Posted by ZMann on December 01, 1999 at 16:49:33:
In Reply to: Well... posted by Stiletto on August 13, 1999 at 08:30:42:
: 1.) Apparently many former TI users do not express interest in having cheap, well-made emulations to use these ROM images with. They think PC99 is the only viable option because they license the ROMs, you can purchase disk and cartridge images, and they think that anything otherwise isn't going to be well-done.
: 2.) TI searches the Internet every week and issues warnings to sites posting said ROM and disk images for free. That's why there's hardly any places to get ROM images of TI calculators to use in an emulator. I've also seen every FTP site and web site that has ever hosted (prominently) TI images go down, while the other guys' images are rampant across the 'Net.
: 3.) No one's making the effort to dump more cartridges, if they have a collection, or make disk images. For one, there is no hardware cartridge dumper for the TI, you have to either attempt to make your own, or use some communications program and dumping program with your working TI.
: 4.) TI emulators aren't multitudinous, there's only (really) three viable options. PC99 is commercial and costs over a hundred dollars, and hasn't been updated in nearly two years. V9T9 is an elderly DOS program and is very difficult to setup and optimize for use. Ami99 (by Mike Brent aka Tursi) is well done, but has no easy configuration utility, has a few graphics problems, and is sadly no longer being worked on for "lack of interest in the TI community." What the hell is wrong with the TI community? http://99er.interspeed.net should've helped Tursi out with their support, but it seems Mike felt he had no reaction when his emulator came out.
: If we could gather together a large collection of images of all sorts, and hosted it secretly or on a website that already hosts ROMs for other systems (so they're well-defended in the emulator community), it might be worthwhile. It would surely solve many of this boards' questions, at least.
: Stiletto
I just found this board while searching for a way to open my old TI word processor files (on 5.25 flopy) using an IBM.
Anyway, you mentioned there was no hardware dumper for the TI. Yes there is or was.. It was called a "GRAMKRACKER" (not sure of the spelling) I don't recall who made it. But, I used to have one. It worked like a charm. I got rid of it and all of my other TI stuff in 87. I had about every cart or the file for it. including Plato and Scott Forsman. About 500 disks in all. Consoles, P Boxes, drives you name it. I sold it all for $100 at a garrage sale. I dunno why I did that. Brain Cramp, I guess..
Maybe you can search the Net for a GramCracker. If you put a horseshoe in your pockett first, you may find one.