PockEmul 2.3.0 New release

Dear PockEmul’s fans, I am pleased to announce the new PockEmul release. It will be available in the next few days.

It includes the Texas Instruments Epson HX-20 Handled Computer and some new features Keyboard Simulator and Memory Dump.

The Epson HX-20

The Epson HX-20 was release in 1981 and is considered as the first laptop computer.
It can be compared to the Casio FP-200 and the Sharp PC-2500.
It has 2 CPU , one for BASIC and the second one for Input/Output. Generally, the second CPU is simulated.

PockEmul is the only known emulator to emulate this second CPU.
For example, the second CPU drives printer pins individually. PockEmul emulates each pin impact of the printer.

I know, it’s not a key feature for the end user, and nobody will notice the difference with a simulated second CPU but there is a certain proud at being the first. And who knows, if someone wants to call directly the second CPU’s routines in machine language, it will works…

The emulation is not yet perfect and some features are missing:

The Alarm feature is not working
Serial and tape features are not emulated.
Expansion Unit is not available
The device power on automatically and power Off is not working
Still some instability

Obviously, its form factor is not well adapted to smartphone display size. PockEmul provides a condensed skin to be more usable on small displays but it will be far more usable on a tablet or a desktop.

The documentation is fully available from PockEmul and from this web site: Epson HX-20 Documentation – PockEmul

The Keyboard Simulator

Available in the new “Advanced Tools” menu, this new feature helps to enter program on devices.

Instead of typing directly source code on the emulated device, you can paste it directly into the Keyboard Simulator and press the “SEND KEYS” button. PockEmul will simulate the key typing at high speed.

The Memory Editor

Some PockEmul users ask for a feature to manipulate devices memory.

The memory editor make the emulated device memory available for Read an Search. The write mode is not yet available but this tool will be extended with full editor capabilities and binary Import/Export features.