Briel Computers support forum

Is there a version of Visicalc available that can run on the Micro? I've searched. Maybe only priced versions are available.

was there not a copy on cd (what software was on the cd?)

http://www.schorn.ch/cpm/intro.php. Here (SuperCalc) but file is too large? I don't see one on the DVD released with the CP/M module. I assume writing a file that's too large will simply give a "write error" message?

elchucko wrote:http://www.schorn.ch/cpm/intro.php. Here (SuperCalc) but file is too large? I don't see one on the DVD released with the CP/M module. I assume writing a file that's too large will simply give a "write error" message?

CP/M was only a software standard, so any CP/M disk images you find on the 'net most likely won't work as-is on the AltairMicro. The easiest way to get your favorite CP/M software running on the AltairMicro is to try to find an archive that has individual files that you can extract to your PC and move to the AltairMicro SD card. You can then transfer the files from the SD card to an AltairMicro CP/M disk using the TREAD CP/M utility program. Note that any binaries (i.e. programs) must be Intel 8080 compatible -- there are lots of "CP/M" programs that assumed a Z80 CPU, and if they used any of the Z80-specific instructions, they will not run on an Intel 8080-based system.

That said, you can install the AltairZ80 emulator on your PC, mount the disk image in this archive, and use the AltairZ80 file transfer tool to get the individual files you want onto your PC file system. The AltairZ80 documentation has all the information you need.

For software copyright reasons I didn't put supercalc, wordstar or any of the other packages on the CD. Feel free to post links here to them and import them into your image.

Vince

WHAT copyright on 30+ software
IMHO software should have a 10.year copyright after that ..do as you will..

Wow, do I feel on the other side of the argument now! Years ago when I was collecting computers, I thought old software should be released to preserve it. I still agree with that, but I respect the owners rights of the software to decide. The software is out there and EASY to find. I'll bet you could even Google it, osborne supercalc sc2.com you will find a link to here: http://www.retroarchive.org/cpm/

Not sure, just testing google. Looks like CA owns supercalc.

Vince

Hello All,

Received my kit today! I've read the manual, and I'll try to put it together this weekend.

I have a software question that's always bothered me.

All of the CP/M systems I've played with have been Z80 based. I believe the Altair8800 emulates the 8080.

Does this make a difference to software? Will all CP/M software work or is some assembled/compiled for the Z80 and therefore won't work on the Altair 8800?

Cheers!

Kevin

You are correct. Most of the software will work such as supercalc, wordstar, zork 1,2 and 3. I haven't gone through that much software but anything written with the Z80 instruction set enhanced opcodes will not work. Best thing to do is just give the software in question a try.

Vince

I copyed zork1-3.dsk to b:
When I do b: then dir
I. Get zork1.com zork1.dat etc,etc
When I type zork1.com I get
Zork1.com?
Howdo I load zork?
(This my first time use cp/m)

Try without the. Com

i'm not sure what it was but i bump the backup switch and had to copy the .dsk again and now working!!

i'll keep an eye on it
thanks matt

I suspect that the games.dsk and adventure.dsk files on my CD are corrupt. The games disk programs crash. The directory of the adventure disk appears corrupt.

The zork.dsk adventures run no problem.

Have you guys seen this site:

http://www.classiccmp.org/cpmarchives/

He has brought all the best collections together in one place.

The Rlee Peters archive is most amazing! Much of the classic commercial software is there in a well organized format.

I ran up Wordstar 3.3 , and it ran ok. Formatting a bit wonky though since the Altair 8800 Micro seems to have a screen deeper than 25 rows. Can I change the screen to 25 rows?

Vince, I take it you're not ok with posting .DSK images here if they have old commercial content, right?

Anyone know where I can get a "roguelike" that will run on this machine? I have rogue for the Kaypro, but It doesn't allow you to change terminal type...

Cheers!

Kevin

Kevin Adams wrote:I ran up Wordstar 3.3 , and it ran ok. Formatting a bit wonky though since the Altair 8800 Micro seems to have a screen deeper than 25 rows. Can I change the screen to 25 rows?

You can't change the AltairMicro terminal to 25 rows but you can use the WSCHANGE utility to modify the Wordstar terminal settings to change the number of rows to 40.