Retro-Rick's Classic Computing Blog : 64

Showing posts with label 64. Show all posts

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Stacks of Computer Publications...

www.bombjack.org/commodore

DLH's Commodore Archive - I can not overstate what a wonderful resource this is for documentation on everything that is Commodore. If you have not seen this huge site, it's worth mentioning again here now. The DVD archives for sale are exceptional, too, and the best way to get everything in one go! Please support this resource for the community of users and contributors by scanning/mailing in any missing documents you may have.

My contributions thus far include:

Software - Data20 Plan Manager Instruction Manual (10 pages)
Software - Data20 Word Manager [Dated: 04/19/1982] (11 pages)
Hardware - MPI 020 Super Action Memory Expander Board for VIC-20 (12 pages)
Software - Smoothtalker for Speakeasy by Personal Peripheral Products (6 pages)
Hardware - Micrographix MW-350 Printer Buffer Upgrade Kit (3 pages)
Hardware - Cardco Cardkey 1 Keypad VIC20 C64 (17 pages)
Advertisements - Nufekop 1982 Catalog for VIC-20 (14 pages)
Hardware - Computer Place Numeric Keypad Documentation (2 pages)
Hardware - Pet Beeper by HUH Electronics (1 page)
Hardware - Cardco Cardriter Light Pen Instructions (50 pages) and D64 image.
Hardware - SerialBox 64K Serial Port Buffer User Manual (16 pages)
Hardware - Speakeasy Installation and Instruction Manual V1.2 (8 pages)
Hardware - Speakeasy Phoneme Editor Operating Instructions V1.0 (16 pages)
Hardware - Cardco Cardboard/6 Instruction Manual for the VIC-20 (36 pages)
Hardware - Promenade Model C1 Operating Instructions (22 pages)
Hardware - Data-20 Display Manager (5 pages)
Hardware - Protecto 80 Video Cartridge Instruction Manual (10 pages)

archive.org

Ebook and Texts Archive > The Computer Magazine Archives

This rapidly growing collection consists of dozens of magazine runs, digitized from fading piles of older magazines by an army of anonymous contributors. In some cases, quality is variant, due to the rareness of the issues. With the re-branding of computing power and machines as something welcome in the home and not just the workshop, a number of factors moved forth to sell these machines and their software to a growing and large group of customers. Besides the introduction of more elegant cases and an increased presence by larger and larger firms, a strong argument can be made that one of the forces was the proliferation of computer-related magazines and newsletters that gave a central, printed home for writing about computers. Rising from user support groups, computer companies themselves, and publishing houses willing to risk cash and time to fund them, these magazines set the stage for the home computer revolution. This collection is primarily of computer magazines written in the English language, but there are some additional collections in other languages.

atarimagazines.com

The Classic Computer Magazine Archive is a small crusade to make information from old computer magazines available on the Web. The site was launched July 27, 1996 with the name "Digital Antic Project" and the goal of putting the full text of Antic magazine online. They met that goal on September 17, 2000, then turned their attention to Antic's sister magazine, STart. In July 2001, they finished putting the full text of STart magazine online, and began work on Creative Computing. They have also received permission to include articles from Compute!, Hi-Res, Antic Amiga Plus, Whiz Kids, II Computing, and other classic computer magazines. It was clear that the name "Digital Antic Project" was becoming increasingly inaccurate, so in July 2001, the name of the project was changed to Classic Computer Magazine Archive. The head of the project, Kevin Savetz, has received permission from the magazines' publishers to make the material available on the Internet for free.

by Steve Ditlea

atariarchives.org is The Classic Computer Magazine Archive's sister site. It makes books, information, and software for Atari and other classic computers available on the Web. Everything there is available with permission of the copyright holders.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There you can read, Digital Deli, The Comprehensive, User-Lovable Menu of Computer Lore, Culture, Lifestyles and Fancy by The Lunch Group & Guests Edited by Steve Ditlea and published 1984. Highly recommended!

I have additional reading materials over on my web site: http://www.geocities.ws/cbm

Are you interested in computer history? Join the irregular regulars Earl Evans, David Greelish, and Carrington Vanston, plus surprise guests, in the show where everything old is news again. Gather 'round a virtual table where today's talk is about yesterday's computers. Get the skinny from the world of vintage computer hobbyists, collectors, enthusiasts, and old school geeks. They cover modern day vintage tech events, new developments for old hardware, the revival of retro tech, the best of 8 bit culture, and take many strolls down memory lane. Head on over to http://rcrpodcast.com and explore podcasts, review show notes and be informed of upcoming episodes. You'll be glad you did!

Monday, January 7, 2013

My keypad fetish...

CKA keyboard adapter for Cardco CK1.

I've worked so hard to solve my little keypad issues, that I am starting to worry I may have some mild form of OCD or even a keypad fetish. Whatever it is or was, it's starting to scare me a little.

I grabbed this last night on Etsy. This interface will allow you to plug the Cardco Cardkey 1 numeric keypad directly into the keyboard lines, which allows it to function in ALL software applications and cartridges! No drivers or programs are needed if you use this adapter.

This little item had to be purchased separately when the keypad was originally purchased, and was not included in the original package. These are literally impossible to find now. I've watched eBay for years, and written to everyone still selling software and hardware online. Especially if their web site says, "misc parts and cables... just ask." Nada... Nothing!

~~I also just realized that the manual is not up on DLH's Commodore Archive. I'm going to have to remedy that here soon as well.~~ The manual is scanned and online now as of February 2, 2013. If you need the drivers, they are here for both the C64 and the VIC-20. Those drivers were almost lost forever until a friend in Sweden and I recovered the bit-rot infested cassette tape ... "new in box," mind you! We used a Cassadapt unit from cbm8bit.com (Ross), and Fredric Blåholtz's mad skills to hand-stitch the faint bits back together again using special software and analysis by Fredric. The good people of Cardco only put one copy of the driver on one side of the cassette. Nice!

Anyway, for 2013 I've decided that my New Year's Resolution should be to go cold-turkey on the whole keypad thing. I think I can finally put it to rest now.

I have additional gadget-related material over on my web site: http://www.geocities.ws/cbm

Friday, January 4, 2013

Multiple Personality Disorder...

King Tut by Tokra & Akronyme Analogiker (2011)

Multiple Personality Disorder isn't such a bad thing if you're an 8-bit computer. Appearing in 1985, the Commodore 128 (review|manual) was one of the last 8-bits and certainly the best of any make or model. It represented the end of the road for a line which began with the PET 2001-8 back in 1977. Some say it was what the C64 should have been. It didn't sell as well as the C64, but several millions did make their way into people's homes around the world. People got a lot for their money! I'll have to devote a few blog entries to cover it all.

Man-Cave

I just have three computers in my little computer collection, but they are all set up to be daily drivers (if I'm in the mood), and this one is my current favorite. It is my favorite because I can explore and tinker with so many interesting things: CP/M from the computer science genius, Gary Kildall, of Digital Research; the GEOS family of operating systems and productivity software; multiple CPUs and computer languages, including Commodore's most powerful BASIC v7; all of the fun Commodore 64 games; a slew of peripherals as powerful and impressive as the main computer itself; a lead designer who still engages with a very vibrant online community; disk magazines, like LoadStar Quarterly, that I had no prior exposure to before; and a metric ton of software that will run on this thing! It's basically a hacker's dream.

"Megabit ROM" main menu (1 of 3)

This unit has some really nice features, like the "1986" ROM upgrade; dual-SIDs; 512k RAM expansion; the Function ROM from Megabit (Dan Newbury); µIEC from Jim Brain; JiffyDOS for both modes; dual floppy disk drives with JiffyDOS; LCD VGA monitor support using Richard42's PCB and GBS-8220; and a 64k print buffer. I'll discuss some of these in greater detail when I focus on CP/M and Wheels (GEOS v4.4).