ISEPIC
The ISEPIC from Starpoint Software in USA was an early little-known extension cartridge which was introduced in June 1985 for the Commodore 64; it offered the capability to save virtually all memory-resident software regardless of the implementation scheme or storage medium according to the manual first sentence. And the snapshot could be tested before saving that it actually worked.
The cartridge vanished at the end of 1985 but still sold 20,000 units around the world, mostly by word of mouth at local computer clubs and niche magazines.
A major factor is the 2 kB RAM that could be reprogrammed And thus allowed the user to change its functionality. The 2 kB RAM is memory banked into a 256-byte page at 0xDF00 – 0xDFFF.
Reception
Ahoy! in October 1985 stated that "the ramifications of [ISEPIC] are startling, to say the least". While warning readers against violating copyright, the magazine discussed the cartridge's ability to both produce snapshots that required the cartridge to boot, and help users modify snapshots to produce standalone versions of programs ("In the tradition of the true hacker, these routines also display the Isepic logo while booting the program").[1]
References
See also
- Trilogic Expert Cartridge - A later cartridge with 8 kB RAM