Don't run this program from Ion, it causes the calc to lock up and you have to take a battry out and you lose your RAM.

Arg, you're right! DON'T DOWNLOAD TXTVIEW FOR THE 83+!
I was a bit hasty in releasing the 83+ version, and that's my bad, I really apologize for this. I'm working on the fix right now. Once again, I'm really, really sorry if anyone lost their mem.

OK, I just uploaded a new version for the 83+. This one won't crash your calc when you exit. However, there still seem to be some problems with the file detection. If TxtView doesn't detect your files, try deleting all your lists. E-mail me if you're having problems, I will respond ASAP.

In the meantime, the new version is at http://void.calc.org and my website above.

P.S. To Nick: I'm more salubrious than delectable, get your adjectives straight. =)

wow, it actually fixes the "half archive" bug (I dont know the technical name for it; I gave it a nick)? Sweet...

hhmm.. i just tried the newer version of the hardware 2 patch on my virtual ti and it wont let me upload any asm programs and when i ran a basic program it displayed: "Internal Error"
I dont suppose ill put it on my calc until i know for sure it will work! ill recap. does anyone know if the new hw 2 patch will work right on the calc?

Well, I don't really want to try it, until all the bugs have been fixed. you can't send your product code (which is annoying, since all my friends want AMS 2.03... besides I haven't encountered any problems with the old version... so I might as well stick with it.

If the can modify the ti's product code so that the checksum is invalid after being run, couldent a program be made to reverse the changes, making it possable to send your product code?

I don't know if Rusty read this page or not, but I will bring it to his attention the next time he is online. Unless he implemented a ton of stuff in VTI before he released it (which he often does with stuff :) then the problem would be VTI not fully supporting all the hardware specific features of the TI-89/92+.

Action RPG Construction set didn't get a news item.

I don't think that that would count as a ti- program...a computer program most likely :)
even though it makes a ti program i don't think it would work that way

Is there a way to get Periodic Table 2.0 Beta to work with AMS 2.03? It's the best periodic table I've seen for all the calcs.

Also, which do you guys like better and why? BigDyna vs. BomberBoy

Tough one, but I'd have to go with BigDyna. BD's graphics are much nicer, and the gameplay is much faster and smoother. The only downside is that the enemies come much too quickly due to the small playing area, where BomberBoy's large playing area has the advantage. But Bomberboy puddles around trying to get places, it's not really that enjoyable to control him.

~ferich
hmm, I should be a reviewer :-)

1.) Hopefully, I think somebody emailed me a copy of the source that I can recompile

2.) I'd actually have to go with bomberboy, since BigDyna's enemies go too fast and through blocks to the point where it's way too dificult on the 89 - but on a 92+, it's awesome =)

HOLY COW@$!!^#@$!
erm, *coff*, ahem

This is truly great, especially the HW1 mem fix, I was running out of space for my backup database

Has anybody tested this HW1 archive fix, "MaxMem". Does it work? Personally I'm really hesitant to put something like that on my calculator without seeing the source first, but since most kids that program for the TI89 are propertarian scum :-) who woun't release there source, I'll just have to wait untill someone else has tested it.

Programs like HW2 patches should not to be distributed with the source. All of them use such nasty tricks (including executing of a garbage) that distributing of their source may be more contraproductive than productive. Source of them are really not for everybody. Believe me, I know how these patches are written...

Btw, note that these patches modifies TIOS itself... That's why you can't send the product code to another calc (the checksum is corrupted, and at the moment, nobody know how to correct it)...

without being in "secret", can you explain better

As I am in contact with Julien, I principally know what he does. But, I don't want to elaborate ideas which are not mine. If you ask me anything about everything I made (tigcclib for example), I will elaborate in detail. I don't want to be in conflict with anybody by publishing their ideas whithou their licence. If Julien wants to elaborate his ideas, he will probably do it. I don't want to steal ideas made by somebody else, and to elaborate them as these ideas are mine...

Does that mean that you can't ever flash the calculator again, or just can't send it to another calculator? When I saw the message that the program displays before it installs the program I decided not to do it because I don't want to sacrifice my Flash Upgradablity (and downgradability) for a few 100k of mem...

-Erik Davidson

You always can flash the calculator again. There is no way to "destroy" the part of TIOS which does downloading the Flash Software from the computer
(as it is stored in unwritable 64K part of Flash ROM), so you always can upgrade or downgrade your calc.
You only can't send the flash ROM with wrong checksum to another calc.

Ok, thanks for clearing that up for me.

-Erik Davidson

On that note, can someone point me to a place where I can get a "virgin" copy of AMS 1.00? By virgin I mean like it would come from TI. I would have saved my rom from my calc, but I didn't realize I was modifying it with progs like Archive Utility. In fact, it seems that even VTI modifies ROM files when you archive variables and such. Anyway, it would give me peace of mind to have an original copy (one of each of the ROM versions would be nice to have handy, but I've already got 1.05 downloaded from TI and 2.03 is readily available).

-Kevin

Check out Olle Hedmans page, linked in the header above. As a side note you can also find useful info on the TI89 hardware there.

In the readme he said he wasn't sure if you could use 'Not Free Applications' I think this means the ones you buy.

Perhaps your right regerding the HW2 patch; I haven't looked into it, since i own a HW1. As for the HW1 archive fix I have a farely good idea how it works, or at least how I would have done it, and I see no reason, what so ever, not to release its source.

It's not like the information neaded to write it is hard to get (Johan Borg's texts and the reference of the flash mem covers most of it), or dificult to understand. The only data that isn't readilly availible is, what adresses to jump to, to unlock the flash, and what code parts to patch. The first of these is not hard to find, through reverse engenering, just extremely boring. (I know since I did it once, when I thought I'd write a generic flash patcher.) To find what code to patch would of cause be harder, but not that hard, just singel step a call to arcive write, or trace it manually.

Since it semes to be posible to permanently damage a HW1 calc (by clearing the certificate memory), I would feel a lot safer if I had the sorce to programs like these. It's easy to check if a program unlocks the flash protection (using VTI; set a data write breakpoint on the range 0x1c0000-0x1fffff), but how are you suposed to check for malicious behaviour in programs that are suposed to do that? Since anybody intrested in writing a trojan (that clears the cert mem), already can find the info neded, releasing the source would do no harm. As for a trojan, where better to hide it than in a program that offers more memory. (Not that I think thats the case, but I won't bet my calc on it.)

You obviously know a lot about this topic...

Btw, be sure that Julien will never made a trojan. But, do you think that releasing a source will allow that some fool would made a trojan much easier than without having any source which patch the TIOS???

Just thinking about that whole "trojan" idea you guys put out... What kind of person can decipher someone else's code, fully comprehand the way a Flash EEPROM works, write a good trojan, and then distribute it on a *LARGE* site, with *COMMENT* boards, it would be exposed fairly quickly, however it might jack up some calcs :( But still it would take a pretty good programmer to do this.

And on another note, I think all programs should be open source, and follow the GPL. I personnaly like to play with the sources of programs, and make small optimizations to them (be it a Computer or TI-89 program). Also this allows for others to quickly and efficently update programs after authors have lost interests. For example, we could have an author that wrote a program back in 1998, prior to the relase of AMS 2.03, and now in 2000, he has left the "communtiy" so there is no way for many users to update that program so that it complies with the new standards.

This is just some stuff to think about, I don't neccessarily mean for it to apply to HW2Patch or MaxMem, but I wouldn't mind knowing how they work...

I think you're right. Keeping the development of progs like db92 (Tleilax gave up woking on it) would be a great thing (if only the source were provided) I guess DBA released a "post mortem" (!) version, with alot of improvements, but it was also full of bugs. So porting it to AMS 2.03 would really be great !
The only on-calc available now remains Disass...but I heard that Arno Kiniza sold his TI a couple of week ago..I guess the development of Disass got to an end.
---by the way: you wont find the .9xp file of Disass in the zip @ ticalc.org, but try to download the one @ TI-FILES. That one is complete.

So, anybody has as a project to create a new revolutionnary on-calc disassembler for the 92+ ???

No I wouldn't say I do that. (That is, know a lot about the subject.) I just happen to have read those files I mentioned. Like I said the info's there for anyone. The only thing neded to understand it is some basic knowledge on how microprocessors work, and the ability to decipher technical manuals.

And like I said, I don't beleve that Julien has writen a trojan; I'm just beeing overly causious.

I have, although only for a day. Everything still works, and I have all 720?k of the archive (I filled it up to test it) I don't have the Statistics Flash App installed, so I don't know if it still works.

I tried MaxMem, and now I've got all my favorite programs ** ¡it's soo sweet! **, plus the Statistic Editor that I installed (the same day), and it seems to work great. Also I made a backup of everything, and once again everything worked perfectly.