myself and remember that I donated all three machines, five disc drives, a printer and four boxes of floppies* to the Salvation Army for a reason. Times have changed. It's later than we think.

Thank you for bringing a smile to me starting on Chapter one!


(* Still have my wooden floppy disc holder, only now it holds markers and my Captain Disillusion action figure.)

THE
HAPPY
AARDVARK

(aardvark not affiliated in any way with the Netherlands, any resemblance to aardvarks speaking dutch, living or dead, is purely coincidental)

[Flack]

Hah! I will have to add that to my review section!

I would say thanks for the compliments ... if I were still talking to you after learning that you tossed out all those TREASURES!!!

I would say for most people, emulation should meet most people's needs. Is it the same? No. Is it more convenient? Hell yes. The biggest difference is the PC keyboard. You can mostly navigate by learning the simple things (in WinVice, Tab = Run/Stop) but I don't think anyone could ever make competent MCI graphics using a PC keyboard. Then again, few people are doing that these days. Most people just want to play games and, for all intents and purposes, WinVice does that as well if not better than a real 64 (no overheating, being able to play with CPU speeds and using save states give emulation the win).

[strawman]

ALSO: Mr O hara:

My pops truly enjoyed your book. he says he was never as hardcore into it as you but I think he is just repressing old desires.

He mentions SOMETHING about the book every time I see him now.

Good show, old chap.

[Flack]

Awesome, thanks man! I'm glad he enjoyed it.

Sometimes at night I will be talking about someone at work to my wife and I'll say something goofy like, "isn't it weird that we're talking about that guy? I'm sure that guy is not talking about me right now." So that's weird that your dad is talking about me. I have never talked about him at night before. Maybe I will tonight, just to make things even.

[Tdarcos]

My personal stipulations are that the games have to have been publicly sold (no crappy home brew BASIC games) and must have sucked back then; no fair saying that a game sucks compared to what's out now (many of them do).

That is the correct method if you want to make a fair comparison. I mean, if you compare Wolfenstein 3D to Half-Life 2 Episode 2, the graphics, game capability and capacity are woefully inadequate by comparison. But it's not a fair comparison, Wolf3d was state-of-the-art when it was released. It's also a kick-ass game; it forced me to upgrade from an XT to a '286 because Wolf3d required at least a 286 to run.

[Tdarcos]

I would say for most people, emulation should meet most people's needs.

Two of the favorite computers I have used were the IBM 370 Mainframe running the Music/SP operating system, and the PDP-11/70 minicomputer running RSTS/E with Basic-Plus.

Both of these are (legally) available as emulation systems, and probably run faster on my PC than they did when running on real hardware.

It's amazing to be able to have four, five or six separate terminal applications running on your computer as if it was a real mainframe system.

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

Mates, I'd like to buy an Amiga.

[AArdvark]

That's just crazy talk! Snap out of it, man!

[Flack]

Mates, I'd like to buy an Amiga.

I have a 500 and a 1200 that I will probably not hook up again. I really wanted to play with one but I just never seem to have the time or the physical space.

[bruce]

Mates, I'd like to buy an Amiga.

I have a 500 and a 1200 that I will probably not hook up again. I really wanted to play with one but I just never seem to have the time or the physical space.

I'll buy either or both.

Bruce

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

I'll buy o- hey! Hey goddammit!

(But I will buy one, if you want to sell them.)

[AArdvark]

yeaah!

that's from someone who turned his C64 into a keyboard synth.

[AArdvark]

OK, back to the original thread.

Bad list:

Geos 2.0

I recently loaded it via emulation. Just because, ya know.

I can't imagine why anyone would use it. The program sucked balls on toast! I used it for two months and ditched it. Even with three 1541 drives it still was clunky and slower than just command lines. Having to tie up a drive just for the software disc was unacceptable! Even if it was the only way to run it. Software for dummies, ect. And the work disc thing..arrrgh!

there was some economist/lemonade stand program that went with it that I played for a day and that sucked just as much. Don't know what that was all about...[/quote]

[Flack]

I used it for two months

So, what, you loaded it once? </rimshot>

I don't think I ever met anyone who actually used GEOS as a serious operating system. Like you said, it was too slow, clunky and bloated to be of much use. I had a copy for a while but, without a mouse, it was less than useful.

[AArdvark]

And I even bought a Commodore mouse just because of Geos. Thing was a piece of crap, too. Program STILL sucked out. What a pointless waste of software engineering. I was even gonna buy a hard drive from CMD but then the computer shows started coming to Rochester and I went PC.

THE
ONLY LEFT AND DOWN
AARDVARK