VOGONS


First post, by amstrad1640

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Hi,
I can't read my amstrad 1640 original 5"1/4 floppy disk.
Where can i find file copy of original gem, i can to download gem 3 but i don't know where to find the disk dump of Gem calcomat, Gem superbase, Gem evolution sunset and other Gem disk.
I have originals floppys disks but there are dead.
Thanks
JM.

Reply 1 of 17, by derSammler

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Hard to believe that all disks are dead, as 5.25" disks are very durable.

I have the four disks that came with it, but they are German. Also, I'm not sure if such a request is allowed here. While GEM is free now, the Apps that Amstrad bundled with it are most likely not.

Reply 2 of 17, by Malvineous

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Have you tried them in a few different drives? I have the four coloured disks that came with my Amstrad 1640 (UK version, although I'm in Australia) however I don't recall ever hearing of those programs you mention.

GEM has long since been released as open source software so perhaps they include those other programs you mention. All mine came with was GEM Paint and BASIC2.

Reply 5 of 17, by amstrad1640

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Humidity and mold , do know them?
I can to read the file list of the disk but i can't to copy any files on my hardrive 😒
I have alls originals disks (i have the right to have a private copy of my disks) and i can to have an dump of my disk to restore them with new 5"1/4 disk. nope?
origional disk for me = copyright for me

I have GEM and Dos 3.2 on internet! i can't to find calcomat,superbase abec evoltion sunset! i have disk but no files!

Reply 6 of 17, by derSammler

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This thread should be closed. The apps your are asking for did not come on the four disks supplied with the Amstrad and they are not free either. It doesn't matter if you own the original disks. Vogons doesn't allow asking for copyrighted stuff (nor abandonware) and distributing such stuff is always illegal anyway.

origional disk for me = copyright for me

Please inform yourself what "copyright" actually means. You can not gain copyright on software, you only buy the rights to use it.

Reply 8 of 17, by Jo22

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derSammler wrote:

This thread should be closed. The apps your are asking for did not come on the four disks supplied with the Amstrad and they are not free either. It doesn't matter if you own the original disks. Vogons doesn't allow asking for copyrighted stuff (nor abandonware) and distributing such stuff is always illegal anyway.

I agree with that, too. Vogons isn't the right spot for this kind.

However, a philosophical question might be whether or not copyright is more important than culture
(just think of archive.org which has special rights). We are living in times where it is important to preserve our digital legacy for future generations.

If they loose access to our past because old databases, word processors or operating system become unavailable,
because of copyright concerns, the results might be disastrous. That's why I think that we shouldn't blindfold judge over
the abandonware guys. Not all of them are the same.
Some of them concern themselves as software archaeologists and preservists of the past, rather than warez providers.

derSammler wrote:

origional disk for me = copyright for me

Please inform yourself what "copyright" actually means. You can not gain copyright on software, you only buy the rights to use it.

I don't disagree, but I like to add that is/was also different in each country.
For example, back in time (90s ?) it was allowed in Germany to have backup copies of media you had paid for.

This included even software/videos/books, etc you had paid a leasing fee for (even copy-protected; macro vision,etc).
In addition, you were allowed to have made copies for your family members and close friends.

I guess things has changed now (they do so often, that's hard to keep track of).
The last time I heard about something like that, a lawyer in a magzaine stated that it is not illegal per se
to use serials from the web, if you have paid for a specific software, but at the same time are unable to get
the software to work and/or you can't get in contact with the company right in time.

A simialr statement was also made for product activation (I think). Anyway, I'm not judgeing about right/wrong.
My point merely is: Things are really, really complicated. What's forbidden in one country, may be allowed in another and vice versa.

"Time, it seems, doesn't flow. For some it's fast, for some it's slow.
In what to one race is no time at all, another race can rise and fall..." - The Minstrel

//My video channel//

Reply 9 of 17, by Dominus

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We do get it and most people here do share the view that current copyright law is wrong somehow (there is no easy fix), but Vogons is not the place to get started on fixing this. And Vogons needs to stay up and not get tangled in copyright wars that are fought with money...
So if you want to argue this and test the laws by allowing offers or requests for copyrighted material you should start your own forum and fight the good fight on your ground not on someone else's 😉

Btw, mentioning the German law, you were allowed to *make* backups. Not offer them. But laws have been passed and this is all so much more complicated now.

Windows 3.1x guide for DOSBox
60 seconds guide to DOSBox
DOSBox SVN snapshot for macOS (10.4-11.x ppc/intel 32/64bit) notarized for gatekeeper

Reply 10 of 17, by Malvineous

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amstrad1640 wrote:

Humidity and mold , do know them?

Yes, and a quick Google search suggests that in many cases the mould is on the surface and it can be cleaned off to return the disk to working order.

amstrad1640 wrote:

I have alls originals disks (i have the right to have a private copy of my disks) and i can to have an dump of my disk to restore them with new 5"1/4 disk. nope?
i can't to find calcomat,superbase abec evoltion sunset! i have disk but no files!

Well if none of us here have the programs you are after on those disks, then what is the point of getting dumps of those disks! There were four coloured disks that came with the 1640. Which one of yours has all these programs on it? I'm genuinely curious, thinking that perhaps there was some other edition of the machine that came with extras mine didn't. On mine the red one was bootable DOS, blue was GEM startup, green was GEM desktop and yellow was Paint/BASIC2.

Reply 11 of 17, by Jo22

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@Dominus Hi Dominus, what I said was no complaint and I didn't mean to critisize either derSammler or the Vogons policy.
In fact, I respect them. I wrote that long post just to give an impression how things are not always the way they seem.
- I apologize if I did not make that more clear in the last post. 😦

Malvineous wrote:
amstrad1640 wrote:

I have alls originals disks [..] i can't to find calcomat,superbase abec evoltion sunset! i have disk but no files!

Well if none of us here have the programs you are after on those disks, then what is the point of getting dumps of those disks! There were four coloured disks that came with the 1640. Which one of yours has all these programs on it? I'm genuinely curious, thinking that perhaps there was some other edition of the machine that came with extras mine didn't. On mine the red one was bootable DOS, blue was GEM startup, green was GEM desktop and yellow was Paint/BASIC2.

I wonder the same. 😐 I've never heard of those programs. Except for a database program for GEM.
I believe I have seen it quite a few times popping up on eBay. It was advertised for the PC1512, though.
But that probably doesn't matter, since GEM programs are not that hardware-dependend (I could run BASIC2 on FreeGEM just fine).
Except maybe for the specs of the display adaptor. But that shouldn't be an issue in this case. Afaik the PC1640 has EGA, hasn't it ?
If GEM desktop is running at 640x350 resolution, an application witten for the PC 1520 (640x200) should still run.
Speaking of the PC1512, didn't come the PC1640 with a similar disk set as the 1512 did (never had one of those) ? 😕

"Time, it seems, doesn't flow. For some it's fast, for some it's slow.
In what to one race is no time at all, another race can rise and fall..." - The Minstrel

//My video channel//

Reply 12 of 17, by amstrad1640

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I live in france and i'm french , I bought an amstrad1640 in 1991 (french version AZERTY) with his monitor + 4 Colours disk 5"1/4 (dos 3.2+Gem) and manual and.........l'INTEGRALE PC+ (calcomat + evolution sunset + superbase) in french version, 3 disk 5"1/4 + manual.

WB156463051_3.jpeg

Reply 13 of 17, by Malvineous

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Interesting! Those applications definitely weren't standard though, so if you can't clean your disks and get them to work, you'll need to find copies elsewhere as it looks like most 1640 owners don't have them. If you do get your disks to work, it would probably be wise to make copies of them as it seems like yours might be some of the last ones in existence...

Reply 14 of 17, by Jo22

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Such a manual is currently also listed on eBay France..
https://www.ebay.fr/itm/322495906169

Maybe the seller knows where to get
the disks or who published that software package originally.

"Time, it seems, doesn't flow. For some it's fast, for some it's slow.
In what to one race is no time at all, another race can rise and fall..." - The Minstrel

//My video channel//

Reply 15 of 17, by Jo22

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Update. My French is very poor, but it seems some other place is selling that book for 6€.
Without disks, though, from what I can decipher.
Link: https://www.priceminister.com/offer/buy/20516 … nset-Livre.html

Two other places also list that "book", antiqbook.com
and seikatureportblog.info, the latter beeing some sort of online library (?)

In both cases, ISBN is missing and the
date of publishing seems wrong (1998; 1988 is more plausible).

"Time, it seems, doesn't flow. For some it's fast, for some it's slow.
In what to one race is no time at all, another race can rise and fall..." - The Minstrel

//My video channel//

Reply 16 of 17, by yawetaG

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amstrad1640 wrote:
I live in france and i'm french , I bought an amstrad1640 in 1991 (french version AZERTY) with his monitor + 4 Colours disk 5"1 […]
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I live in france and i'm french , I bought an amstrad1640 in 1991 (french version AZERTY) with his monitor + 4 Colours disk 5"1/4 (dos 3.2+Gem) and manual and.........l'INTEGRALE PC+ (calcomat + evolution sunset + superbase) in french version, 3 disk 5"1/4 + manual.

WB156463051_3.jpeg

Okay, the answer to your question is actually right there in that picture. The three programs are not part of the standard Amstrad package, but were added to it by the French Amstrad distributor and originate from a company called "Micro Application". This is a French company that in the 1990s converted popular shareware programs to full, paid French versions of those shareware, and they also sold compilations of shareware for a variety of platforms. The full French versions usually were of European origin, while the shareware compilations consisted of a mix of programs made mostly in the USA.

(the other clue to these programs being French-only is in the text advertising programs for French things like a "SARL"... 😀 )

I have two of these "Micro Application" full programs for Windows 3.11, a CAD program that was originally produced in Dutch, and a Raytrace program that was originally German. I also have a shareware CD by them, and it's full of stuff like the Doom demos etc. - essentially stuff that could be downloaded from BBS's.