Okay, so there is now an English translation for the interview with Detlef. I've left it on that page so that it is all still in one place.
Meanwhile, I have done some work towards adding GeoRAM support to the MEGA65, as well as adding some extra debug stuff to make it easier for me to try to track down the long-standing issues with the DDR memory controller. More on those when I am able.
Paul - awesome! I just read the transcript, and it really adds to the excitement - the entire project looks really promising, despite (or thanks to? ^_^) the hefty price tag! I can't wait to see more of the progress you guys are making!
ReplyDeleteOne question that came across my mind - and that I don't think has been asked by anyone just yet - is what the final boot sequence will be like? When you power on the M65, will it jump into BASIC 10.x (10.0 + extensions?) right away just like you would expect? Also, will it be possible to have the M65 Kickstart auto-execute code stored on an SD-card or a 3.5" disk, in case you want it to boot into GEOS, Contiki or possibly a future port of AROS ("Amiga Research Operating System" for anyone not in the know - more info over at www.aros.org)?
So currently, it boots by default into C65 mode. You can auto-boot anything you like from there by having an AUTOBOOT.C65/C64DX file on the default D81 image, as that will cause the C65 ROM to auto-boot it.
DeletePaul, one question. Is there a splash screen for the Mega65 that will hide all these text that I read before it boots into C65 mode? If so, how does it look like? I want to sort hide all these text because it ruins the experience for me ;)
DeleteHello,
DeleteThis can be done quite easily in Kickstart -- someone just needs to write ;) Note that most of the time spent is actually waiting for the SD card, so it would ideally need to load the data for the splash image from somewhere other than the SD card. Of course, if we put the C65 ROM in the SPI flash instead of on the SD card, you basically won't even see the text for more than a few frames, because it will just read 128KB of data and switch to C65 mode. Anyway, my point is that it is all open-source, and people are free to work on nice things like this and contribute them to the project.
Beautiful! For me? I will only use your code, Paul :) I want my Mega65 to be a real C65 and I don't care what other people do and modification. I will be only using your core and that is that. Even if you reached final version release and there is no more new core releases...I will just use yours permanently until I am dead and there are millions of different variations from other people.
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