Man, for a not-a-weekend, my 8-Bit Week is off to a GREAT start!
Read @Lunduke's article about C64 ads, got that song stuck in my head again 🤣
Started on Lunduke's top 10 article - got distracted and fired up TheVIC20... definitely coming back to it tho.
Found (and learned to use) a word processor. It was something called "easy script" (sounds more like a code thing to me lol) and it was surprisingly easy. There was, though, one pretty big hiccup: It's a D64, which means I can't save to disk (TheVIC20 doesn't do cassette emulation or more than 1 disk drive). So that didn't last long. I did, however, find other word processors I want to play with (including a full-on office suite called "Mini Office II", though I couldn't find a download link for that one). There was even one I read about that was a type-in BASIC program! That's kinda nuts, and the kind of thing I would only be crazy enough to try to create in Assembly or C (maybe Forth?) so obviously not going there anytime soon.
Played some games (it looks like a VIC-20, so it deserves some Omega Race for the pic, doesn't it?) 🤣
And got to tinkering with C64 Forth! Fortunately, this one is on a cartridge file, so I can save my work. Unfortunately... I don't know how. 🤣
The manual is more reference-style than tutorial-style, so there's a long list of words and very little on how to use them. There's a word called "NAME" that I guess you can use to set your file name. It expects a string pointer (0-terminated?) on the stack, but there is no s" word so that's out... then there's a word "CSAVE" but it looks like that's specifically for cassette (which again is a thing TheVIC20/TheC64 doesn't do) so... well, I did some tinkering anyway. I love how it uses @ and ! (standard Forth words to get/set a variable) for PEEK and POKE. If I can crack saving, I think I might start using C64 Forth a lot more. :)
Anyway, I got other stuff to do, but figured I'd kick off our 8-Bit Week posts with a fun night of "keeping up with the Commodore".
Ads are filling the entirety of the Web -- websites, podcasts, YouTube videos, etc. -- at an increasing rate. Prices for those ad placements are plummeting. Consumers are desperate to use ad-blockers to make the web palatable. Google (and others) are desperate to break and block ad-blockers. All of which results in... more ads and lower pay for creators.
It's a fascinatingly annoying cycle. And there's only one viable way out of it.
50% Off Yearly & MP4 Downloads, Lifetime Subs still available!
The April Lunduke Journal Pledge drive has ended! Thank you to everyone who pitched in to help The Lunduke Journal continue to provide ad-free, Big Tech Free journalism!
The Lunduke Journal would not be possible without your support.
Support The Lunduke Journal (with Bitcoin matching through Monday April 21st!)
The April Lunduke Journal Pledge drive has ended! Thank you to everyone who pitched in to help The Lunduke Journal continue to provide ad-free, Big Tech Free journalism!
The Lunduke Journal would not be possible without your support.
Help The Lunduke Journal fight against the Tech Goliaths
The corrupt Tech Foundations of the world — WikiMedia, The Linux Foundation, Mozilla, and the rest — have received hundreds of Millions of dollars in donations. The Big Tech giants bring in Billions and Billions ever year.
And there is only one Tech News outlet that is pushing back against these woke, dirty organizations… The Lunduke Journal.
One nerdy David. Against an army of well-funded, woke Tech Goliaths.
Without your support, The Lunduke Journal would not exist.
And, without The Lunduke Journal, many Tech News stories simply would never be told.
From now, through Friday, March 28th, we are running The Lunduke Journal pledge drive.
Make a one time donation (with multiple options, including Bitcoin) — and help keep The Lunduke Journal publishing commercial free, Big-Tech-Free news.
Or grab a discounted subscription and get a few fun perks:
Scroll down to find the option that works bet for you. Give only what you are able. Together we will tell the Tech News stories that no other Tech News outlet has the guts cover — together we will hold these Tech Goliaths accountable.
Make a One Time Donation
Want to toss in a one-time donation to The Lunduke Journal? There’s a few great options!
Via BitCoin:
Send any amount of BTC to the following address:
bc1qyjakve8fywm8pz2v99v57yhjj0vzr2vjze6fcq
Email "bryan at lunduke.com" with to let us know it was you! You can choose to keep your donation anonymous if you prefer.
The "World Famous Lunduke Journal Lifetime Subscription" is exactly what it sounds like. Pay once and get full access to The Lunduke Journal. For life. A great way to support Big-Tech-Free Journalism.
(This includes full access to the community Forum.)
New Lifetime Subscriptions are available, for $200, from nowthrough Friday, March 28th.
The Lifetime Subscription can be obtained via Locals, Substack, or using Bitcoin. All three options work great and are super easy.
Email “bryan at lunduke.com” with the email address you use on both Substack and Locals (can be different email addresses).
Lunduke will toss you an email once your account is set to full lifetime status on Locals.
How to get a Lifetime Subscription with Bitcoin:
And, finally, you can obtain a Lifetime Subscription via Bitcoin. Save a few bucks with this option, as Bitcoin processing has fewer fees associated with it.
Send $190 worth of Bitcoin (or more) to the following address:
bc1qyjakve8fywm8pz2v99v57yhjj0vzr2vjze6fcq
Email "bryan at lunduke.com" with the following information: What time you made the transaction, how much was sent (in Bitcoin), and the email address you use (or plan to use) on Locals.com or Substack.com.
50% Off DRM-Free, MP4 Downloads:
Want to be able to download every show The Lunduke Journal releases (and watch them on whatever device you like)? Yeah. You can do that. For 50% off.
Note: This DRM-Free download option does not include access to the Forum. This option is strictly for downloading the episodes.
The Lunduke Journal would not be possible without your support. Every subscriber, of every type, makes a massive difference in bringing Big-Tech-Free Tech Journalism to the world.
This truly is the last bastion of independent Tech Journalism.
There are some options. For both subscribing and donating. They're all on this page.
Bonus: At the bottom of this page you will find the invite link to the super-secret Lunduke Journal Discord Chat Server. This is only available for full subscribers, which makes it a nice place to hang out. No riff-raff.
Only for Supporters
To read the rest of this article and access other paid content, you must be a supporter