To my #greaseweazle and #retrocomputing bubble:
Anyone else having the issue that a HD 3.5" drive (brand new Samsung SFD-321B) can read DD disks just fine, but won't write any DD image to either DD disks or HD disks? Is there any trick involved?
I don't have a DD 3.5" GW compatible drive...
This is a fun one because the .woz file was created not by analyzing a flux image of an original disk, but by the original developer's master maker program. Several years ago, a "friend of Larry [Sherman]" posted a collection of floppies on eBay which included several maker disks, the source code to several of his games, and — somewhat amusingly — pirated copies of Locksmith, presumably used for testing his own games' protections. You can download the maker disk here:
The PDP-10, a computer from Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), played an important role in early computing. It made time-sharing common, and even helped build the early ARPANET, the precursor to modern internet. On this day May 17 1983, DEC announced the cancellation of the PDP-10, marking the end of an era. The PDP-10 legacy lives on in hacker folklore, and the ALT key on your keyboard is a legacy from WAITS, an operating system that ran on the PDP-10. #RetroComputing#DEC#PDP10#OnThisDay
Tonight's Edinburgh Hacklab : Repairing a tiny little 1992 Philips Minitel/Viewdata terminal as used by Bank of Scotland for the HOBS home banking system. #retrocomputing
And there we have it: replacement 6502 and 6522s from Rockwell for the gutted 1541 I repaired a couple of weeks ago. Now the drive is back into full working order!
The 6522 chips are relatively new and not MOS branded, but I think it's better than a non-working drive! #retrocomputing#commodore#c64#floppydisk
Do you want to find out how to alter level data in #Commodore64 Nebulus? How about adding compressed data back into the game? Or how about the sprite flipping? Source code included! https://youtu.be/893jG1PXW-k
"It is well-known that some Boeing 747s, for example, use floppy disks to load critical software updates into their navigation and avionics computers.
In San Francisco, the Muni Metro light railway, which launched in 1980, won't start up each morning without a floppy disk that controls the railway's Automatic Train Control System."
@DBG3D Yeah, I remember losing most of my pixel graphics for one of our games, because a backup on diskette turned out to be corrupt. Luckily, the graphics had already been processed into the game. 😅
@DBG3D Yeah, I remember losing most of my pixel graphics for one of our games, because a backup on diskettes turned out to be corrupt. Luckily, the graphics had already been processed into the game. 😅
@thomasfuchs the "slate" form-factor of the TRS-80 Model 100 is my favorite since it is the only one that is really portable, plus they make decent xterms.
Floating around online, there are some original scans of the Colonels Bequest design document. Included are some 80's printer sheets that have this very specific style for background art review. I really wanted to recreate that look in scibud, for no other reason than cause. But... yea
Left side: design documents. Right side: the debugging output from scibud. Not too shabby.
I should recreate the paper-yellowing and water stains from years of use.
Also, a look at some early sketches implemented in-engine for testing and prototyping: The entrance to the water fountain. Which originally was labeled "maze entrance", which I actually didn't realize that perhaps the original design had a hedge maze puzzle that was supposed to be here instead of going directly to the fountain.
@32bitkid Come to think of it, that rectangular hedge does look like it's meant to be a maze. I'm glad it didn't happen, though. There are far too many mazes in Sierra games of the period, and they're never fun.
Hat vielleicht noch jemand eine MOS 8501 CPU für den #Commodore#C16 über? Die hier wurde vom Vorgänger bei einem Reparaturversuch falsch herum auf den Sockel gesteckt und ist dabei gestorben. Das Gerät soll weiter leben. #Retrocomputing
@mase Dann musst du auf die Jagd gehen, und wie gesagt am besten einen R4 schießen. Ein 6502 Adapter ist aber auch ziemlich original. Kannst die CPU dann sogar älter machen. ;)
I'm afraid grandpa Sun Ultra 10 might have booted his last. He simply turned off and never turned back on over the period of however long my expire record in my DNS zones are (which is when I noticed).
It spent over 25 years computing quietly and never exhibiting any issues prior, it will be missed if I can't resurrect it.
@mr_daemon I used to have an Ultra 60 on my desk. The first to be delivered to Sun in Sweden in fact (maybe there was one in the hardware lab before then, I'm not sure).
@mr_daemon I used to have an Ultra 60 on my desk back when I was working at Sun. The first to be delivered to Sun in Sweden in fact (maybe there was one in the hardware lab before then, I'm not sure).
If you remember a time when using floppy disks didn’t seem weird, you’re probably at least 30 years old. Floppy disks or diskettes emerged around 1970 and, for a good three decades or so, they were the main way many people stored and backed up their computer data.
However, it’s now been over a decade since the last floppy disc was made, and it wouldn’t even have enough capacity to store a modern smart phone picture. So why do some people still love using them? BBC Future speaks to some of the floppy disk faithful to find out.
