An ESP32 plugged into a Commodore's IEC serial port can now serve files from any URL on the internet. The device is called Meatloaf, built by a developer named jaime, and it eliminates the gap between modern file storage and vintage Commodore hardware without requiring the user to touch any configuration on the device itself.
The architecture is what makes this worth reading. Meatloaf connects to a dedicated service that resolves file locations regardless of where the files live, local storage, remote URLs, or nested archives. It parses those archives on the fly and delivers their contents to the Commodore exactly as a period-correct floppy drive would. All control happens from the Commodore side, as long as the user knows the URL.
The GitHub repository is live and detailed. If you have ever tried bridging a Commodore to modern infrastructure and hit the wall of IEC serial complexity, the implementation specifics here are the reason to go deeper than the headline.
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