Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!seismo!husc6!cmcl2!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!knutsen From: knutsen@aramis.rutgers.edu (Mark Knutsen) Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.8bit Subject: Re: SpartaDOS and FROST BASIC (800 Turbo BASIC). Message-ID: <1188@aramis.rutgers.edu> Date: Sat, 1-Aug-87 10:32:32 EDT Article-I.D.: aramis.1188 Posted: Sat Aug 1 10:32:32 1987 Date-Received: Sun, 2-Aug-87 08:47:39 EDT References: <8707310032.AA20443@mitre-bedford.ARPA> Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J. Lines: 31 In article <8707310032.AA20443@mitre-bedford.ARPA> jhs@MITRE-BEDFORD.ARPA writes: > You might possibly run afoul of some non standard O/S calls, but > at least a lot of things will work. > > If you do run into such problems, using the OMNIVIEW O/S is a possible way > to get compatibility (acts like the Translator Disk). However, at least > one thing DOES NOT work right with OMNIVIEW, either with FROST BASIC or > with Turbo BASIC XL: Fractional exponents like 2^.5 crash with "ERROR 11, > OVERFLOW" as the error message. This does not happen with the Atari O/S. This looks like a good place to recommend the Boss XL operating system chip for 800XL owners. It also acts as a translator, SpartaDOS runs under it, and I haven't experienced any stray bugs like those described above for OmniView. I have my Boss installed with a public-domain OS switch (Boss piggybacked on the Atari OS, little switch on the back of the XL selects which OS to use). Since the Boss has a built-in software coldstart, I can always recover the contents of a RAMdisk should the computer lock up. I simply switch operating systems and hit System Reset while holding Start down, then SR again. Machine reboots without powering down, and I can reinit the RAMdisk without formatting it. (yay SpartaDOS!) --Mark Knutsen -- _________________________________ Jersey\\\\\\\\ _____________________________ ARPA: knutsen@rutgers.edu | \\\Atari\\\\\\ | GEnie GE Mail: M.KNUTSEN UUCP: {...}!rutgers.edu!knutsen | \\\\\\Computer | The JACG BBS: (201)298-0161 --------------------------------- \\\\\\\\\Group -----------------------------