NotesSimply hop on Xibalba BBS and let me (NuSkooler) know you’d like to join in. You’ll get an @YourName@Xibalba.l33t.codes Fediverse address with the ability to both post and read public and private messages.FeedUnfurl
NotesI’ve recently caught myself, like some horrific solo re-write of the Monty Python Four Yorkshiremen sketch, waxing lyrical to my two iPod-wielding young ‘uns about the good old days; when men were men, computers were effectively clockwork, and computer games… well, come to think about it, they still cost about 69p. But you didn’t download them from an app store. Oh no. They came bound into computer magazines and had to be typed in by hand. And oh yes, they were in an arcane language called Basic.Unfurl
Notesescapes.js is a small JavaScript library for rendering ANSI art, a form of computer art that flourished in the mid 90s. ANSI art was composed by colorizing sequences of characters and blocks drawn in the built-in system font, which made it easy to transmit across telephone wires. As a result, ANSI art was especially popular on Bulletin Board Systems (BBSes).Unfurl
NotesAh, the anticipation of Christmas morning. Who could ever forget that frenzied level of excitement we felt as children as we climbed into bed on Christmas Eve, with our palms sweating and our hearts racing. If you grew up celebrating Christmas, it's likely that you've felt this way at least once in your life (maybe you still do). The experience of waking up on Christmas morning and discovering a cache of otherwise unattainable goodies is one that you will never, ever forget. I have to tell you that my heart is pounding right now just writing this. Unfurl
NotesMy parents bought my Uncle Kenny’s Commodore 64 for me back in 1985. If I remember correctly the sound chip had blown out, so the first thing we they did was have it fixed. Sixteen years later, I still own (and use) that same Commodore computer. I’ve owned dozens of other Commodore computers ov...FeedEmbedUnfurl
NotesThanks to our friends over at THQ and Twitch.TV for having the Green Lion drop this press release off to share with you. Watch live video from THQtv on www.twitch.tv In celebration of THQ’s release of VOLTRON: Defender of the Universe (NOW available on XBox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network...Unfurl
NotesIt's usually pretty easy to track down most big Hollywood releases and major TV shows on DVD, or on Netflix. But what about those works that aren't popular enough for mass production, such as old TV movies, pilots that never made it to air, or lost films that only a die-hard film fan could appr...Unfurl
NotesSo, what do you all think? Does Mrs. Brisby and her mob of mice win, or will the ThunderCats slice their way to the top? Only you can decide! Respond to this post and let us know which lunchbox deserves to win!Unfurl
Notes Similar to Mike, I was able to scream (not whistle: scream) a 300 baud carrier tone. This skill proved useful when I was in college and the mainframe system was down. Instead of sitting around waiting for the system to come back, I just went about my regular business around campus. Every so often, I would go to a nearby campus phone (like a free public phone but it can only make calls to other locations on campus), dial the 300 baud dial-up number, and scream the carrier tone. If I got a response, that meant that the mainframe was back online and I should wrap up what I was doing and head back to the lab. Unfurl
Notes"The Game of Robot-Programming Fun<br />
<br />
Program Robots using graphic chips.<br />
A great way for Kids of all ages to enjoy the fun of programming<br />
<br />
ChipWits will be back in late 2010<br />
<br />
"FeedEmbedUnfurl
Notes"n Solar Realms Elite (SRE), you rule a solar empire. The goal is to become and remain the most powerful empire. You can gain strength by buying forces, and you can gain size by colonizing planets. You start with 6 planets, and a little bit of money. You are required to feed your people and army, and to pay to maintain your planets and army. If you fail to do these things, disastrous results may occur. You are given 20 years (“turns”) of protection, during which you can not attack or be attacked. You can not perform covert operations (except Spy). This provides a way for smaller empires to build up their defenses and planets before they enter the “real world”. "FeedUnfurl
Notes"Thrust was just awesome and it is that game which I have attempted to recreate here using just JavaScript and the HTML <canvas> tag. I have 'cheated' a little in that I use Scott Schiller's excellent SoundManager 2 Javascript audio manager (which in turn uses Flash) to play the sounds, but I think that is fair game in the spirit of what I am trying to do."Unfurl
Notes"Lemmings started life as a simple animation back in August 1989 when DMA Design had just moved into their first office (which only consited of 2 small rooms), and were begining a new game called Walker (based on the walker that was used in Blood Money)."Unfurl
Notes"The "Professional-1541-DOS" from Mikrotronic System is an add-on for the 1541 and a C64 or a C128 in C64 mode, which is supposed to speedup all read- and write-operations of the drive. The Professional-DOS is an expansion for an already installed speeder with a parallel cable, like SpeedDOS, SpeedDOS Plus, Floppy Flash User System and Floppy Flash Toolkit System."Unfurl
Notes"The Professional-DOS Floppy-Speeder from Mikrotronic for the Commodore home computers C64, C128 and C128D and it's peripherals C1541, C1541-C and C1571 was one of the Super-Floppy-Speeders. This class of speeder systems were mostly equipped with hardware modification boards and a parallel cable of course. Well known products are Dolphin-DOS from Dolphin-Software, Prologic-DOS (Classic) from Jann Datentechnik, Turbo-Trans from Roßmöller and Professional-DOS from Mikrotronic."Unfurl
Notes"OpenCBM is a library and a set of command line tools that allow to control old Commodore IEC devices like the famous 1541 floppy disk drive. You can transfer disk image to and from old discs. As modern computers do not provide a IEC connector, OpenCBM allows to control adapters that attach to your PC. Older PCs use parallel port cables (like the XA1541 or XS1541) and newer ones use a USB adapter (XU1541 or XUM1541).
This pages shows you how to use OpenCBM on your Mac. As modern Macs only support USB connectors and no parallel ones, we focus on setting up the XU1541 or XUM1541 devices."Unfurl
Notes"Device Side Data's FC5025 USB 5.25" floppy controller plugs into any computer's USB port and enables you to attach a 5.25" floppy drive. Even if your computer has no built-in floppy controller, the FC5025 lets you read those old disks. And it's not just for IBM PC disks – it also understands formats used by Apple, Atari, Commodore and TI, among others."Unfurl
Notes"If you're going to make fun of Castlevania, you can focus on one of two things: tiny shorts or whips. This clip from a recent Robot Chicken episode has made its call."Unfurl
Notes"I decided: why not ignore the fact that my first computer and my latest computer are 27 years apart? Why not stack them on top of each other, take some silly photos, and put up a chart comparing how many kilo-whatsits of X the Atari had to how many giga-whosits the Dell had.
So you have it... a brief comparison of the classic and short-lived Atari 1200XL to the modern and also short-lived Dell Inspiron 1525."Unfurl
Notes"A photo essay featuring some hardware you may remember, some you may have only heard of, and a few things that you were probably never aware existed. One thing we learned: the older a computer is, the more likely it is to be blue."Unfurl
Notes"A photo essay featuring some hardware you may remember, some you may have only heard of, and a few things that you were probably never aware existed. One thing we learned: the older a computer is, the more likely it is to be blue."
A photo essay featuring some hardware you may remember, some you may have only …Unfurl
NotesI had no idea these existed. I so totally would have had a full set of Starmaster patches. "To obtain any of the coveted Activision patches, a player would need to play a particular game, reach a pre-determined score, and mail a photograph prooving the accomplishment to Activision. Weeks later the Activision patch would arrive in your mailbox compliments of Activision, accompanied by a nice letter from the company congratulating you on your game-playing skills and welcoming you to the club."Unfurl
NotesWishing I was there! "California Extreme 2009, an annual celebration of classic arcade games and pinball, takes place July 11-12 at the Hyatt Regency in Santa Clara."Unfurl
Notes"Remember the Dig Dug or Centipede or Robotron? They used to be favorites wheimagen Atari’s 7800 series was still around. Now since the era of those consoles is over and a different world of interactive reality gaming has taken over, Atari Museum, a site run by Atari enthusiast, has got hold of has unofficially source code of over 15 games for the coders and enthusiasts to admire the state-of-the-art (because this is what it was back then) of game development."Unfurl
Notes"Today they're called "mac heads", but way back in the 1980's, Apple users were in love with the Apple II. Despite the introduction of the Mac in 1984, the Apple II continued to have its devoted fans. This program looks at the Apple II culture during the early Mac era. Included are the Apple IIc+, the Apple II-GS, and a rare Apple I. Guests include John Sculley and Gary Kildall. Software demonstrations are of Math Blaster, Paintworks Gold, and Microsoft Bookshelf. Also a look at the newest Macintosh at the time, the Mac IIx. Originally broadcast in 1988."Unfurl
Notes"Looking back on it, it makes me feel a bit sorry for those born ten years later. And I can’t judge ten years earlier, but so much of that seemed to hit at the right age. Looking back at history, it seems like the last big waves of popular invention like this were decades ago. Teens with hot rods? Engineering in the 20s? I see my kids now, and they are so clearly getting the finished products of so much, not the products in the process of invention… Am I wrong?"Unfurl
Notes"I just found this in a box. Dated February 7, 1985, this is a hand-made, hand-written book I wrote for an elementary school project. I was barely 11 years old and was clearly obsessed with the Apple //c -- my first computer. I still have that computer, btw. Apple // Forever."Unfurl
Notes"Ecto Cooler was the Hi-C tangerine and orange flavored drink featuring a picture of Slimer plastered on each box or can. Unfortunately, it’s long since ceased production, or at least ceased to exist under the Ecto Cooler brand. But the reminiscing of all drinks got me thinking, why not profile some of the hits, or more accurately misses, of the drink world? Good or bad, sometimes remembering such things can be fun. So this is a great look back on some of the sodas and soft drinks of years past:"Unfurl
Notes"In its most fundamental form, the BBS was simply a computer connected via a modem to a phone line. On the computer was software that, when it detected that someone was calling the modem, would pick up, connect, and then provide the calling person with a menu. From this menu you could post and read messages from other users, send or receive files, or play games. What happened to BBSes, especially as it looked like they’d be around in some form forever, was multi-threaded connection to the Internet, especially Trumpet Winsock, a program that allowed PPP (Point to Point Protocol) on Windows systems."Unfurl
Notes"The next time you use your shiny new Wacom tablet and Adobe Photoshop CS4, think back to a time before time–a time before blends, morphs, heal brushes, and 10-megapixel images. A time like 1984, which, for computer graphics, was darker than the Dark Ages. It was a time when you could buy an $89.95 Atari CX77 Touch Tablet for your Atari 8-bit home computer. Luckily, I bought mine for considerably less last year, although it was still in new, unopened condition. Safely sequestered in the official Vintage Computing and Gaming computer lab, I recently began the task of unpacking the antique peripheral and documenting the process. Here’s an account of the experience."FeedUnfurl
Notes"Obtaining a new, more powerful weapon during the course on an old-school NES game was always a rush. Tough enemies were suddenly wusses, and an upgraded or new weapon leveled the playing field tremendously. It was tough not to take pleasure in the increased body count of your foes. For this article, I’m not writing about standard or default weapons - like, say, Pit’s bow in Kid Icarus - no matter how cool they may be. Instead, here’s a look at ten of the most devastating weapons that one can acquire in games for the original NES."Unfurl
Notes"Remember the classic video games? The 8-bit masterpieces of our sweaty-palmed youth. Inviting some friends over for a Maniac Mansion all-nighter, huffing asthmatically into a cartridge to clear out the dust, or the thrill and crushing disappointment of rescuing a princess, only to discover you’ve really just saved a fungus. ... These games aren’t lost forever. You can still play many of them online. If you love the old classics, this list should have you busy for months. Below is a list of 95 old school video games that you can play online. Click on each title to link directly to the game. Also, we’ve reviewed and rated each game for you, our loyal AMOG readers."Unfurl
NotesAt the age of 8, I can clearly remember staring for hours at every page of this wishbook, and I wanted everything in it. "1983 was the year of the video game crash and that year’s Sears Wishbook was chock full of the detritus of a bloated dying industry. You got the handhelds, Vectrex, Gemini, Colecovision, Intellivision, Odyssey 2, Atari 2600 and Atari 5200 in this issue. Along with some great games and accessories. My favorite is the Handsome Hassock storage system on Page 9. I would love one of those now."Unfurl
Notes"Growing up in the seventies and eighties, my childhood memories basically consist of videogames, bright plastic toys and TV cartoons. Any time that was left I spent drawing and programming games for my Commodore 64. At a later age a few of my childhood dreams became a reality when I temporarily moved to Melbourne, where I worked as a videogame programmer, did oil-painting in a studio and had my work displayed in one of the local galleries. After a course in Graphic Design I made a career-switch and became a graphic designer/illustrator. Currently back in The Netherlands I work at a small design company and spend my spare time illustrating my childhood memories and designing papertoys. I specialize in one-piece papertoys that consist of a single flat piece of paper, which by intricate folding is transformed into a 3-dimensional model."FeedUnfurl
Notes"This pioneering PC made instant geeks out of millions of people back in the 80s. But what lies within the Commodore 64's fetching brown shell?"Unfurl
Notes"Today, we are releasing Commodore BASIC as a Scripting Language - it works on Linux, Windows, Mac OS X 10.4/10.5 (Intel and PowerPC), and you even get the source, so you can adapt it to other operating systems and CPUs."Unfurl
Notes"The SDrive is a device that connects to Atari XL/XE's serial (SIO) port and simulates an Atari floppy disk drive with full read/write access to programs and data stored on a SecureDigital flash card (SD)."Unfurl
ActivityPub Beta on Xibalba BBS
robohara.com » The Commodore 64 Moves In
The 10 Greatest MS-DOS Games of All Time
[ Retro Scan of the Week ] Big Trak Keypad
Vintage Computing and Gaming | Archive » One Scan Per Week for Five Years
[ Retro Scan of the Week ] Apple IIc Flat Panel Display
[ Retro Scan of the Week ] Grolier’s Encyclopedia on CompuServe
ChipWits: The Game of Robot-Programming Fun - Bring Your Brain!
Solar Realms Elite 0.995: Documentation
Jon Combe | Experiments | Thrust: A classic computer game remake using <canvas>
FC5025 USB 5.25" Floppy Controller - Device Side Data
Atari 1200XL vs. Dell Inspiron 1525
A2Central.com - Your total source for Apple II computing.
A trip down memory lane and beyond at Vintage Computer Fest - Ars Technica
Good Deal Games - Classic Videogame Games ARTICLE - Activision Patches ( Atari, Colecovision, Intellivision )
Atari’s 1984 Touch Tablet: A Retro-Unboxing | Technologizer
Marshall Alexander
ATARI SDrive