Need Help!

10 November 2006, 15:40

This is a bit of an unusual request, which will need a bit of expert help!

First, some background, which I hope Amiga users may find interesting:
In the 1980s the company I worked for used Commodore 64s as a "man machine interface" in a stats diagnosis system linked to a larger specially designed processor unit which monitored call centre traffic, call-rates, times and durations! The call centre staff used dedicated VDUs linked in to a specialized database, not stand-alone PCs. Many people at the time found this very hard to believe!

It was part of my job to run the C64 programs necessary to extract the stats, collate them and back them up on 5 inch floppies. A massive amount of information would be printed out daily. The information this set-up gave was staggering and was used to assess staffing levels etc!
I sold my Spectrum and got a C64. I thought it much better than the alternatives at the time so when the Amiga came out I bought one straight away.
Up until the mid 90s I was an avid Amiga user. I started off with an A500 and then got an A1200 with h/d and extra RAM.

I also used the Amiga on the Internet and later got a CD32 and linked it to the Amiga as a CD-ROM drive, but that is another story!

I started a Family History Society and produced a 40 page Journal each Quarter with the Amiga. The printer I had was a 24 pin Epson, which was pretty poor compared to today's stuff! As it was, this was quite expensive gear at the time, and the Amiga was much better than the current PCs that ran Win3.1!

I found, however, that everyone I dealt with used PCs and I kept getting sent files for Excel and Word etc. I then needed to use scanners and other peripherals that were unavailable or very expensive for the Amiga. Commodore was having problems. As the Internet was getting more widely used, I was having problems finding Amiga Internet support so I reluctantly changed to a PC with Win95. About the same time my company scrapped the VDUs and began to use PCs. I had to teach the call centre staff how to use the PCs. All my Amiga gear was disposed of!

Now, to the point, the first ten Journals for my FHS were all written using Pagesetter and Pagestream and saved on Amiga disks, which I still have. I would now like to transfer these to PC files. Even .txt files would do.

1. Is this possible?
2. Would somebody here be able to help me? I have no Amiga equipment and have forgotten most of what I knew about the machine.
I am in Essex, not far from London. I would be willing to travel a reasonable distance and would pay a sensible fee for help.

Thank you

sarek2k · 10 November 2006, 18:51

if pagesetter / pagestream can export to another file type maybe someone could transfer the files from the disks to a pc.

maybe then you can get them into winuae for converting to either text files or rtf data so u can get at them on the pc side of things, quite a few people round here have pcmcia to cf slot adaptors.

worth a shot anyone else any ideas? it would mean u sending out the disks to someone of course to do the transfering (as i never used either of the programs you mentioned i wouldnt know what filetypes they can ouput to)

hope this is a start

Marcuz · 10 November 2006, 20:10

i don't know the program really, i just see that there's a pc version too:
http://www.pagestream.net/
and it should hopefully import the original files and export them at least in txt i think. the problem is to get the original files on your pc. i have not undertood if they are on 5 inches disks or regualr amiga disks. if they are on the regular disks, then the faqs can help you for that goal, but for the simple way, you still need an amiga disposable around.

10 November 2006, 15:40	#1
SBD Posts: n/a	Need Help! This is a bit of an unusual request, which will need a bit of expert help! First, some background, which I hope Amiga users may find interesting: In the 1980s the company I worked for used Commodore 64s as a "man machine interface" in a stats diagnosis system linked to a larger specially designed processor unit which monitored call centre traffic, call-rates, times and durations! The call centre staff used dedicated VDUs linked in to a specialized database, not stand-alone PCs. Many people at the time found this very hard to believe! It was part of my job to run the C64 programs necessary to extract the stats, collate them and back them up on 5 inch floppies. A massive amount of information would be printed out daily. The information this set-up gave was staggering and was used to assess staffing levels etc! I sold my Spectrum and got a C64. I thought it much better than the alternatives at the time so when the Amiga came out I bought one straight away. Up until the mid 90s I was an avid Amiga user. I started off with an A500 and then got an A1200 with h/d and extra RAM. I also used the Amiga on the Internet and later got a CD32 and linked it to the Amiga as a CD-ROM drive, but that is another story! I started a Family History Society and produced a 40 page Journal each Quarter with the Amiga. The printer I had was a 24 pin Epson, which was pretty poor compared to today's stuff! As it was, this was quite expensive gear at the time, and the Amiga was much better than the current PCs that ran Win3.1! I found, however, that everyone I dealt with used PCs and I kept getting sent files for Excel and Word etc. I then needed to use scanners and other peripherals that were unavailable or very expensive for the Amiga. Commodore was having problems. As the Internet was getting more widely used, I was having problems finding Amiga Internet support so I reluctantly changed to a PC with Win95. About the same time my company scrapped the VDUs and began to use PCs. I had to teach the call centre staff how to use the PCs. All my Amiga gear was disposed of! Now, to the point, the first ten Journals for my FHS were all written using Pagesetter and Pagestream and saved on Amiga disks, which I still have. I would now like to transfer these to PC files. Even .txt files would do. 1. Is this possible? 2. Would somebody here be able to help me? I have no Amiga equipment and have forgotten most of what I knew about the machine. I am in Essex, not far from London. I would be willing to travel a reasonable distance and would pay a sensible fee for help. Thank you

10 November 2006, 18:51	#2
sarek2k E.A.B Addict and Proud Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: England Age: 56 Posts: 543	if pagesetter / pagestream can export to another file type maybe someone could transfer the files from the disks to a pc. maybe then you can get them into winuae for converting to either text files or rtf data so u can get at them on the pc side of things, quite a few people round here have pcmcia to cf slot adaptors. worth a shot anyone else any ideas? it would mean u sending out the disks to someone of course to do the transfering (as i never used either of the programs you mentioned i wouldnt know what filetypes they can ouput to) hope this is a start

10 November 2006, 20:10	#3
Marcuz Registered User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: . Age: 48 Posts: 5,562	i don't know the program really, i just see that there's a pc version too: http://www.pagestream.net/ and it should hopefully import the original files and export them at least in txt i think. the problem is to get the original files on your pc. i have not undertood if they are on 5 inches disks or regualr amiga disks. if they are on the regular disks, then the faqs can help you for that goal, but for the simple way, you still need an amiga disposable around.

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