[Coco] [Color Computer] Got my Coco out of mothballs...

[Gene Heskett]

On Thursday 26 September 2013 12:53:16 Al Hartman did opine:

> Why is it nobody understands what I want to do?
> 
> I want to take a file, such as the Drivewire ROM image, that exists on
> the PC as a file, and get that file over to the Coco.
> 
> I'd like a Windows based program like Explorer that will let you have a
> two window display, one side being the PC, and the other being a Coco
> .dsk image. Then, you can copy files back and forth, make a new Coco
> .dsk image, delete files on either side, rename files on either side,
> copy or move files from one side to the other.
> 
> Everything I've found is either confusing, or DOS only.
> 
> I can already write Coco disks on my Coco. I don't have 5.25" drives on
> any of my PCs, except my XT which is not on my network, and without
> 640k, I can't Laplink stuff to it.
> 
> There are no USB solutions for writing 5.25" disks on a modern PC.
> 
> Not all modern PCs even support having a 5.25" drive internally.
> 
> All I want is to be able to move files into and out of Coco .dsk images
> easily.
> 
> Is that so much to ask for?
> 
> -[ Al ]-

The coco, running stock, or nitros9, does not have the concept of a move, 
only copy then delete. On the coco, I have worked on that some, but never 
felt it was vetted enough to expose it to new users, os9 only of course.  
Like the linux version of such a utility, if the mv is on the same file 
system, just move the directory entry to where you want the file to be 
visible, but if not on the same filesystem (different disk) then do a copy 
instead, and if the copy then compares, then do the source deletion.

The toolshed stuff syntax is a little arcane but the job is 100% doable 
from the command line by the host pc.  But because the syntax is a bit 
arcane, (it should yell at the idiot between the keyboard and the chair if 
the comma is missing) it would be well appreciated by folks who are stuck 
on the gui idea, if a 2 pain file manager was to become part of the default 
build in toolshed.  Its grown some with version 2.0, but I've not run 
across such a utility yet.

But it would indeed be handier than the turn button on the outhouse door if 
it was to grow one.  Hint hint.

I also tend to agree with those who don't want to run all over the planet, 
and who often don't have the build tools installed to even do step 1, which 
is to obtain & build/install lwtools.  Then, get, build & install toolshed, 
followed by nitros9 if thats your bent.  For those of you running a linux 
system, and really, if you are at all familiar with os9/nitros9, the closed 
shop of windows and mac's is a world you you _can_ get used to, but I've 
never found it a comfortable place to live.  So if you're running a linux 
that uses apt for a package manager, then "apt-get install build-
essentials" will install everything you need to run my script to get and 
built it all.  2 command lines to type and run.

In the broadcast business today, we have to move programs as digital files 
of multi-gigabyte size, occasionally modifying the file on the fly to make 
it work on the server that actually plays it to air.  Because of this 
compatibility requirement, we spent $18,000 on a software accessory package 
that linked into the program scheduler that claimed it could do it all on 
the fly.  Turned out it couldn't do it all, not even without the fly & they 
couldn't seem to understand that it couldn't, never acknowledged receipt of 
a few megabytes of the front of the file we sent them as samples of 
something it couldn't handle.  It took Jim about a day to cobble up some of 
our excellent linux utils into a few lines of bash script that did do it.  
Then about 2 days to make it work from the program scheduler machine, a 
windows machine to automate it for on demand.

What you can do with your windows machine is controlled by microsoft, what 
you can do on your mac is controlled by apple, but what you can do on a 
linux machine is usually controlled by your imagination.

So whose machine is it?  Yours, or theirs?

If I come across as a bit "crotchety", I am sitting here, in low grade 
pain, crutches handy because I tore something in my left knee Tuesday 
trying to get back up off a creeper I had used to explore the bottom of my 
GMC & find a wrench I had dropped while re-installing the alternator.  The 
knee is one that I've dislocated and relocated hundreds of times in the 
last 50 years, it should have been used to it by now.

Getting old is not for wimps, but my wimp status doesn't seem to matter as 
I seem to be doing it anyway. Darn it. :(

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Brian Blake
> 
> Al,
> 
> VCC with the fdrawcmd.sys driver installed will write dsk images to a
> REAL floppy drive.
> 
> Also, CoCoDisk (get it here <http://www.nitros9.org/howto.html>), with
> the same driver, will do this - and is easier to set up.
> 
> Brian
> 
> 
> --
> Coco mailing list
> Coco at maltedmedia.com
> http://five.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/coco


Cheers, Gene
-- 
"There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty:
 soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order."
-Ed Howdershelt (Author)

How about some patent on "(a+b)^2 == a^2 + 2ab + b^2"?  Choose free 
software!

   -- Laurent Szyster
A pen in the hand of this president is far more
dangerous than 200 million guns in the hands of
         law-abiding citizens.