From: kr-lund@nogarbage.online.no   
      
   Roberto Bazzano wrote:   
   ...   
   > It should be model I compatible, but it's single density and the directory   
   > id marks are not readable by the standard pc floppy controller.   
   > This is because I thought to catweasel.   
      
   I have several PC's that can read these disks with the floppy controller   
   on the motherboard. To my surprise one pentium 200MHz I have can even   
   format model I disks. I use David Keil's emulator. I never felt the need   
   for a catweasel. I think the biggest problem people have is that they   
   use WinXP and it won't allow direct access to the floppy controller.   
      
   >   
   >>The more modern DOS'es like LDOS and DOSPLUS could probably run with a   
   >>screen driver accessing the screen RAM wherever. I'm running both of these   
   >>with a keyboard driver for a nice serial keyboard.   
   >   
   >   
   > So Newdos+ doesn't use video drivers, or a standard routine entry point   
   > address to use video hardware?   
   > If this is a case and the entry point is the same, may be they only replaced   
   > the routine. In this case may be that it works.   
   > Instead, if it doesn't use standard calls to display characters, then there   
   > is no way.   
   > I don't know newdos internals, but it seems strange that there isn't such   
   > routine.   
      
   I don't know newdos so well but device independence is something that   
   came with LDOS and later DOS's. newdos is powerful though and probably   
   still much used. Someone else here would probably know.   
      
   Both LDOS and DOSPLUS defaults to using the ROM driver, but in both   
   cases there is a driver supplied. I just realized that the ROM driver   
   would be in the SYS7/SYS and would probably be modified so you should be   
   ok with the default...   
      
   I have actually written a display driver long ago, it replaces [/]{|}   
   with ÆØÅ æøå the Norwegian extra characters, I used it for   
   wordprocessing. (Making the Epson MX-80 to print them was slightly more   
   tricky as those characters had to be hires and taking into consideration   
   the font size and strength so that was a separate program.) There was a   
   source example for the DOSPLUS display driver that worked and   
   disassembling the driver in LDOS revealed that it worked almost the same   
   (I had SmalLDOS as subset of the full LDOS with less documentation too,   
   then later bought DOSPLUS with the double density kit on the shops   
   recommendation and that it was newer than the present LDOS version).   
      
   I was also very lonely with my computer, the Video Genie up until I   
   discovered the activity on internet. Although I could buy a lot of   
   software, because the Video Genie is very compatible, I couldn't afford   
   it and most of the money went into hardware (it is still the most   
   expensive computer I have, the P4 3.2GHz I'm writing on now was cheaper   
   and I don't need to compensate for inflation.) I knew several people   
   with computers but I was the only one with a TRS-80 compatible one.   
      
   Knut   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)