vice

They say that it isn't nice to start reviews with a "the game box was opened by my shaky hands" style comments, but here goes, anyway. Just for this time. The ocassion deserves it.

    **** COMMODORE 64 BASIC V2 ****

 64K RAM SYSTEM  38911 BASIC BYTES FREE

READY.

There it is again.

When I saw that first time on my PC screen with this emulator, I almost cried.

I loaded up the Maniac Mansion disk image that I had downloaded from Arnold. 0-Day Warez, indeed.

I typed LOAD "*",8,1. Like in the old days.

Slowly, the game loaded. It took time. Just like in the old days.

Then, something happened. The Eagle Software logo slowly appeared on the screen. Oooh, a real 0-Day Warez version, indeed! The same old music. The same old greetings from the software pirates to others. The same old intro as it was. This was precisely same warez version that I had! (Not pirated by me, but that's not the issue - I actually bought most of my C64 games, unlike many other people I knew...)

That... brought out the old C64 fan in me. I have to say I cry often. I'm a soft person like that. But for first time for a long time, I cried in joy.

Commodore 64 was alive. It would, now, always be alive.

...

VICE, the Versatile Commodore Emulator, is an emulator for 8-bit Commodore computers. (For Amiga, I wholeheartedly recommend UAE...)

At the moment it emulates Commodore 64, VIC-20, Commodore 128 and most models of Commodore PET. (Nitpickingly, you need to own these machines to use the emulator, but since Commodore isn't around, using it is probably pretty much a victimless crime. But if you want to sleep well, go buy a real C64 for a penny, it's worth more than they sell for these days =)

I have been following VICE's development since 0.11 or so, and I have to say it has grown to be a really, really good C64 emulator. First of all, even in the early days WAY before the 1.0 days, it had a working 1541 emulator. (Yes, it actually emulates 1541 disk drive (and also other Commodore drives) from every point of operation - and it's just as slow =) This meant most of the games that needed to mess around with 1541 worked out of the box. (Some emus could barely run stuff from tape images. Sure, if all you wanted was Commando, those emus were fine, but...)

The 6502 emulation (and other processors found in the machines, including the Z80 in C128 - not tried!) is pretty good, too, and has been that from early days...

Also, VICE is portable. It is written in C and has no Assembly optimizations as such (but that, of course, doesn't mean that it'd be slow!) It has been reported to run on UNIXes/X11, MS-DOS, Windows, OS/2, RISC OS and BeOS.

I can only speak of Commodore 64 emulation, but most of this applies (if applicable) on other machines as well. VICE uses Commodore keyboards remapped to PC keyboard, and it's completely remappable too. It supports joysticks and keyboard emulation of joysticks and even the Amiga mouse, emulates both SID models, also supports REU, does d64 and t64 disk and tape images in addition to its own simple format (x64) and also supports modules. It also supports serial port emulation. (Theoretically, it might be possible to get to the Internet with the emulator... UAE does this, why would VICE be different? =)

The emulation also has a lot of cool little features like reSID sound engine that sounds really majestic, and even "PAL emulation" that blurs the image for those who think PC monitors are too damn sharp. Authentic up to the headaches! =)

Home page: http://viceteam.bei.t-online.de/

Vice (?), n. [F., from L. vitium.]

1.

A defect; a fault; an error; a blemish; an imperfection; as, the vices of a political constitution; the vices of a horse.

Withouten vice of syllable or letter.
Chaucer.

Mark the vice of the procedure.
Sir W. Hamilton.

2.

A moral fault or failing; especially, immoral conduct or habit, as in the indulgence of degrading appetites; customary deviation in a single respect, or in general, from a right standard, implying a defect of natural character, or the result of training and habits; a harmful custom; immorality; depravity; wickedness; as, a life of vice; the vice of intemperance.

I do confess the vices of my blood.
Shak.

Ungoverned appetite . . . a brutish vice.
Milton.

When vice prevails, and impious men bear sway,
The post of honor is a private station.
Addison.

3.

The buffoon of the old English moralities, or moral dramas, having the name sometimes of one vice, sometimes of another, or of Vice itself; -- called also Iniquity.

⇒ This character was grotesquely dressed in a cap with ass's ears, and was armed with a dagger of lath: one of his chief employments was to make sport with the Devil, leaping on his back, and belaboring him with the dagger of lath till he made him roar. The Devil, however, always carried him off in the end.

Nares.

How like you the Vice in the play?
. . . I would not give a rush for a Vice that has not a wooden dagger to snap at everybody.
B. Jonson.

Syn. -- Crime; sin; iniquity; fault. See Crime.

© Webster 1913.

Vice, n. [See Vise.]

1. Mech.

A kind of instrument for holding work, as in filing. Same as Vise.

2.

A tool for drawing lead into cames, or flat grooved rods, for casements.

3.

A gripe or grasp.

Shak.

© Webster 1913.

Vice, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Viced (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Vicing (?).]

To hold or squeeze with a vice, or as if with a vice.

Shak.

The coachman's hand was viced between his upper and lower thigh.
De Quincey.

© Webster 1913.

Vi"ce (?), prep. [L., abl. of vicis change, turn. See Vicarious.]

In the place of; in the stead; as, A. B. was appointed postmaster vice C. D. resigned.

© Webster 1913.

Vice (?), a. [Cf. F. vice-. See Vice, prep.]

Denoting one who in certain cases may assume the office or duties of a superior; designating an officer or an office that is second in rank or authority; as, vice president; vice agent; vice consul, etc.

Vice admiral. [Cf. F. vice-amiral.] (a) An officer holding rank next below an admiral. By the existing laws, the rank of admiral and vice admiral in the United States Navy will cease at the death of the present incumbents. (b) A civil officer, in Great Britain, appointed by the lords commissioners of the admiralty for exercising admiralty jurisdiction within their respective districts. -- Vice admiralty, the office of a vice admiral. -- Vice-admiralty court, a court with admiralty jurisdiction, established by authority of Parliament in British possessions beyond the seas. Abbott. -- Vice chamberlain, an officer in court next in rank to the lord chamberlain. [Eng.] -- Vice chancellor. (a) Law An officer next in rank to a chancellor. (b) An officer in a university, chosen to perform certain duties, as the conferring of degrees, in the absence of the chancellor. (c) R. C. Ch. The cardinal at the head of the Roman Chancery. -- Vice consul [cf. F. vice-consul], a subordinate officer, authorized to exercise consular functions in some particular part of a district controlled by a consul. -- Vice king, one who acts in the place of a king; a viceroy. -- Vice legate [cf. F. vice-l'egat], a legate second in rank to, or acting in place of, another legate. -- Vice presidency, the office of vice president. -- Vice president [cf. F. vice-pr'esident], an officer next in rank below a president.

© Webster 1913.