--------------------------------
3]REVIEW: G0-64
By CHARLES MAIER, Wilmington, DE
1]--------------------------------

     GO-64 is sold as a hardware/software solution to running Commodore 64
programs on the Amiga. It is said to "integrate your AMIGA and C-64
computers" and "runs 1000s of 64 programs written in Basic or assembler."
It's also said to support game ports, paddles, light pens and C-64
compatible printers and disk drives.
     So much for the claims.
     The product is produced by Software Insight Systems Inc (SIS). 16 E.
International Drive, East Granby, CT 06026. Suggested retail price is $99,
though I paid $79.
     You get:
     -- A parallel port module that fits an Amiga 500/2000 (Amiga 1000
owners must purchase an additional gender module).
     -- An Amiga Workbench disk containing the heavily copy-protected
software.
     -- A 19-page operation pamphlet.
     The parallel port module has the interface logic and connector
necessary to interface the Amiga to the six-pin DIN of the Commodore serial
bus. It has no feedthrough, so you must detach your parallel printer when
GO-64 is is use, but the arrangement will support your old Commodore printer
and up to four disk drives.
     At AmiEXPO (during October in New York City) I spoke at some length
with the developers and got an admission there were "some bugs left." As is
the case with a number of developers, auto-memory configuration of the 1.2
Kickstart makes their software unuseable on 1.2 Amigas with more than 512K.
To run the product on the Amiga with expansion, the expansion MUST be
removed. Failure to do so brings up a Guru message.
     I asked the people at the booth when the fix would be ready. The
answer: two to three weeks.
     I called the company three weeks later and was told that "no upgrade is
available, but the upgrade is expected within the next 30 days." There was
no one in the office to offer actual technical advice. There was a
secretary, but she did not know what a Guru was. She did, however, have a
flowchart outlining procedural fixes. The fix given my Guru message was
"Remove the expansion."
     So out came a couple simple tools. I removed the memory expansion and
booted. Following the meager but precise instructions in the operations
pamphlet, I got the module to boot. I was greeted by a pseudo-C-64 screen
complete with an SIS copyright notice and the usual C-64 memory free message
in the all-too-familiar blue-on-blue.
     Unfortunately, I still had the mouse plugged in, and GO-64 had trapped
data from the mouse and the program run was somehow corrupted. There was no
crash, but the machine was locked. I went back to the Amiga manual to
refresh myself on how to move, select and operate menus without the mouse.
     I tried again and found an accessible C-64 screen.
     The main reason I want a C-64 emulator is to operate my favorite C-64
action-intensive games. Did I get what I wanted?
     After dozens of reboots and setting all sorts of "preference buttons"
on GO-64's preference module, I made the following discoveries:
     -- Under no conditions could I get any sound from any game.
     -- Although the games I tried did boot and run, playing an action game
with GO-64 is not fun. The C-64 is a 1MHz machine that -- with some clever
programming -- plays some fantastic games. GO-64 just can't keep up, even on
a 7 MHz Amiga. The word "slow" doesn't start to describe the performance.
Screens seem to flash on in spurts with pieces of text at times missing.
Sprite switching is jerky. Action graphics that flow on the 64, jerk and pop
on the GO-64 screen. As example, an explosion graphic lasting less than a
second on the 64 requires seven seconds with GO-64. There are adjusters on
the GO-64 preferences screen to select various raster interrupt periods,
but they and their uses are not mentioned in the manual. Adjustments of
these do affect the smoothness and completeness of a screen; sometimes whole
pieces of text and screens do not appear.
     -- Documentation, to put it kindly, is sparse.
     -- The bulletin board to provide support and upgrades, which was
promised at AmiEXPO, in the warranty document and in the manual, has not
appeared as of this writing.
     -- You must physically remove any auto-configurable memory in excess
of 512K, since GO-64 must auto-boot as the Workbench disk.
     -- Amiga 1000 owners must pay extra for the interface converter, so it
can be plugged into their male-pinned parallel ports. Your software dealer
had better know about this, since it is not mentioned on the package. It
should also be noted the manual reads that a simple "gender changer" will
severely damage your Amiga.
     -- Keyboard functionality has been somewhat changed, but most of the
C-64's functionality is there, along with the addition of the Amiga keypad
while in GO-64 mode. Of note is lack of an F8 key. Most word processors and
data managers for the C-64 will miss the F8.
     Finally, I must answer the question: Of what value is this product to
me?
     The answer: In its present form, none.

3]MY ADVICE
1]     If you're thinking about buying GO-64, my advice is to wait and see.
     Another 64 emulator is slated to be marketed. At AmiEXPO I saw it
running Jumpman Jr. It also is said to be able to copy all non-protected
software to the 3.5" Amiga disk, so there would be no loading and interface
connection problems with the port device. Since it was not shipping at the
time, I won't name it.
     If and when GO-64 is fixed, insist on a demonstration using your
favorite graphic-intensive software.

3]EDITOR'S NOTE -- Another product, the 64 Emulator at $39.95 (plus $20 for
3]cable for C-64 peripherals) has been announced by Ready Soft, PO Box 1222,
3]Lewiston, NY 14092, telephone (416) 731-4175.
3]     Remember, you didn't hear this from this review's author. JUMPDISK
3]tacked it on.

1]END OF TEXT