Let's get straight down to news this week. The C-One Re-configurable Computer has a new beta-level C64 PAL core, which has been developed by Peter Wendrich.

This is very good news for owners of the device, because certain bugs from previous alpha cores have now been fixed, including the important CIA timers (including the TOD clock) and more accurate IRQ and NMI timings.

If you don't know what this means, then don't worry, but be happy with the certain knowledge that the machine is now able to run C64 software to a more stable and consistent level. Testing for the new core has begun, with people throwing their most fussy software at it just to see what happens.

Meanwhile, Tobias Gubener has released a new system flash for the C-One that can now emulate a 1541 drive. The 1k30 FPGA can be fed with a new ROM file containing the drive emulation code, meaning every core that uses the IIEC port can make use of it.

More information about this device, which is similar in principle to the One Chip MSX mentioned last week (but obviously aimed at Commodore 8-bit fans), can be found over at Individual Computer's official website at cbbupgra.de/c-one

After many months of silence, Jonathan Cauldwell has once again started coding for the fabulous 80s wonder machine known as the ZX Spectrum. On his own ad-infested homepage, Cauldwell poses the question 'should I give lzzy a detachable head?', but I guess such formalities have already been decided as it has been reported that the new game, called Izzy Wizzy, is almost finished.

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The idea behind it is typically warped: our hero finds himself trapped in the company of many mutant beings (continuing the theme from Izzy's last game, Gloop!), whom he must cast spells against to rid them from his binary world forever. The twist is that certain spells will only work on certain mutants, so there's a bit of trial and error involved. More details will be announced soon, but hopefully you'll have the pleasure of this game in time for Halloween.

To find out more, you can enter the URL members.fortunecity.com/jonathan6/egghead/ into your preferred web-browsing interface, or keep an eye on www.cronosoft.co.uk, who will be no doubt be releasing it.

By the time that you're reading this, issue sixteen of the popular fanzine Sam Revival should be ready to buy, and will include the 1997 game Colony, by Derek Koselo, on its coverdisk.

Inside the magazine will contain all of the latest information regarding the Sam Coupé upgrade, the mayhem accelerator, including reactions from the first lucky owners of the device, as well as all of the usual well-informed Sam info that fans of the quirky-looking British machine can't do without. To find out more about the magazine and the Mayhem Accelerator (including AVI video clips of software that benefits from the speed increase), head over to www.samcoupe.com.