A few days ago I decided to do some work on a little Z88 program that I started over a month ago. I had used “QL Link” to store the un-finished Z88 program in a QL Disk. I opened the filing cabinet drawer and removed the Z88 (It was filed under Z.). I punched the Shift Keys to bring the Z88 on line, but alas, the Z88 was as dead as a duck. I thought, “No wonder. Its been a month since I’ve used it”. Rummaging around, I found a 6 pack of fresh AA Cell Batteries. I never can come out even on pre-packaged things, can you? I flipped the dead Z88 over to its un-dignified position and removed the dead batts.
About that time the tea kettle whistled, so I made a cupa instant coffee and returned to install the new batteries. With my stubby fingers thats kinda like giving an emema to a mouse. A bit of fumbling got them in there.
Now the Z88 was back to its happy position, and I touch the two shift keys. Would you believe that up popped to screen the last data file that I had been working on a month ago? Well, it did!
I said out loud, “Well hello Z88, I thought you were dead. You and ole Rip Van Wrinkle must be related”. Maybe I imagined it, but I’ll swear that I heard a chirp in reply. And, the Wife said, “Talking to yourself again, eh”?
A file cabinet makes a nice place to stash the Z88 in a letter size folder, better than a drawer where one may stuff something on top of it.
I loaded the Z88 program to the QL memory from disk and then to the Z88 with QL Link. I still haven’t finished the program, but I’ll tell you what it is. Its the “Dbase-1” program given in this issue. But there is a problem. I dont know how to install and call the Machine Language utilities yet with the Z88. Can anyone help?
Actually that will just be an exercise in programming, as the Z88 “Diary” does almost everything that Dbase-1 does, and more.
–BJ__
S.L.S. Again (Sudden Lock-up Syndrome)
Since getting the two Update QLs equipped with the external power supply by Dan Elliott about 4 months ago S.L.S. hadn’t grabbed me – until yesterday. I was typing away on a Quill text and my right 4th pinkie split a hit of the K and L keys. Apparently the QL (or Quill) intrepeted this as Omega and then “Fritz”, and both being diehard Republicans, Fritz was turned to “Pfut, we aint workin fer no Democrat”, and both quit on the spot. No coaxing or apology would un-freeze the screen. This leads me to believe that either the QL and its keyboard read, or the QUILL character read, one or the other, has a bug in thar that pops up and sez, “I warn’t programmed to read split key hits and whut you done is greek to me”. But one lock up in 4 months isn’t enough to fuss over. RESET works.