Patrick Benny (Chipple) has released a quick and easy DSK utility for Windows that coverts Color Computer.bin and.bas files into DSK images for use in an emulator. The program is called FILE2DSK.
The program can be used from the DOS command line, like others, but has the added benifit of working fine under Windows via drag-and-drop. Just drag your.bin or.bas files onto the program and out pops a.DSK image. It only writes the standard 1-sided 35 track CoCo disks, but for most purposes that's all you'll need. I tested the program under Windows ME, and the author uses Windows 2000. I had a ton of.bin files for games I've gotten off the Net, but haven't gotten around to converting. After downloading File2DSK, every one of them was in DSK format in just a few minutes. I use MESS to test the resulting files and all worked perfectly.
The original Mirage was a steel cased beast designated the DSK-8. Operating systems: Mirage OS 3.2 and MASOS 2.0 - these are still the current revisions. 6800 (not to be confused with the highly successful, and still in production 68000). ESQBANK DOC 2825 9-28-87 10:47p ESQBANK COM 29104 9-28-87 4:41p.
The small ZIP file includes instructions for command line operation and the C source code. For those that don't want to mess with command lines, though, DSK creation doesn't get any easier than this! Send CoCo news items to. Now that's service!:) Okay, haven't done but the simplest try on this (it's way past my bedtime), but will give it workout on Sunday. But to everyone following this: Getcha some! Works great and makes it much easier to mix and match files to create custom CoCo disks from DSK collections. I've already tried it on some from the CoCo Collection CD (Roger Taylor Software) and set up a custom DSK with paricular games I like, but were scattered on different images.
Just extract 'em from the DSK image, dump what you want into another folder, then drag the selections into File2DSK and as Emiril would say, 'BAM!' Many thanks, Chipple! Two enthusiastic thumbs up, fine CoCo fun!
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The Acorn Archimedes was Acorn Computers' first general purpose home computer to be based on their own ARM architecture. Using a RISC design with a 32-bit CPU, at its launch in June 1987, the Archimedes was stated as running at 4 MIPS, with a claim of 18 MIPS during tests. The name is commonly used to describe any of Acorn's contemporary designs based on the same architecture, even where Acorn did not include Archimedes in the official name. The first models were released in June 1987, as the 300 and 400 series. The 400 series included 4 expansion slots (although a 2 slot backplane could be added to the 300 series as an official upgrade, and third parties produced their own 4 slot backplanes) and an ST506 controller for an internal hard drive.
Both models included the Arthur operating system operating system (later replaced by RISC OS as a paid-for upgrade), BBC BASIC programming language and an emulator for Acorn's earlier BBC Micro, and were mounted in two-part cases with a small central unit, monitor on top, and a separate keyboard and three-button mouse. All models featured onboard 8 channel stereo sound and were capable of displaying 256 colours on screen. Four models were initially released with different amounts of memory, the A305, A310, A410 and A440.
The 540 was unveiled in September 1990, and included higher speed SCSI and provision for connecting Genlock devices. The 300 and 400 were followed by a number of machines with minor changes and upgrades. The Archimedes was one of the most powerful home computers available during the late 1980s and early 1990s; its main CPU was faster than the 68000 microprocessors found in the more popular Commodore Amiga and Atari ST machines.
An 8 MHz 68000 had an average performance of roughly 1 MIPS for 16-bit workloads and 0.5 MIPS for 32-bit workloads, with peak performance of 2 MIPS for simpler 16-bit instructions. The 8 MHz ARM2 yielded 4.5 - 4.8 MIPS for 32-bit workloads in repeatable benchmark tests. (The Archimedes did not have the custom graphics chips that the Amiga did, however, such as the 'Fat Agnus' chip with its powerful bit blitter that made the Amiga very fast at bitmap manipulation; the Archimedes outperformed the Amiga easily for 3D applications but the Amiga retained an edge in 2D.) The computer was exhibited at the 1987 Personal Computer World Show, along with Amigas, Atari STs and video game consoles. Commenting on the show, Crash magazine reported that 'despite whiz-bang demos of Acorn’s Archimedes' the 8-bit machines were not dead. The Archimedes won significant market share in the education markets of the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand; the success of the Archimedes in British schools was due partly to its predecessor the BBC Micro and later to the Computers for Schools scheme organised by the Tesco supermarket chain in association with Acorn, and most students and pupils in these countries in the early 90s were exposed to an Archimedes or A-series computer. The Archimedes range was available in the US and Canada via Olivetti Canada. Despite a technical edgecitation needed, the Archimedes only ever met a moderate success beyond the education sector, becoming a 'minority' platform outside of certain niche markets.
By the early 1990s, the UK educational market began to turn away from the Archimedes. Apple Macintosh computers or IBM compatible PCs eclipsed the Archimedes in their multimedia capabilities, which led to an erosion of the Archimedes market share.
The Tesco Computers for Schools scheme later changed partnership from Acorn to RM plc and many other computer-related suppliers, which also led to the decrease of the Archimedes' educational market share. Browsing the CollectionThere are 200+ images for the Acorn Archimedes, including games, applications, and demos. To browse the collection of software,.