Commander X16

Production Idea is Commander X16 CD-ROM Add-on, Well Like Sega CD And PC Engine CD. I Guess...

Not very much demand for this, since CD=700MB and SD=multiple GB. In fact, since the X16 uses the SDHC standard, the minimum size it can use is 8GB.

kelli217 wrote: ↑Fri Dec 13, 2024 7:18 pm Not very much demand for this, since CD=700MB and SD=multiple GB. In fact, since the X16 uses the SDHC standard, the minimum size it can use is 8GB.

An audio CD add-on might be cool. But it would be very niche....

As a software distribution medium, CDs (or DVDs) would be pretty much ideal.

650/700 Mb should be more than sufficient to hold software written for the X16, and I guess if you really wanted to incorporate advanced graphics or FMV you could use a DVD.

Unlike SD cards, optical discs aren't tiny, come in nice cases, are read-only, and don't lose their contents due to electron leakage.

Wouldn't the internet be a more ideal software distribution medium?

Modern flash storage is pretty stable; data loss is fairly unusual in my experience. I cannot think of a time when I lost data on one due to charge degradation. CDs and DVDs have well known sources of data loss: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disc_rot

Wavicle wrote: ↑Sat Dec 14, 2024 8:00 am Wouldn't the internet be a more ideal software distribution medium?

For neo-retros? You'd have to add network connectivity to each device (which is a good idea in itself), but you'd also have to create and maintain an online infrastructure for distribution.

Wavicle wrote: ↑Sat Dec 14, 2024 8:00 amModern flash storage is pretty stable; data loss is fairly unusual in my experience. I cannot think of a time when I lost data on one due to charge degradation.

Absolutely every single flash device in existence will degrade and lose all of its data; it's only a question of how long it will take. And as it turns out, the answer is "not that long."

Older flash chips were rated for 10 years of (offline) data retention. Newer enterprise-grade chips are rated the same, while high-density consumer-grade chips have a one year rating. Yes, that's one - 1 - year.

SSD hard drives contain a controller that keeps moving data around, which not only distributes wear across cells, but also renews the charges. This only happens when the device is powered, of course. SD cards and USB flash drives contain no such functionality, and keeps degrading even when plugged in.

Wavicle wrote: ↑Sat Dec 14, 2024 8:00 amCDs and DVDs have well known sources of data loss: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disc_rot

This only affects poor-quality pressings (of which there are many) and notably the early cyanine CD-Rs.

I have a substantial collection of CDs from the 1980s and 1990s, and they all work, just like most of my old floppy disks from that same era. Had flash drives been around back then, none of them would have been functional today.

Debating the merits of Flash vs Optical storage is pointless, because unless you build one yourself, it's not going to happen.

There are no plans to develop an optical drive controller for the X16. No one on the development team has expressed an interest in doing so, and I doubt the development of such a device would pay for itself at this point in time.

Do You Everthing Ideas, Commander X16's Media Cartridge Not Floppy Disk

I'm kind of the opposite direction, I'd rather see Cassette Tape support added back into the ROM Since the retro appeal of the X16 is doing things that modern systems can't (or, no longer do).

CD era was more 16-bit 1993-on ward (yes, I know the first CD game was technically 1980s, but I mean mainstream CD-gaming was Myst and when the 3DO was introduced).

I do think CD's use a version of FAT, but even so... The SMC might not have enough remaining free space to add whatever code support for CD-ROM is needed (for example, it would probably be read-only - and many programs want to write). I'm wondering - suppose someone made a kind of "CD-ROM to SD-card" adapter? That'd be pretty interesting, and work across many systems. But the spin-up/access time on CD's would lead to a different kind of experience altogether.

I do share the concern that an SD-card might "rot" over time (maybe more-so on the higher capacity ones?). But I've had CD's deteriorate also (not just from age, but also sun exposure). As other said, it's not a critical concern - the duration (on SD's) is still in the years. I think github is pretty reliable as an archive, though some are opposed to using it for various reasons (I think one concern is that Microsoft could turn it into a pay-wall at any time). So, it's certainly not a bad idea to archive stuff onto multiple formats.

I do like the "regular size" SD cards. Those microSDs get so small, I've literally popped one through the air by accident and lost it.

The cassette tape software, if it's still hiding in the Kernal, uses Golden RAM as a buffer. SD is light-years better.