#VintageComputer

[sinclair-speccy]

[carnagewizard]

Commodore 2001 series The Commodore PET is a line of personal computers produced starting in 1977 by Commodore International. A single all-in-one case combines a MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor, Commodore BASIC in read-only memory, keyboard, monochrome monitor, and, in early models, a cassette deck. 

Source: Wikipedia

[tuylek]

[adafruit]

🎄💾🗓️ Day 14: Retrocomputing Advent Calendar - Atari 400/800🎄💾🗓️

The Atari 8-bit computer line was launched in 1979 with the Atari 400 and Atari 800. Both were advanced for home computers at the time. Both were driven by a 1.79 MHz MOS Technology 6502 CPU, with ANTIC and CTIA/GTIA custom chips for advanced graphics and the POKEY chip handling sound and input/output duties. The Atari 800 was the premium model, featuring a full mechanical keyboard, user-expandable to 48 KB of memory, more metal shielding, and more durability. The Atari 400 was a lower-cost alternative with a membrane keyboard, limited to 16 KB of RAM, and a simplified construction.

With hardware-accelerated scrolling, Player/Missile graphics, and rich sound, the Atari 8-bit systems were known for gaming and creative applications. They were a versatile platform with cartridge-based software, cassette, and floppy disk storage. Atari's proprietary SIO (Serial Input/Output) port allowed daisy-chaining peripherals such as printers, modems, and disk drives, making connecting them easier than with other systems.

Newer models were more compact, combined memory expansion to as much as 128KB, and compatibility with developing software and peripherals improved. Atari's 8-bit computers are remembered for having groundbreaking hardware and a very colorful game library, and they are still being used by the retrocomputing community.

While doing research for this, I saw the XE Game System, never saw it before, very 80s for sure!

The Atari XEGS (XE Game System) was launched in 1987. A repackaged 65XE with a removable keyboard, it boots to the 1981 port of Missile Command instead of BASIC if the keyboard is disconnected.

Have first computer memories? Post’em up in the comments, or post yours on socialz’ and tag them #firstcomputer #retrocomputing – See you back here tomorrow!

[eternitybazaar]

Come and enjoy a coffee on your retro iMac table.

[pixelharbinger]

New emote Vorpal rend commissioned from my i added some pride varieties for fun and flavor, made sure to check him out and post the emote so he remember

[mingos-commodoreblog]

Greaseweazle Tools 1.19

[blisscast]

A Marvelous Footnote in Tech History – the Mindset Computer and the Vyper Game

Even if it’s not anywhere as famous as Silicon Graphics machines, this workstation from the 80s has something that others don’t have; a game exclusive to it, that fully takes advantage of the so impressive graphics that it could display! Check it out at the link below!

Disponibile anche in 🇮🇹

https://blisscast.wordpress.com/2023/10/17/mindset-computer-vyper-game/

[univac1219]

1962 Mainframe with Bluetooth

This old computer is comprised of four big boxes, three of which are ever actually used.

The UNIVAC 1219. This is the brains of the system. It controls the operations of every other device. This is what I'm referring to when I'm not gesturing to the UNIVAC 1219 as a whole.

The UNIVAC 1540. This is the DDR, or Digital Data Recorder. It holds, writes, and reads the magnetic tape operators load into the machine.

The Digital to Analog Converter. The UNIVAC 1219 was the first digital computer on most U.S. Navy ships, most of which had analog weapons systems. This hulking mass of steel translated the digital signals from the computer to the analog signals of the weapon systems and vice versa in regards to the radar.

The UNIVAC 1532. The I/O console managed the...you guessed it, input and output of the UNIVAC 1219. You can load and punch paper tape for programs more bite-sized than would be used for magnetic tape.

In addition, we have two teletype machines. You can think of them like typewriters that don't receive human input (except the one that can if we want), but instead output what the computer tells it to.  We have a Teletype Corporation teletype that is optimized for character compatability and a Kleinschmidt teletype that is optimized for speed. Both rely on the I/O console to send and receive data.

The real ingenuity begins with the floppy drive. Duane, who's career revolved around this system, developed a way for a floppy drive to imitate the I/O console. The computer thinks it is reading and writing to a paper tape, when it is in fact reading and writing to a 5.25in floppy inside an ancient CNC machine floppy drive.

And this, dear reader, is where the magic happens. This framework was originally built for interfacing with the 1219 via BIN files over Serial port and was easily changed to support BIN files over floppy. Duane has been working on an off adapting our purple converter box with a raspi to let the 1219 read and write BIN files over Bluetooth.

Make no mistake, you cannot simply SSH into this machine as tons of setup and channel changes must be performed to ready it to receive and send data. That being said, I don't see any other UNIVAC mainframes with Bluetooth [or any other running UNIVAC 1219s at all :(], so I will take what I can get.

Can someone tell me how to Tumblr properly?

[yellowmanula]

For commodore 64 Fans :)

[sinclair-speccy]

[ouppylaika]

school warehouse clearing :3

[katslgr]

Psion Series 5 Released in 1997. Powered by 2×AA batteries and one backup button cell (CR2032). Battery life: ~20–35 hours of use on AAs; backup cell keeps data for weeks when main batteries are empty. Features include a green backlit monochrome display, full QWERTY/Z keyboard, and built-in software for word processing, calendar, spreadsheets, etc. Weak point: the flex cable between body and screen can fail due to the hinge mechanism. Less severe than in the later Series 5mx, but still a known issue. The Psion series was a popular PDA series next to Palm. Douglas Adams reportedly used a Psion Series 3 to write parts of Last Chance to See.

I bought my Psion 5 around 2006 for ~50 €. Mainly used it for writing travel diaries in the UK and Japan. Switched to a Palm PDA for university a bit later – faster UI access, better desktop sync and compatibility, less fragile.

I used old tech for studying still when smartphones were becoming common. LCD devices were more reliable, the battery was longer lasting, they were not build to distract, and more robust.

I still like this Psion 5 as a portable typing machine. The keyboard is not as good as with the AlphaSmart Neo, but is actually quite decent for such a small device - it can feel slightly mushy, but it's good enough for longer typing in a bus seat or similar.

[adafruit]

💾🖥️📖 Inside the Personal Computer: An Illustrated Introduction in 3 Dimensions: A Pop-Up Guide. Text by Sharon Gallagher. Paper engineering and design by Ron van der Meer (1984). Posting this and more as we get our #retrocomputing series ready for next month!

[eternitybazaar]

An apple computer that never was… also in the woods.

[thevintnerd]

Standards? Who needs standards?! 😆