Yearly Archives: 2012

Hello, Android

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As a recent Android convert (and with no real Java programming experience) I thought it might be fun to try writing a live wallpaper app.

With Christmas around the corner, I figured a gentle snowfall would be the obvious choice despite there already being about a million existing snowfall apps on the Google Play store.

Anyway, I thought it came out ok 🙂 If you’d like to check it out, you can find it here.

It utilizes OpenGL for rendering and native code for the physics update, and seems to perform quite well even on older phones.

If you are interested in Android app development, this book is the absolute best one I’ve found. It seems to cover topics at a perfect pace, and the section on getting an OpenGL based live wallpaper engine set up was invaluable, as this is not officially provided in the standard Android SDK.

Firmware/Software Updates (1.1.9)

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Firmware version 1.1.9 is now available for the Flyer.

1.1.9 is an interim release containing some soon-to-be-announced features which are still in development. It does, however, contain a few IEEE-488 protocol fixes (including full support for CATALOG) that I wanted to make available ASAP for the growing number of PET/Flyer users.

Cloud Server 1.0.3 is now available on Windows, Linux and Mac OS X platforms!
The latest release of the cloud server includes the following changes and new features:

  • Added ability to chose ethernet interface if multiple are available.
  • Added optional access restrictions to allow multi-user configuration (including login credentials & per user directories).
  • Disk types (d64, d71, ..) now displayed in search listings returned from the server.
  • Fixed bug causing wrong disk type ID to be sent back to the Flyer. This would cause incorrect disk types to be displayed when listing disks on the Flyer (load”$$”,7) even though the disks would otherwise work fine.
  • Media is no longer pre-scanned. Any file system changes are seen immediately.
  • Cloud Server now available for Windows, Linux (Ubuntu tested) and Mac OS X.

As always, please let me know if you have any questions or feedback, especially regarding the new platforms!

Why No Updates?

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Some of you may have noticed the slowdown in updates, along with the ongoing unavailability of the Flyer and might be wondering what’s going on? Rest assured, I’m as committed as ever to the Flyer and related development!

I just completed an interstate move which has had me scrambling for the past couple months (side note – if you’ve ever wondered how to safely box your vintage computers for shipment/storage, this stuff is fantastic).

I was also dealing with a parts shortage for the Flyer, and during that downtime I started getting enough interest for future orders that I decided to look into automated assembly (each Flyer I’ve shipped to date has been hand assembled). I just received a photo of the first one “off the line” to verify parts placement, etc, and everything looks great. I expect they’ll be sent out within a couple days.

Additionally, I should be back on software and firmware development by the end of the week. I’ve received a lot of GREAT feedback over the past couple of months, and I have some surprises in store as well!

Thanks to everyone who has contacted me, and thanks for your continued interest in the Flyer!

Flyer 1.1.8 Firmware

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Firmware version 1.1.8 is now available for the Flyer. It includes the following additions/fixes:

  • REL file support.
  • Support for D64 error blocks. The error blocks (if present) were previously ignored by the Flyer’s drive emulation.
  • IEEE-488 protocol timing fix.
  • Miscellaneous minor fixes and code cleanup (leading spaces in filenames now handled correctly, red LED error flash rate now matches 1541, …).
Building a Better Tomorrow

Flyer IRC for PET/CBM

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A new port of the Flyer IRC client for the PET/CBM is now available for download on the Flyer product page. It currently supports 80 column, 32K (or greater) models only.

There’s just something so cool about doing real stuff online with such a classic machine! Is this the first PET on the modern ‘net? I can’t imagine so, but who knows 🙂

A PET/CBM port of the Flyer Telnet client will follow soon, along with native ports of both apps for most of the remaining Commodore product line with some new unannounced software in the works! Stay tuned! (I can’t believe I just said that)

Telnet and IRC for Flyer

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Telnet and IRC clients have been posted on the Flyer product page for download. These are 100% custom written for the Flyer in C/asm and are currently available for the Commodore 64 (and Commodore 128 in C64 mode).

Native ports for the Commodore 128 and 16K+ PETs are planned for the future. Use the contact page to drop me a line and let me know what machines you’d like to see supported first, any issues or feature requests you might have, and any suggestions for future Flyer apps!