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QXL.WIN (the domain name).

Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2021 5:24 pm
by Chr$
qxl.win was previously owned but unused by someone in China since 2016. I had my eye on it for months as I could see it had an expiry date of mid June 2021. Come mid June, it wasn't renewed. Then a couple of months later, when the previous owner neglected to re-register, it really did expire. 5 days after that - on 22/8/2021 - it dropped and was on sale!

It wasn't dirt cheap, being only 3 letters, in spite of the slightly obscure .win tld.

After some consideration and a couple of nights sleeping on it, I simply couldn't let it go and risk someone else (probably with no QL affiliation) randomly buying what has to be one of the best (IMO) and certainly most memorable - to QL insiders at least - QL related domain names out there.

I've already put a basic website up, which will become a list with pics and as much obscure detail on the stuff I have as flows from my fingers.

Re: QXL.WIN (the domain name).

Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2021 6:21 pm
by Derek_Stewart
Hi Chr$,

Great web site, lots of interesting information.

I like your summsry of microdrive dumping, Why collect the QL, Hardware developments.

Re: QXL.WIN (the domain name).

Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2021 6:48 pm
by Chr$
Thanks Derek :D

Re: QXL.WIN (the domain name).

Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2021 6:48 pm
by dilwyn
Nice little site and a great idea to use the qxl.win name.

I like the fact you've used nice simple HTML to create an easy to use and good looking site.

Re: QXL.WIN (the domain name).

Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2021 6:55 pm
by Chr$
dilwyn wrote:Nice little site and a great idea to use the qxl.win name.

I like the fact you've used nice simple HTML to create an easy to use and good looking site.
I was inspired by another great QL site ;). And it was quicker, I just hashed it together with Frontpage 2003.

Re: QXL.WIN (the domain name).

Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2021 10:49 pm
by mk79
Ha, nice one, Chris :D Cool idea.

Minor nitpick, I don't get this sentence: "[QXL.WIN] and just recently got added support from SMSQ/E". The QLWA (this is the format's real name) was always SMSQ/E based. First for the QXL, then QPC, all others came much later. The driver was just ported to QDOS by Wolfgang and me for QL-SD.

Re: QXL.WIN (the domain name).

Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2021 10:59 pm
by Chr$
mk79 wrote:Ha, nice one, Chris :D Cool idea.

Minor nitpick, I don't get this sentence: "[QXL.WIN] and just recently got added support from SMSQ/E". The QLWA (this is the format's real name) was always SMSQ/E based. First for the QXL, then QPC, all others came much later. The driver was just ported to QDOS by Wolfgang and me for QL-SD.
Thanks Marcel,

What did I really mean there? I was referring more to the recent ability for SMSQ/E (on a Q40) to recognise a QXL.WIN container file on a FAT formatted CF/IDE device. I remember reading that that was a new feature. Was that just a Q40/60 thing then?

Re: QXL.WIN (the domain name).

Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2021 11:52 pm
by mk79
Chr$ wrote:What did I really mean there? I was referring more to the recent ability for SMSQ/E (on a Q40) to recognise a QXL.WIN container file on a FAT formatted CF/IDE device. I remember reading that that was a new feature. Was that just a Q40/60 thing then?
Ah, I see, the native "QXL.WIN on FAT32" driver. I think that was developed for Q68 and then ported to Qx0. I mean, it's still the same QLWA format the Q40 already used, just this time in container-on-FAT form. But you're right, looking at it this way one could say that SMSQ/E recently gained native QXL.WIN support as all earlier implementations used a host operating system for the FAT part. Though it's a pretty technical distinction :-)

Re: QXL.WIN (the domain name).

Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2021 9:20 am
by Derek_Stewart
mk79 wrote:
Chr$ wrote:What did I really mean there? I was referring more to the recent ability for SMSQ/E (on a Q40) to recognise a QXL.WIN container file on a FAT formatted CF/IDE device. I remember reading that that was a new feature. Was that just a Q40/60 thing then?
Ah, I see, the native "QXL.WIN on FAT32" driver. I think that was developed for Q68 and then ported to Qx0. I mean, it's still the same QLWA format the Q40 already used, just this time in container-on-FAT form. But you're right, looking at it this way one could say that SMSQ/E recently gained native QXL.WIN support as all earlier implementations used a host operating system for the FAT part. Though it's a pretty technical distinction :-)
Hi,

I think you are not quite correct here, the QLWA container file, first appeared on the QXL, which used an MSDOS operating system to run the QXL SMSQ executable programme to run SMSQ, then later SMSQ/E.

Since MSDOS is a FAT 8+3 filename system, the QLWA container file was called: QXL.WIN

The Q40/60 used the QLWA file specification on a partition level, like the Atari QL Emulator, in the Atari file system.

The Q68 uses QLWA, compatible with most available emulation systems: QPC2, UQLX(sQLux), SMSQmulator, Q-Emulator, Mister, MIST etc ... The Q68 can also use a Qubide filesystem. The Q68 QLWA/BDI containers are stored on a FAT32 partition.

The QLWA container system from the Q68, was ported to the Q40/60, so that the QLWA container can be used at a file level rather than defining a partition for the file storage.

I am not saying one system is better than the other, but why not have all of them, which I only have the Mister and MIST is aquire.

Re: QXL.WIN (the domain name).

Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2021 9:27 am
by mk79
Derek_Stewart wrote:I think you are not quite correct here, the QLWA container file, first appeared on the QXL, which used an MSDOS operating system to run the QXL SMSQ executable programme to run SMSQ, then later SMSQ/E.
I omitted SMSQ (on purpose), but apart from that, how is this different from what I said?
The Q68 can also use a Qubide filesystem. The Q68 QLWA/BDI containers are stored on a FAT32 partition.
Yeah, I know, QPC has the same capability... but actually QubIDE support is currently broken on all platforms. I fixed it for the upcoming SMSQ/E.

Marcel