*[https://hxc2001.com/floppy_drive_emulator/ HxC Floppy Emulator] Commercial floppy-drive emulator. Supports HFE, DSK, EDSK, IPF disk images
*[https://github.com/keirf/flashfloppy/ FlashFloppy] Open source floppy-drive emulator for the ubiquitous Gotek hardware. Supports HFE, DSK, EDSK disk images
= Mass-storage, RTC and network dilemma =
Multiple mass-storage, RTC and network solutions already exist for the Amstrad CPC:
*The [[Dobbertin Harddisc|Dobbertin HD20]] with [[Dobbertin Smart Watch]] is the true historical solution. But it's clumsy to use with 4 partitions of 5MB each and no FAT filesystem. While it clearly has historical value, is it still relevant to the community today?
*[[Symbiface II]] IDE/PATA mass-storage or [[X-Mass]] with [[Nova]] NVRAM/RTC is the historically-plausible solution as the IDE/PATA interface was created in 1986. But it's a lie as the IDE interface was effectively introduced on the CPC with the [[CPC-IDE]] prototype in 2004, the Symbiface II being available in 2006. Also, these devices don't offer any network support.
*[[Symbiface 3]], [[Albireo]] and [[M4 Board]] are the modern solutions that feed the CPC a direct file view of the mass-storage instead of a sectors view. So the FAT filesystem does not need to be handled on the CPC itself. Which means there is no need for the [[Nova]] NVRAM to help handling the filesystem. It's overall a simpler, more convenient approach. And it is definitely more future-proof. But that means throwing away historical pretense.
*Symbiface 3 possess an onboard mp3 player. Are we still talking about Amstrad CPC here?
*Albireo provides low-level access to internet via SLIP which means having the IP stack on the CPC side instead of it being done by the peripheral like in the M4 board, and having a bridge server on the other side. So it is not convenient at all. Also, just like the X-Mass, the Albireo does not provide RTC functionality.
*M4 Board is [https://unidos.cpcscene.net/doku.php?id=en%3Aannexes the fastest measured solution for mass-storage on the CPC]. It is a very complete and convenient solution with NTP-based RTC and Wifi network and very future-proof. But that means sacrificing historical pretense as the M4 board does all the hard work regarding the filesystem and network protocols for the CPC. But support for the Internet stack could not have happened during the commercial lifetime of the CPC anyway, so does historical pretense matter for that kind of stuff?
The dilemma is that these multiple mass-storage, rtc and network solutions are fragmenting the already small CPC community which mean having less compatible CPC software and that bring complexity and confusion to users. So emulators have to make a choice. Currently:
*The M4 Board is emulated by CPCemu
*The Albireo is emulated by ACE and Caprice Forever
*The Symbiface II or X-Mass IDE/PATA is emulated by WinAPE, WinCPC, ACE and Caprice Forever
* Symbiface 3 and Dobbertin HD20 are not supported by emulators
= Emulator accuracy checking tools =
*[https://www.cpc-power.com/index.php?page=database&lemot=AmDrum AmDrum] [https://www.cpc-power.com/index.php?page=database&lemot=Digitracker Digitracker] To test [[Amdrum|AmDrum]] and [[Digiblaster]] soundcards emulation
*[https://www.cpc-power.com/index.php?page=detail&num=4012 Advanced OCP Art Studio] To test [[AMX Mouse|AMX]] and [[Kempston Mouse|Kempston mouse]] emulation
= Mass-storage, RTC and network dilemma =
*The [[Dobbertin Harddisc|Dobbertin HD20]] with [[Dobbertin Smart Watch]] is the true historical solution. But it's clumsy to use with 4 partitions of 5MB each and no FAT filesystem. While it clearly has historical value, is it still relevant to the community today?
*[[Symbiface II]] IDE/PATA mass-storage or [[X-Mass]] with [[Nova]] NVRAM/RTC is the historically-plausible solution as the IDE/PATA interface was created in 1986. But it's a lie as the IDE interface was effectively introduced on the CPC with the [[CPC-IDE]] prototype in 2004, the Symbiface II being available in 2006. Also, these devices don't offer any network support.
*[[Symbiface 3]], [[Albireo]] and [[M4 Board]] are the modern solutions that feed the CPC a direct file view of the mass-storage instead of a sectors view. So the FAT filesystem does not need to be handled on the CPC itself. Which means there is no need for the [[Nova]] NVRAM to help handling the filesystem. It's overall a simpler, more convenient approach. And it is definitely more future-proof. But that means throwing away historical pretense.
*Symbiface 3 possess an onboard mp3 player. Are we still talking about Amstrad CPC here?
*Albireo provides low-level access to internet via SLIP which means having the IP stack on the CPC side instead of it being done by the peripheral like in the M4 board, and having a bridge server on the other side. So it is not convenient at all. Also, just like the X-Mass, the Albireo does not provide RTC functionality.
*M4 Board is [https://unidos.cpcscene.net/doku.php?id=en%3Aannexes the fastest measured solution for mass-storage on the CPC]. It is a very complete and convenient solution with NTP-based RTC and Wifi network and very future-proof. But that means sacrificing historical pretense as the M4 board does all the hard work regarding the filesystem and network protocols for the CPC. But support for the Internet stack could not have happened during the commercial lifetime of the CPC anyway, so does historical pretense matter for that kind of stuff?
The dilemma is that emulating multiple mass-storage and network solutions mean fragmenting the already small CPC community and so having less compatible CPC software and bringing complexity and confusion to users. So a choice has to be made. Currently:
*The M4 Board is emulated by CPCemu
*The Albireo is emulated by ACE and Caprice Forever
*The Symbiface II or X-Mass IDE/PATA is emulated by WinAPE, WinCPC, ACE and Caprice Forever
* Symbiface 3 and Dobbertin HD20 are not supported by emulators
== Copy-protection ==