5 Inch Floppy Disk Cover Template - Handy if your want to make your own floppy disk sleeves.

This is a slick Microsoft Word template for a 5 1/4" disk sleeve.  You can edit the text for the front and it prints to the perfect size.

Actioneer was a newsletter of sorts presented as "News for the ACTIONAUT Community".  Actionaut is a unique type of game which was more about designing an environment than it was about winning.  You can find a review of Actionaut  in the April 1986 issue of Ahoy!. You can also find a review along with the program on LoadStar #21. Screenshots can be found on Lemon64.

The following is an extract from the opening:

Do you have a question? Maybe you have discovered a new ACTIONAUT application or have stumbled across a GREAT piece of freeware that would be of interest to other members of the ACTIONAUT community. We want to hear from you.

Thanks to Bruce Thomas for the information and sharing this newsletter from his personal collection.

Press release from Commodore Canada, Dec 12, 1985, regarding the release of V1.1 of the Amiga operating System.

Arcade Game Assembler

This is just a miscellaneous sheet I found in a printer manual for the Blue Chip D12/10 Daisy Wheel printer.  I assume it is for configuring the Jane C64/128 word processing program to work with this particular printer.

This is the instruction sheet that came with the BlueSCSI v2.

Prtess Release from Commodore Canada, Dec 13, 1985 re: features and availability of the new C128

Sometimes when you're looking for something with Google, you run across something unrelated but interesting.  Apparently there are two cartridges for the Commodore 64 that supported printing to a Centronics  printer through the User Port using a custom cable; The Final Cartridge III and Action Replay.  I couldn't find any details other than this schematic and the note at the top, but think I'll file it away for later reference.

Did I mention that Dot-Matrix printing is making a come back?  Ya... probably not.  FYI, the download image is much clearer than the preview.

Another reference - https://allpinouts.org/pinouts/cables/printer/commodore-c64-centronics/

What we are building is a modular display platform to take us into the future of retro computing and gaming or as we say, “Yesterday’s Technology Tomorrow”. It’s the base on which to build your own future proof display solution based on what you need, and with great build quality and good looks. And it’s flexible and upgradable enough for it to last you a lifetime.

CRT displays of the kind we all grew up with are terrific displays, but they come with a price. They are not modern tech and as such they are expensive and difficult to maintain, like classic pinball machines or arcade games. We knew we had to come up with a better, more future proof solution going forwards and what we’ve designed is the Checkmate Retro Styled Modular IPS Display platform. Modular inputs and modular outputs.

Commodore 64 / 128 Buyer's Guide [Winter 1986-87]

Commodore 64 Reference Guide

Found this neat list of Commodore 64/128 telnet BBSes by Jeff Vacha over at Facebook that are up and running as of December 26th, 2023.  Thought it would be a nice time capsule to look back on in twenty years or so.

Buyer's guide to software and hardware accessories.

This is a nicely laid out Commodore floppy sleeve that you can print and cut out.  It was created by Salvo B. from the Lemon64 forums.

This is a complete mirror of the Commodore Free magazine website before the domain was hijacked sometime in 2018.

Datalogic II - Advanced Lottery System by Roy Manno (1984, 1987, 1988) - See the screenshots for more information.

The Epson FX-850 / FX-1050 User’s Manual is the primary guide to setting up, operating, and programming these 9-pin dot-matrix printers, covering both the narrow (FX-850) and wide-carriage (FX-1050) models in one book. It walks you through unpacking, installing the ribbon and paper guide, choosing a location, running the built-in self-test, and connecting via the parallel interface; then it explains single-sheet and tractor-fed continuous paper handling (including micro-adjust and short tear-off), using the control panel, and basic troubleshooting. For developers, it includes full specifications plus DIP-switch charts, interface details, and a summary of Epson ESC/P control codes and international character sets so you can drive the printer directly from your own software.

This is an article with information about programming GEOS for the Commodore 64.

The HP LaserJet III Technical Reference Manual is a developer-focused guide that explains how to control the LaserJet III at a low level, primarily via PCL 5 (Printer Command Language) and the printer’s hardware interfaces. It documents the printer’s architecture and memory, parallel/serial interface signals and handshakes, and then dives into the full PCL command set: escape sequences for font and symbol-set selection, page layout and margins, orientation, graphics modes, macros, and downloadable/soft fonts, plus details on status codes and error reporting. Together, it’s meant for system integrators, driver writers, and power users who need to generate or parse raw printer streams and fully exploit LaserJet III features like Resolution Enhancement (REt) and scalable fonts, rather than just use high-level drivers.

The Lantronix UDS10-100 is a pretty cool device that lets you convert a serial line into an ethernet line which acts like a modem for telnet connections.

AtOMNITRONIX,theoperatingwordisSERVICE.Over50%of our staffusetheVIC-20orC64fortheirownhobbyandenjoyment. OMNITRONIXtotallysupportsyourVIC-20andC64computerwithhardware andsoftwareitemsthatwe havetestedandfoundtobegooduseful products.Thatincludesbecomingveryfamiliarwiththeproductsand howtousethem,sothatwhenyouhaveaquestion,youcantalkto someonewhoknowstheproduct.Weguaranteegoodservice!

Found this nice article by Richard of TND that explains the difference between a Packer and a Cruncher.  The original source is at this link, but the internet being the here today gone tommorow source on information, I decided to make a PDF of this great resource and add it here.

Was Googling for some instructions on TBoard Painter and went down a rabbit hole.  I found this interesting article from "Replay - The Polish Journal of Game Studies" by Markku Reunanen, Tero Helkkinen and Anders Carlsson.  I'm not sure if it's OK to re-distribute, so if it isn't, someone please tell me and I'll remove it.  I believe the official source for this is HERE for those interested.  Here is an Abstract:

PETSCII is the built-in character set used on 8-bit Commodore computers, such as the PET, C-64 and Plus/4. The character set and the BASIC environment provided an entry point to rudimentary graphic editing for a generation of hobbyists. Over the years PETSCII has been used for a variety of creative purposes: for example games, demos, telecommunications, videos, books and fine art have been created using the graphical symbols. Through the analysis of existing art works and our own hands-on project – a graphics editor – we dig deeper into the specific properties of the character set. In this article we show how the fixed symbols set the frame for what is possible and how, on the other hand, they provide grounds for creative experimentation, display of skill and recognizable styles.

This is a mirror of the project64.c64.org website on 10/18/2015.

The Star Gemini 10X/15X User’s Manual is the original guide for installing, using, and programming Star Micronics’ Gemini 10X and 15X dot-matrix printers. It covers physical setup (removing shipping screws, fitting the tractor unit, roll-paper holder, paper separator/guide, and ribbon), basic operation, and how to load fanfold, single sheets, and roll paper. Later chapters explain DIP-switch settings and interfaces, list control codes and escape sequences (including multiple character sets and block graphics), and provide example BASIC programs for popular 8-bit systems (Apple II, IBM PC, Commodore, Atari, etc.) to show how to send text and graphics directly to the printer. If you want the actual manual, scanned PDFs of the Gemini 10X/15X User’s Manual (1983) are available online from vintage-computing archives.

The Canonical Collection of Light Bulb Jokes - Yes you read that right, this is a 15K (6K Compressed) collection of nothing but light bulb jokes someone took the time to type into four sequential files.  I feel like these need to be shared with the world, so to wet your appetite, I'll share just one of the dozens of jokes inside the archive:

Q: How many data base people does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Three: One to write the light bulb removal program,one to write the light bulb insertion program, and one to act as a light bulb administrator to make sure nobody else tries to change the light bulb at the same time.

Great publication that has a huge selection of Commodore and Amiga hardware and software that was available at the time of publishing.

Vicsoft Winter 1983/84 Catalogue

I forgot I made this a couple years back, but glad I found it!  This is a cheat sheet for WinVice 3.5 with a handy keyboard reference when using the positional mode.  It also has JiffyDOS v6.01 quick reference, along with the full command set, CBM Command hotkeys, GEOS DeskTop shortcuts and GeoWrite Shortcuts.