The Sinclair QL Forum

This is an enquiry about the current state of play with the filing system on the QL, and the realistic or unrealistic prospects for an improved FS. One of the issues with Qdos is it uses a block filing system. As the system grows beyond anything Sinclair imagined in 1983, the blocks consume more an...

Hi Peter, I still don't quite understand what you mean. In the QL modes, the Q68 creates rectangular "QL pixels" that are 2x3 screen pixels, so the complete 4:3 flatscreen area is used. I assume most CRT monitors used with the QL were also 4:3 in geometry - and the picture also filled the ...

Pr0f wrote:Would we have had Linux without the QL ?

Maybe not, since Linus Torvalds has written programs on the QL, including an assembler and editor (according to Wikipedia). I wonder if they're still around somewhere.

Jan.

If the aspect ratio was indeed 4:3, the resolution would be 512x384, not 512x256. I meant the actual screen aspect ratio, not pixel shape. Most CRT screens were about 4:3, and that determined the historic QL look - which the Q68 reproduces in the QL modes. QL pixels were knowingly designed non-rect...

I had a look in the SMSQ/E sources and it looks like D1 should be the job ID. A quick look in Minerva and JS, also looks like D1 should be the job ID. But I have not had a chance to actually try it yet. I don't know why you need a job id for a system-level I/O open, but if you need the id of the cu...

BTW the original QL was more widescreen 512x256 than "square" 4:3 even if that's what TVs did back then, so it looks OK on a widescreen TFT monitor. Still all QL "artwork" from Psion Chess to Quill was designed for 4:3 and all our memories are 4:3 monitors. I find that important...

The Minervae I know always (auto)start with F2, so in MODE 8. But maybe that has changed during the years. The version from QView in Eindhoven was that way and a few Versions later also. And QDOS? Seems to start with what you have selected...F1 or F2...? Ah yes when you timeout from the F1..F4 scre...

Not sure, if I understand all correctly. You want Minerva to start with another view as the standard MODE 8? Martin Berndt has modified a quite early Minerva (bought in Eindhoven from QView), so it starts with mode 4 in black/black, as we always used Mode 4. This was quite easy for him to modify. M...

It would be fairly easy to add a DISP_MODE command, or perhaps redefine the MODE command itself, in the extension ROM space (or just a LRESPRable extension). Minerva's SCR/CON driver has to be modified too since the display size and video buffer's address will have changed. This is not too difficul...

Cool. Many thanks! Also interesting would be MODE4 1024x768, which is no problem under Minerva, but unlike emulators it would not be nice to patch at startup. Does it make sense to re-define F4 on boot, which is least likely to be used? Or add F5? Other ideas? It would be fairly easy to add a DISP_...