Talk:SpeedScript

Literature
If anyone wants to further expand the literature section, there are lots more articles to add from this Google search of atarimagazines.com. —Psychonaut 19:39, 6 December 2005 (UTC)

Screenshots
If anyone can get screenshots of the Commodore VIC-20 or Apple II family versions of SpeedScript, it would be most appreciated. Alternatively, if anyone knows where I could locate the files, I can make the screenshots myself. At an extreme, I can always OCR the listings from the magazines and write a mini-application to check the checksums and convert it to a program file (I've done this before with some Commodore 64 type-in games), but that's a real pain in the ass and I'd rather not unnecessarily duplicate someone else's work. Crotalus horridus (TALK ● CONTRIBS) 15:46, 20 December 2005 (UTC)
 * Never mind, I found the VIC-20 versions. The Apple II versions (both 40- and 80-column) are still MIA. Crotalus horridus (TALK ● CONTRIBS) 15:48, 20 December 2005 (UTC)

Downloads?
Surely someone still has this software available for download in some form or another? If so, could someone add it to the page? Haikupoet 17:49, 3 July 2006 (UTC)

SpeedScript modem support?
Could SpeedScript files be transmitted to other hardware platforms besides Commodore, Apple, and Atari computers? Was there any modem support? Dexter Nextnumber (talk) 05:51, 27 November 2009 (UTC)


 * There was a product called Big Blue Reader that could convert Commodore text files to standard DOS, and vice versa. I used that to transfer my files before retiring the old C=64 and beginnig to use a PC. WHPratt (talk) 14:18, 24 February 2012 (UTC)
 * I should have added that the Big Blue Reader program exploited the versatility of the Commodore 1571 disk drive -- which had a CP/M mode built in -- to effect this conversion. WHPratt (talk) 15:25, 22 October 2012 (UTC)

Confusing statement
"complete commented source code (as well as compiled object code in MLX format)"

MLX is a source code format, not compiled. Am I correct in believing that this should actually read…

"complete commented source code in MLX format as well as compiled object code."

Maury Markowitz (talk) 15:40, 2 November 2013 (UTC)


 * No, MLX is a way of entering compiled object code with either numeric numbers (old version) or hexadecimal numbers (new format). Think of it as a single-purpose machine-language monitor, with a checksum after each line. Ylee (talk) 16:10, 2 November 2013 (UTC)
 * I doubt any of the programs entered with MLX were compiled. Probably all of them were originally written in assembly or as raw machine language. —Psychonaut (talk) 16:15, 2 November 2013 (UTC)
 * I see your point. Maury, the thing to do is to omit "compiled" and just say "object code in MLX format". Ylee (talk) 17:01, 2 November 2013 (UTC)

I figured so… if the edit isn't done yet I'll do it now. Maury Markowitz (talk) 02:29, 5 November 2013 (UTC)

Sourcing issues
Every reference in this article is currently to COMPUTE! and its sister publications, the original publishers of SpeedScript. We need to add some third-party references from reliable sources. Given SpeedScript's popularity at the time, I am certain that these sources exist, though locating them in today's age may be difficult. Our best bet would be finding reviews and tutorials in publications of the larger user group magazines, such as TPUG's. (Most commercial computing magazines didn't accept or commission reviews of software published by their rivals; The Transactor being a notable exception, and whose review of SpeedScript I will add shortly.) —Psychonaut (talk) 10:11, 1 March 2015 (UTC)


 * I just took a quick look through a few issues of TPUG Newsletter and The Transactor from around the time SpeedScript 3.0 was published, and there's no sign of any reviews or mentions. Of course, this is hampered by the lack of well-OCR'd PDFs, which would make searching for mentions a lot easier. About all there seems to be is the column for SpeedScript commands in Hildon's Inner Space Anthology. // coldacid (talk&#124;contrib) 18:06, 1 March 2015 (UTC)