OSI Software Find!

From: Bill Sudbrink <wh.sudbrink_at_verizon.net>
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 20:38:22 +0000

Well, since my C4P-MF has been rock solid stable since I
fitted the new power supply and cleaned the drive head,
I've been going through a bunch of 25 (and more) year old
diskettes to see just what I have.

Lo-and-behold!

On a diskette simply labeled OS65D 3.2 (not originally mine,
acquired I don't know where), I found really nice machine
code implementations of Space Invaders and Asteriods! You
don't usually see machine code programs on OSI diskettes, the
OS was too crude to have a simple binary loader. Diskettes
usually have BASIC programs, with maybe a couple of USR$
sub-routines in data statements. To load and execute the
programs, you have to EXIT from BASIC into the sub-monitor and
then load the diskette tracks into memory one at a time. Once
you have it loaded, then you GO to the starting address. I
think that these programs might have been originally intended
to be loaded from casette tape. Fortunately, the diskette had
two BASIC programs, each of which PRINTs the instructions for
loading the machine code programs. I'm really happy about this!
People usually see OSI boxes running rather slow interpreted
BASIC programs. These two programs show just what an OSI box
can do. There is no attribution for the Asteriods program, but
the Space Invaders is copyright 1980 by Michael Kincaid.

Can't wait to show these at TCF!

Bill
Received on Mon Feb 28 2005 - 18:49:15 GMT

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