Italian QL Software Preservation Program

[Outsoft]

Hi to all at QL FORUM!

I’m Simon from Italy, as many here knows me, and I’ve started 2 years ago an Italian QL preservation program:

https://sinclairql.wordpress.com


Differently from Rich’s preservation (as we collaborate naturally) we are attempting to preserve all originals MD’s and Floppies in his original format.

In particular with Daniele Terdina we have now a new mDump version (mDump 2) that can dump in less than 3 minutes an MD with a 100% accuracy.

So in 2 years we have more than 500 working tiltes perfectly restored, as you can see in the Italian page (with links for the list, the mDump 2 download and more).

Me and Massimo Raffaele are searching people that can send us his MD’s and Floppies (also BK versions) for make a 100% perfect dump of it or simply dump his MD's or Floppies with mDump 2 + Floppy Image + SamDisk (for protected QL Disks).

We are also in contact with Simon Owen (SamDisk / SimCoupè emulator) that will release soon an updated version with the new "QL" estension for a more accurate Disk Dumping with our specifications

We will offer a free courier arrangement (everywhere in the World) and naturally a fast return + a free responge too (we dump all in max 15 days/1 month if the stuff is BIGGER than normal).

Naturally all that will be send to us and 100% dumped will be available as a personal dump to who partecipate in the project.

If someone would like to collaborate with us please write me an e-mail:

simone.voltolini@tin.it

All the material will be stored and checked by Rich Mellor and we will publish all the FREE stuff month by month starting after this Summer.

I hope that someone can help us and join our big adventure.

Best regards

[dilwyn]

I just wanted to post a little thank you to Simone (Outsoft) for his work capturing and preserving old QL microdrive cartridge software.

It takes a lot of time and effort and patience. Sometimes it looks to others like it might be with profit as a motive, but in truth the QL software market is too small for any real profit to be made by anyone (even a trader like Rich). It is more than 30 years since the QL first appeared in 1984 and now a few of us are working hard to try to preserve what we can for the future, ready for when we manage to contact all those authors to try to get permission to release those old programs. Ideally, we would be able to make them all available as freeware. Sometimes the original authors prefer them to be re-released for sale, that's when we call on the services of Rich Mellor. On the whole, we do it for the love of the QL, to keep it all going as long as we can.

Simone is not the only one to thank, of course - we have to also thank people like his friend Max, Detlef, Tim, Lee, Rich and others who have quietly done a lot of work we don't hear about to find copies of old software, to try to contact authors, copying the MDVs and disks to preserve them, sometimes to remove copy protection where required to preserve the software, scanning and sometimes translating manuals, and so on. I know if I counted hours I've put in I probably wouldn't do it again!!!

Only a small percentage of what we preserve has been made available so far. Usually it's because we have failed to contact the authors to get permission, sometimes we can't copy the software beause of the protection, but at least we have copies of hundreds of commercial and at least hundreds (if not thousands-we haven't counted them yet, Tim is compiling a list) of PD and freeware programs preserved. Rest assured, we are not looking to profit financially from this, just to make the QL scene as a whole richer, just preserving the software so that when we do contact the authors and get permission it's ready to go quickly.

So - a big thank you to Simone who has done an awful lot more work than most people realise. Even to me, this only became obvious after a lot of emails between us this year, and sometimes our chats on the QL Forum's Online Chat in the evenings.

[Outsoft]

Very thanks Dilwyn: you really undestand our work.

A very thanks to all that help us sending all kind of things:

Rich Mellor (http://www.rwapsoftware.co.uk)
Dilwyn Jones (http://www.dilwyn.me.uk)
Daniele Terdina (www.terdina.net/ql/q-emulator.html)
Simon Owen (www.simonowen.com)
Davide Santachiara (http://www.sinclairql.it)
Giorgio Garabello (www.quantum.altervista.org)
Leszek Chmielewski
Mark Payne
Vittorio Davinelli
Detlef Obermann
Alain Haoui
Javier Guerra
Miguel Angel Montejo
Per Witte
Paolo Proietti
Massimiliano Rossi
Antonio Giusa
Fabio Gerosa
Cristian Pendin
Andrea Carpi

and all new that will come

I left here also the Spanish guys because...they help us to start ^_^

I hope to find more original and not stuff to dump an preserve and that RICH can obtain more rights for help us to let link a day many programs that we are preserving.

A big HUG to all QL'ers of the world.

Best regards to all and...let QL be our guide...forever!

[Outsoft]

Now the page is totally rewritten in English and we have especially made a new QL stylish list

Enjoy it.