★ APPLICATIONS ★ DEPLOMBAGE ★ BONZO'S BLITZ|Amstrad Action) ★ |
| Bonzo's Blitz | Applications Deplombage |
Tape-disk transfer utilities make up the bulk of Nemesis sales. There are two disks - but the contents overlap somewhat. Bonzo Super Meddler is a general purpose disk for simple needs. It has been designed to transfer 'standard' files - files saved using the standard save command - but also has The Hack Pack, for games with obscure loaders (such as Thrust, which played music while it loaded). Recently companies have been changing loaders, making them more individual and hence more difficult for one utility (such as Super Meddler) to deal with. So Bonzo Blitz was born. Bonzo Blitz is a suite of programs for coping with the whole range of flashloaders. This includes a Detect option, which scans through a tape to see what it can analyse. It's not perfect, but it offers you several options you wouldn't otherwise have.
Scanty instructions make using the programs more difficult than it might be, and if you're not au fait with your Amstrad you'll find it tough to understand just what is going on. Super Meddler and Blitz do, however, have one redeeming feature. They do the job that they're supposed to do, with an excellent chance of backing up most software. If you are heavily into tape/ disk transfers, the Nemesis bulletin might interest you. It's not very pretty, but it contains a wealth of information on more than 700 transfers. Trouble is, they cost: £13 for the entire set 1-24, plus an £10 subscription per eight after that. Still, if you are concerned about getting all your games onto disk (you hopeless games addict you) then Nemesis is a real alternative to investing in a Romantic Robot Multiface 'black box'. Nemesis still sells software -not because of massive advertising budgets, corporate image or licensing deals. They don't underprice their product, and their presentation and manuals leave a lot to be desired. The reason why Nemesis is so popular is that they supply something that is in demand. People want to back up their games collections to disk. They are prepared to pay a fair old price for this, and put up with less than perfect presentation and so on. Nemesis also offers quality, friendly support for newcomers to the hobby. Its programs work, and work well, and while it's unlikely that they have many friends among games developers and software houses, they have a wide and loyal following among users. Long may they continue! AA
|
