Hack Surfing

For those who can access that great expanse of area called the World Wide Web, here are some new places to visit that are of interest to the Commodore community. In early 1994, when the US Commodore WWW Site started, the number of sites online that catered to Commodore numbered in the 10's. Now, the number is in the 100's. What a change.

If you know of a site that is not listed here, please feel free to send it to the magazine. The following links have been gleaned from those recently changed or added to the US Commodore WWW Links Site http://www.msen.com/~brain/cbmlinks/).

To encourage these sites to strive to continually enhance their creations, and because we like to gripe :-), we'll point out improvements that could be made at each site.

Companies

• The Official DesTerm 128 Page
  http://www.ionline.net/~mdesmond/desterm.html Here is where you will find the latest scoop on the popular terminal emulation program for the 128, as well as information on the newest release, Desterm 128 3.0. As well, you can download Desterm 2.00. C=Hacking gripe: There isn't much information on the 3.0 version.

• Keyboard Studio
  http://www.cu-online.com/~gwilson/ Gordon Wilson's company motto is: "Large enough to get it done; small enough to care." That sits well with us. This small site announces Mr. Wilson's Commodore repair facility to the world. It offers basic information about the type of repairs possible and what other services are offered. C=H gripe: We wish there was more detailed information on repair services, like pricing information.

• Novaterm 9.6
  http://www.eskimo.com/~voyager/novaterm.html For a guy who just released a new version of his popular C64 terminal emulation program, Nick Rossi has managed to put some effort into this site. The site is flashy, but can be viewed with text browsers as well. The information here includes a rundown on Novaterm 9.6 features, details on who helped write it and how to purchase it, and links to obtain the 9.5 release. Of special mention is the fully indexed HTML online documentation. C=H gripe: For those who want to order with a credit card, the site refers to a list of authorized Commodore dealers that we couldn't find.

• Omni 128 BBS Software Home Page
  http://www.nwlink.com/~bbell19/omni128.html At this site, Brian Bell presents an overview of his Bulletin Board System Software and updates on releases. Additionally, information on capabilities like "Echo Net" are present. C=H gripe: We couldn't find out how to purchase the software or how much it costs.

  Publications

• DisC=overy Home Page
  http://www.eskimo.com/~drray/discovery.html We'll save a review of the magazine for "Hacking the Mags" (Reference: mags), but the publication does tout its own WWW site. It's pretty bare at present, but it does have links to both a text and also a compressed version of the Premiere Issue. C=H gripe: We didn't expect much here, but we do hope the publication offers an index or list of articles here at some point.
  

• 64'er Online
  http://www.magnamedia.de/64er/ This site presents information about the German Commodore publication. The layout is nicely done. The July issue is currently featured, with information on the contents and an index of articles. Alas, the site is for German readers only, but we expected no more. For those who can read German, ordering information and pointers to other products are available. C=H gripe: The site leans a bit heavily on graphics, making it slow to load.
  

• Commodore Online Information Network (COIN!) http://people.delphi.com/cynrcr/ccs.html This site offers information on the COIN! disk magazine. Information on the magazine is presented, and links to the 2 most recent issues are provided for your downloading pleasure. A small description is given detailing the contents of older issues as well. C=H gripe: White text on a black background takes a bit of time to get used to. However, text mode users won't notice :-)
  

  Demo Groups

• Millenium Home Page
  http://marie.az.com/~waveform/millenium.html This site shows off screen shots of the demo groups' creations. The site is nicely done, with many screen shots and nice graphics. C=H gripe: How do we download the demos?

• Demo/Revenge Distribution Site
  http://hack.lakeheadu.ca/~revenge/index.html Demo groups tend to provide the splashiest sites, and this one is no exception. The graphics are nicely done, but the content is available to all text-mode browsers as well. Links to demos are provided, as are links to other sites of interest. C=H gripe: With limited time to download, could we get a small description of each demo to help us pick?
  

  Reference Works

• The C64 Games WWW Home Page
  http://www.student.nada.kth.se/~d93-alo/c64/ Screen shots are provided for a couple of C64 games, and clicking on the names reveals detailed information on the games and its gameplay. Music from many C64 games is present, as are tips and hints for playing some vintage Commodore games. C=H gripe: The name of the site is a bit misleading, since the list of games isn't that extensive.

• Poldi's Projects - LUnix
  http://rpool1.rus.uni-stuttgart.de/~etk10217/proj.html UNIX on a 64. Don't even think that it cannot be done. Daniel Dallmann has already proved it CAN. This site details the entire project to execute a multitasking OS on a 64 from kernel to device driver. In addition, some of Daniel's other projects are detailed at this site. Daniel has developed a fast soft-80 screen driver for the C64, and the code with detailed information is available here. Schematics, code, comments, and an overview for Daniel's 9600 bps serial routines are available here. These routines have also been incorporated into Noavterm 9.6. Finally, Daniel has developed a basic implementation of the Serial Line Internet Protocol (SLIP) for the 64. Code and information are linked off the site. Many of the projects include screen shots and schematics. C=H gripe: A high level overview of some of the projects would help first time surfers.

• OS/A65 Computer and Operating System http://www.tu-chemnitz.de/~fachat/csa/ Andre Fachat's work on a multi-tasking OS and a home built 6502 based computer system are outlined at this site. The software is detailed in Andre's article elsewhere in this issue (Reference: os), as well as on the site. The full text is presented on the site, with an indexed overview. C=H gripe: We couldn't find a link to the bare 64 binaries.

• Technical SID documentation
  http://stud1.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426444/sidtech.html For the SID-savvy of the bunch, this site offers a technical discussion of the 6581 SID IC and descriptions of the various waveforms with mathematical treatment. C=H gripe: The presentation is pretty basic.

• Commodore Product Source List Issue #5, On-line Edition http://www.televar.com/~rjlong/ Roger Long has placed his Commodore products SourceList Online. The online version, which is updated more frequently than the printed version, contains a wealth of information on where to find hardware, software, and supplies for the Commodore computer. C=H gripe: An alphabetical index would be nice.
  

• Carrier Detect
  http://www.swt.edu/~ez13942/bbs/cbmbbss.htm For all the BBS sysops or ex-BBS sysops, this page will certainly bring back memories. A History of BBS in the 1980's is given, followed by an extensive review of various BBS systems. Each review includes statistics and screen shots. C=H gripe: The background makes the graphical version a bit rough on the eyes. As usual, though, text viewers won't care :-)
  

• Bacchus' List of 64 related PC and Amiga tools http://www.ludd.luth.se/~watchman/fairlight/c64/tools2.html If you regularly use PC or Amiga platforms to develop Commodore executables, this site is for you. It gives a list of many PC and Amiga utilities to help the cross platform developer. Many programs are available, and they are all sorted into categories based on function. C=H gripe: We wish there were more detailed descriptions.

  Individual Commodore Users

• QT's Dream Space
  http://www.lm.com/~qt/
  QT is a demo lover, and it shows. There are links to demos, lists of new releases, links to demo magazines, and even a tribute to "Coder's World", a demo coding tutorial. In addition, there are PC versions of 64 compatible ZIP and LYNX compression programs to give to your computing challenged PC friends. C=H gripe: QT likes SunSoft's JAVA mascot, and has him displayed on the site. It's a bit misleading for those who expect JAVA information wherever the mascot is displayed. (He is cute, though).
  

• Don's and Mex's Game Page
  http://blitzen.canberra.edu.au/~dryan/c64main.html In a page true to the Commodore, this page's headings are done with text screen shots from a C64. We are impressed. Lots of games are presented on this site, with basic information and screen shots provided. Links from each game allow the viewer to download the binary. C=H gripe: Some of the games are copyrighted and commercial. At the very least, a warning should be placed on the pages.

• Welcome to the World of Saz
  http://www.wonderland.org/~sarah/ Sarah Dalrymple has provided the WWW surfer with a plethora of information on the Commodore VIC-20. Pictures of units and peripherals are featured, as are some historical facts and links to other VIC-20 sites. C=H gripe: The Games/Programs link wasn't functional.

• Triumph's Zone
  http://www1.usa1.com/~triumph/ This page show us how one person uses a Commodore system. As well, this page demonstrates the immense pull CBM machines have on users. Triumph had left for greener pastures when a friend "re-introduced" him to the Commodore. For the adventurous, there are plans here for a C64 laptop computer under development. C=H gripe: The color scheme leaves a bit to be desired, but text browsers won't care.

  Change of Address

• LOADSTAR has moved (AGAIN!) to http://www.loadstar.com/

• Marc-Jano Knopp's CBM WWW Site has changed (AGAIN!) to: http://www.student.informatik.th-darmstadt.de/~mjk/c64.html

• Richard Cunningham's Color 64 BBS Home Page has changed to: "Tim Allen's (Dynamite) Commodore Color Pages" and is now at: http://www.indirect.com/www/dynamite/color.htm

Last Updated: 1997-03-11 by Jim Brain