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predictsoft

46 karma · joined December 26, 2021

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predictsoft··on Xanadu was waiting for agents
Well let's not forget Zigzag. This is hyperstructure and Ted's greatest achievement. If you want to try it out, Gzz 0706.jar runs on Java https://www.nongnu.org/gzz/download.html
predictsoft··on Defrag98: Windows 98 Disk Defragmenter Simulator Online
I think NTFS and SSD disks.
predictsoft··on The original URL for this prediction will no longer be available in 11 years (2011)
I like the comment on the site about blockchains replacing HTML links (from 4 years ago).
predictsoft··on C64 Maze Chomp.BAS
I have all 4 volumes of Input.
predictsoft··on How the Final Cartridge III Freezer Works
I love how the Action Replay FLOPPY disk for Amiga 1200 loads into the high 1MB RAM space. No need for hardware. (note: Amiga 1200 has 2MB RAM by default).
predictsoft··on Atari Means Business with the Mega ST
I once played Ultima 6 from a RAM disk on an ST with 4MB RAM. Game install from 'Hard disk' to RAM disk - it didn't realise. And then I used bigger size floppy disks (940KB I think) and a fast copy utility to get those 3 disks to start the game and when done, save the game and save it all off to 3 floppies. It was totally fast!
predictsoft··on Bill Gates's Personal Easter Eggs in 8 Bit BASIC (2008)
Or Paul Allen in Accidental Zillionaire.
predictsoft··on So Long and Thanks for All the Words: A Toast to Douglas Adams
Ted actually collaborated with Adams on Hyperland TV show.
predictsoft··on Steve Jackson Games Is Bringing the Fighting Fantasy Books to the US
Couple of anecdotes.

I got in touch with American Steve Jackson for permission to scan his game novel 'Stonekeep'. He didn't give permission.

Second, I got a Warlock of Firetop Mountain book off Ebay which was dedicated by Steve Jackson to a scottish landlady 'The best guesthouse in ---'. I got in touch with Steve about the book and he remembered it. I printed out the email to go in my rare WOFM book.

Finally, I was going to make an animated film of Rings of Kether but couldn't get the money to make it.

predictsoft··on Steve Meretzky – Working with Douglas Adams on the Hitchhiker's Guide
Wow I found transcripts for Infocom games here (ClubFloyd) ! I've been looking for this for ages, thanks!
predictsoft··on Boris Vallejo and the pixel art of the demoscene
I used a VGA monitor with my Amiga 1200 (with an adapter). It was not flickery at all and was full resolution.
predictsoft··on Tokens are a big reason today's generative AI falls short
I just asked ChatGPT that and it seemed to come up with a good answer.
predictsoft··on Google just updated its algorithm. The Internet will never be the same
Didn't Peter Norvig used to be director of search quality? And now Head of research? Maybe they should bring him back to increase that search quality.
predictsoft··on How to do OCR on a Mac using the CLI or just Python
On Windows, A9T9 does a great job of OCR'ing scanned JPEG files (and any JPEG file). It's also free.

I scanned about 100 A4 documents in just a couple of minutes.

predictsoft··on Parsing an Undocumented File Format
I got £2000 for reverse engineering Psion 5 Word and Sheet file formats (for a Psion based company) in 1998. I tried to get a job with the same company but they didn't want me, which is very sad.
predictsoft··on Infocom’s code-porting tools for Zork and other games have been found
The minimise button of the GUI is in green too, so I say green mode.
predictsoft··on Confessions of a Netflix DVD Dead-Ender
I use CinemaParadiso. I thought Lovefilm was the only game in town. But I searched Google for 'UK DVD rental' and found CinemaParadiso. I signed up. That was 6 months ago. Now I watch about 3 disks a week and love the variety.

Just to clarify: I was a big fan of Lovefilm with 4 disks at once, but Amazon shut it down.

Just a note: CinemaParadiso has been a private company since 2003 so basically, it is unlikely to be shut down like Lovefilm. This means it will likely be around another 20 years.

Edit: CP changed to CinemaParadiso

predictsoft··on The Pattern Language of Project Xanadu
Loads of Ted stuff at https://archive.org/details/tednelsonarchive?page=2&sort=-we...
predictsoft··on The Pattern Language of Project Xanadu
Collaborated with Ted on Zigzag.

Gzz - the open source finnish-developed Zigzag port - had incredible views like MindSundew. It was brilliant.

The project failed when Ted wouldn't commit to going open source.

It's a shame the project is dead now, because it solves problems like 2-way links. Using cursors which can 'sit' on a cell and disconnect when done.

predictsoft··on DeepSID: Online Commodore 64 SID Player
Great on Android mobile as there are no decent SID apps for that platform.
predictsoft··on Open Letter to Tim O’Reilly to Free the Perl Camel
In about 2005, I got the Lisp community to pick a Lisp logo on the newsgroup comp.lang.lisp. They came up with the 'Made with Lisp' lizard logo and I feel proud I got the ball rolling.
predictsoft··on 27 years later and the Psion 3a is still wonderful (2020)
Hi, if you could get it working on Android, I'd be willing to pay $5.
predictsoft··on 27 years later and the Psion 3a is still wonderful (2020)
I have gone through several Psion 5's over the last few years. They all broke eventually - mainly the screen (ribbon cable).

Because I couldn't justify spending yet another £60 for a Psion 5 which soon breaks down, I run Epoc Agenda now on my Windows PC on an EPOC emulator, and it's great for keeping track of events.

predictsoft··on Fitting 44% More Data on a C64/1541 Floppy Disk
I tried that on the Acorn Archimedes.

It resulted in, after a couple of days, a lot of lost data. Luckily just games.

predictsoft··on A treasury of Zork maps
I once hacked Zork so you can see what the thief is doing (swapped player character for thief) as if you were playing.
predictsoft··on A treasury of Zork maps
Spiritwrak has a transcript/walkthrough https://ifarchive.org/if-archive/solutions/Spirit-Transcript...
predictsoft··on Blender for Symbian OS
I have the EPOC32 emulator for Windows, and I use the Agenda / Time apps to organise my life. Can't beat that Psion 5 agenda.
predictsoft··on The Unexpected Heaviosity of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (2006)
Reference of course from Star Trek: Generations.
predictsoft··on The Unexpected Heaviosity of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (2006)
Don't forget the John Hughes commentary track on the original DVD.

Separate is the 'Bueller... Bueller...' DVD which has documentaries but no commentary track.

predictsoft··on Z-library founders arrested in Argentina
The bizarre thing is that they asked for donations as Amazon gift cards! Surely Amazon could have blocked them?
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