REVIEW: FrozenFish August 1995 CD-ROM

by: Jason Compton


There are a lot of merits to having the entire Fred Fish disk collection in CD-ROM format. One is that a CD-ROM stores a lot easier than 1,100 floppies do. 1,100 floppies that don't change really take up a lot of space on a hard drive. It's a significant chunk of Amiga history, and enables you to look up the contents of Fish Disk 283 and commit them to memory, just so when you meet the man himself, you can quiz him and feel somehow superior because you know the answer while all he can come up with is a blank look.

In case you don't have a CD-ROM drive, though, it would really be nice if your local BBS or ISP carried the Fish archives. Your average one-horse, one CD-ROM PC BBS will probably have better ideas for its single drive than a Fish CD, but with 7-disc changers gaining popularity and dropping in price, it's not quite such an uphill battle. Combined with the fact that a number of PC CD-ROM filesystems don't deal well with filesystems more complicated than ISO 9660 Level 1 (which limits filenames to 8+3 characters), it means that just tossing in a random Fish CD might not be the best solution.

That's what motivated FrozenFish. Totally ISO 9660 level 1, in 8+3 character all capital letter glory, FZF carries all 1,100 Fish disks to date in LHA format, plus a small amount of Commodore includes, and about 200 megs of material from FreshFish 9.

Intended for BBSes, the individual Fish disk files are cataloged in CRC files only, as the "PI" (product information) files only identify the disk's number. A rather long treatise on KingFisher and its application with these PI files is included. The new additions from FreshFish 9 are properly cataloged with full descriptions, however.

Well...there's only so much that can be said about a collection of Fish disks that hasn't been said hundreds of times before. The real issue here is cost for performance, and for $20, it's hard to complain. Of course, $20 will also get you GoldFish 1, which is a slightly less complete (since it's measurably older, it's missing the most recent 100 disks) but in a much more searchable format, including the de-archived disks, as the compilation is two CDs. An Amiga user would be well advised to pass up this collection, but then, that's the point--no self-respecting Amiga manufacturer puts "PC Compatible" on the cover of a product unless he's very serious about it. The inclusion of the new material makes the disc just that much more attractive and justifiable. So harass your favorite sysop to make room in that 7 CD changer for you.

Amiga Library Services


Copyright Amiga Report Magazine. Specific permission has been granted to the Amiga CDROM Home Page.
Back to main