Re: EDD Plus Project

[macdog <bigdog128@gmail.com>]

On Jan 12, 4:50 pm, "Henry S. Courbis" <apl2research(a.t.)comcast.net>
wrote:
> Hello everyone!
>
> Have a few questions I was hoping to find answers to concerning the EDD Plus
> card.
>
> First I'd like to know who here would be interested in a reproduction of the
> card?  I've never worked with it so I don't really know what it's potential
> is.  From what I understand it will allow coping of most, if not all, copy
> protected Apple II disks.  I also believe the copies created when using the
> EDD Plus card are still protected and not cracked - basically a 100% exact
> copy of the original disk.  Does anyone here have any additional information
> or clarifications to those statements?  On a side note the new design will
> support both full and half high Floppy Drives to allow the board to be used
> in more Apple IIs then the original.
>
> Next I would like to ask who would be interested in the card if it was able
> to create Images of copy protected disks?  I know there's a version of
> Nibble out there that sort of does this already, but from my own past
> experience this program wasn't the simplest to use, didn't always work for
> some software and it also created two files for the Image.  My thoughts were
> to rewrite the EDD software to allow it to dump an Image file (preferably no
> larger then 140k) to Floppy or HDD which would then allows users to upload
> them to the Net or even store them on other media (backup) and restore at
> will.  I know there are 'purists' out there who like to have original
> versions of software as well as cracked versions.
>
> Which begs the next question - Is there source code for the EDD v4.2
> software?  I just tried Sitehttp://www.apple2info.net/hardware/edd/edd.htm
> and they were down, although I don't believe they had the source code
> anyway.
>
> I recently spoke to Geoff Weiss about this software project and discussed
> some of the details.  I had an idea that it would be greatly beneficial, for
> obvious reasons, to try and write the Image feature of the software to save
> the Image as a .DSK file.  This would then fit on a 140k Floppy Disk as well
> as allow emulators to run these files.  Geoff doesn't believe that it would
> be possible to save the raw data stream in .DSK format because of all the
> extra data the EDD would be able to read unlike a standard .DSK creation
> program.  Any of you programmers out there have some comments about this
> possible .DSK Image addition to the EDD software?  I'm not that familiar
> with the .DSK format so I don't really know its limitations.  If .DSK isn't
> possible then I guess we'll create our own format unless someone can
> recommend something else that would be possible or suitable (.PO maybe?).  A
> custom format Image file would then require all Emulators to be rewritten if
> they wanted to support it.
>
> Feel free to contact me directly (email and numbers on Web Site) or post
> comments here.  Thanks in advance for your time.  Any help would be MUCH
> appreciated and a big time saver!
>
> --
> Henry S. Courbiswww.ReactiveMicro.com
> Legacy Hardware and Support - Come take a look at what we have to offer!

if you build it, i will buy it.  ;)

Jamie.