QL Commercial Software Preservation

[RWAP]

Yes please - that is definitely missing.

[Ralf R.]

You can use the simple Toolkit II command, WCOPY mdv2_ TO flp1_ to copy the cartridge to disk. However, I have a Trump Card which has a much more useful utility. FORMAT ram1_mdv2

As far as I remember, the QFlash RAM disk also has a way, to read MDVs into RAM (it was years before ramprt). But I do not remember the detailed sequence.

[Wimdev]

Rich,

I'll send you the Adder assembler later today / this evening - I first need to scan the manual.

Willem

[Martin_Head]

At the risk of perhaps going over old territory. What about the Preservation of the old PD & Shareware libraries.

I know a lot of it is available on Dilwyn Jones Web site, but I was thinking of the actual library disks, rather than the programs on them.

They could be stored as zipped up disk images, which could be read by an emulator, or copied back to a floppy disk.

I don't see that there should be any great copy write issues, as they were shareware disks to start with.

[dilwyn]

At the risk of perhaps going over old territory. What about the Preservation of the old PD & Shareware libraries.
I know a lot of it is available on Dilwyn Jones Web site, but I was thinking of the actual library disks, rather than the programs on them.
They could be stored as zipped up disk images, which could be read by an emulator, or copied back to a floppy disk.
I don't see that there should be any great copy write issues, as they were shareware disks to start with.

I have some, though not all, of these on CD here. The main problem of course is time to go through them all.

It is a long term objective of mine to basically do exactly what you suggest, Martin. QL Is Already 30. I may need help with this in the short term especially before the QL becomes 40 before I make much headway!

The collections I have include:

1. The Library (Phil Jordan - this library includes the majority if not all of the SJPD library from which it was derived)
2. Qubbesoft PD
3. IFE library subset
4. PD CDR
5. The download part of nvg.ntnu.no
6. Some BBSes download sections - TFS and QLCF (I think, not looked at these recently)
7. My own former PD library - plenty in there still not transferred to my website.
8. Early mirrors of QL software collection, provided to me by Phoebus Dokos, of Demon, Garbo.Uwasa.fi, and Maya (can't remember what's in those).
9. Various old websites with QL software - major task this one!
10. National group libraries - a lot of work needed on this, I'm afraid

I only have a partial set of CGH Services PD software, although much of this is of course in more recent PD libraries. I have a CGH catalogue from the early 1990s, so I can, given time, work out what I haven't got.

Probably the least likely to be preserved is the international QL group libraries. I have a few of their disk, for example, a few New England, Australian, Swedish, Norwegian, French, German, Italian and so on, but unco-ordinated and would probably need a lot of time and effort to sort them all out, especially where translation would be needed. The early IFE (it stood for Intergroup Freeware Exchange I THINK) contains a lot of overlap with national groups.

In short, if anyone would like to offer help with this task, PM me your email or snail mail address and I'll send you a CD to get started. Just go through my site to see what's already there and anything on the CD not already on my site, zip it up and email to me with a short description along the lines of the text already on my site. It doesn't take long to add to a web page, the biggest job is sorting everything out and getting them into a suitable form to include in my site!

This need not necessarily involve a lot of software testing, if any. Obviously, the program package needs to be complete, but by and large the PD libraries and software authors were pretty tidy overall in this respect. Plus, in most cases, I have either the original catalogues (mostly scanned or document files) or web pages saved, which I can make available one way or another!

[Dave]

Dilwyn,

If you create ISOs for the CDROMs, I will happily host them on my webspace and make them freely downloadable. I can even create an intro page for each one. This way, anyone can create perfect copies of any CDROM.

[Outsoft]

Over the years I have acquired copies of and built up quite a library of commercial QL Software titles - a lot more than currently appears on the QL Wiki.

For simplicity (for me), the programs have been stripped off microdrive cartridge and transferred to floppy disk. I have then copied them onto my PC's hard drive using q-emulator (into folders sorted by publisher and by software title).

This is my version of the QL Software Preservation Project.

There are however, various issues I face (including my health) and am therefore looking for someone willing to partner with me and help take this project further forward.

a) There is quite a lot of software where I cannot get it working under q-emulator - it may be down to copy protection, or some of the files being corrupt.
b) I do not have copies of a lot of the software - and microdrive cartridges are becoming more and more expensive to acquire in the vain hope that I can read them!
c) I don't have a lot of time to do this - although a few people do help the project by cracking some of the copy protection, or paying a small fee for a working backup copy which helps to fund the acquisition of more second hand microdrive cartridges for preservation.
d) There are quite a large number of programs I have not tested on q-emulator, or even sorted as yet.
e) A lot of the information is still missing from the QL Wiki - there are literally 100s of programs and software houses listed in old QL Users which need to be written up and entered onto the WIki.
f) Last but not least are the copyright (IP) issues - I have successfully tracked down some of the copyright holders, but this is never easy. Following discussions with them, if they agree to it being made public domain, then I have forwarded copies to Dilwyn for hosing on the Sinclair QL Homepage. Otherwise, if they are willing to allow the software to be re-released commercially, then I have offered it on a commercial basis.

I am concerned that if my health does not improve, very little progress will be made in this over the next couple of years, exacerbating the problems.


So, what can you do to help?


1) If you can look through old copies of QL World / QL User / QL Today / QL Leisure Review / QL Technical Review and QL Adventurers Forum (and other magazines) and add information to the QL Wiki about companies and software titles, then please do - advertising blurb will help.

2) If you can track down or contact any of the copyright holders, then please do so - if you want advice on what to say to them, then please let me know. It is also worth checking with me to see if I contacted them previously and whether I had any success.

3) I am looking for 2 volunteers to come forward who will help sort out, test and preserve the software (I have over 100 -200 microdrive cartridges here which need sorting and possibly transferring).

You will need access to a QL with at least one good quality microdrive unit, a disk interface, and Q-emuLator on the PC, with a broadband connection. I would suggest that my current preservation project folder is then shared using DropBox for these purposes - this will mean that we will all see the same folders, and they will all be backed up on our local PCs.

We need to maintain a list somewhere of missing in action titles - I started a thread on here, but it is not easy to maintain!

Due to the copyright and Intellectual Property restrictions on the software - all of the folders and microdrive cartridges being shared would be treated as owned by RWAP Software with you working as unpaid sub-contractors. You would need to agree not to share any of the software with any third party without written authority from the copyright holder.

4) I am also looking for a volunteer or two to help crack copy-protected software. It may well be that you have a disk based version of the software (which has either been cracked or has no copy protection already). This will help the team under (3) above.

Just a quick comment before this attracts a whole host of negative comments....

-- Please do not moan about the copyright position, or say that all this should be uploaded to a website and made freely available. Due to my background, I cannot condone software piracy or breaches of copyright. If you want to start up your own preservation project and 'publish and be damned' then feel free (and take the risk), but unfortunately, I will not be a part of it and will defend the rights of where software is still commercially available!

I'm with you Rich, you know

I'm searching all over the world new SW that aren't preserved, so we will go on and on

[RWAP]

It looks as though Tasman Software products may well be available as freeware (Tasprint QL and Tascopy QL) reading the permission from Accusoft Pegasus (who acquired Tasman Software in 2008/9) - see

http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showwrap ... ftware.pmt

I have emailed Accusoft Pegasus for confirmation.

[tcat]

Hi Rich,

Reading your lines about commercial titles preservation, I would like to also lend a hand.
Although I do not have the QL floppy, I learnt to transfer files between the QL and PC over serial line. I have very many of my own felt pads plus a number of Dave's from the US.

My QL is JS ROM, with TK2 on CARE cartridge, and 512K of Simple RAM addon.

I was busy with Thomas Much PD titles, GAM ready & compiled and sent to you with a manual.
I could perhaps also take some simple tasks with commercial preservation.

Cheers
Tomas

[RWAP]

Thanks Tomas - that is a great help thank you.

I might send you a box of microdrive cartridges which need to be sorted through and preserved