On Dec. 2. 2008 Astrocalc sent out the following message:

As you may have noticed, the online services of Astrocalc haven't been properly functional for some time, mainly due to health as well as technical problems. This is now about to change and a new website will open shortly. Joakim Schramm

I've been an Astrocalc fan since 1981 when they provided a program I ran on a C64.
But I am presently having trouble getting in touch with them. Has anyone heard any recent news? If there are any other Astrocalc users at the forum I would sure appreciate them sending me a private message.

Some great programs fail to work on newer machines. One of these is Microsoft's Photo Draw. This program just collapsed after Service Pack 2 was installed on newer machines. Therefore I have an old Win98 handy and can do some of my graphical and imagery work this before transfering the file to the newer units.

But when I ran a Computor optimizer on my XP, it ran off with the security code for my astrology software from Astrocalc. When I tried to reinstall my astrological software the installation code was out of date. (Astrolcalc, where are you?)

I also have my Astrocalc program installed on a Vista. Unfortunately the software is not fully compatible with the Vista - the program will run but the chart won't print on my Epson printer. How to solve the problem: I set up a network between my various computors. Even though Astrocalc would not print on the Vista, I could send charts to the printer through my XP linked up to the domestic network. From the Vista to the Epson printer through the XP. Hey presto - I'm printig charts and back in business again!

Why do computors have to have such obstinate personalities?

Here's a computer tip.

One way to get any version of Windows or DOS to work on any Windows or (I think) Linux machine is to use an app called "VMware Workstation". It costs $189 and can be downloaded.

The way it works is you install VMware workstation. It has a console. You put in the Windows disc or floppy(ies) and install through VMware's console. It will create a window with your virtual machine in it.

It will work just as if it's on its own machine. You set how much memory or disk space to give it. I use it for work since I need to test different operating systems quickly. I have a Windows XP machine, and with VMware I also run a Linux machine, 2003 server, and 2008 server all on one PC. At home, I have a Mac, and I have Vmware's Mac software running Windows. I wanted to install Windows 1 for the fun of it, but I didn't have a floppy drive.

You can drag and drop files from one virtual machine to another. I promise that I don't get a commission from VMware, but I think it's a good way to have the best of both worlds. If you have some software that only runs on Windows 95, 98, or even old versions of DOS, you can still use it on your new Vista machine. Cool stuff.

Andrew Bevan wrote:When I tried to reinstall my astrological software the installation code was out of date. (Astrolcalc, where are you?)

Hi Andrew,

Well we have been in contact since so it's not solely for you I write this, but I found my way to Skyscript just the other day and thought it would be a good idea to leave a reply to this topic and publicly ?clearing up? some of the ??? surrounding Astrocalc.

For anyone who doesn't know, I took over Astrocalc some years ago from Colin Miles who originally started it back in 1982 together with Terry Dwyer. Now I don't want to say too much here as parts of it really are of a personal nature, but here is the short story, for anyone who wonders.

I started as a Swedish Astrocalc agent back when it still was a Dos program and my attempt to produce a Swedish translation sort of lead me in on programming because at that time it required some code changes due to country code pages etc. I never succeeded at that time, but I guess it must have been my native Uranus on Mc, once presented with programming I couldn't let go of it!

At the time Astrocalc, together with some other peripheral programs were all written in Quick Basic and it later got rewritten for Windows 3 using Visual Basic 3 (VB3) and I also managed to complete my Swedish translation with version 3.0 of the main Astrocalc program. So far so good and the year is now 1995/96, Microsoft had replaced the VB3 programming environment with VB4, and that with VB5 and finally VB6 was released. I tried to influence Mr. Miles that it was time for "progress" and move Astrocalc to VB6 and prepare for the future to come, Internet etc. etc. but it never happened and Astrocalc 3.5, 5.0, 5.5 and finally 5.6 (2002) was released, still produced in VB3. Meanwhile I didn?t find it worthwhile to learn using a tool that already had been abandoned by Microsoft.

It was never said out laud during any of the many "energetic" discussions we had at the time, but I believe he was already looking forward to retirement and VB3 served his means, so why bother by learning something new and maybe break things. A pretty fair assessment I guess after all the years he invested into Astrocalc and its users.

What I have said above is mainly to give some background, as Mr. Miles later asked me if I wanted to take over the running of Astrocalc as he planned for his retirement, and I accepted his offer. What then happened is a rather complicated story that in the end basically became a heavy load on my shoulders and as a result my body developed a severe illness. Pair that with a major computer crash and a broken ankle (2nd time) on my 50th birthday and you has it all in a nutshell! (Almost) Needless to say, I wasn't the very best in representing Astrocalc during this time, and I am not seeking to excuse myself in any way, sometimes thinks have to crack simply for the better of worse. The only thing I like to say is that there were several times it appeared very tempting to just drop it all and I was actually encouraged by people close by to do so, but I didn?t.

Today my body has healed, more or less, even if I still get some alternative treatment but it's mostly because I don't believe in ageing and I want to get back at my top again. Regarding the Astrocalc programs (there are several) I never really stopped working on them, even if there were times when I weren't capable of much. The 4 most requested programs, Astrocalc, Astrogeography, Starword and Transits Forecaster have been released in versions to run on Windows XP, Vista and 7, they are all actively maintained and supported.

As for other Astrocalc programs, and it still apply for some parts of the above programs, what many people aren't aware of (and I believe it's not just with Astrocalc) is that they origin from a time beyond the early stages of Windows (3.0) and so does the code and the coding technique used at this time, which simply was forced on by the limitations computers and tools presented then. There is also a saying, which bear a heavy dignity in software circles, "if it isn?t broke, don't fix it!" which if taken too seriously can lead to situations presenting them self as very difficult to progress forward from, the ?time leap? simply gets too huge. As I took over the Astrocalc programs and looked deeper under the hood I found this was very much the case and in bringing it up to standards of today I have so far rewritten over 35 000 lines of code, but there are still more to go.

So to sum up this somewhat spontaneous "news announcement" about Astrocalc, basically to answer the question above "Astrocalc where are you?", Astrocalc has "resurrected" (although it was never really dead) and is actively developed today and works on both 32 and 64 bit versions of Windows. The "other" smaller and less requested programs are also under rewrite but present some challenges as mentioned above and as we lack Microsoft like recourses it will still take some time.

You will find us as always on our website (I don't know if it's ok to give it here as it may be considered as advertising, but it shouldn't be so hard to find anyhow) and the best way is to use our Contact form there, whether if you like to ask for support or just have a question. The site may look a bit dead as it hasn't been updated for some time but there hasn?t been much to say, really. Also, I am working on a completely new site to address some shortcomings the current one have. I am not as good in web programming as with ordinary programming though but hopefully it will be ready before the summer put us all at ease.

I will surely also hang around here I guess, but more as "myself", as I found some really good discussions going on and some that haven't even started yet. I have been away from practicing astrology for some time as I sort of lost the inspiration but that has changed lately so even if a bit rusty I intend to inject myself into this community as a humble student and equal as it fits.

And as you been such a hero or heroine to read all the way down here I will finally reward you with a direct answer to the other questions about the "out of date installation code" above. This was an invention of Mr. Miles and was the first thing I took out of the Astrocalc code. The system was not well thought through and it was just an annoyance to most users having a date cap on the installation and even more so if you want or need to reinstall your software. Astrocalc today have a simple license system that is built on trust and if you break it, that will mostly become an embarrassment of yourself.

Thanks you for reading this far,

Joakim Schramm
Owner and main developer
Astrocalc Software

Hi Joakim

Thanks for the update. It's certainly OK for you to put your website address here - that's not spam, because it's of interest to us!

Best regards
Deb

Hello Joakim

I remember the excitement of getting my first ever Astrocalc software in the 1980s. It was my first ever astrology software, actually. I have fond memories of it, so this thread caught my eye tonight.

After a few years I moved on to other software but I often wondered about what was happening, even recently when I re-found my Astrocalc disks and CD when tidying a cupboard.

Astrocalc was a pioneer and made a big difference by enabling people like me, who weren't good at maths and didn't have enough patience to calculate and draw hundreds of chart wheels, to be able to study lots of charts. Not to mention AstroGeography and Mike Harding's midpoint trees! I would never have even attempted to calculate all of those by hand!

Reading your post has answered an unspoken question mark, so thank you.

As someone who periodically has interruptions to my involvement in astrology for health and other reasons, I understand how there is a need to withdraw sometimes. Just like the duck appearing to do nothing much, it doesn't mean there is no paddling going on beneath the surface.

Take care and good luck!

H.

I also forward my gratitude to everyone in the Astrocalc team who made a difference to astrology. I was only sorry I hadn't got more money to throw your way.

Until that happy day I will continue to recommend your software.

Andrew Bevan wrote: Thu May 06, 2010 6:31 pm I also forward my gratitude to everyone in the Astrocalc team who made a difference to astrology. I was only sorry I hadn't got more money to throw your way.

Until that happy day I will continue to recommend your software.

Er, this is my first post, having registered today. I was looking for a simple introduction page, However I can start here perhaps. I have used Astrocalc for many years although I had to get a Windows 10 computer to use it. The main reason is the Midpoints Trees program part of it.

If relevant, I can explain why I do that or even the point of Trees, as explained by Mike Harding when I studied at the summer schools at Oxford under the much missed Charles.

If anyone still alive remembers those Oxford classes, well, I do too!( signature not working yet, this is Mindpoint.)

Hi there - if you want to look at an alternative free software, please check out Jean Cremers' Planetdance. It is comprehensive and the Cosmobiology module will do midpoint trees, along with the midpoint module.

You can download directly from www.jcremers.com

Thanks for your interest. Ed

astralwanderer wrote: Tue Jan 07, 2025 9:53 am Hi there - if you want to look at an alternative free software, please check out Jean Cremers' Planetdance. It is comprehensive and the Cosmobiology module will do midpoint trees, along with the midpoint module.

You can download directly from www.jcremers.com

Thanks for your interest. Ed

Thanks I will have a look