Changes
/* 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, and the Symbiface II being available in 2006. Also, these devices don't offer any network support.
*[[Symbiface 3]], [[Albireo]], [[ULIfAC]] 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. It's overall a simpler, more convenient approach. And it is definitely more future-proof. But that means throwing away historical pretense.
*Symbiface 3 is really pushing limits. So much that it denatures the CPC by bringing an onboard mp3 player. On the other hand, it has really nice features like the concept of rombanks. It also emulates old peripherals like the Dobbertin HD20, SSA-1, AmDrum and Digiblaster.
*Albireo could potentially provide low-level modem-like 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. But it would not be convenient. 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. As the Internet stack was never to be implemented on the CPC during its commercial lifetime anyway, does historical pretense matter for that kind of stuff?
*ULIfAC is quite similar in terms of functionality to the M4 Board.
Pushing to the limit this tough question: should we lock the CPC forever with its expansions from 1993? Or should we accept that the CPC can read mp3 files, run Far Cry and play 4K x265 videos on a modern graphics card and CPU expansion with a second monitor?
The problem is that these multiple solutions are incompatible and are fragmenting the CPC community. That means we have less compatible CPC software, and we get needless complexity and confusion for users and developers. Currently, the choice is as follows:
*Dobbertin HD20 , ULIfAC and Symbiface 3 are not supported by emulators
*The Symbiface II or X-Mass IDE/PATA is emulated by WinAPE, WinCPC, Arnold, Virtual CPC, ACE and Caprice Forever
*The Albireo is emulated by ACE and Caprice Forever
