Hacker News with Generative AI: Retro Computing

Debugging Lotus 1-2-3 by fax (jgc.org)
There isn't a lot to this story beyond the fact that in around 1990 I helped debug someone's Lotus 1-2-3 set up via fax. But it's a good reminder of how important the Zeroth Law of Debugging is (see below).

Debugging, Retro Computing, Software, Humor

95 points by jgrahamc 2 days ago | 19 comments

Build an 8-bit computer from scratch (eater.net)

Hardware, Electronics, DIY, Retro Computing, Programming

5 points by jcartw 3 days ago | 0 comments

RPCEmu is an emulator of classic Acorn computer systems (marutan.net)
RPCEmu is an emulator of classic Acorn computer systems, such as the Risc PC and A7000. It runs on multiple platforms including Windows, Linux and Mac OS X

Emulation, Retro Computing, Acorn Computers, Operating Systems

63 points by andsoitis 3 days ago | 6 comments

Win98-quickinstall: A framework and installer to quickly install Windows 98 (github.com/oerg866)
This is a framework that is intended for creating and preparing Windows 98 installation ISO images in a way that is optimized for extremely quick installation, similar to nLite, but with a completely different method and context.

Operating Systems, Software, Retro Computing, Tools

205 points by userbinator 3 days ago | 120 comments

Ploopy Classic 2 open source trackball (ploopy.co)
The Classic 2 is a brand new revision of the original Classic, and kits are available today starting at $144CAD!

Hardware, Open Source, Retro Computing

21 points by namanyayg 4 days ago | 2 comments

Commodore C64 still used in Indiana bakery as cash registers (tomshardware.com)

Retro Computing, Hardware, Business, Technology, History

8 points by wojtczyk 4 days ago | 0 comments

6502 as a Service (emulationonline.com)
The 6502 is now available in the Chiplab! This allows you to upload your programs to be queued for running against a real 6502 chip. For each cycle of execution, you can observe the values of all the busses of the physical chip.

Emulation, Retro Computing, Hardware, Programming

55 points by emulationonline 4 days ago | 5 comments

Classic AmigaOS Programming: The Network (edsa.uk)
The third book in my "Classic Amiga Programming" series has just been published. This took a bit longer than anticipated due to my BassMX project (for which I'm still building units) being more popular than I anticipated.

AmigaOS, Programming, Retro Computing

4 points by doener 5 days ago | 0 comments

Use AppleShare 3.9.2 even on Mac OS 7.6 (techhub.social)

Mac OS, AppleShare, Retro Computing

5 points by geerlingguy 7 days ago | 0 comments

A Testament to X11 Backwards Compatibility (2013) (theresistornetwork.com)
I recently scored a Hewlett Packard 1670A Deep Memory Logic Analyzer and I finally had a chance to fire it up.

Hardware, Retro Computing, X11

14 points by tosh 9 days ago | 0 comments

RGB2HDMI for the Amiga 1000 (celso.io)
On my last post “the first perfect computer” I mentioned that I wasn’t done with the A1000. I finally upgraded it with an internal RGB2HDMI adapter.

Retro Computing, Hardware, Amiga, Gaming

9 points by ingve 10 days ago | 0 comments

A USB Interface to the "Mother of All Demos" Keyset (righto.com)
In the early 1960s, Douglas Engelbart started investigating how computers could augment human intelligence: "If, in your office, you as an intellectual worker were supplied with a computer display backed up by a computer that was alive for you all day and was instantly responsive to every action you had, how much value could you derive from that?"

Hardware, History, Retro Computing

321 points by zdw 10 days ago | 86 comments

Playing with HP Pa-RISC (thejpster.org.uk)
Having enjoyed some time with my Silicon Graphics POWER Indigo 2, I started to wonder what the other 1990's UNIX RISC machines might be like in comparison.

Retro Computing, UNIX, RISC Architecture, Hardware

6 points by ingve 11 days ago | 0 comments

Little things that made Amiga great (datagubbe.se)
To most people, the Amiga is probably synonymous with the Amiga 500 and that machine was, above all, a video game: something into which you plonked 3.5" floppy disks that transported you to strange, wonderful worlds and hours of fun.

Retro Computing, Video Games, Personal Computers, Nostalgia

11 points by andsoitis 11 days ago | 2 comments

Blogging like it's 1987: A blog post from my old text terminal (pointinthecloud.com)
I'm writing this on a black and yellow screen that is 38 years old, and I'm really enjoying it.

Nostalgia, Technology, Blogging, Retro Computing

8 points by ftvkyo 11 days ago | 0 comments

Bra and KET: String Interpolation in AmigaDOS (datagubbe.se)
Exploring the unnecessary, part 3735928559

AmigaDOS, Programming, Retro Computing, String Interpolation

79 points by ingve 11 days ago | 3 comments

Show HN: Resurrecting Infocom's Unix Z-Machine with Cosmopolitan (itch.io)
I'm the author of Status Line, a project which brought Zork to the Pico-8 with standalone exports for the big 3 major operating systems. Having recently finished a major update to that, I turned to porting Infocom's original UNIX z-machine source code through the use of Cosmopolitan. It took about 6 hours on a lazy Sunday to get it running on 6 modern operating systems, including Windows.

Gaming, Software, Operating Systems, Retro Computing

9 points by ChristopherDrum 12 days ago | 2 comments

Converting C to ASM to specs and then to a working Z/80 Speccy tape (ghuntley.com)
Can a LLM convert C, to ASM to specs and then to a working Z/80 Speccy tape? Yes.

Programming, Retro Computing, Assembly Language, Z80, Emulation

80 points by ghuntley 17 days ago | 73 comments

Ask HN: Best Way to Build MS-DOS-Style Text UI in the Browser? (ycombinator.com)
I'm working on a web app that mimics the look and feel of an old MS-DOS program—think Turbo Pascal IDE or Norton Commander.

Web Development, User Interfaces, Nostalgia, Retro Computing

6 points by 3stripe 18 days ago | 6 comments

AdaFruit FruitJam is a Mac 384K (youtube.com)

Macintosh, Retro Computing, Hardware, YouTube

4 points by todsacerdoti 18 days ago | 0 comments

Commodore 64 vertical parallax scrolling with source code (youtube.com)

Commodore 64, Retro Computing, Programming, Video Games, Source Code

3 points by wellytopness 19 days ago | 0 comments

My teen years: The transputer operating system (nanochess.org)
In my previous article I talked about how I managed to create a self-contained operating system for transputer. This included the basic operating system, a text editor, a Small-C compiler, and an assembler.

Operating Systems, Programming, Retro Computing, Transputers

257 points by nanochess 21 days ago | 67 comments

Fixing a Mac SE/30 to run A/UX (2021) (axio.ms)
I’ve always wanted an Apple Macintosh SE/30. Released in 1989, they look quite a lot like the other members of the original “compact Mac” series, but pack in a ton of interesting features that the other compact Macs don’t have.

Retro Computing, Hardware, Apple, Macintosh

4 points by fanf2 21 days ago | 0 comments

IBM EGA 8x14 (int10h.org)
The five boxing wizards jump quickly.

IBM, Hardware, Retro Computing

7 points by susam 22 days ago | 1 comments

Using a ThinkPad X61s in 2020 (wordpress.com)
As a ThinkPad fan I am always interested in getting to experience elder ThinkPads. Especially ThinkPads from the 4:3 display era. After having used a ThinkPad T60p which I reviewed here, I was for a long time interested in getting to experience a Thinkpad X61 or X61s. I really like the old keyboards and the 4:3 display format and the X6… series seemed to be very portable and attractive to me. I am very nostalgic about these machines.

Retro Computing, ThinkPad, Reviews, Laptops

8 points by tosh 22 days ago | 5 comments

Leningrad-1: a 44-IC Soviet style ZX-Spectrum clone (alex-j-lowry.github.io)
When Sinclair released the original ZX Spectrum in 1982, it was designed with a chip called the ULA, short for 'uncommitted logic array'. This chip combined a large amount of logic functions into a single custom-made package, significantly lowering the component count and cost.

Retro Computing, Hardware, ZX Spectrum, Soviet Union, DIY Projects

13 points by threeme3 23 days ago | 0 comments

The Mad Magazine Basic Computer Program (meatfighter.com)
The cover of MAD magazine No. 258 from October 1985 announces a “special computer section featuring the MAD Computer Program”. Take careful note of the image displayed on the computer monitor.

Retro Computing, Humor, Magazines, 1980s

3 points by mmastrac 25 days ago | 0 comments

BBS from Scratch (bbsfromscratch.com)
Traditional BBS (Bulletin board system) software is mostly unmaintained and now easily over thirty years old. While many great modern software packages do exist, support for vintage operating systems is dwindling. Additionally the POTS (Plain old telephone service) is being phased out by the FCC and little knowledge about analog

Software, Technology, Retro Computing, Operating Systems

11 points by cenazoic 27 days ago | 11 comments

Commodore 64 PETSCII Image (2022) (medium.com)
It is said that life begins at the age of 40 — I hope it is true … After 23 years of working in IT and spending the last 12 years in a company I co-founded, my contract was terminated, I lost my job and I suddenly found myself almost overnight in a situation where I have all day ahead with no schedule, no deadlines, no important phone calls, no one is waiting for my analysis, consultation or technical specification.

Commodore 64, Retro Computing, Pixel Art, Image Processing, Personal Reflections

57 points by erickhill 28 days ago | 12 comments

Why fastDOOM is fast (fabiensanglard.net)
During the winter of 2024, I restored an IBM PS/1 486-DX2 66Mhz, "Mini-Tower", model 2168. It was the computer I always wanted as a teenager but could never afford. Words cannot do justice to the joy I felt while working on this machine.

Retro Computing, Personal Computing, Nostalgia

672 points by wicket 29 days ago | 219 comments