All articles tagged with #retrocomputing
Hackaday looks back at the BBC Bridge Companion from 1985, a TV-connected learning console that housed a Z80, PAL video, and 16K VRAM; one hacker reverse-engineered its boot header to run Tetris, adapted the PAL output for a monitor, and repaired the cartridge slot, noting nine ROM cartridges existed and teasing more technical detail in a follow-up post.
QT6 is porting BASIC-256 (based on KidBASIC) to WebAssembly for browser and multi‑platform use, including MacOS Apple Silicon and Raspberry Pi. The beta port adds graphics, 64‑bit variables, and other conveniences, but the web version is hardware‑restricted (no serial ports, etc.). The project is open source and invites feedback, highlighting a nostalgia-driven educational angle alongside broader cross‑platform support.
A Hackaday piece highlights RetroGameRevival’s release of the RGR ezBuff, a 3D-printed, open-source disk polisher that buffs scratches off optical discs. While it can revive disks, users must avoid aggressive polishing to prevent irreparable damage, a timely tool as physical media remains valuable with Sony stepping back from disc production.
HamsterOS is a tiny, multitasking 32-bit graphical OS designed to fit on a single 1.44 MB floppy for 386/486-era hardware, with a planned November 2026 release and native apps, optional hard-drive install, DOS support, and features like a CMOS crash counter; it even ships with HamsterWeazle, a GUI front-end for Greaseweazle to drive vintage floppy hardware.
The revived Commodore unveils the Callback 8020, a Linux-based flip phone running Sailfish OS with Android app compatibility, featuring replaceable batteries, a 48MP camera, a Cirrus Logic DAC, and C64 game emulation, bundled Commodore headphones, and SID ringtones; priced at $499, it excludes web browsing and social media from its app store, aiming at a niche, premium retro-tech audience rather than mass-market appeal.
Luke8086’s GentleOS offers a minimalist kernel-shell OS for older 16- and 32-bit x86 machines, boasting a small footprint, a simple GUI, and a handful of basic apps and games. It boots quickly, especially in modern hardware, and is positioned as a fun, curiosity-driven retro project rather than a productivity system.
A PicoMEM-based PicoGraph setup uses a Raspberry Pi Pico to host a USB DisplayLink adapter, delivering MDA, Hercules, EGA, and VGA graphics (plus Cirrus Logic SVGA support) to ISA-era PCs and even running DOOM.
A maker is converting Space Cadet Pinball into a real pinball table using mostly 3D‑printed parts for the body and playfield components, with the flippers still needing work. Because the 1995 game lacks high‑resolution artwork, he’s seeking collaborators to create suitable art and print-ready assets via his YouTube page, even joking about paying contributors with playtime.
The z386 project reproduces Intel’s 80386 CPU on FPGA by executing the original microcode, achieving about 70 MHz i386-equivalent with paging and protected mode support on boards like Cyclone V and Gowin GW5A, prioritizing archaeological fidelity of the original hardware over peak performance and enabling classic software such as DOOM.
A BBC Archive clip from 1986 shows an email being sent over Telecom Gold, BT’s pre‑Internet business service, using an acoustic coupler on a plane, illustrating how email worked long before the web and exposing the era's quirky hardware.
Hackaday reports on a community project to transcribe printed source listings of 86-DOS 1.00, MS-DOS 1.25, and PC-DOS 1.00-dev, including handwritten notes; eight of ten bundles have been transcribed and are ready for compilation with the SCP assembler, with scans on Archive.org and related write-ups linked on the GitHub project, inviting others to contribute.
Microsoft has released the original DOS 1.00 source code on GitHub, along with related early DOS materials, providing an unfiltered glimpse into 1970s–1980s OS development under an MIT license.
A retrocomputing piece describes reconstructing a byte-identical IBM PCjr BIOS from the original printed x86 assembly, using a DOS/DOSBox toolchain included in a ZIP to assemble, link, and convert the code into a BIN suitable for two 32 KB ROMs—highlighting that IBM copyright still applies while preserving a slice of PC history.
Claude attempted to write Z80 assembly for a TEC-1G retrocomputer to run a Wordle-like game. It showed hardware awareness but produced some nonexistent instructions; with step-by-step prompts and human corrections, the team achieved a working game, illustrating that LLMs can speed code prototyping but often need guidance and can be overconfident.
Scott Baker has created NostOS, a brand-new ROM-only operating system for the Z80-based RC2014 retrocomputer. Described as CP/M-like but not compatible with CP/M, NostOS fits in 64KB of ROM with banking to extend memory, and includes native support for serial devices, the WD37C65 floppy controller, compact flash, and even Intel Bubble Memory, plus a text-to-speech feature and a Zork port; the project is open-source on GitHub.