*************************************   
          Commodore Free Magazine   
       http://www.commodorefree.com/   
   *************************************   
      
         Issue 51, May/June 2011   
      
   Free to download magazine dedicated to Commodore computers Available as   
   PDF, HTML, TXT, SEQ, D64 disk image and now as ePUB and MOBI e-book   
      
   *************************************   
                 CONTENTS   
   *************************************   
      
   * Editorial   
   * Readers Comments   
   * NEWS   
     - AresOne Price Reduction   
     - Snapshoter updated to v1.4.9b   
     - New Commodore 64   
     - CBM264.com   
     - XSane 0.998 for AmiCygnix   
     - Yes VIC Can   
     - Protovision Release Jim Slim   
     - 64Copy Updated To 4.43   
     - 'Escape' Full Game Found By GTW   
     - Commodore News   
     - Amiga Immortal Audio CD   
     - IceFileSystem 2.4 Released   
     - 1541U-II Update 2.1   
     - New Masonicons   
     - Amiga Automatic Monitor Switch   
     - TOSEC Updated   
     - C&A Games 3 Released   
     - spellchecker.library v1.0   
   * Stroke World Review   
   * Cascade Review   
   * It’s Magic 1 Review   
   * It’s Magic 2 Review   
   * Bomb Mania Review   
   * Ice Guys Review   
   * Metal Dust Review   
   * Jim Slim Review   
   * Interview With The Protovision Team   
   * Protovision Website   
      
   *************************************   
                 EDITORIAL   
   *************************************   
      
   Hi and welcome back to another issue of Commodore Free magazine, I have been   
   shortening the title to C= Free in correspondence, mainly as it's less to   
   spell incorrectly and saves me slightly from RSA, I also think it looks like   
   of cool C=Free, Hmm maybe not then.   
      
   This issue has the usual assortment of random news; but to coincide with the   
   recent PROTOVISON release I have dedicated most (well; all) of the magazine   
   to PROTOVISION. With an interview and a look at, and reviews of some of the   
   many Protovision games available. I know it may not be to everyone's taste;   
   but I felt after everything the company had done for the Commodore scene it   
   was a worthy gesture. Of course Amiga users and 264, Pet users will feel   
   alienated, maybe I could dedicate later magazines to something relevant to   
   these users   
      
   SO IN THE ISSUE YOU WILL FIND   
      
   An interview with PROTOVISION and a review of their latest game "Jim slim,"   
   the game is also in the news section and there is an advert in the PDF   
   version of the magazine. By the time you have finished reading the magazine   
   you should be pretty much up to speed with what Protovision can supply. You   
   may even feel all PROTOVISIONED out! as they have made some truly great   
   games and still continue to support the Commodore 64.   
      
   READERS COMMENTS   
      
   Wow we got some! And it seems we have a couple of eBook readers, one of whom   
   reads the issue in the bath on his eBook! Nice, thankfully he didn't send in   
   a picture of himself sat in the bath with the loofah out but decided just to   
   send a picture of his eBook reader and the Commodore Free title page on   
   screen, hurray its working then!   
      
   Someone else suggested the eBook version was better for his eyes, although   
   wished to remain anonymous (that's fine glad to help, erm with the eyes that   
   is)   
      
   That's all for a short editorial   
      
   Let me know what you thought about the issue   
      
   Regards   
   Nigel   
   www.commodorefree.com   
      
   *************************************   
             READERS COMMENTS   
   *************************************   
      
   To: Commodore Free   
   From: A Reader   
   Subject: Commodore Free EBOOK   
      
   Hello Commodore Free   
      
   Thanks for continuing to publish the magazine on a monthly basis. I have just   
   down loaded the ePUB version of the Commodore Free magazine! my eyes love   
   you!! ahahah I am suffering to read on the computer screen I prefer the   
   contrast of my eBook.. now the Commodore Free there!! and its a very clean   
   text format! **LOVELY** ahah, I think I will try to convert it as audio book!   
   -}   
      
   take care,   
      
   User preferred to remain anonymous   
      
   COMMODORE FREE: Glad you liked the eBook, I have had one other person mention   
   they prefer this version to read on the move as it was formatting better than   
   a PDF on their device, as ever comments suggestions are always welcome, feel   
   free to get in touch and if you want to be anonymous then that's no problem.   
      
   - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
      
   WOW and just like buses - erm except they come in 3`s here is another reader   
   comment   
      
   To: Commodore Free   
   Sender: Francisco   
   Subject: Readers Comments   
      
   Hi. I have some issues for you :-)   
      
   - You are publishing the magazine in eBook format and you commented in the   
   issue 48 that you think that maybe nobody is reading the magazine using this   
   format. I have read the last issue (number 49) in an eBook :-) I have   
   attached a picture of it (and yes, I also read it in the bath :-))   
      
   COMMODORE FREE: Glad the eBook version is working, and I am glad you can read   
   it in the bath as this was the goal originally for the creation of commodore   
   free, please don't sue me if you drop the device in the bath though   
      
   - I have read the book "On the edge: the spectacular rise and fall of   
   Commodore" and the book "Commodore: a company on the edge" has just been   
   published. Do you have a copy of it? Have you read it? Do you think it is   
   worth it?   
      
   COMMODORE FREE: OK first book I have purchased and read and yes it was worth   
   the asking price the second book I have purchased; but haven't found time to   
   read so cant comment ..   
      
   - I have in the queue the article about the commodore TAP format. I am sorry   
   about it. I hope I could send you some day :-S   
      
   COMMODORE FREE: I eagerly await the article and will gladly publish it in   
   Commodore Free   
      
   - The project called C2N-II was finished some time ago (it is like the DC2N)   
   and now is going to be enhanced in order to support other tape formats for   
   ZX Spectrum and Amstrad computers (TZX and CDT formats). If you want you can   
   use the next text as a new for your magazine:   
      
   COMMODORE FREE: Thanks you for the information   
      
   THE C2N-II DATASSETE   
      
   The C2N-II Datassete was the M.S. Thesis of the student Pablo Tomás Campos   
   Valladares in order to obtain the grade of Telecommunications with the   
   speciality on Electronic Systems. This project was directed by the professor   
   Francisco Javier González Cañete in the University of Málaga (Spain).   
      
   The objective of this project was to develop a hardware device in order to   
   replace the C2N Datassete of the Commodore computers. This hardware is able   
   to play the TAP image format (this format is a dump of the original   
   cassettes). As this is a digital format, no error should occur during the   
   load of the software (as it can occur with the cassettes). The TAP images are   
   stored in USB Drives and the C2N-II lets you to select the file and play it.   
      
   The C2N-II has the next functionalities:   
      
   * Playback of Commodore TAP image files.   
      
   * Compatible with the Commodore VIC 20, C64, C128, C16/116 and Plus/4 models   
      
   * Compatible with PAL and NTSC systems (only PAL has been tested)   
      
   * Compatible with the TAP versions 0, 1 and 2   
      
   * Rewind and forward the playback   
      
   * One tape position can be stored. This position can be restored using one   
   button. This functionality is useful when multi-load games request to set   
   counter to zero and to rewind to this position to load again the first stage   
   of the game.   
      
   * The files are stored in an USB Memory   
      
   * Navigation through the files and directories using the buttons.   
      
   You can see videos demonstrating the C2N-II:   
      
   - C2N-II loading Sanxion in a Commodore 128:   
   www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bBIBqXgmM4   
      
   - C2N-II loading Evil Dead in a Commodore 128. This game has the fastest   
   loader ever created for the Commodore 64:   
   www.youtube.com/watch?v=bypV8f0pWfg   
      
   - C2N-II loading Frogger in a Commodore VIC-20:   
   www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQ8OTmYZiTU   
      
   - C2N-II loading Saboteur in a Commodore Plus4:   
   www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lgCf8Qovb8   
      
   You can also visit the home page of C2N-II at:   
   http://pc23te.dte.uma.es/C2N-II/   
      
   And nothing more. Only give you the congratulations for your great magazine.   
      
   Cheers. Francisco   
      
   *************************************   
                   NEWS   
   *************************************   
          ARESONE PRICE REDUCTION   
   *************************************   
      
   The AresOne is now available for ~235€! And I am talking about the  full pack   
   which includes:   
      
   * AresOne with 2.8GHZ AMD Sempron (expendable via configurator)   
      
   * 2GB DDR3 RAM (expandable via configurator)   
      
   * 500GB SATA HD (expandable)   
      
   * Broadway including FULL Version of AMC the Amiga Media Center   
      
   * Or IcAROS desktop   
      
   * Windows, Linux are optional... Linux is a free Option (installing costs   
   nothing).   
      
   The AresOne comes with AmigaForever 2009 OEM and A-live X which includes a   
   FryingPan key and CinnamonWriter for AROS. You can also buy the Kit for   
   ~199.99€ including the software.   
      
   Visit www.vesalia.de   
      
   *************************************   
       SNAPSHOTER UPDATED TO V1.4.9B   
   *************************************   
      
   New version of snapshoter is out, a lot of improvements in this version   
      
   * Store unlimited clipboards.   
      
   * Add watermarks to your pictures.   
      
   * Post-it function.   
      
   * Compatible with Dropbox.   
      
   * Auto store text in clipboard.   
      
   * Capture pictures, or full desktop.   
      
   * Capture images with timer.   
      
   * Image compose mode.   
      
   * Scale, rotate, put border, change contrast, add transparency, use text or   
   arrows in the collage mode.   
      
   * Infinite layers to play with your images in real time.   
      
   * Save the collage as JPG image.   
      
   * Languages English, Català, Spanish Turkish Italian and French.   
      
   * Drag n drop picture files to the clipboard bar.   
      
   * Paint, compose, create, and a lot more...   
      
   Download your version   
      
   CHANGELOG:   
      
   * Fixed bug in copyclipboard routine.   
      
   * Added Cecilia FX icons.   
      
   * Added new powerful image composer   
      
   * Gradients, solids, outlines, primitives, text or arrows, easy intuitive and   
   fast environment   
      
   * a lot of changes more.   
      
   * Swap layers Up and down, keep ratios, browse layers, auto import to collage   
   mode directly clicking  over the snapshoter bar, crop and cut images over the   
   compositions and paste again, funny gradient paint effect.....   
      
   * Versions for AmigaOS 3 AmigaOS4 MorphOS Aros and Windows   
      
   Download: www.xabierpayet.com   
      
   *************************************   
             NEW COMMODORE 64   
   *************************************   
      
   A look at the manufacturing process for the case of the NEW commodore 64 this   
   is a pc in an adapted commodore 64 case, I am not sure about the sale   
   potential of such an item, the pc is designed to be upgraded and this machine   
   can't really be upgraded, apparently the case has been modified from the   
   original c64 making it taller to fit in the motherboard and other components   
   so it's going to be difficult to type on. Still I suppose it's a novelty item.   
      
   See the video on YouTube here   
      
   www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcCnZc_i63c   
      
      
   *************************************   
                CBM264.COM   
   *************************************   
      
   commodore16.com (Administrator) reports   
      
   The website CBM264.com is back. From this site you can legally download GEOS   
   for the C16/Plus4.   
      
   A huge thank you to James for bringing his fabulous site back from the grave.   
      
   http://www.cbm264.com/   
      
      
   *************************************   
    XSANE 0.998 FOR AMICYGNIX RELEASED   
   *************************************   
      
   Now available on OS4-depot: The AmiCygnix version of the scanner driver   
   software XSane 0.998. It includes the Sane backends version 1.0.22.   
      
   This release supports only scanners with USB connector or with network   
   interface.   
      
   FEATURES OF XSANE:   
      
   * Display an image in a viewer.   
      
   * Saves images in these picture   
     formats:   
     - JPEG   
     - PDF   
     - PNG   
     - PNM   
     - PS   
     - TIFF   
      
   * Convert images into ASCII text using the OCR software "gocr". The program   
   gocr V0.49 is included in this package.   
      
   * Do a photocopy - send a scanned image to the printer.   
      
   * Create multipage documents (PDF, PS, TIFF).   
      
   * Send a fax - needs an external command like "sendfax".   
      
   * Send a scanned image by e-mail.   
      
   * Colour management (CMS).   
      
   * Batch processing.   
      
   * Can be used as a gimp plug-in.   
      
   * And much more...   
      
   For more information have a look at the included README file and the XSane   
   homepage.   
      
   Download:   
   http://os4depot.net/index.php?function=showfile&file=driver/misc/xsane.lha   
      
   Homepages: http://www.xsane.org, http://www.sane-project.org   
      
      
   *************************************   
                YES VIC CAN   
   *************************************   
      
   Author: tokra (graphics mode), Mike (converter)   
   Released: Apr 24, 2011   
   Requirements: VIC-20 (PAL) with 16K   
   RAM expansion (24K for Basic   
   Extension, 32K for SJLOAD)   
   Description: Demo for new graphics mode explained in a yet to come post in   
   the "New Frontiers in VIC Hires" series.   
      
   Screenshot:   
      
   Download (with source):   
   http://www.tokra.de/vic/yesviccan/yes_vic_can-release-withsource.zip   
      
   Pout.net-Link (with video file): http://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=56893   
      
   Got 5th place (out of eight) at the Revision Party 2011   
      
      
   *************************************   
       PROTOVISION RELEASE JIM SLIM   
   *************************************   
      
   Protovision presents their latest C64 game: "The Adventures of Jim Slim in   
   Dragonland" (aka "Jim Slim").   
      
   As ball Jim it is up to you to retrieve a stolen skull and to save the lovely   
   Candy. This is being done by fighting your way through the colourful mazes.   
   You can move by rolling and jumping the latter supported by trampoline in   
   some places, and later through a tube system or even via teleport. Difficulty   
   increases bit by bit with the levels: You need to find matching keys to   
   unlock doors, and to get rid of some opponents with a shot collected earlier.   
   And of course the clock is ticking all the while. A saveable high score list   
   and password system round off this title.   
      
   Check out the Jim Slim trailer by Poison:   
      
   www.youtube.com/watch?v=k28WMcmaNjo   
      
   More information is available here:   
      
   http://www.protovision-online.com/games/jimslim.htm   
      
   Get your own impression of Jim Slim by trail playing the two demo levels!   
      
   The full game including box and printed manual is now available via the   
   Protovision Online Shop: http://www.protovision-online.de/catalog/   
      
      
   *************************************   
          64COPY UPDATED TO 4.43   
   *************************************   
      
   http://ist.uwaterloo.ca/~schepers/DOWNLOAD/64CP444.ZIP   
      
   64COPY is an all-in-one file converter and DOS maintenance package. Its   
   intended use is to convert the various files that exist for the C64 emulators.   
   Files like D64, D71, D81, D80, D82, DNP, D2M, T64, X64, LNX, ARK, ARC, SDA,   
   LBR, SPY, CPK and all the ZipCodes (Diskpacked, Sixpacked and Filepacked) can   
   be converted to whatever format you need for your favourite emulator, or for   
   use on the real C64. You still need to get whatever emulator package you want   
   in order to use the files you have as 64COPY does not provide any emulator   
   functionality, nor does it communicate with any Commodore disk drive.   
      
   * Changes to the Disassembler   
      
   * Discovered several nasty bugs in the GCR conversion routines   
      
   * Fixed some small bugs in ZipCode/D64 conversion, specifically in the   
   ZipCode code portion.   
      
   * Changes to the ROM/EPROM conversion   
      
   * Added EPROM (ASCII) format conversion to the Alt-F10 menu. This function   
   converts the common ASCII formats such as Intel Intellec 8, Motorola Exormax   
   and Hexadecimal ASCII back to binary. The source ASCII file type is usually   
   auto-detected correctly.   
      
   * Some LNX files weren't recognized because their signature was shorter than   
   expected. I've changed the way LNX signatures are parsed to recognize shorter   
   or longer ones. I've also changed the signature that 64Copy creates LNX files   
   with, removing the version number and making it more generic.   
      
   * Fixed a small bug in my CheckXXX code dealing with logging. A string   
   variable was defined too small and could be populated with a very large   
   string causing memory corruption and making the logging fail (among other   
   weirdness). The function to show the log failure was also somewhat broken as   
   the long filename log file would be trimmed down to 20 characters but the   
   display window would be 76 characters wide.   
      
   * CheckZipCode6 has been enhanced to report if sectors were not seen or if   
   sectors were seen multiple times on a decoded track. Sometimes sectors can be   
   duplicated, resulting in some sectors being duplicated and some missing.   
   Also illegal sector values are now reported.   
      
   * D81 subdirectory headers were being created with improper padding   
   characters ($00) instead of $A0.   
      
   * The File Info (Ctrl-N) for MP3 files didn't take into account a ID3 V2 TAG   
   header. It is now detected and skipped. Now, the proper MP3 info is displayed   
   for files with a V3 ID3 V2 header. The info box also shows if either a V1.x   
   and/or a V2.x tag exists.   
      
   To download a copy head here   
      
   http://ist.uwaterloo.ca/~schepers/DOWNLOAD/64CP444.ZIP   
      
      
   ***************************************   
   'ESCAPE' FULL GAME FOUND BY GTW WEBSITE   
   ***************************************   
      
   199? Timsoft   
      
   Credits   
      
   Code - Rafal Javor Jaworski   
   Music - Sebastian Moog Bachlinski   
   Graphics - Jetan, Rafal Comankh Kwasny   
      
   A big thanks to Witold Bryndza who gave us the heads up about this long lost   
   Timsoft which recently had an article published with a download link at C&A   
   Fan. This was a game developed by a team called Artcore for Timsoft.   
      
   This is a neat little flick screen platformer with some colourful graphics   
   which sees you having to find around 13 special squares across the map to   
   progress further, whilst avoiding a series of enemies such as bats, snakes   
   and giant snails.   
      
   It seems this was another Timsoft title that was caught up in the demise of   
   the C64 and hence never got a full release until now. Its unsure why it has   
   taken so long to surface, but we are glad it now has.   
      
   Overall it's not the most spectacular game we have played, and it can get a   
   little boring and samey to play, but it is rare to find an unreleased title   
   in such a complete state, and this is a good example to digitally preserve   
   and share with others.   
      
   Rafal Kwasny has been in touch and will hopefully be shedding some more light   
   on their game (as well as other Artcore titles) very soon...   
      
   Go check it out and watch this space for more details...   
      
   Frank.   
      
   (Additional source credits - Witold Bryndza, Rafal Kwasny)   
      
   http://www.gtw64.co.uk/Pages/e/Review_Escape.php   
      
      
   *************************************   
              COMMODORE NEWS   
   *************************************   
      
   RELEC society in partnership with website   
   http://www.meta-morphos.org organizes a competition open to all programmers   
   on the planet.   
      
   A development machine for MorphOS is to win: it's a EFIKA 5200B "DELUXE   
   EDITION", a unique prototype proposed by RELEC. The list of elements is given   
   later in this article.   
      
   Developers will send their proposal of project (which must operate at least   
   on MorphOS and AmigaOS 4.x) by mail before May 31, 2011 at the following   
   email address: papiosaur2 [at] hotmail.fr.   
      
   The list of all projects will be posted June 1 at the site meta-morphos.org   
      
   Voting will be by mail to the same address before 1 July.   
      
   The voting results will be posted on the website from 1 July.   
      
   The development machine will be presented at the Alchemy 2011 (France) and it   
   will be up when the project is finalized. In case of withdrawal or no results   
   available after 2 months it will send the machine to the developer of the   
   project ranked second, etc. ...   
      
   If the winner needs to develop this machine, it will be sent after 1 July.   
      
   --- GoldED+/LNX 1.1.5   
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair: telnet: bbs.vk3heg.net Port: 2323 (3:633/280)