Getting files onto the Sinclair QL

Following a recent discussion on the ql-users mailing list about a simple guide to transferring software downloaded from the internet onto the Sinclair QL, Dilwyn Jones has usefully added such a guide to his website which resolves some of the common problems and misunderstandings, including why programs unzipped on a Windows PC will not run on the QL.

This also comes to one of the other main divisions in the QL community - there are people who have moved with the time and use the latest systems and emulators, and those who are still insistant upon using the original black box. The latter are missing out on the ability to run the latest operating systems and some great software (such as our own full colour Sinclair QL game QWord).

At the very least, the unreliability of microdrive cartridges (particularly when they contain software that is some 20 years old) means that people should consider purchasing a second hand disk interface and memory expansion and external disk drive. Maybe this is why we need a replacement for the now hard to find Super Gold Card to provide the impetus for more people to upgrade.