fuse/README

The Free Unix Spectrum Emulator (Fuse) 0.3.2
============================================

Given the current proliferation of DOS/Windows Speccy emulators, I
decided it was time to redress the Unix balance a bit. Therefore, here
is Fuse (the Free Unix Spectrum Emulator), version 0.3.2.

What Fuse does have:

* Working 48K/128K/+2/+2A Speccy emulation, running at true Speccy
  speed on any computer you're likely to try it on (it runs at full
  speed on a SparcStation 4 unless you do too much graphics intensive
  stuff).
* Sound (on systems supporting the Open Sound System).

What Fuse doesn't have:

* The ability to save to tape files
* Emulation of any peripherals (bar the tape deck)
* A keyboard picture, so you can find those keywords
* ...

What you'll need to run Fuse:

* A version of Unix with either X or svgalib. If you have GTK+
  installed, you'll get a nicer user interface under X.

To compile Fuse:

$ ./configure

There are now some options you can give to configure; `configure
--help' will list them all, but the most important are:

--with-svgalib		Use the SVGAlib interface, rather than GTK+.
--without-gtk		Use the plain Xlib interface, rather than GTK+.

If glib is installed on your system, Fuse will use this for a couple
of things; however, it isn't necessary (unless you're using the GTK+
interface, as GTK+ depends on glib). If you're having problem with
your glib setup, you can use the `--without-glib' option to
`configure', which will use some simple replacement routines.

Then just:

$ make

To run fuse:

$ fuse [snapshot]

Not too difficult. You should then be presented with the familiar

`(c) 1982 Sinclair Research Ltd'

message, unless you gave a .z80 or .sna snapshot on the command line,
in which case you should get that instead. Numbers, letters, etc
should now work as they do on the Speccy (plus a few others eg
Backspace = CAPS + 0). Also:

 F2: Save snapshot.
 F3: Load snapshot.
 F4: Select options.
 F5: Reset Spectrum.
 F7: Open tape file.
 F8: Start/stop tape.
 F9: Switch between 48K/128K/+2/+2A emulation
F10: Quit Fuse

Snapshots can be in either .z80 or .sna format; (If you need to
convert your snaps to .z80, try SnapConv:
http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~pak21/spectrum/snapconv.html). If you're not
using the GTK+ user interface, snapshots will be saved to
`snapshot.z80', and will happily overwrite any other file you may have
with that name.

There are two forms of tape loading, toggled via the F4 options
menu. In `fast' mode (tape traps active), Fuse will recognise when
you're trying to load a block from tape and instantly copy that block
from the emulated tape file into memory. In `slow' mode, you'll get
the full border stripes effect as you would on a real Spectrum.

Fuse is copyrighted under the GNU General Public License (see the file
`COPYING' for details). However, note the GPL does *not* apply to the
Spectrum ROM files (`128-?.rom', `48.rom', `plus2-?.rom' and
`plus3-?.rom'), which are still copyrighted to Amstrad, although their
free distribution with emulators is permitted.

If you have any bug reports, suggestions or (particularly
appreciated!) patches for Fuse, mail them to me at
pak21-fuse@srcf.ucam.org. For more general Speccy related discussions,
visit the Usenet group `comp.sys.sinclair', but do read the FAQ
(http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~pak21/cssfaq/index.html) first!

Fuse has its own home page, which you can find at:

http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~pak21/spectrum/fuse.html

or the latest version should be available from the World of Spectrum
(http://www.worldofspectrum.org/) FTP site:

ftp://ftp.worldofspectrum.org/pub/sinclair/emulators/unix/

Finally, if you want to see how a Unix Speccy emulator should be done,
check out Erik Kunze's `xzx': http://www.zx-spectrum.net/xzx/

Philip Kendall <pak21-fuse@srcf.ucam.org>
7 October 2001

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