Countdown for computer parts!

A few curveballs thrown at me this month made ordering a new cpu and some other tidbits hard to get going, but now they're on the way here.
Hopefully between the new power supply, cpu, and cooling fans, (crossing fingers) I'll get things up and running for a few more years before having to upgrade.

Really there's no reason for me to upgrade atm to tell the truth, the system lets me run the handful of things I need for work and my Amiga emulation is pretty zippy.. I'm looking forward to getting it running again as using this busted up laptop is rather clunky. The screen has packed it in, the keyboard is pretty rubbish, and half the USB ports are rather dodgy.
I tried to burn a CD yesterday in hopes of getting another clunker I had lying around up and running on linux (an attempt to get my A2000 using amitcp or a terminal program to give it some kind of network support on a budget) but the CD actually slipped out of its drive and is currently somewhere inside the laptop.. it was like a magic trick you see on TV.. put the CD in, close the case... abracadabra, open the case NO CD! IT'S VANISHED!

Thoughts turned to getting winuae running on it to speed up programming and make it a little more comfortable (until I pick up some wood and get to work on in the shop again I have to use my in a less than comfortable position) - and transfer the work over a null-modem as I did with my old comp, but alas, no serial port on this thing either.

I'm seriously thinking of getting a micro atx case or a book sized barebones system and putting together a dedicated, small, convenient uae dev box that also handles networked workflow to my real amiga.... but it all requires $$$, and although I'm not totally skint - I'd rather spend that money on my kids - the whole point of getting back into Ami development was to try and support the fixing and upgrading of my machine. I get my Amiga running nice and solid again, the community gets some new games. Win-win.

Always the way - you get a bunch of good ideas when you can't really effectively work on them. Still, while waiting I've been working on the CodeShell and gathering up useful routines and organizing them. Keeping in mind the pitfalls I've had in the past while trying to finish projects, and the ones that have collapsed under their own weight. I think it's coming along pretty nicely. The object isn't so much to have a bunch of routines that will 'make a game' but rather enough to streamline down the process of getting a (complete) working prototype together.
Once running and tested, I'd first get any new routines worth harvesting and roll them back into the main library, then prune out what isn't being used. Finally optimizing the core routines to accomplish their relative tasks faster for that specific project.

It can't hurt, at the moment I have 1 project on indefinite hold (EVA) and one that has hit a bit of a wall until I work out a couple of tricky problems (Scramble). I expect Scramble will get sorted out again soon once I get the new system up and running, and in the meantime I do have something in mind to test out some of the routines of the CodeShell. More details another time.