Podcasts about z80

電子工作をしてみたい話Z80とか80年代のパソコンの話今日のビートYouTube https://www.youtube.com/@katsuOfficialnote https://note.com/kermit71/TikTok ⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@katsu_beat⁠⁠instagram https://www.instagram.com/kermit71【今日のキーワード】ROLAND SP-404 MKII / SP-404 MK2 / AKAI PROFESSIONAL MPC ONE / ビートメイク / コーヒー / Teenage Engineering EP-133 K.O.II / Ableton Move

Researchers uncover serious vulnerabilities in the Signal fork reportedly used by top government officials. CISA adds a second Commvault flaw to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. xAI exposed a private API key on GitHub for nearly two months. FortiGuard uncovers a cyber-espionage campaign targeting critical national infrastructure in the Middle East. Threat brokers advertise a new SS7 zero-day exploit on cybercrime forums. The StealC  info-stealer and malware loader gets an update. Passkeys blaze the trail to a passwordless future. On our Afternoon Cyber Tea segment with Ann Johnson, Ann speaks with Christina Morillo, Head of Information Security at the New York Giants. Cubism meets computing: the Z80 goes full Picasso.  Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you'll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn.CyberWire GuestOn our Afternoon Cyber Tea segment with Ann Johnson, Ann speaks with Christina Morillo, Head of Information Security at New York Football Giants, as they discuss how she approaches cybersecurity with curiosity, business alignment, and strong collaboration across the NFL community. Selected Reading The Signal Clone the Trump Admin Uses Was Hacked (404 Media) Critical Commvault Vulnerability in Attacker Crosshairs (SecurityWeek) xAI Dev Leaked API Key on GitHub for Private SpaceX, Tesla & Twitter/X (Cyber Security News) FortiGuard Incident Response Team Detects Intrusion into Middle East Critical National Infrastructure (Fortinet) Hackers Selling SS7 0-Day Vulnerability on Hacker Froums for $5000 (Cyber Security News) StealC malware enhanced with stealth upgrades and data theft tools (Bleeping Computer) Sick of 15-character passwords? Microsoft is going password-less, starting now. (Mashable) Passkeys for Normal People (Troy Hunt) Single-Board Z80 Computer Draws Inspiration From Picasso (Hackaday) Share your feedback. We want to ensure that you are getting the most out of the podcast. Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing our brief listener survey as we continually work to improve the show. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here's our media kit. Contact us at cyberwire@n2k.com to request more info. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An airhacks.fm conversation with Kevlin Henney (@KevlinHenney) about: first computer was a Sinclair ZX81 with 1K of memory, programming in Basic and later Z80 assembly language, creating simulations like volcano explosions and n-body problems as a teenager, transitioning to the ZX Spectrum and other early home computers, studying physics at university but becoming more interested in programming, learning fortran, getting his first programming job at a small software house in Bristol where his boss had a wall of books on programming languages and paradigms, becoming self-taught through reading these books, developing an interest in AI and philosophy of mind which led to pursuing a master's degree in parallel computer systems, creating a virtual machine for a Lisp-based actor model, learning about the occam programming language based on Communicating sequential processes (CSP) for transputers, discovering Object-oriented programming and being fascinated by modularity and encapsulation, encountering Java in the mid-90s as a free downloadable language with platform independence, appreciating Java's familiar C-like syntax while offering object orientation without low-level concerns, using Java primarily for training and consultancy work rather than application development, discussing the evolution of Java features like inner classes (Java 1.1) and interfaces, explaining his unique perspective on interfaces coming from distributed systems experience with IDLs, reflecting on his work with various distributed Java technologies like RMI, Jini and JavaSpaces, continuing his career as an independent consultant, trainer and speaker with strong involvement in the patterns community Kevlin Henney on twitter: @KevlinHenney

Wir unterhalten uns mit Jörn Mika, der ein neues OS für alte Hardware programmiert hat.

Lets talk about MSX baby, let's talk about Z80, let's talk about all the good ports and the bad ports that may be, let's talk about MSX as Cliff and Ash look at the Japanese standard that almost could, and sometimes did, but then didn't, and still even now, 40 years later will not die. We also highlight some of our favourite games we've played, and reveal the ultimate Pac-man clone!Find out more on the MSX here: https://www.msx.org/Play some games online here: https://www.file-hunter.com/MSX/Theme song by Other ChrisFollow Under Consoletation on BlueSkyFollow Under Consoletation on TwitterFollow Under Consoletation on InstagramSend your thoughts to feedback@underconsoletation.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

InfoClassic nace con la intención de ser un altavoz de las noticias relacionadas con la informática clásica, desarrollos modernos para equipos antiguos o desarrollos inspirados en una época ya obsoleta. Si tienes alguna noticia del sector que quieras dar a conocer no dudes en hacérnosla llegar. En este Infoclassic hablamos de: Liberado el código fuente de MS-DOS 4.0 y los binarios del MT-DOS Beta 1.0. El mítico procesador Z80 de Zilog se dejará de vender este mismo año. Los Mojon Twins están montando un concurso de juegos realizados en su motor MK1 para Amstrad CPC. Se ha realizado un port de la máquina arcade Phoenix para AMIGA. Pampas and Selene, de Unepic Fran, ya tiene fecha de salida para Steam. Música: Alberto González McAlby.

En este programa hacemos un repaso a algunas noticias de la actualidad commodoriana y a los lanzamientos commodorianos de las últimas semanas. Por último, repasaremos los principales contenidos del número 78 de una revista moderna muy clásica, la retornada Commodore Free. Todo esto lo veremos con el equipo habitual formado por David Asenjo (https://twitter.com/darro99), Toni Bianchetti (https://twitter.com/seuck), Narciso Quintana "Narcisound" (https://twitter.com/narcisound), Jonatan Jiménez (https://twitter.com/jsabreman) y Paco Herrera (https://twitter.com/pacoblog64). Las noticias comentadas son: - 8bitDo anuncia el Retro Mechanical Keyboard - C64 Edition: https://www.8bitdo.com/retro-mechanical-keyboard-c64/ - Zilog deja de fabricar el microprocesador Z80: https://twitter.com/nanochess/status/1781290078230253998?t=9wpPhRUkLCD-96vmoDKC9A&s=19 - El músico y programador 4Mat está tuneando el SEUCK para que tenga música y efectos sonoros a la vez: https://x.com/4mat_scenemusic/status/1774168812159414283?s=20 - Proyecto de reproducción de la Commodore Chessmate: https://hackaday.io/project/194011-commodore-chessmate-reproduction; https://hackaday.io/project/194011/logs?sort=oldest - U64E-MK2. Ultimate 64 en formato módulo: https://www.facebook.com/groups/378328707752/?hoisted_section_header_type=recently_seen&multi_permalinks=10160508910172753 - Gala homenaje al videojuego Español: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIRTulmvBqA - Escaneos de la documentación proporcionada por David Sancho: https://archive.org/details/@explora_commodore - Consolador controlado por un C64: https://twitter.com/_DeviantDesigns/status/1779941383102484834?t=5JUe44Hupl4Q0OOQXq2DrQ&s=19 - C-65 a subasta en eBay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/134989142856 - Ganadores del concurso de Basic10Liner, juegos para diversas plataformas en sólo 10 líneas de BASIC: https://twitter.com/Basic10L/status/1776648844496810366?t=Bz7tfouLH0aQvllds-6meg&s=19;https://youtu.be/PZ6r_HHwuto?si=_uDdDEKXk3CMmoNd - Hungarian Game Development Compo - Plus/4: https://sites.google.com/site/istvanmezo81/cplus4-competition-2023 - J-CPU64 6510/8500: https://retro8bitshop.com/product/j-cpu64-6510-8500-replacement-for-the-commodore-64-pre-order/ - SNasm Assembler Nuevo ensamblador para 6502 y Z80: https://mdf200.itch.io/snasm - Otra campaña de crowdfunding de Hewson, esta vez de “pins”: https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/huey-games-ltd/huey-hewson-pintopia?ref=bk-ec-33942 - Commodore4ever presenta un conector de PSU trasero para C64 con opción de protección de sobre voltaje. Además hay otro angular también para C128: https://www.commodore-4ever.com/product-page/back-jack-power-connector-reimagined Los juegos y programas comentados son: - Spinning image (Carleton Handley, C64): https://carletonhandley.itch.io/spinning-image - Timo's castle (Roman Werner, C64): https://romwer.itch.io/hc - Gridlock (Megastyle, C64): https://megastyle.itch.io/gridlock - Bring Back More Bones (4KB) (Comocore, C64): https://commocore.itch.io/bring-back-more-bones-4k - Prince Of Persia (Pedro Bermejo, VIC-20): https://www.indieretronews.com/2024/04/prince-of-persia-has-been-converted.html;https://sleepingelephant.com/ipw-web/bulletin/bb/viewtopic.php?p=120870#p120870 (Descarga del juego) - Amigo Run (Reassembler 2024, Amiga): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxKWThBZcXk - Bunny's Boing Ball Bounty (RobSmithDev, Amiga): https://robsmith-dev.itch.io/bb - Mad Pod Race (Gods of the Universe, Plus/4): https://plus4world.powweb.com/software/Mad_Pod_Race - Temptations (SOY, Amiga): https://amigatronics.wordpress.com/2024/04/09/temptations-a-punto-de-caramelo/;https://s0yamigamsx.wordpress.com/temptations/ (WEB del autor) - Kondi Krush (Anystone, C64/Amiga/Plus/4): https://www.indieretronews.com/2024/04/kondi-krush-candy-crush-comes-to.html - Anti Air (Inufuto, C64, Amiga, Plus/4, VIC-20, C-16 y C-116 (32K) + otros sistemas (MSX, TRS-80, etc)): http://inufuto.web.fc2.com/8bit/antiair/; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOO4t5NGr5w; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSfYIuXfx00 - Outrun PETSCII (Andy Vaisey, C64): https://twitter.com/AndyVaisey/status/1782501824383070514?t=Jq9pKAaGU5OYCvifDHV5nQ&s=19 - Metal mayhem (Dr Mortal Wombat, C64): https://drmortalwombat.itch.io/metal-mayhem - Legend of wilf (sequel de https://www.lemon64.com/game/kokotoni-wilf) (Hayermaker64, C64): https://hayesmaker64.itch.io/legend-of-wilf - Alpacalyse (TND, C64): https://richard-tnd.itch.io/alpacalypse - R-Squadron (Monster's Legs, Amiga): https://monsters-legs.itch.io/r-squadron - Glubble (Oxygene, Amiga): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSAF4hTsvxc - Tapper Basic (ing73, C64): https://ing73.itch.io/tapper - Toop (Haplo, C64,Plus/4): https://h4plo.itch.io/toop

This week we saw a lot of chatter about Zilog's End-of-Life Notification (https://mm.digikey.com/Volume0/opasdata/d220001/medias/docus/5570/PCN_ZAC24-0029.pdf) for their Z84C series chips. These chips were pretty cool because they were true Z80 processors and available in DIP format! They are still in stock at DigiKey for now (https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/zilog/Z84C0010PEG/929206) and there's a last-time-buy, so if you happen to want some large quantity, it's possible to put in a request for one last batch. There are also other Z80 processors available, so you're not totally out of luck if you need some 8-bit goodness. In theory, you could even wire-wrap or breadboard using a QFP-to-DIP adapter plate. (https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/chip-quik-inc/PA0109/5014776) See the chosen parts on DigiKey https://www.digikey.com/short/z3j19bmf Visit the Adafruit shop online - http://www.adafruit.com ----------------------------------------- LIVE CHAT IS HERE! http://adafru.it/discord Subscribe to Adafruit on YouTube: http://adafru.it/subscribe New tutorials on the Adafruit Learning System: http://learn.adafruit.com/ -----------------------------------------

Jon Westfall and I are joined by frequent guest panelist Sven Johannsen for this podcast. We discussed: Using Google Meet to record a three-person podcast Upcoming changes to the Google One subscription package Google Magic Editor will be available to more Pixel devices soon The end of the line for the Z80 microprocessor: 1976 - 2024 Discussion: The AI Divide? Sven's gadget picks:DJI OSMO Pocket 3 Combo MOVO Mic Handle

05/04/24 - Fundação Apple, Z80, Lançamento iPad, Novos ipads, Terremoto Taiwan, Chrome Incognito, Novo estudo Apple Watch, Vision Pro, Japão na corrida dos Chips, AI nos iPhones, https://www.doctorapple.com.br

Un episodio dedicato al sistema operativo CP/M creato nel 1974 per il processore Intel 8080 da Gary Kildall della Digital Research che in combinazione con il bus S-100 divenne il primo "standard" nel settore dei microcomputer. Andremo alla scoperta del suo funzionamento e della sua storia, dalla nascita fino a quando venne rimpiazzato nel 1981 da un suo "figlio illegittimo", il sistema operativo MS DOS introdotto sui compatibili PC IBM.Con Carlo Santagostino, Francesco Sblendorio, Davide Gatti e l'eccezionale ritorno di Stefano Paganini, regia e montaggio di Simone Pizzi.Episodi del canale Survival Hacking di Davide Gatti dedicati alla costruzione di un computer in kit basato su microprocessore Z80 e con sistema operativo CP/M: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUD7USTlD6s&list=PLusgOb64PuRr3K3ViIlwf8GHhsWV-f0gyRepo del progetto Gorilla BAS per CP/M di Francesco Sblendorio:https://github.com/sblendorio/gorilla-cpmRaccolta di programmi per CP/M: http://cpmarchives.classiccmp.org/Documentazione System call di CP/M: https://www.seasip.info/Cpm/bdos.html

¡Vótame en los Premios iVoox 2023! Collapse OS es un sistema operativo de código abierto diseñado para ser robusto y duradero. Su objetivo principal es permitir a los usuarios mantener una funcionalidad tecnológica básica en caso de un colapso de la infraestructura de la red global. Este sistema operativo es lo suficientemente pequeño y versátil para ejecutarse en hardware antiguo o de bajo rendimiento. Puede funcionar con una amplia gama de dispositivos, como microcontroladores o computadoras antiguas. Collapse OS puede, por ejemplo, leer y escribir en sistemas de archivos FAT y editar código en ensamblador Z80, una tarea esencial para interactuar con la electrónica antigua. Escucha el episodio completo en la app de iVoox, o descubre todo el catálogo de iVoox Originals

En el PostPodcast de esta semana: - No me he enterao de na XD - El eterno pique entre Z80 y 6502 - Tomad estos polvitos blancos, que no llegáis a la fecha de entrega - Nivel técnico de ambos juegos - Vuestros comentarios Nuestra web: https://www.cepeceros.com Ven a charlar con nosotros: https://bit.ly/Cepecerostelegran Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/cepecerospodcast

We've talked about the history of microchips, transistors, and other chip makers. Today we're going to talk about Intel in a little more detail.  Intel is short for Integrated Electronics. They were founded in 1968 by Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore. Noyce was an Iowa kid who went off to MIT to get a PhD in physics in 1953. He went off to join the Shockley Semiconductor Lab to join up with William Shockley who'd developed the transistor as a means of bringing a solid-state alternative to vacuum tubes in computers and amplifiers. Shockley became erratic after he won the Nobel Prize and 8 of the researchers left, now known as the “traitorous eight.”  Between them came over 60 companies, including Intel - but first they went on to create a new company called Fairchild Semiconductor where Noyce invented the monolithic integrated circuit in 1959, or a single chip that contains multiple transistors.  After 10 years at Fairchild, Noyce joined up with coworker and fellow traitor Gordon Moore. Moore had gotten his PhD in chemistry from Caltech and had made an observation while at Fairchild that the number of transistors, resistors, diodes, or capacitors in an integrated circuit was doubling every year and so coined Moore's Law, that it would continue to to do so. They wanted to make semiconductor memory cheaper and more practical. They needed money to continue their research. Arthur Rock had helped them find a home at Fairchild when they left Shockley and helped them raise $2.5 million in backing in a couple of days.  The first day of the company, Andy Grove joined them from Fairchild. He'd fled the Hungarian revolution in the 50s and gotten a PhD in chemical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. Then came Leslie Vadász, another Hungarian emigrant. Funding and money coming in from sales allowed them to hire some of the best in the business. People like Ted Hoff , Federico Faggin, and Stan Mazor. That first year they released 64-bit static random-access memory in the 3101 chip, doubling what was on the market as well as the 3301 read-only memory chip, and the 1101. Then DRAM, or dynamic random-access memory in the 1103 in 1970, which became the bestselling chip within the first couple of years. Armed with a lineup of chips and an explosion of companies that wanted to buy the chips, they went public within 2 years of being founded. 1971 saw Dov Frohman develop erasable programmable read-only memory, or EPROM, while working on a different problem. This meant they could reprogram chips using ultraviolet light and electricity. In 1971 they also created the Intel 4004 chip, which was started in 1969 when a calculator manufacturer out of Japan ask them to develop 12 different chips. Instead they made one that could do all of the tasks of the 12, outperforming the ENIAC from 1946 and so the era of the microprocessor was born. And instead of taking up a basement at a university lab, it took up an eight of an inch by a sixth of an inch to hold a whopping 2,300 transistors. The chip didn't contribute a ton to the bottom line of the company, but they'd built the first true microprocessor, which would eventually be what they were known for. Instead they were making DRAM chips. But then came the 8008 in 1972, ushering in an 8-bit CPU. The memory chips were being used by other companies developing their own processors but they knew how and the Computer Terminal Corporation was looking to develop what was a trend for a hot minute, called programmable terminals. And given the doubling of speeds those gave way to microcomputers within just a few years. The Intel 8080 was a 2 MHz chip that became the basis of the Altair 8800, SOL-20, and IMSAI 8080. By then Motorola, Zilog, and MOS Technology were hot on their heals releasing the Z80 and 6802 processors. But Gary Kildall wrote CP/M, one of the first operating systems, initially for the 8080 prior to porting it to other chips. Sales had been good and Intel had been growing. By 1979 they saw the future was in chips and opened a new office in Haifa, Israiel, where they designed the 8088, which clocked in at 4.77 MHz. IBM chose this chip to be used in the original IBM Personal Computer. IBM was going to use an 8-bit chip, but the team at Microsoft talked them into going with the 16-bit 8088 and thus created the foundation of what would become the Wintel or Intel architecture, or x86, which would dominate the personal computer market for the next 40 years. One reason IBM trusted Intel is that they had proven to be innovators. They had effectively invented the integrated circuit, then the microprocessor, then coined Moore's Law, and by 1980 had built a 15,000 person company capable of shipping product in large quantities. They were intentional about culture, looking for openness, distributed decision making, and trading off bureaucracy for figuring out cool stuff. That IBM decision to use that Intel chip is one of the most impactful in the entire history of personal computers. Based on Microsoft DOS and then Windows being able to run on the architecture, nearly every laptop and desktop would run on that original 8088/86 architecture. Based on the standards, Intel and Microsoft would both market that their products ran not only on those IBM PCs but also on any PC using the same architecture and so IBM's hold on the computing world would slowly wither. On the back of all these chips, revenue shot past $1 billion for the first time in 1983. IBM bought 12 percent of the company in 1982 and thus gave them the Big Blue seal of approval, something important event today. And the hits kept on coming with the 286 to 486 chips coming along during the 1980s. Intel brought the 80286 to market and it was used in the IBM PC AT in 1984. This new chip brought new ways to manage addresses, the first that could do memory management, and the first Intel chip where we saw protected mode so we could get virtual memory and multi-tasking.  All of this was made possible with over a hundred thousand transistors. At the time the original Mac used a Motorola 68000 but the sales were sluggish while they flourished at IBM and slowly we saw the rise of the companies cloning the IBM architecture, like Compaq. Still using those Intel chips.  Jerry Sanders had actually left Fairchild a little before Noyce and Moore to found AMD and ended up cloning the instructions in the 80286, after entering into a technology exchange agreement with Intel. This led to AMD making the chips at volume and selling them on the open market. AMD would go on to fast-follow Intel for decades. The 80386 would go on to simply be known as the Intel 386, with over 275,000 transistors. It was launched in 1985, but we didn't see a lot of companies use them until the early 1990s. The 486 came in 1989. Now we were up to a million transistors as well as a math coprocessor. We were 50 times faster than the 4004 that had come out less than 20 years earlier.  I don't want to take anything away from the phenomenal run of research and development at Intel during this time but the chips and cores and amazing developments were on autopilot. The 80s also saw them invest half a billion in reinvigorating their manufacturing plants. With quality manufacturing allowing for a new era of printing chips, the 90s were just as good to Intel. I like to think of this as the Pentium decade with the first Pentium in 1993. 32-bit here we come. Revenues jumped 50 percent that year closing in on $9 billion. Intel had been running an advertising campaign around Intel Inside. This represented a shift from the IBM PC to the Intel. The Pentium Pro came in 1995 and we'd crossed 5 million transistors in each chip. And the brand equity was rising fast. More importantly, so was revenue. 1996 saw revenues pass $20 billion. The personal computer was showing up in homes and on desks across the world and most had Intel Inside - in fact we'd gone from Intel inside to Pentium Inside. 1997 brought us the Pentium II with over 7 million transistors, the Xeon came in 1998 for servers, and 1999 Pentium III. By 2000 they introduced the first gigahertz processor at Intel and they announced the next generation after Pentium: Itanium, finally moving the world to the 64 bit processor.  As processor speeds slowed they were able to bring multi-core processors and massive parallelism out of the hallowed halls of research and to the desktop computer in 2005. 2006 saw Intel go from just Windows to the Mac. And we got 45 nanometer logic technology in 2006 using hafnium-based high-k for transistor gates represented a shift from the silicon-gated transistors of the 60s and allowed them to move to hundreds of millions of transistors packed into a single chip. i3, i5, i7, an on. The chips now have over a couple hundred million transistors per core with 8 cores on a chip potentially putting us over 1.7 or 1.8 transistors per chip. Microsoft, IBM, Apple, and so many others went through huge growth and sales jumps then retreated dealing with how to run a company of the size they suddenly became. This led each to invest heavily into ending a lost decade effectively with R&D - like when IBM built the S/360 or Apple developed the iMac and then iPod. Intel's strategy had been research and development. Build amazing products and they sold. Bigger, faster, better. The focus had been on power. But mobile devices were starting to take the market by storm. And the ARM chip was more popular on those because with a reduced set of instructions they could use less power and be a bit more versatile.  Intel coined Moore's Law. They know that if they don't find ways to pack more and more transistors into smaller and smaller spaces then someone else will. And while they haven't been huge in the RISC-based System on a Chip space, they do continue to release new products and look for the right product-market fit. Just like they did when they went from more DRAM and SRAM to producing the types of chips that made them into a powerhouse. And on the back of a steadily rising revenue stream that's now over $77 billion they seem poised to be able to whether any storm. Not only on the back of R&D but also some of the best manufacturing in the industry.  Chips today are so powerful and small and contain the whole computer from the era of those Pentiums. Just as that 4004 chip contained a whole ENIAC. This gives us a nearly limitless canvas to design software. Machine learning on a SoC expands the reach of what that software can process. Technology is moving so fast in part because of the amazing work done at places like Intel, AMD, and ARM. Maybe that positronic brain that Asimov promised us isn't as far off as it seems. But then, I thought that in the 90s as well so I guess we'll see.        

On Wednesday we talked about the “Normal” computer news.But today is not Wednesday. Today is Sunday.Thus we do the only logical thing… we talk about the “Weird” computer news.Alternative Operating Systems. Retro computing. And funky stuff that most people will never hear about… but are mind-melting-ly awesome.Solitaire via GopherThis isn't exactly breaking news — it was made back in April — but it was news to me. Plus… it's so ridiculous and awesome that it deserves to get talked about.Someone built a functional game of Klondike Solitaire… on Gopher. Yeah. That Gopher (the one before HTTP and HTML). Not kidding. Take a peek:Think about that for a minute. Think about the limitations of Gopher. Then let your brain slowly melt.From the genius behind this work of art:“In the 1990's a text based system called “Gopher” competed against the World Wide Web.The web won.However Gopher is still around today and so I decided to make a version of Solitaire that you can play over Gopher!”So grab a Gopher Client, and head to gopher://worldofsolitaire.com/. OpenBSD 7.2 releasedOpenBSD doesn't get enough love. It is a truly impressive operating system. And their glorious leader (Theo de Raadt) just announced the new 7.2 version.And, as is often the case with OpenBSD, the release notes are *ahem* rather extensive.But this little bit certainly jumped out at me:* New/extended platforms:* Added support for Ampere Altra* Added support for Apple M2* Added support for Lenovo ThinkPad x13s and other machines using the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 (SC8280XP) SoC.Plus… check out the release artwork!Pumpkin OS gets file browser and resource editorI continue to be excited about the prospect of getting my hands on Pumpkin OS — a system that runs PalmOS applications in a multi-tasking, multi-window environment. Basically a “Desktop PalmOS”. It's nuts.Well the developer recently teased another feature of Pumpkin OS:“I was reminded that every OS should have a "file browser thing" and maybe one resource editor or two, so here is a first try for #PumpkinOS.”Super cool. When I asked the developer when he might make a public release, this was the response:“Soon I hope... there are so many small things to tweak.”Am I excited to try it out? You bet, I am.Zeal 8-Bit OS for a new Z80 computerIn “because you can never have enough operating systems for 46 year old CPU architecture” news… Zeal, a brand new operating system for the Z80, has just been released. From the project's GitHub page:“Zeal 8-bit OS is an operating system written entirely in Z80 assembly for Z80 computers. It has been designed around simplicity and portability. It is inspired by Linux and CP/M. It has the concept of drivers and disks, while being ROM-able.”The “inspired by Linux and CP/M” bit already had my interest. But there's more…“…this project is in fact part of a bigger project called Zeal 8-bit Computer, which, as it name states, consists of an entirely newly designed 8-bit computer. It is based on a Z80 CPU.”Seriously. Check out the “Zeal 8-bit Computer”.Ladybird Web Browser continues improving I'm a big fan of SerenityOS. Love the design. Love the passion of the developers and community behind it. Love the amazing, breakneck speed of their progress.And I'm also a big fan of the web browser project that evolved as an off-shoot of SerenityOS: Ladybird.Obviously a brand new, from scratch web browser has a lot of work ahead of it in trying to render the “modern web” properly. I mean, heck, it takes Firefox roughly 200 Bazillion Gigawhompers of RAM to render a simple blog nowadays.Just the same, Ladybird is making huge strides towards rendering modern (and commonly used) web sites correctly. Here Ladybug is rendering Wikipedia almost perfectly (a few minor little issues):And here is Ladybird's take on GitHub:Not too darned shabby!The number of issues stopping me from being able to use Ladybird full time are dwindling almost by the day. Darned impressive!Hey! You! Are you subscribed to The Lunduke Journal yet? There's so many perks… plus… supporting an ad-free, 100% independent computer nerd publication just feels good. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit lunduke.substack.com/subscribe

CoCoTALK! episode Z80 - wrapping up #SepTandy Episode Zed-80 finds us near the end of #SepTandy though we'll have some follow up in the coming weeks, it's been a great year. Custom artwork designed by Instagram artist Joel M. Adams: https://www.instagram.com/artistjoelmadams Custom CoCoTALK! and retro merchandise is available at:  http://8bit256.com Consider becoming a patron of the show:  https://patreon.com/ogsteviestrow Email any suggestions you have for the show to cocotalk@cocotalk.live Visit us on the web at http://cocotalk.live Join us for daily conversations on Discord: http://discord.cocotalk.live  

This week, Editor-in-Chief Elliot Williams and Assignments Editor Kristina Panos met up on a secret server to discuss the cream of this week's crop of hacks. After gushing about the first-ever Kansas City Keyboard Meetup coming up tomorrow -- Saturday the 27th, we start off by considering the considerable engineering challenge of building a knife-throwing machine, the logistics of live-streaming on the go, and the thermodynamics of split-level homes. This week, Kristina came up with the What's-That-Sound and managed to stump Elliot for a while, though he did eventually guess correctly after the tape stopped rolling. Think you know what it is? Then fill out the form and you'll earn the chance to win a genuine Hackaday Podcast t-shirt! Later in the show, we look at a macro pad that breaks the mold, an ASCII terminal like it's 1974, and a Z80 that never was (but definitely could have been). Stick around as we root for the CubeSats hitching a ride aboard Artemis I, and at last call on the 'cast, it's lagers vs. ales (vs. ciders). Head on over to the show notes for links and oh, so much more!

This week we fact check Project Titan and Buddy Build. The Avengers assemble to invest in 1Password. Apple grabs record China market share. Apple fixes new zero-day exploit. TIOBE Index - jan 2022. Universal Control. App Store Now Supports Unlisted App URLs. iCloud syncing issues are plaguing third-party apps. FaceID to unlock with Masks in iOS 15.4. Picks: i won, A Short History of Objective-C, Byte magazine features SmallTalk, Grid Studio, Melodic and Gibson app.

Machine Music : with Man and TQ4 on the TQ404 synthesizer (unreleased) and my Ai that says : This music is pretty like a compiled machine. I have some of the best vintage computers and vintage synthesizers, and new programs for them, such as new programs for Roland JX3P, Yamaha DX7, Korg M1, Casio CT-1, Korg MS-20, Roland V-Synth, Roland VP-330, E-mu SP-1200, Synthogy Soundscape, Oberheim Xpander, and others. they used to create, but most programmers all have their legacy hardware first start, or has their first focus (eg Dos users influence, Win32 users influence, etc ) My MIDI CV Invoke synth still in work is good because I made it when it was big deal )) =D, more each new machine game I have find sweet ways from my machine (A89 etc hacked in MIDI messages from LP20 owned PC ) ) =D, Can you experience these cool imitative sounds examples maybe here, or should I link to youtube or some videos (cpsurreesey28 ) Some wav examples (cpsurre to help with my tunes and time-based music. Some programs will, which have since been edited out, created instabilization. All machines and the programs used are designed to ... Design, I'm really excited about helping Vission Golf with their wedding video. The corporate video was great. Imagine capturing history through a new kind of eyes. Not just imagery on a shoe cardboard. It's turned my hometown of Chapel Hill into a vivid fashion photo shoot. Watch out... I create on my PC. I think electronic music is difficult to define for new artists since I will be creating my own sound at first, it's difficult for me to communicate how I will make my music, this is the best way for me to describe it. Please be nice to me if you can because I'm a new artist and a lot of things can help me grow in the world and thank you very much for your attention. Hi sounds like what I do. I'll do beats on my Z80 so you can feel it. Nice to have you here in the community

Parliamo di quando realizzai un software per la creazione e modifica dei font per l'SDK dei sistemi POS costruiti dalla azienda par la quale ho lavoravo. L'oramai estinta Veron.Erano anni in cui determinati tipi di programmi non erano disponibili in commercio e ce li facevamo in casa.Video per vedere in funzione quanto sono riuscito a recuperare: https://youtu.be/QSkrXWUkuvE Sostieni Runtime Radio, grazie al quale Survival Hacking è diventato una realtà

Fredrik snackar vidare med Olle Westergård om betalplattformar, legacysystem, och assembler idag. Olle berättar lite om P27 - ett projekt för att ta fram en gemensam nordisk betalplattform. Därefter kommer vi in på utbildning i assembler - det är inte så konstigt att det inte utbildas jättemycket. Varför det är svårt att gå på djupet i en utbildning. Assembler kanske verkar kryptiskt, men instruktionerna är inte mer kryptiska än det vi skriver i meddelanden till folk dagarna i ända. Och ja, man får skriva kommentarer också. Olle ger sin synvinkel på ordet legacy och varför det låter dåligt. Ett väl förvaltat arv är bara bra. Vi diskuterar också området att lära sig - assembler är ju inte bara assembler, du måste ju kunna assembler för just din CPU. För att inte tala om faktorer som fysiska diskar och andra samtidiga användare som operativsystemet och ditt program måste ta hänsyn till. Olle minns tidiga maskiner man själv kunde köpa, koda assembler på, och inte minst löda ihop sina egna expansioner. Ett stort tack till Cloudnet som sponsrar vår VPS! Har du kommentarer, frågor eller tips? Vi är @kodsnack, @tobiashieta, @oferlund, och @bjoreman på Twitter, har en sida på Facebook och epostas på info@kodsnack.se om du vill skriva längre. Vi läser allt som skickas. Gillar du Kodsnack får du hemskt gärna recensera oss i iTunes! Du kan också stödja podden genom att ge oss en kaffe (eller två!) på Ko-fi, eller handla något i vår butik. Länkar Olle Westergård 424 - avsnittet med Mats Nordkvist, Mats Törnblom, och Cobol-Erik Weylerdär bland annat legacy diskuterades 397 - förra avsnittet med Olle P27 Swish OCR-nummer IBAN - internationellt bankkontonummer IBM Tivoli workdload scheduler Minidator ICL 1301 Olles artikel om vad assembler är VB6 Interrupt Supervisor call Zilog ELFA Allt om elektronik (registrering krävs för nedladdning) Motorola 6800 Z80 8086-processorn Titlar Det går inte så himla fort Lättare att handla Gemensam betalinfrastruktur Ingen kontroll på att det blir rätt Svårt att gå på djupet Fortfarande krypiska förkortningar Legacy betyder arv Tekniskt arv Förvalta sitt arv Vad är det för assembler? Om den jobbade med din sak Samma färdiga rutin Assembler är lite läskigare Hackers, kanske

Brian asks a question about what EA and Activision are capable of. Rocky and the visiting Stu Templeton have an answer for him. Stu has questions about something that happened in Firewatch and Rocky and Brian have answers for him. Tegan will have questions about this episode. We have no answers for her. 3:27 Adventures In Gunlancing 13:16 Day 1 Ultimate Prog 25:04 Unbeatable Tracks Are Within Reach 28:03 Guilty Gear Strive Beta/ Red Bull Kumite 33:07 Knockout City 35:06 Z-Race 40:30 Shopping Trip In Eklan Tor 43:34 Problems with Early Access in VR 49:10 Valheim 52:52 Z80 vs. 6502 54:42 It's Weird That Roblox Wasn't A Bigger Deal 1:01:32 Roblox doesn't provide games, they're called experiences 1:05:07 Climb The Giant Man 1:11:16 Burger Bistro Story 1:13:56 Just Die Already 1:18:19 SpaceGulls 1:22:25 Böbl 1:22:59 Glamorous Zombie Flakes 1:28:33 Carly & The Reaperman 1:33:52 Demeo 1:42:22 Puzzle Bobble VR 1:45:56 Vanishing Grace 1:58:06 Call To Action 1:58:47 Devolver Digital IPO Incoming 2:13:17 WB Games to get broken-up because of Discovery deal 2:19:32 Netflix is looking to do a video-ed game 2:33:59 Twitch has added demonetization to their toolset

Bem-vindos à edição 069 do Repórter Retro. Links do podcast 45 anos do microprocessador Z80 40 anos do Sinclair ZX81 Efeméride de 2100 anos: Mecanismo de Anticítera colocado em funcionamento Documentário mostrando o processo de reconstrução em detalhes Noel Llopis Bota um LCD colorido (ou dois) num Amstrad PPC512… …e se vê às voltas com … Continue lendo Repórter Retro 069 →

In 1974 Intel released the 8080 processor, a chip long in the making. It was the first microprocessor that had the right combination of power and price to make personal computers viable. But that same year a small group of employees defected and formed their own company called Zilog. Among this group were Masatoshi Shima and Federico Faggin, two of the principal architects behind the 8080 as well as Intel's other processors. Zilog would go on to release a better chip, the Z80, that blew Intel out of the water. Today we continue our Intel series with a look into this twisting story. Like the show? Then why not head over and support me on Patreon. Perks include early access to future episodes, and stickers: https://www.patreon.com/adventofcomputing Important Dates: 1974: Intel 8080 hits shelves 1976: Zilog Z80 goes on sale

In episode #16 of the Bally Alley Astrocast, Kevin Bunch interviews Andy Guevara. The interview took place Saturday, May 16, 2020. Andy wrote three programs that were released on cartridge for the Bally Arcade/Astrocade. The first cartridge was Machine Language Manager (MLM), released by The Bit Fiddlers in 1982. L&M Software approached Andy due to his machine language skills and a collaboration got underway that produced Ms. Candyman and Sea Devil, which were both released on cartridge in 1983. Andy also wrote some additional software: Chicken and the Goldfish Demo were released on tape, while a few others were released as type-in programs. Mr. Guevara's used an Apple II Plus with a Z80 card which ran the CP/M operating system to write most of his software for the Bally Arcade/Astrocade. Recurring Links  BallyAlley.com - Bally Arcade / Astrocade Website What's New at BallyAlley.com Bally Alley Blog Orphaned Computers & Game Systems Website Bally Alley Discussion Group Bally Arcade / Astrocade Atari Age Sub-forum Bally Arcade/Astrocade High Score Club Bally Alley Astrocast Facebook Page The Classic Gaming Bookcast - By Chris Federico Machine Language Manager (MLM) Machine Language Manager (MLM) is a 2KB cartridge written by Andy Guevara in 1981 for the Bally Arcade/Astrocade. It was released by The Bit Fiddlers in late 1981/early 1982. There is a series of four videos about the MLM. The episodes are called, "Part 1: Overview and Background," "Part 2: How to Use the MLM," "Part 3: Using MLM Example Programs," and "Part 4: Using MLM with the Astrocade MAME Emulation." Machine Language Manager User's Manual - This manual explains how to program in machine language using the "MLM" cartridge. There is also plenty of information that explains how to program the Bally Arcade/Astrocade in general. The complete source code listing for the cartridge is included. Machine Language Manager Programs - Digitally archived Bally Arcade/Astrocade programs that will load with the Machine Language Manager cartridge and the 300-BAUD tape interface. Machine Language Manager - Source Code - This is the Z80 assembly source code the for MLM cartridge in ready to assemble format. Sea Devil Sea Devil is a 4K third party game. It was released in 1983 by L&M Software. This cartridge was written by Andy Guevara (of The Bit Fiddlers). You are the guardian of a 21st century undersea farm. Not only is this important to the survival of the people on earth, but the company you work for have risked millions on this venture. Zardos, the evil king of a distant planet, needs this food for himself. He has sent android divers with other sea creatures to steal this food. You must destroy the hoard of poachers as quickly as possible because each bit of food (the white abalone on the bottom) they get will cost you bonus score at the end of the screen. Beware, the poachers are releasing undersea mines to destroy you, avoid them by evasive action. Sea Devil Manual - (1983) Game "manual" (instructions) for Sea Devil by L&M Software. Sea Devil Ad - (1983) Advertisement for Sea Devil. This document contains much more of the game's backstory than is in the manual. Sea Devil Cartridge - Picture of the Sea Devil cartridge. HSC01 Round 10: Sea Devil / The Pits - Sea Devil was played in the Astrocade High Score Club on AtariAge in July 2016. Ms. Candyman Ms. Candyman is a 4K cartridge released by L&M Software in 1983. It was programmed by Andy Guevara. Ms. Candyman is the sequel to 1983's Candy Man, which was released on tape. This is the description of the game from an advertisement: "Real arcade action with joysticks, 1 or 2 players and 3 levels of difficulty. More than 20 screens, each faster than the one before. Full screen display in exquisite detail. Ms. Candyman must pick up all of the lifesavers as quickly as possible while avoiding contact with the Ghosts & Goblins. During the first half of a screen the Ghosts or Goblins will try to catch you. During the 2nd half of a screen the Ghosts or Goblins will take up protective positions to keep you away from the life savers. Each contact costs Ms. Candyman one life and she will nose-dive head first off the bottom of the play field. A wrecker or ambulance will carry her off." Candy Man is the prequel to Ms. Candyman by L&M Software. It was released on tape. It loads via the Astrovision release of Bally BASIC (usually called "AstroBASIC"). The game was written by Bill Loos and Greg Miller, who make up L&M Software. It's unclear to me how much of this game is written in BASIC, but by the speed of this game, my guess is that it relies heavily on machine language subroutines built into the Bally's 8K on-board system ROM. Andy didn't directly work on Candy Man, but the programmers of the game might have used his machine language routines in the game. Ms. Candyman Ad - L&M Software's very rare cartridge release for the Astrocade. This game is one of those rare occasions where the rarity of the game does not speak about the quality of gameplay. A great game. Ms. Candyman Review - Michael Prosise reviewed Ms. Candyman in his "The Game Player #13" column in the November 29, 1983 of the Arcadian newsletter. Ms. Candyman Disassembly - This is a partially commented Z80 disassembly of Ms. Candyman. All of the games graphics were found and most of the code was disassembled, but not commented. Hopefully Andy can provide the printed source code listing so that this game can be completely commented. Ms. Candyman High Score Club - Ms. Candyman was played for the Astrocade High Score Club in June 2017 for HSC02, Round 6: Ms. Candyman / The Mummy's Treasure. Chicken Chicken! - The Bit Fiddlers, 1982. It's late... you've got to get your brood home in time to watch "Fowl Play." The only problem... there's six lanes of freeway between you and home. And every day it seems to get worse... CHICKEN! is a one or two player game of skill. It pits each player against six lanes of highway of ever increasing traffic density. The object, of course, is to get your chickens across the road. Chicken source code - This is Richard Degler's disassembly of the Bit Fiddler's "Chicken (The Bit Fiddlers).bin." This game originally loaded via Bally BASIC, AstroBASIC or the "Machine Language Manager." This version of the binary will run as a cartridge. Goldfish Demo Goldfish Demo - Seven goldfish (actually they are neon tetras) swim around a fishtank, a clock runs, and a cat meows every minute. Goldfish Source Code - In January 2008, Lance F. Squire converted the Goldfish Demo to run as a cartridge. Standard Color Generator Standard Color Generator - By Andy Guevara/The Bit Fiddlers. BASIC EXPRESS, THE 3, no. 2 (May/June 1981): 15-16. "Machine Language Manager" Manual (Page 7-4) This video test software generates 8 standard colors used in TV work. It is for use with the Bally Arcade/Astrocade and Bally BASIC or the Machine Language Manager. The "Standard Color Generator" program will display a series of color bars which can be used to set the colors on your TV set. The color bars are displayed from left to right in the following order: Black, White, Yellow, Green, Blue, Magenta, Red and Cyan. This video is broken into several part: Overview of Program, Program Loading and Running (Direct Capture), and Program Loading and Running (Video of TV). This program is useful to help adjust colors on a TV. It's also an excellent example of showing more than the usual two colors on the screen at once from BASIC. The Bit Fiddler's Corner Andy Guevara programmed the "Machine Language Manager" ("MLM") cartridge for the Astrocade as well as writing "The Bit Fiddler's Corner" tutorials to help support the program. The tutorials complement "MLM," but they also have a general focus, so this information can be used without reinterpretation by Bally Arcade/Astrocade assembly language programmers, or those wishing to learn about the machine. The Bit Fiddler's Corner - Links to each article in the series as they appeared in the Arcadian. The Bit Fiddler's Corner - These tutorials were converted to text by Adam Trionfo on January 13, 2002. This is the complete series in one Rich Text Format document. Andy Guevara - Miscellaneous Links Atari Archive - Kevin Bunch is "chronicling the early history of video games with mini-documentaries focused on a particular game or topic. Z-80 SoftCard - Bit Fiddler's programs were created using this Z-80 card, or one similar to it, for the Apple II Plus. "Astrocade Owners!" Advertisement - This half-page ad appeared in the January 1983 issue of Electronic Games. "Here's a list of professionals who support your computer with programs, hardware and information to help you enjoy your Astrocade to the maximum!" Each of the 17 companies listed in the ad has contact information, along with a brief summary of what they do. Running this ad was very expensive. Richard Houser, from Astrocade Sourcebook (one of the companies in the ad), has said that everyone in this ad grouped together funds to run it for several issues in Electronic Games magazine. When asked if the ad worked at all, Richard said that it did have noticeable results. A higher-quality version of the just the ad can be read here. Feedback There is no feedback covered in this episode,but we would love to hear your thoughts and comments about this (or any) Astrocast episode or about your history with the Bally Arcade/Astrocade. The best way to contact us is via email at BallyAlley or through via the Bally Alley Discussion Group at Groups.io. Next Episode's Coverage Astrocast #16 was supposed to be the first of a sporadic multi-part series that covers some of the material in the "AstroBASIC" manual. That episode was bumped to make room for the interview with Andy Guevara. The "AstroBASIC" manual overview will be in Astrocast #17.  

Nanoo Nanoo.Ryan Gosling is going back to space for Andy Weir's next book, which isn't even out yet but is already casting actors. This one has a working title of Project Hail Mary and features a lone scientist on a spaceship trying to save the world. Slightly higher stakes than The Martian, but Andy's books are always great.Astronauts are also going to use pee to build houses on the moon. Let's hope NASA has a large surplus of air fresheners to send up with them, because this cement is probably the most useful way to use human waste on the moon, but it's going to smell.Back on Earth, Niantic are trying to deflate the Pokecoin economy by severely lowering the minimum wage. Nobody seems to be happy with this, but Australia is just the test site, so it's coming to a phone near you soon.This week Professor took a trip to a far away planet to care for slimes, and DJ found out what happens when you swim with the cardsharks.Check in next week for probably less pee jokes. Probably.Andy Weir’s Space Film starring Ryan Gosling-https://variety.com/2020/film/news/phil-lord-chris-miller-ryan-gosling-astronaut-movie-1234607851/Introducing….Piss-ent: the new space cement-https://www.sciencenews.org/article/astronauts-lunar-exploration-cement-urine-urea-3d-printing-https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652619340478?via%3DihubPokeCoin: Gotta cash them all-https://www.reddit.com/r/TheSilphRoad/comments/glcywi/tales_from_the_front_one_players_experience_with/Games PlayedProfessor–Slime Rancher – https://store.steampowered.com/app/433340/Slime_Rancher/Rating: 2/5DJ–Legends of Runeterra – https://playruneterra.com/en-us/Rating: 4.5/5Other topics discussedThe Martian (The Martian is a 2015 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Matt Damon. The Martian, a 2011 novel by Andy Weir, served as the screenplay adapted by Drew Goddard. The film depicts an astronaut's lone struggle to survive on Mars after being left behind, and efforts to rescue him and bring him home to Earth.)-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Martian_(film)Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is a 2018 American computer-animated superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Miles Morales / Spider-Man, produced by Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation in association with Marvel, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing.)-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider-Man:_Into_the_Spider-VerseAndy Weir (American novelist whose debut novel in 2011, The Martian, was later adapted into a film of the same name directed by Ridley Scott in 2015.)-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_WeirSean Bean Death Scene Compilation 1986-2016-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lnzk5qAaNLkFirst Man (First Man is a 2018 American biographical drama film directed by Damien Chazelle and written by Josh Singer. Based on the book First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong by James R. Hansen, the film stars Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong and follows the years leading up to the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon in 1969. Steven Spielberg serves as an executive producer.)-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Man_(film)Interstellar (2014 epic science fiction film directed, co-written and co-produced by Christopher Nolan. It stars Matthew McConaughey. Set in a dystopian future where humanity is struggling to survive, the film follows a group of astronauts who travel through a wormhole near Saturn in search of a new home for humanity.)-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstellar_(film)Raid: Shadow Legends (freemium mobile and PC game developed and published by Israeli game developer Plarium Games.)-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raid:_Shadow_Legends-https://raidshadowlegends.com/Girl being hit by a truck while playing Pokémon Go-https://time.com/4405221/pokemon-go-teen-hit-by-car/Pokémon Go disrupt a funeral-https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-08/pokemon-go-blamed-for-brisbane-funeral-disturbance/7700332List of highest-grossing mobile games-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-grossing_mobile_gamesHarry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery forces you to pay - or wait - to save a kid from being strangled.-https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018-04-27-harry-potter-hogwarts-mystery-is-ruined-by-its-in-game-paymentsHarry Potter mobile game maker defends child-choking scene which asks you to wait or pay money-https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2019-05-31-harry-potter-mobile-game-maker-defends-child-choking-scene-which-asks-you-to-wait-or-pay-moneyPokémon Go Hits $3B in Lifetime Revenue-https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/pokemon-go-hits-3-billion-lifetime-revenue-1250983Wall-E: Do not Return to Earth Scene played by Fred Wllard-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNXNkdZVqs4Groucho Marx’s look-https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Groucho_Marx_-_portrait.jpgRC2014 is a simple 8 bit Z80 based modular computer originally built to run Microsoft BASIC. It is inspired by the home built computers of the late 70s and computer revolution of the early 80s.-https://rc2014.co.uk/Sgt. Slaughter On The Time Andre The Giant Fell Asleep Mid-Match-https://www.mandatory.com/wrestlezone/news/1060153-andre-the-giant-sgt-slaughter-zzzzAndre The Giant (2018 TV documentary film based on the life of French professional wrestler and actor André René Roussimoff (better known as André the Giant).)-https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6543420/Star Wars Day (Star Wars Day, May 4, celebrates George Lucas's Star Wars media franchise. Even though the holiday was not created or declared by Lucasfilm, many Star Wars fans across the world have chosen to celebrate the holiday. It has since been embraced by Lucasfilm and parent company Disney as an annual celebration of Star Wars.-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_DayAn Assemblage of Grandiose and Bombastic Grandiloquents (TNC podcast)-https://thatsnotcanon.com/grandiloquentspodcastHeavenly Shows and Unnecessary Letters (TNC Podcast)-https://thatsnotcanon.com/heavenlyshowspodcastShout Outs15 May 2020 – Fred Wilard passes away at 86 - https://www.forbes.com/sites/marcberman1/2020/05/16/comic-fred-willard-dies-at-86/#5461bf6d7f10Frederick Charles Willard, was an American actor, comedian and writer. He was best known for his roles in the Rob Reiner mockumentary film This Is Spinal Tap; the Christopher Guest mockumentaries Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, For Your Consideration and Mascots; and the Anchorman films. Willard’s other recurring sitcom roles included Family Matters,Sister, Sister, Mad About You, and Everybody Loves Raymond (the latter which resulted in Primetime Emmy nominations for Best Guest Actor in a Comedy for three consecutive years). He even appeared as the only human character in the animated film "WALL-E," a first for a Pixar film. Willard was one of Hollywood's busiest comedic actors with a career that lasted more than 50 years, playing clueless characters such as sidekick Jerry Hubbard on the satire "Fernwood 2 Night" in the 1970s. He recently finished filming the Netflix series “Space Force,” where he played actor Steve Carell’s father. He died from natural causes in Los Angeles, California.18 May 2020 – Ken Osmond passes away at 87 - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/18/arts/television/ken-osmond-eddie-haskell-dead.htmlKen Osmond, who played the duplicitous teenager Eddie Haskell on the long-running sitcom “Leave It to Beaver,” one moment a smarmy young man when talking to parents, the next moment a devilish troublemaker when the adults were out of sight. Mr. Osmond appeared in all six seasons of “Leave It to Beaver,” 1957 to 1963, one of the most-watched television sitcoms of the era, then reprised the role as an adult version of Eddie in the Disney Channel revival series “The New Leave It to Beaver” in the 1980s. After Leave It to Beaver ended in 1963, Osmond continued to make occasional appearances on such television series as CBS's Petticoat Junction, The Munsters, and a final return appearance on Lassie in the episode "A Matter of Seconds" as a motorcycle delivery man who offers the hitchhiking collie a lift in his sidecar. However, he found himself typecast as Eddie Haskell and had difficulty finding steady work. In 2008, Osmond told radio host Stu Shostak in a radio interview, "I was very much typecast. It's a death sentence. In Hollywood you get typecast. I'm not complaining because Eddie's been too good to me, but I found work hard to come by. In 1968, I bought my first house, in '69 I got married, and we were going to start a family and I needed a job, so I went out and signed up for the LAPD. As an officer on motorcycle patrol, he grew a mustache to disguise himself. In 1980, he was shot three times in a chase with a suspected car thief but escaped serious injury: One bullet was stopped by his belt buckle, the others by his bulletproof vest. He was put on disability and retired from the force in 1988. He died from complications of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and peripheral artery disease in Los Angeles, California.19 May 2020 – Red Dead Redemption Celebrates Its 10th Anniversary - https://www.gamespot.com/articles/red-dead-redemption-turns-10-years-old/1100-6477391/On May 18, 2010, Rockstar Games released Red Dead Redemption, an open-world Western video game, on the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. Universally acclaimed for its artistry, dramatic storytelling, and freedom of choice, the game sold 17 million copies. But despite the game's reputation today, it's important to remember a time when its success wasn't certain, and Rockstar's developers sought to distinguish it from the studio's prior accomplishments. It subsequently attained a 95 on Metacritic and received over 170 Game of the Year Rewards. It led to a revitalized interest in the Western genre, especially the "Spaghetti Western"revisionist works by Sergio Leone and Sergio Corbucci. And after eight years, players got a sprawling prequel, Red Dead Redemption 2, which built upon and deepened the themes of its predecessor. Taken together, the two games are an American epic about modernization, betrayal, and the demons of the past. The West may be dead, but that won't stop us from reminiscing and keeping its memory alive.Remembrances19 May 1825 – Henri de Saint-Simon - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_de_Saint-SimonClaude Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-Simon, often referred to as Henri de Saint-Simon. He created a political and economic ideology known as Saint-Simonianism that claimed that the needs of anindustrial class, which he also referred to as the working class, needed to be recognized and fulfilled to have an effective society and an efficient economy. He said the primary threat to the needs of the industrial class was another class he referred to as the idling class, that included able people who preferred to be parasitic and benefit from the work of others while seeking to avoid doing work. Saint-Simon stressed the need for recognition of the merit of the individual and the need for hierarchy of merit in society and in the economy, such as society having hierarchical merit-based organizations of managers and scientists to be the decision-makers in government. Saint Simon's conceptual recognition of broad socio-economic contribution, and his Enlightenment valorization of scientific knowledge, soon inspired and influenced utopian socialism, liberal political theorist John Stuart Mill, anarchism through its founder Pierre-Joseph Proudhon who was inspired by Saint-Simon's thought and Marxism with Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels identifying Saint-Simon as an inspiration to their ideas and classifying him among the utopian socialists. He died from suicide at the age of 64 in Paris.19 May 1935 - T. E. Lawrence - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._E._LawrenceColonel Thomas Edward Lawrence, British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer. He was renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War. The breadth and variety of his activities and associations, and his ability to describe them vividly in writing, earned him international fame as Lawrence of Arabia, a title used for the 1962 film based on his wartime activities. In 1916, he was sent to Arabia on an intelligence mission and quickly became involved with the Arab Revolt as a liaison to the Arab forces, along with other British officers. He worked closely with Emir Faisal, a leader of the revolt, and he participated, sometimes as leader, in military actions against the Ottoman armed forces, culminating in the capture of Damascus in October 1918. After the war, Lawrence joined the Foreign Office, working with the British government and with Faisal. In 1922, he retreated from public life and spent the years until 1935 serving mostly in the Royal Air Force, with a brief period in the Army. For the RAF, he participated in the development of rescue motorboats. In the inter-war period, the RAF's Marine Craft Section began to commission air-sea rescue launches capable of higher speeds and greater capacity. The arrival of high-speed craft into the MCS was driven in part by Lawrence. He had previously witnessed a seaplane crew drowning when the seaplane tender sent to their rescue was too slow in arriving. He worked with Hubert Scott-Paine, the founder of the British Power Boat Company (BPBC), to introduce the 37.5 ft (11.4 m) long ST 200 Seaplane Tender Mk1 into service. These boats had a range of 140 miles when cruising at 24 knots and could achieve a top speed of 29 knots. He died from a traffic collision at the age of 46 in Bovington Camp, Dorset.19 May 2009 - Robert F. Furchgott – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_F._FurchgottRobert Francis Furchgott, Nobel Prize-winning American biochemist who contributed to the discovery of nitric oxide as a transient cellular signal in mammalian systems. In 1978, Furchgott discovered a substance in endothelial cells that relaxes blood vessels, calling it endothelium-derived relaxing factor (EDRF). By 1986, he had worked out EDRF's nature and mechanism of action, and determined that EDRF was in fact nitric oxide (NO), an important compound in many aspects of cardiovascular physiology. This research is important in explaining a wide variety of neuronal, cardiovascular, and general physiologic processes of central importance in human health and disease. In addition to receiving the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of nitric oxide as a new cellular signal—shared in 1998 with Louis Ignarro and Ferid Murad. Furchgott's discovery, that NO gas causes blood vessels to dilate, provided a long sought-after explanation for the therapeutic effects of Nitroglycerin used to treat Angina pectoris and was later instrumental in the development of the erectile dysfunction treatment drug Viagra. He died at the age of 92 in Seattle, Washington.Famous Birthdays19 May 1942 - Gary Kildall - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_KildallAmerican computer scientist and microcomputer entrepreneur who created the CP/M operating system and founded Digital Research, Inc. (DRI). Kildall was one of the first people to see microprocessors as fully capable computers, rather than equipment controllers, and to organize a company around this concept. Although his career in computing spanned more than two decades, he is mainly remembered in connection with IBM's unsuccessful attempt in 1980 to license CP/M for the IBM Personal Computer. Kildall and his wife Dorothy established a company, originally called "Intergalactic Digital Research" (later renamed as Digital Research, Inc.), to market CP/M through advertisements in hobbyist magazines. Digital Research licensed CP/M for the IMSAI 8080, a popular clone of the Altair 8800. As more manufacturers licensed CP/M, it became a de facto standard and had to support an increasing number of hardware variations. In response, Kildall pioneered the concept of a BIOS, a set of simple programs stored in the computer hardware (ROM or EPROM chip) that enabled CP/M to run on different systems without modification. CP/M's quick success took Kildall by surprise, and he was slow to update it for high density floppy disks and hard disk drives.After hardware manufacturers talked about creating a rival operating system, Kildall started a rush project to develop CP/M 2. By 1981, at the peak of its popularity, CP/M ran on 3000 different computer models and DRI had US$5.4 million in yearly revenues. He was born in Seattle, Washington.19 May 1944 – Peter Mayhew - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_MayhewPeter William Mayhew, was an English-American actor, best known for portraying Chewbacca in the Star Wars film series. He played the character in all of his live-action appearances from the 1977 original to 2015's The Force Awakens before his retirement from the role. When casting the original Star Wars (1977), director George Lucas needed a tall actor who could fit the role of the hairy alien Chewbacca. He originally had in mind 6-foot-6-inch (1.98m) bodybuilder David Prowse, but Prowse chose to play Darth Vader. This led Lucas to cast Mayhew, who was working as an orderly in the radiology department of King's College Hospital, London. He became aware of a casting call for Star Wars which was filming at Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire. The 7-foot-3-inch (2.21m) tall actor was immediately cast as Chewbacca after he stood up to greet Lucas. Mayhew continued working as an orderly—at Mayday Hospital (now Croydon University Hospital)—in between filming the original Star Wars trilogy. Mayhew modelled his performance of Chewbacca after researching the behaviour of bears, monkeys and gorillas he saw at London Zoo. Lucas said Mayhew was "the closest any human being could be to a Wookiee: big heart, gentle nature and I learnt to always let him win". The character did not have any lines, the sounds he made being derived from sound recordings of animal noises. While Mayhew portrayed Chewbacca in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, he was not in Star Wars: The Last Jedi but was listed in the credits as "Chewbacca Consultant". He was born in Barnes, Surrey.19 May 1946 – André the Giant - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9_the_GiantAndré René Roussimoff, best known as André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. Roussimoff stood at over seven feet tall, which was a result of gigantism caused by excess growth hormone, and later resulted in acromegaly. It also led to his being called "The Eighth Wonder of the World". He found success as a fan favorite throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, appearing as an attraction for various professional wrestling promotions. During the 1980s wrestling boom he was paired with the villainous manager Bobby Heenan and feuded with Hulk Hogan in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). The two famously headlined WrestleMania III in 1987. Outside of wrestling, he was best known for appearing as Fezzik, the giant in The Princess Bride. After his death in 1993, he became the inaugural inductee into the newly created WWF Hall of Fame. He was later a charter member of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame and the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame; the latter describes him as being "one of the most recognizable figures in the world both as a professional wrestler and as a pop culture icon." Towards the end of his career, Roussimoff starred in several films. He appeared most notably as Fezzik, his own favorite role, in the 1987 film The Princess Bride. Both the film and his performance retain a devoted following. In shoot interviews, wrestlers have stated that he was so proud of being in "Princess Bride", he carried a copy of the movie everywhere he went, to watch whenever he could. Roussimoff has been unofficially crowned "the greatest drunk on Earth"for once consuming 119 12-US-fluid-ounce (350ml) beers (in total, over 41 litres (72imp pt)) in six hours. He was born in Coulommiers, Seine-et-Marne.19 May 1955 – James Gosling - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_GoslingJames Arthur Gosling, often referred to as "Dr. Java", Canadian computer scientist, best known as the founder and lead designer behind the Java programming language. He wrote a version of Emacs called Gosling Emacs (Gosmacs) while working toward his doctorate. He built a multi-processor version of Unix for a 16-way computer system while at Carnegie Mellon University, before joining Sun Microsystems. He also developed several compilers and mail systems there. He is known as the father of the Java programming language. He got the idea for the Java VM while writing a program to port software from a PERQ by translating Perq Q-Code to VAX assembler and emulating the hardware. He created the original design of Java and implemented the language's original compiler and virtual machine. He also invented an early Unix windowing system called NeWS, which became a lesser-used alternative to the still used X Window, because Sun did not give it an open source license. He is known for his love of proving "the unknown" and has noted that his favorite irrational number is √2. He has a framed picture of the first 1,000 digits of √2 in his office. He was born near Calgary, Alberta.Events of Interest18 May 1980 – Eruption of Mount St. Helens - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_eruption_of_Mount_St._HelensOn March 27, 1980, a series of volcanic explosions and pyroclastic flows began at Mount St. Helens in Skamania County, Washington, United States. It initiated as a series of phreatic blasts from the summit then escalated on May 18, 1980, as a major explosive eruption. The eruption, which had a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 5, was the most significant to occur in the contiguous 48 U.S. states. It has often been declared the most disastrous volcanic eruption in U.S. history. The eruption was preceded by a two-month series of earthquakes and steam-venting episodes, caused by an injection of magma at shallow depth below the volcano that created a large bulge and a fracture system on the mountain's north slope. An eruption column rose 80,000 feet (24km; 15mi) into the atmosphere and deposited ash in 11 U.S. states and significant ash in two Canadian provinces. At the same time, snow, ice and several entire glaciers on the volcano melted, forming a series of large lahars (volcanic mudslides) that reached as far as the Columbia River, nearly 50 miles (80km) to the southwest. hermal energy released during the eruption was equal to 26 megatons of TNT. Hundreds of square miles were reduced to wasteland, causing over $1 billion in damage (equivalent to $3.4 billion in 2019), thousands of animals were killed, and Mount St. Helens was left with a crater on its north side. More than 4,000,000,000 board feet (9,400,000m3) of timber was damaged or destroyed, mainly by the lateral blast. At least 25% of the destroyed timber was salvaged after September 1980. In areas of thick ash accumulation, many agricultural crops, such as wheat, apples, potatoes and alfalfa, were destroyed. As many as 1,500 elk and 5,000 deer were killed, and an estimated 12 million Chinook and Coho salmon fingerlings died when their hatcheries were destroyed.19 May 1999 – Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace was released - https://www.scifihistory.net/may-19.htmlOn this day in 1999, Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace was released theatrically ... and most of us came crashing understandably back to Earth. Employment consultant firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas estimated that 2.2 million full-time employees missed work to attend the film, resulting in a US$293 million loss of productivity. According to The Wall Street Journal, so many workers announced plans to view the premiere that many companies closed on the opening day. The release on May 19, 1999 of the first new Star Wars film in 16 years was accompanied by a considerable amount of attention. The Phantom Menace was released almost 16 years after the premiere of the previous Star Wars film, Return of the Jedi. The film's premiere was extensively covered by media and was greatly anticipated because of the large cultural following the Star Wars saga had cultivated. It grossed more than $924.3 million (equivalent to $1.42 billion in 2019) worldwide during its initial theatrical run, becoming the highest-grossing film of 1999, the second-highest-grossing film worldwide and in North America (behind Titanic), and the highest-grossing Star Wars film at the time.19 May 2005 – Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith was released - https://www.scifihistory.net/may-19.htmlGeorge Lucas brought his Prequel Trilogy to its tragic close when Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith finally showed audiences what exactly went down when Jedi Master Anakin Skywalker embraced his inner demons and took the path to the Dark Side of the Force. Luke and Leia were born, delivering the film's only true hint of what things would inevitably lead to their father's redemption, but an Empire was forged in darkness once and for all on this day. Its theatrical release in most other countries took place on May 19 to coincide with the 1999 release of The Phantom Menace (the 1977 release of A New Hope and the 1983 release of Return of the Jedi were also released on the same day and month, six years apart).IntroArtist – Goblins from MarsSong Title – Super Mario - Overworld Theme (GFM Trap Remix)Song Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GNMe6kF0j0&index=4&list=PLHmTsVREU3Ar1AJWkimkl6Pux3R5PB-QJFollow us onFacebook- Page - https://www.facebook.com/NerdsAmalgamated/- Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/440485136816406/Twitter - https://twitter.com/NAmalgamatedSpotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6Nux69rftdBeeEXwD8GXrSiTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/top-shelf-nerds/id1347661094RSS - http://www.thatsnotcanonproductions.com/topshelfnerdspodcast?format=rssInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/nerds_amalgamated/General EnquiriesEmail - Nerds.Amalgamated@gmail.comRate & Review us on Podchaser - https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/nerds-amalgamated-623195

Today we're going to cover the Homebrew Computer Club. Gordon French and Fred More started the Homebrew Computer Club. French hosted the Home-brew Computer Club's first meeting in his garage in Menlo Park, California on March 5th, 1975. I can't help but wonder if they knew they were about to become the fuse the lit a powder keg? If they knew they would play a critical role in inspiring generations to go out and buy personal computers and  automate everything. If they knew they would inspire the next generation of Silicon Valley hackers? Heck, it's hard to imagine they didn't with everything going on at the time. Hunter S Thompson rolling around deranged, Patty Hearst robbing banks in the area, the new 6800 and 8008 chips shipping… Within a couple of weeks they were printing a newsletter. I hear no leisure suits were damaged in the making of it. The club would meet in French's garage three times until he moved to Baltimore to take a job with the Social Security Administration. The group would go on without him until late in 1986. By then, the club had played a substantial part in spawning companies like Cromemco, Osborne, and most famously, Apple. The members of the club traded parts, ideas, rumors, and hacks. The first meeting was really all about checking out the Altair 8800, by an Albuquerque calculator company called MITS, which would fan the flames of the personal computer revolution by inspiring hackers all over the world to build their own devices. It was the end of an era of free love and free information. Thompson described it as a high water mark. Apple would help to end the concept of free, making its founders rich beyond their working-class dreams.  A newsletter called the People's Computer Company had gotten an early Altair. Bob Albrecht would later change the name of the publication to Dr Dobbs. That first, fateful meeting, inspired Deve Wozniak to start working on one of the most important computers of the PC revolution, the Apple I. They'd bounce around until they pretty much moved into Stanford for good.  I love a classic swap meet, and after meetings, some members of the group would reconvene at a parking lot or a bar to trade parts. They traded ideas, concepts, stories, hacks, schematics, and even software. Which inspired Bill Gates to write his “Open Letter to Hobbyists” - which he sent to the club's newsletter.   Many of the best computer minds in the late 70s were members of this collective.  George Morrow would make computers mostly through his company Morrow designs, for 30 years. Jerry Lawson invented cartridge-based gaming.  Lee Felsenstein built the SOL, a computer based on the Intel 8080, the Pennywhistle Modem, and designed the Osborne 1, the first real portable computer. He did that with Adam Osborne who he met at the club.  Li-Chen Wang developed Palo Alto Tiny Basic. Todd Fischer would help design the IMSAI. Paul Terrell would create the Byte Shop, a popular store for hobbyists that bought the first 50 Apple 1 computers to help launch the company. It was also the only place to buy the Altair in the area.  Dan Werthimer founded the SETI@home project.  Roger Melen would found Cromemco with Harry Garland. They named the company after Crothers Memorial, the graduate student engineering dorm at Stanford. They built computers and peripherals for the Z80 and S-100 bus. They gave us the Cyclops digital camera, the JS-1 joystick, and the Dazzler color graphics interface - all for the Altair. They would then build the Z-1 computer, using the same chassis as the IMSAI, iterating new computers until 1987 when they sold to Dynatech.  John Draper, also known as Captain Crunch, had become a famous phreaker in 1971, having figured out that a whistle from a box of Captain Crunch would mimic the 2600 hertz frequency used to route calls. His Blue Box design was then shared to Steve Wozniak who set up a business selling them with his buddy from high school, Steve Jobs.  And of course, Steve Wozniak would design the Apple 1 using what he learned at the meetings and team up with his buddy Steve Jobs to create Apple Computer and launch the Apple I, which Woz wanted to give his schematics away for free and Jobs wanted to sell the boards. That led to the Apple II, which made both wealthy beyond their wildest imaginations and paved the way for the Mac and every innovation to come out of Apple since.  Slowly the members left to pursue their various companies. When the club ended in 1986, the personal computing revolution had come and IBM was taking the industry over. A number of members continued to meet for decades, using the new name, the 6800 club, named after the Motorola 6800 chip, which had been used in the Altair on that fateful day in 1975.  This small band of pirates and innovators changed the world. Their meetings produced the concepts and designs that would be used in computers from Atari, Texas Instruments, Apple, and every other major player in the original personal computing hobbyist market. The members would found companies that went public and inspired IBM to enter what had been a hobbyist market and turn it into a full fledged industry. They would democratize the computer and their counter-culture personalities would humanize computing and even steer computing to benefit humans in an era when computers were considered part of the military industrial complex and so evil.  They were open with one another, leading to faster sharing of ideas, faster innovation. Until suddenly they weren't. And the higher water mark of open ideas was replaced with innovation that was financially motivated. They capitalized on a recession in chips as war efforts spun down. And they changed the world. And for that, we thank them. And I think you listener, for tuning in to this episode of the history of computing podcast. We are so, so lucky to have you. Now tune in to innovation, drop out of binge watching, and go change the world. 

Welcome to the History of Computing Podcast, where we explore the history of information technology. Because understanding the past prepares us to innovate (and sometimes cope with) the future! Today we're going to look at an often forgotten period in the history of computers. The world before DOS.  I've been putting off telling the story of CP/M. But it's time. Picture this: It's 1974. It's the end of the Watergate scandal. The oil crisis. The energy crisis. Stephen King's first book Carrie is released. The Dolphins demolish my Minnesota Vikings 24-7 in the Super Bowl. Patty Hearst is kidnapped. The Oakland As win the World Series. Muhammad Ali pops George Forman in the grill to win the Heavyweight title. Charles de Gaulle opens in Paris. The Terracotta Army is discovered in China. And in one of the most telling shifts that we were moving from the 60s into the mid-70s, the Volkswagen Golf replaces the Beetle. I mean, the Hippies shifted to Paul Anka, Paper Lace, and John Denver. The world was settling down. And the world was getting ready for something to happen. A lot of people might not have known it yet, but the Intel 8080 series of chips was about to change the world. Gary Kildall could see it. He'd bought the first commercial microprocessor, the Intel 4004 when it came out in 1971. He'd been enamored and consulted with Intel. He finished his doctorate in computer science and went tot he Naval Postgraduate School in Monterrey to teach and developed Kildall's Method, to optimize compilers. But then he met the 8080 chip.  The Intel Intellec-8 was an early computer that he wanted to get an operating system running on. He'd written PL/M or the Programming Language for Microcomputers and he would write the CP/M operating system, short for Control Program/Monitor, loosely based on TOPS-10, the OS that ran on his DECsystem-10 mainframe.  He would license PL/M through Intel but operating systems weren't really a thing just yet. By 1977, personal computers were on the rise and he would take it to market though calling the company Digital Research, Inc. His wife Dorothy ran the company.  And they would go into a nice rise in sales. 250,000 licenses in 3 years. This was the first time consumers could interact with computer hardware in a standardized fashion across multiple systems. They would port the code to the Z80 processors, people would run CP/M on Apple Its, Altair's, IMSaI, Kaypro, Epson, Osbourne, Commodore and even the trash 80, or TRS-80. The world was hectic and not that standard, but there were really 3 main chips so the software actually ran on 3,000 models during an explosion in personal computer hobbyists.  CP/M quickly rose and became the top operating system on the market. We would get WordStar, dBase, VisiCalc, MultiPlan, SuperCalc, Delphi, and Turbo Pascal for the office. And for fun, we'd get Colossal Cave Adventure, Gorillas, and Zork.  It bootstrapped from floppy disks. They made $5 million bucks in 1981. Almost like cocoaine money at the time. Gary got a private airplane. And John Opel from IBM called. Bill Gates told him to. IBM wanted to buy the rights to CP/M. Digital Research and IBM couldn't come to terms. And this is where it gets tricky. IBM was going to make CP/M the standard operating system for the IBM PC. Microsoft jumped on the opportunity and found a tool called 86-DOS from a company called Seattle Computer Products. The cool thing there is that used the CP/M Api and so would be easy to have compatible software. Paul Allen worked with them to license the software then compiled it for the IBM. This was the first MS DOS and became the standard, branded as PC DOS for IBM.  Later, Kildall agreed to sell CP/M for $240 on the IBM PCs. The problem was that PC DOS came in at $40. If you knew nothing about operating systems, which would you buy? And so even though it had compatibility with the CP/M API, PC DOS really became the standard. So much so that Digital Research would clone the Microsoft DOS and release their own DR DOS. Kildall would later describe Bill Gates using the following quote: "He is divisive. He is manipulative. He is a user. He has taken much from me and the industry.” While Kildall considered DOS theft, he was told not to sue because the laws simply weren't yet clear.  At first though, it didn't seem to hurt. Digital Research continued to grow. By 1983 computers were booming. Digital Research would hit $45 million in sales. They had gone from just Gary to 530 employees by then. Gangbusters. Although they did notice that they missed the mark on the 8088 chips from Intel and even with massive rises in sales had lost market share to Unix System V and all the variants that would come from that. CP/M would add DOS emulation.  But sales began to slip. The IBM 5150 and subsequent machines just took over the market. And CP/M, once a dominant player, would be left behind. Gary would move more into research and development but by 1985 resigned as the CEO of Digital Research, in a year where they laid off 200 employees.  He helped start a show called the Computer Chronicles in 1983. It has been something I've been watching a lot recently, researching these episodes and it's awesome! He was a kinda and wicked smart man. Even to people who had screwed him over.  As many would after them, Digital Research went into long-term legal drama, involving the US Department of Justice. But none of that saved them. And it wouldn't save any of the other companies that went there either. Digital Research would sell to Novell for $80 million in 1991 and various parts of the intellectual property would live on with compilers, interpreters, and DR DOS living on. For example, as Caldera OpenDOS. But CP/M itself would be done.   Kildall would die in a bar in Monterey, California in 1994. One of the pioneers of the personal computer market. From CP/M to disk buffering the data structure that made the CD, he was all over the place in personal computers. And CP/M was the gold standard of operating systems for a few years.  One of the reasons I put this episode off is because I didn't know how I would end it. Like, what's the story here. I think it's mostly that I've heard it said that he could have been Bill Gates. I think that's a drastic oversimplification. CP/M could have been the operating system on the PC. But a lot of other things could have happened as well. He was wealthy, just not Bill Gates level wealthy. And rather than go into a downward spiral over what we don't have, maybe we should all be happy with what we have.  And much of his technology survived for decades to come. So he left behind a family and a legacy. In uncertain times, focus on the good and do well with it. And thank you for being you. And for tuning in to this episode of the History of Computing Podcast. 

  In episode 13 of the Bally Alley Astrocast, Adam and Chris review the Bally Arcade/Astrocade game "Cosmic Raiders," a horizontally scrolling shoot 'em up. "Cosmic Raiders" is a game released in 1983 on an 8K cartridge by Astrocade Inc. It is part of the Action/Skills Series and is part #2019. It was written by Bob Ogdon, Scot L. Norris, Julie Malan, and Lisa Natting. "In deep space lies the alien sector Larkin. You are there on a mission to obtain energy sources that have been seized by the evil Larkins. Radar and a superior guidance system help you avoid attacking fighters and Kamikaze ships. The energy stars are near the Larkin command ship: you must retrieve them before you can leave the enemy sector." Recurring Links  BallyAlley.com - Bally Arcade / Astrocade Website What's New at BallyAlley.com Bally Alley Blog Orphaned Computers & Game Systems Website Bally Alley Discussion Group Bally Arcade / Astrocade Atari Age Sub-forum Bally Arcade/Astrocade High Score Club Bally Alley Astrocast Facebook Page The Classic Gaming Bookcast - By Chris Federico "Cosmic Raiders" Notes "Cosmic Raiders" Video Overview by Nice and Games (August 26, 2011). "Cosmic Raiders" Cartridge - JPG Picture. "Cosmic Raiders" Cartridge Prototypes - JPG Pictures. At least ten prototype cartridges of "Cosmic Raiders" have been found, with the game in various states of production. Most pictures have labels from Action Graphics and there is one from "Arlo Morrill, A.M. Associates, Inc." "Cosmic Raiders" Manual Cover - JPG Picture. "Cosmic Raiders" Manual - PDF Document. "Cosmic Raiders" Z80 Disassembly - Cosmic Raiders Disassembly for the Bally Arcade/Astrocade - Started by Adam Trionfo and completed by Richard Degler (December 25, 2018) - This is a Z80 disassembly of the Cosmic Raiders cartridge. This is the third release of this code. It is now commented and most everything has been disassembled. Richard comments: "Here's "COSMIC RAIDERS 2019.zip" (early VideoCADE #2019 New Year's present) anyway. [...] Check the names of the different fighter patterns - Type-2 and Type-4 might be switched. And notice that the BOMB-Explosion is NOT used for the Bomb! [...] Contains the infamous "LD A,$F0 / OUT ($CC),A" (BASIC equivalant "&(204)=240") which fooled [some few] into believing there was a MYSTIC register hidden in their machine's hardware. Probably just a command to turn off a Printer, UART or Electronic Module in the test bed instead. "Cosmic Raiders," The Game Player" Review #15 - PDF. - ARCADIAN 6, no. 3 (Jan. 27, 1984): 23. "Cosmic Raiders," "The Game Player" Review #15 - Text. "The Game Player" review compilation. This review of "Cosmic Raiders" originally appeared in the "Arcadian" newsletter in the column called "The Game Player." See review #15 in this compilation for the complete review. "Cosmic Raiders" Review by Kevin O'Neill - This column reviews the Treasure Cove and Cosmic Raiders cartridges for the Bally Arcade/Astrocade. These reviews first appeared in NIAGARA B.U.G. BULLETIN, 2, no. 6 (July 27, 1984): 29-30. Next Episode's Coverage Clowns/Brickyard by Astrocade, Inc. - (Cartridge Game) - "Clowns" and "Brickyard" (both on the same cartridge) are the two games that will be reviewed in the next episode. "Clowns" is a color port of the Midway's 1978 B&W arcade game "Clowns." The second game, "Brickyard," is a "Breakout" clone. Outpost 19 by WaveMakers - (BASIC Game) You are stranded on an alien outpost with nobody to help you. While you wait and pray for a rescue party, the only hope you have of surviving is to gather the food parcels that exist in each of the 16 rooms of the outpost. While you're chasing after the food parcels, the alien is chasing after you! His advantage is that he can go through walls, so his path toward you is more of a straight line, while your escape must be around obstacles in the rooms and through doorways provided. Feedback HSC01 Round 3: Cosmic Raiders - This is the AtariAge thread from when "Cosmic Raiders" was played in the Bally Arcade/Astrocaded High Score Club in March 2016. The feedback for Astrocast #13 is in this thread.

The Adam & Usually Dave kitchen is open for business! The guys discuss how you will be able to check Facebook once civilization ends. Then they examine the problems going on over at Atari. And what's this … a Souper Review of Lethal Weapon? Ahhhhh yeah! ”Collapse OS” Coming Soon To The Walking Dead n a post-apocalyptic future, Collapse OS is a new open source operating system built specifically for use during humanity's darkest days. Collapse OS will work with Z80 8-bit microprocessors which can be found in desktop computers, cash registers, musical instruments, graphing calculators, and everything in between. The Future Is Looking Grim For Atari VCS. The Register reported last Tuesday that the Atari system architect Rob Wyatt quit the project on Oct. 4, stating that Atari hadn't paid invoices to his design firm for more than six months! Souper Review - Lethal Weapon

It's the age of Aquarius! Episode 36 flies into town with the team chatting to Sean Harrington about the Mattel Aquarius, that curious little Z80-based computer from the house of Barbie. We talk creating new mods for the computer, a bit about it, as well as take a look into Sean's history with the system, Star Wars & more! This episode's news: SMB on the ZX Speccy - https://events.retroscene.org/cafe2019/gamecompo/2217 Sonic GX - Sonic for the Amstrad CPC+/GX4000 - http://www.cpcwiki.eu/forum/news-events/announcing-sonic-gx-a-new-episode-of-sonic-the-hedgehog-for-amstrad-gx-4000/ Fastloaders "Amiga Rocks" album funded - can pre-order though https://c64audio.com/products/amiga-rocks-fastloaders-a-triple-cd-of-amiga-game-remixes-pre-order Sean's Mattel Aquarius Composite mod board on eBay - https://www.ebay.com/itm/Aquarius-Computer-Composite-Video-Out-Adapter-Board-/223672642110 Some of the games mentioned: Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Choplifter (on many, many platforms) Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (Aquarius) Utopia (Aquarius) Astrosmash (Aquarius, but also Tony's "Let's make a retro game" series on YouTube) The two Aquarius Emulators referred to are "Virtual Aquarius" and "AqEmu", both of which can be found here - https://www.zophar.net/aquarius.html You can say hi to Sean on Twitter @1stage or visit the Aquarius Community on Facebook! Tony's webpage for his programming & games is www.electricadventures.net, along with his YouTube channel of the same name  

In episode 10 of the Bally Alley Astrocast, Adam and Chris++ review the modified version of the "AstroBASIC" game Gobblers. They also discuss just a few of the many updates to the BallyAlley.com website since March 2017. Finally, they talk about some of the recent occurrences in the Astrocade community. This is the first full-length episode in over 2 1/2 years; thanks to all those Astrocade fans who kept pestering Adam for another episode. Recurring Links  BallyAlley.com - Bally Arcade / Astrocade Website What's New at BallyAlley.com Bally Alley Blog Orphaned Computers & Game Systems Website Bally Alley Discussion Group Bally Arcade / Astrocade Atari Age Sub-forum Bally Arcade/Astrocade High Score Club Bally Alley Astrocast Facebook Page The Classic Gaming Bookcast - By Chris Federico Some Astrocade News/Updates Astrocade Video Art - BallyAlley's YouTube Playlist Astrocade Video Art - Archive.org MOD 2 by Dan Sandin - "MOD 2," a Bally BASIC video art program, that appeared in an article called "Pix-Art" by Frank Dietrich and Zsuzsanna Molnar. This article, which appeared in "Computer Graphics and Art," 1980-1981 Yearbook 5, covers the Bally Arcade as a low-cost solution to create graphics using Bally BASIC and the ZGrass language. It specifically talks about several pieces of art that were written using the two languages. Some of the video art pictures are included in the article, as well as some source code for a few programs. Astrocademo - By Genesis Project. Demo for the Bally Astrocade (1978). Code by Shadow. Music by MCH. 2000-Baud "AstroBASIC" Tape I/O Support Missing - Summary of Missing Feature at MAME Testers Bounty: $100 for Astrocade Tape Support- Thread at bannister.org requesting tape support be added to MAME's Astrocade emulation. Bally Arcade / Astrocade Real Hardware Timing Test - This video was created using real Bally Arcade/Astrocade hardware. Two programs are run that use clocks which can be used for timing real Bally Arcade hardware versus emulation. One program, Goldfish Demo, is written in machine language. The other program, Grandfather Clock, is written in BASIC. This video can be used to test how the emulation speed is for Astrocade emulation. Each program is run for three minutes. Bally BASIC/AstroBASIC Differences - The "Bally/Astro Basic" section of the html version of the Astrocade FAQ. Bally Alley Astrocade Discussion Group - There is an active Astrocade discussion group at Groups.io that has its roots dating back to 2001 at Yahoo Groups. You can browse the over 16,000 messages that were moved from the original Yahoo groups to the Groups.io site in the fall of 2019. In addition, the Groups.io site is now the current place to talk about the Astrocade today. Palo Alto Tiny BASIC, Version 3 - By Li-Chen Wang. This article is excerpted from PCC's Reference Book of Personal And Home Computing, Edited by Dwight McCabe. 1977. Pages 58-88. Bally BASIC (and "AstroBASIC") are a superset of the original Palo Alto Tiny BASIC. This version of Li-Chen Wang's Palo Alto Tiny BASIC will run on either the 8080 or Z-80, and only uses 2K of core memory. It contains a number of nice features including command abbreviations and error messages. At the end of the listing is a cross reference table for symbols used in the program and also the object code for the program. For further information on Tiny BASIC languages, see Dr. Dobb's Journal, Volume 1. Gunfight: A Z80 Instruction by Instruction Breakdown- By Michael Matte - 198x. In the 1980s, Michael Matte, a passionate Astrocade user, used the Z80 source code listing for the 8K ROM, available in the "Nutting Manual," as a basis for his detailed breakdown of Gunfight. Michael created the breakdown "to provide beginner assembly or machine language programmers an inside look at the game Gunfight. The documentation will reveal how on-board subroutines in the System ROM can be used to execute particular tasks. The 'special routines' listing can be used as a reference source for programming demos or games." The archive includes Michael Matte's complete, 42-page breakdown of the Astrocade game Gunfight. This breakdown will be most useful if used with the source code for the Bally's 8K system ROM, which is available in the "Nutting Manual." Astrocade High-Resolution Upgrade - By Michael Matte (Circa 1985/1986/2019) - These five in-depth "packages" (documents) were created by Michael C. Matte in 1986. These documents explain how to upgrade a Bally Arcade/Astrocade from the "Consumer Mode," which uses the low-resolution display (160x102 pixels), to "Commercial Mode," which uses the high-resolution mode (320x204 pixels) used in arcade games such as Gorf and Wizard of Wor. There are pictures of Michael's hi-res unit and screenshots here too. Hi-Res Bally Arcade/Astrocade Correspondence and Hi-Res Project Updates - I have added correspondence from 1985 and 1986 between Michael Matte, Don Gladden (who edited volume 6 of the Arcadian) and Bob Fabris. Michael wrote the documentation on how to upgrade the Bally Arcade to hi-res mode. His letters primarily deal with this matter, but he also drops some wonderful tid-bits, such as that he made a BalCheck II for his hi-res unit. He also upgraded the Machine Language Manager cartridge so that it could take advantage of hi-res mode. SetScreen 2: An Upgraded Bally Arcade/Astrocade Troubleshooting Utility- By MCM Design/Michael Matte. October 2017. Setscreen 2 is a visual troubleshooting tool that can be used to help diagnose a failed Astrocade motherboard producing a blank TV screen at power-up. GitHub Astrocade Code Repository - Rachel Weil's (aka "hxlnt") GitHub annotated Z80 assembly source code, binaries, and dev tools for the Bally Astrocade. A Power Transformer Substitution for the Bally/Astrocade Computer System- By Michael Matte (MCM Design). April 2018. If your original Bally power supply fails, and you have experience in electronics, then these instructions explain how to build a substitute power transformer. "Treasures of Cathy" - By John Collins. 1982.This adventure-style game has 49 locations with 18 treasures. You can only carry six treasures/items at a time. Each treasure gives additional points. Each move subtracts one point. Try for a score greater than 1,000 points. There are four keywords: IN, UP, DROP and GET. On September 7, 2018, this game was played by Chris++ and Adam Trionfo. A rough, incomplete map of the game was created to help figure-out the game's layout. To answer Paul's 10-year-old question: to enter the house, climb one of the trees in the game (type UP), and then GET the key from the bird's nest. With the key, the player can enter the house by typing IN. Feedback The Astrocade Turns 40! - AtariAge Thread. - The first Bally Home Library Computer Arcade finally shipped and arrived in people's hands in late January 1978. Many of these people who got their units had ordered their system from a three-page JS&A ad that appeared in the September 1977 issue of Scientific American. Happy birthday, Astrocade! The Bally is now 40 years old and we're still fiddling around with it. Good for us! If anyone has any stories to tell about the Astrocade (especially if you got your system in 1978 or for your birthday!), then I'd love to hear your tales! Private Screenings: The GAMES Guide To Home Video Games- By Phil Wiswell - From December 1982 GAMES magazine - "Mezmaron" mentions this article in his feeback to the show. Page 38 of the magazine (page two of the article) has the Astrocade system on it. History Panel: "The Arcadians: Exploring the history of homebrew for the Bally Astrocade"- For any enthusiasts who are going to Magfest or live on the east coast, Rachel Simone Weil and [Kevin Bunch] will be running a history panel all about the independent developer/enthusiast scene that cropped around the Astrocade! There is also an AtariAge forum thread on this topic. Gobblers (Mod) by Bob Wiseman and Klaus Doerge The original version of Gobblers is from Arcadian 3, no. 12 (Oct. 05, 1981): 125. The modified version, with updates by Klaus Doerge, is from Arcadian 5, no. 4 (Feb. 18, 1983): 56, 70. "This is a two-player game played on a 10x5 field. The object of the game is to have your Gobbler gobble-up more squares than you opponent. When play begins, use the JX and JY to direct your Gobbler around the screen. Each printed square is worth 1, 2, 3, or 4 points, depending upon how many dots are there. The game ends when the last square is eaten." Gobblers - "AstroBASIC" 2000-Baud version. Gobblers - Bally BASIC 300-Baud Version.

Jocke har Jävligt Mycket Internet (tm) hemma. Telefonfri(are) fritid - vad hände och hur går det? En bil och en bult Varför fungerar ljud via Bluetooth inte bättre? ljud via bluetooth klipper i hemmakontoret till högtalare och på jobbet till hörlurar, ljud via bluetooth i bilen fungerar ibland. Är det Apple man ska vara arg på? Collapse OS - ett roligt operativsystem. Jocke jobbar för att göra nyhetsskrivandet roligare iOS 13.3 och uppgradering av Catalina släppt Apple och Kina, del 4711: Apple använder kinesiskt bolag för att screena visst innehåll (för kinesiska användare) som kan anses vara farligt. Kinesiska bolaget står kinas regim och säkerhetsapparat nära Mr Robot säsong 4: jisses vad bra det är Made by Google 19: vad lanserades? Bryr vi oss? Lite flyttuppdatering, med tangentbordsdrömmar, och en hel massa bredbandstankar Länkar Stoo Cambridge Link rot-temat Collapse OS Z80-processorn Jockes text om Googles lanseringar Jockes krönika om Apple och Kina Tencent Googles presentation Mr Robot säsong fyra Surface-eventet Babelfisk Senaste avsnittet av Connected Galaxy fold Två nördar - en podcast. Fredrik Björeman och Joacim Melin diskuterar allt som gör livet värt att leva. Fullständig avsnittsinformation finns här: https://www.bjoremanmelin.se/podcast/avsnitt-183-pannkaksmiddag.html.

みずりゅさんをゲストにお迎えして、北海道での就職、SEのお仕事、エンジニアとコミュニケーション、などについて話しました。 【Show Notes】 うさまる Z80 - Wikipedia PL/SQL - Wikipedia なぜなぜ分析 - Wikipedia Simple Network Management Protocol - Wikipedia RRDtool - Wikipedia 逆ポーランド記法 - Wikipedia aozora.fm deploy.fm 親方Project - BOOTH エンジニアの登壇を応援する会 - BOOTH 挫折論への招待 - BOOTH はじめる技術 つづける技術 - BOOTH 配信情報はtwitter ID @shiganaiRadio で確認することができます。 フィードバックは(#しがないラジオ)でつぶやいてください！ 感想、話して欲しい話題、改善して欲しいことなどつぶやいてもらえると、今後のポッドキャストをより良いものにしていけるので、ぜひたくさんのフィードバックをお待ちしています。 【パーソナリティ】 gami@jumpei_ikegami zuckey@zuckey_17 【ゲスト】 みずりゅ@MzRyuKa 【機材】 Blue Micro Yeti USB 2.0マイク 15374

News Professional Translators Discuss Fan Translation Experience Q*Bert Prototype Arcade Cabinet The masterpiece graphic microcode behind two groundbreaking N64 games Kittenbot Meowbit is a tiny, cheap, and programmable retro game console Celebrate The Game Boy's 30th By Putting Your Raspberry Pi Inside This Awesome Case SEGA Genesis ROM Crackme Nintendo's big switch: Mario is finally going mobile, but the console king faces tough competition Capcom Home Arcade Is A Plug-And-Play Arcade Stick Packed With Classic Games Elite Tetris player takes the NES version where no one has gone before This SNES emulator mod makes Mode 7 graphics 'HD' with amazing results DCHDMI review: Dreamcast gets a digital video upgrade - and it's stunning New Metal Slug for console, Neo Geo 2 and 3 in development PlayStation Classic now as low as $19.99 in Canada Long Lost ‘Zork’ Source Code Uploaded to GitHub, But Few People Understand It   Topic CoinUP-1UP   Game Club Discussion Captain America and the Avengers Blaster     Other Links: http://www.oneradtee.com No Kill Contra: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvGqrSckH7I   Top Tier Windjammers: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/411045618 Z80 asm: https://bbernardoni.com/Z80Asm/ My Life In Gaming: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtTM7nU9SMA&list=PLTNBVisVMbSR1ZDDQRgjg6S9D2YQ4rwnZ     Music By: I Love Lightning Bugs

Spring is in the air at Trash Talk headquarters, so weve been itchy to make quite a few acquisitions lately that we discuss, including a long weekend drive to Chicago. We also introduce a new TRS-80 search engine that should prove to be a highly valuable resource to the TRS-80 community. Then, we do some eBay shopping for TRS-80 computers and related items. Finally, we interview TRS-80 programmer Rick Papo. Rick was the author of several important reference books for the TRS-80 which included reverse engineered and highly documented system source code. These are invaluable references for the modern day Z80 assembler programmer.

Quando un tempo l'elettronica si faceva per davvero e il gioco si faceva più duro ecco entrare in scena la magia dei circuiti integrati programmabili, grazie ai quali era possibile crearsi il proprio chip personalizzato.Un tecnologia che si è spinta fino ai giorni nostri, regalandoci dispositivi unici, che permettono ai designer di creare hardware estremamente complesso, operando con linguaggi di programmazione per la descrizione hardware estremamente evoluti come il VHDL.Un parentesi veloce su un aspetto dell'elettronica digitale, spesso passata inosservata, ma fonte di grandi creazioni.https://drive.google.com/open?id=1aBV8LtRpWQcdOWheTBIT_o2Md8FfnRpBhttps://drive.google.com/open?id=1RURILkqORyShYf375lr1TEvFPHXrfHGChttps://drive.google.com/open?id=106CMenjsgAYNyFnIZpP05M8h4EFZYJFGQuesto episodio è un contributo aggiuntivo di geekcookies, un podcast degli amici Francesco Tucci e Giuliano Pisoni.https://www.spreaker.com/show/geekcookieshttps://www.spreaker.com/show/pillole-dibitAd ogni modo mi trovate qui:https://t.me/technopillzriothttp://www.survivalhacking.itSostenete Runtime Radio:http://runtimeradio.it/ancheio/Sostenete Survival hackinghttps://www.paypal.me/SurvivalHackingProgramma per la pulizia audio automatica, utilizzato.http://www.podcleaner.comLe mie BGM Music su POND5https://www.pond5.com/index.php?page=edit_item&itemid=103455148https://www.pond5.com/index.php?page=edit_item&itemid=91646691https://www.pond5.com/index.php?page=edit_item&itemid=91630881https://www.pond5.com/index.php?page=edit_item&itemid=91628674

Quando un tempo l'elettronica si faceva per davvero e il gioco si faceva più duro ecco entrare in scena la magia dei circuiti integrati programmabili, grazie ai quali era possibile crearsi il proprio chip personalizzato.Un tecnologia che si è spinta fino ai giorni nostri, regalandoci dispositivi unici, che permettono ai designer di creare hardware estremamente complesso, operando con linguaggi di programmazione per la descrizione hardware estremamente evoluti come il VHDL.Un parentesi veloce su un aspetto dell'elettronica digitale, spesso passata inosservata, ma fonte di grandi creazioni.https://drive.google.com/open?id=1aBV8LtRpWQcdOWheTBIT_o2Md8FfnRpBhttps://drive.google.com/open?id=1RURILkqORyShYf375lr1TEvFPHXrfHGChttps://drive.google.com/open?id=106CMenjsgAYNyFnIZpP05M8h4EFZYJFGQuesto episodio è un contributo aggiuntivo di geekcookies, un podcast degli amici Francesco Tucci e Giuliano Pisoni.https://www.spreaker.com/show/geekcookieshttps://www.spreaker.com/show/pillole-dibitAd ogni modo mi trovate qui:https://t.me/technopillzriothttp://www.survivalhacking.itSostenete Runtime Radio:http://runtimeradio.it/ancheio/Sostenete Survival hackinghttps://www.paypal.me/SurvivalHackingProgramma per la pulizia audio automatica, utilizzato.http://www.podcleaner.comLe mie BGM Music su POND5https://www.pond5.com/index.php?page=edit_item&itemid=103455148https://www.pond5.com/index.php?page=edit_item&itemid=91646691https://www.pond5.com/index.php?page=edit_item&itemid=91630881https://www.pond5.com/index.php?page=edit_item&itemid=91628674

George Zafiropoulos, KJ6VU, is the the co-host of the Ham Radio Workbench Podcast, one of the more popular ham radio podcasts.  George has a long and interesting ham radio history as well as he is accomplished home-brewer, builder, operator, and high tech executive. We touch on a few of my favorite subjects that include repeaters and repeater controllers, the Cactus Intertie, DMR, and building with Arduino micro-controllers.  KJ6VU is my QSO Today.

Brandon Wilson (@brandonlwilson) shared his stories about hacking TI calculators (and other things). TICalc.org has the latest on getting started yourself including Z80 assemblers, or start on Brandon’s website: brandonw.net Bradon will be speaking at Hardwear.io, a security conference for the hardware and security community. The conference consists of training (11th - 12th Sept 2018) and conference (13th - 14th Sept 2018). It is in The Hague, Netherlands. His talk is The Race to Secure Texas Instruments Graphing Calculators. He will also be hosting a village called Dumping the ROM of the Most Secure Sega Genesis Game Ever Created. Topics: 00:00:00    Introduction     00:00:33    Brandon Wilson     00:01:39    Lightning Round     00:02:37    Calculators!     00:03:58    Programmable calculators, using TI BASIC     00:05:00    Ti-85, programmable via assembly language     00:06:35    App store for my calculator?     00:07:34    How does TI prevent cheating?     00:09:41    Testguard for teachers     00:12:53    Some are WiFi capable     00:13:41    How Brandon learned to hack the TI 00:15:12    Processors used in the TI calcs 00:16:39    What tools are available for reverse engineering? 00:17:42    Breaking the keys     00:18:49    Flash unlock protection     00:20:14    TI hacker  community     00:21:32    TI used 512-bit RSA keys      00:22:32    Key broken after 2 months of brute force 00:22:58    TI threatened the first key breaker     00:23:31    Built a distributed community to attack keys 00:24:38    TI was not happy      00:25:03    DMCA takedown notice 00:27:28    EFF offered to help      00:29:30    The ethics of circumventing TIs protection     00:33:23    Calculators as a platform for learning HW/FW     00:35:11    Hackers' responsibility toward the hacked     00:39:05    Hacks Brandon is uncomfortable with     00:42:55    Bug bounties, are they effective?     00:44:02    Brandon's other projects      00:44:26    TI calculator processors used all over     00:44:50    Sega Genesis 00:47:54    Code execution via the Sega Genesis CD     00:53:35    Calculators changed my life (back up)     00:54:21    Other projects, USB      00:55:31    Abuse the USB protocol     00:58:24    Modifying USB flash drive FW     01:03:21    Reverse engineering tools     01:06:13    Hardwear.io conference, Brandon's hacking village     01:09:22    Brandon's Final Thought     01:10:19    Outro     01:11:20    Final Quote  

What does the Z80, Japan, Deathsmiles and the Amstrad CPC Enterprise all have in common? They're all talked about this episode as Tony and Aaron are joined by Keith from chibiakumas.com! We chat to Keith about Chibi Akumas, his bullet-hell shooter for the Amstrad CPC, MSX2 and more, as well as taking a look into his experience working with Z80 assembly across a number of different platforms.    Links to cool stuff mentioned in the episode: Keith's website can be found at http://www.chibiakumas.com Rob Caporetto has his YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/user/hellfire64 Retro Revolutions has the Consolised Lynx video & more at https://youtube.com/channel/UCfqax0cikE8pDajVM3DY7cg    Where can you find us? We're bought to you with the support of our Sponsors Bartronica, Pinball Paradise & Ms. Bartronica! Head to http://bartronica.com/ to check them out Visit us at https://ppot.audio to find links to this, and all our older episodes You can find us on iTunes by searching for Press Play on Tape Podcast – we’d love it if you gave us a review while you’re there! We can be found on Facebook by searching for Press Play on Tape podcast, and on Twitter @PPOT_Podcast Tony has his game reviews, pickups and more over on the Electric Adventures YouTube page at https://www.youtube.com/user/electricadventures You can read up on some of Damian's restoration projects here - http://www.tehkella.net/retro/  Intro theme "Exolon Remix" by Ash Read and Nicholas Jones used with permission

Gauche Schemeの作者の川合史朗さんと、Z80 CPUを使ったPCをホストコンピュータなしに自作した話や、Schemeの話などをしました。出演者: 川合史朗 (@anohana)、Rui Ueyama (@rui314) https://turingcomplete.fm/14 ハッシュタグは#tcfmです。 TCFMはサポーターの投げ銭によって収益を上げています。このコンテンツに課金してもいいよという方はぜひクリエイター支援サイトPatreonから登録してご協力ください。 ハワイ在住で副業は俳優 (0:00) Gaucheは仕事でも使っている (2:21) Common LispはGoogle（元ITA）でも使っている (3:11) Noahでプロセスのundumpができないだろうか？ (5:00) Clojureの起動はJVMなので速くない (6:02) Lispコンパイラは改善の余地あり (8:47) Webのスクリプト言語はJavaScriptではなくSchemeが採用されるはずだった (10:09) ShiroさんはGCCのコードから多くを学んだ (12:12) 並列Cコンパイラのプロジェクト (13:45) Gauche Schemeはとてもきれいなソースコード (14:55) 中学生のころに電子工作としてZ80の自作PCを作り始める (17:55) 本物のPCは高すぎて買ってもらえなかったので電気屋の店頭でコードを打ち込んでいた (20:04) 親にこれからコンピュータは絶対必要になるとアピールするも失敗 (21:13) テレビを修理しようとする話 (22:58) トラ技で「Z80を使ってマイコンを組み立てよう」といった記事などをみて自作を始める (25:17) 入出力はスライドスイッチとLED (26:13) バスを直接スイッチで操作してメモリに手で書き込んでいく (28:29) プログラムを書き込むためのプログラムを作る (29:58) 7セグLEDと16進キーボードを作って接続 (31:20) ROMライターを作ってROMから起動できるように (33:42) 殺虫灯でEPROMを消去 (34:19) フルキーボードとテレビを接続できるように (36:41) フォントを作ってキャラクタROMを作り画面に文字を出す (37:35) テトリスを作る (40:08) テトリス作者とその後一緒に仕事をすることになった (40:59) フロッピードライブを動かす (43:59) ファイルシステムがないのでノートにファイルの保存位置をメモっておく (46:53) CP/Mを動かす (47:33) アセンブラを入手 (49:42) 大学でチップを作った話 (50:52) クロックは最初は2MHz (54:26) Z80のノウハウを使ってSillicon Graphicsの巨大なマシンにPS2のゲームコントローラをつなぐハードを作成 (55:14) プログラミング言語APL (56:21) Turbo Pascalを入手 (1:00:00) オーブンに入れて遮蔽 (1:01:50) フロッピーディスクは信頼性が低かった (1:03:57) 大学時代に386BSDを（普通のPCに）インストール (1:05:01) TCP/IP以外のネットワークプロトコルも普通にあった (1:09:19) ハードウェア共有分散メモリとそのためのコンパイラとNoahとの共通点 (1:10:29) コンピュータは極端に進歩しているところとあまり変わっていないところの差が激しい (1:15:00) PS2のコプロセッサでアセンブラプログラミング (1:16:31) SIGGRAPHのデモでファイナルファタジーの映画の一場面をリアルタイムレンダリング (1:18:26) 意外なところで自分のやっていることが一周回って役に立つことがある (1:21:12) Gauche Scheme ハッカーと画家 Gauche Schemeのソースコード Steel Bank Common Lisp ITA Software Clojure言語 V8 JavaScriptエンジン JavaScript作者のBrenden Eichは当初「Schemeをやる」約束でNetscapeに雇われた WebAssemblyのS式フォーマット gotoを使った手書きのDFA Gaucheのbuffered port オーブンPC ラジオを直す話（ご冗談でしょう、ファインマンさん） 紫外線照射で消去できるROM、EPROM 7セグメントLED 紫外線を放つブラックライト フラッシュメモリ テトリス アレクセイ・パジトノフ（テトリス開発者） ヘンク・ロジャース（テトリスの権利を買い付けてきた人） 最初はいたずらだったが最後には実在するホストになったソ連のkremvax.demos.su フロッピーディスク 線速度一定 CP/M ワイヤ・ボンディング APL J APLによる1行のライフゲーム: ↑1 ⍵∨.∧3 4=+/,¯1 0 1∘.⊖¯1 0 1∘.⌽⊂⍵ Turbo Pascal 386BSD SLIP PPP AppleTalk ATMプロトコル SonyのCellプロセッサ SIGGRAPH（シーグラフ） 追記 10BASE-2と10BASE-5の説明が逆になっています。 後半でPS2のVUとPS3のSPEを混同して話しています。

DuWayne Schmidlkofer, KV4QB, is one of the amazing creators of homebrew projects from conception to the finished package.  He uses microcontrollers combined with RF circuitry to make some pretty cool and mostly inexpensive projects. His blog is a great read where he documents each of his projects from beginning to end.  In this episode, we discuss construction techniques and his home brew projects. KV4QB is my QSO Today

Bienvenido a este nuevo programa del podcast La Tecnología Para Todos. Como ya habrás oído en pasados capítulos, de vez en cuando nos juntamos José Manuel, Germán y yo y hacemos un programa algo distinto.Hablamos de noticias, proyectos, recomendaciones y un recurso Maker. Hoy el programa viene bastante cargado así que voy a empezar haciendo un resumen.Comenzamos con tres noticias. La primera es una historia muy inspiradora que ha enviado José de Logroño donde nos cuenta cómo un chico de 14 años pasó de programar en un Nokia 2690 a trabajar en una startup del MIT.Luego continuamos con una la noticia de la publicación de una nueva release del laminador o slicer Cura, la versión 3.2.1. Y terminamos con la polémica generada en el programa El Hormiguero y las licencias Creative Commons.El proyecto de la semana nos lo ha mandado Diego Pose y es un sensor de inundación muy especial.Las recomendaciones son dos, Fred un plataforma para Node-RED y ESPurna un firmware para dispositivos inteligentes basados en el ESP8266 muy completo.Para poner la guinda a este pastel el recurso maker nos acerca la programación de microcontroladores de 8-bit con ensamblador y el Amstrad Z80.¿Estás preparado para empezar? ponte cómodo y disfruta del contenido.Más información en https://programarfacil.com/podcast/programar-nokia-2690-ensamblador/

In this episode, we talk about IoT: what's coming, why we're intrigued, and how we've already started it incorporating it in our office. In the next episodes to come, we will be having guests on the show to take a deeper dive into this technology. If you have any suggestions or know people we should reach out to, please get in touch! Transcript: CHARLES: Hello, everybody and welcome to The Frontside Podcast, Episode #77. My name is Charles Lowell, a developer here at The Frontside and your podcast host-in-training. Today, I have with me two other developers here at The Frontside. This is going to be a Frontside-only podcast and we're going to be introducing a topic that hopefully we're going to be podcasting a lot about in the coming weeks and months just because it's something that's kind of grabbed the interest of the office and seems like it's something that needs to be talked about. Hello Joe and hello Elrick. JOE: Hello, Charles. ELRICK: Hey, what's going on? CHARLES: Everything, really. Today we're going to be talking about the Internet of Things and we'll be talking a little bit about how we came to be interested in this topic and why we think this topic is important. Let's talk about why this topic is important. I think that this is a very important topic because IoT is only becoming more and more prevalent. It's emerging from the status of being this niche or boutique or very esoteric technology that's only worked on by a very small group of people to becoming very, very open and available and accessible so that anybody can buy a Raspberry Pi or an ODROID or Arduino and slap some Linux on there and connect it over the internet to a bunch of different things and the space of creative possibilities is just exploding. For me, it's very similar to where we were in the early 80s. You know, I see these IoT devices as being the hobbyist's computers, the Z80, Apple IIe, the Commodore 64 and that the people who are hacking on those things 30 years ago are going to be the people who are now leading the tech space today. I think another big and relevant analogy is web technologies. There was this inflection point where web technologies became very open, accessible, available and the people who were in it ended up being able to ride that wave for 10 years to where we are now. In both of those examples, we had the hardware and the PC revolution where the computation was distributed across a bunch of these different devices. Then over that time, we saw a migration over to the cloud and these web technologies where everything was centralized. Now, I actually think that there's a pendulum swinging back where we're actually going to see more and more computation distributed amongst physical devices, except this time, it's not going to be manifest as a PC. It's going to be manifest as these networks of devices that are just all around us. I really do think that we are on one of those watershed moments where these distributed networks of tiny devices are going to be the big next platform that when you invest in it now, this is something that's going to yield dividends for the next 20 years. I think it's an important topic but I don't think we had a well-crafted thought about it but we just kind of stumbled into the space. I was thinking we could start a little bit by talking about how we got into this and how it captured our imagination. If you rewind the clock to the stone age of 2015, I think it was the end of 2015 and it was Christmas break, that's often a time when people go and they hack on individual projects and Brandon, his project that for whatever reason, he decided to take on was he was really into Hue Bulbs at the time. We had Hue Bulbs around the office and we wired up some demos to control them from a website. He decided he wanted to take those Hue Bulbs and make them so they were accessible from our Slack. He built a server in Elixir because he also wanted to learn Elixir because if you're having fun in hacking around, it might as well pick up as many new things as you can. He built an API in Elixir that talk directly to the Hue Bulbs and the Slack integration that talk to the Elixir API and we actually are able to control all of our lights purely from Slack. We could turn them all on, we could turn them all off. That was great but then as we began to use it, we were wishing that we had control over our lights from our phones. We wish we had control over them through the website. I think, Elrick, isn't that was your first contact with the Frontside, wasn't it? ELRICK: Yes. That was my first contact with the Frontside. I was working on the lights app. I initially started working on just the user interface and bringing some different animations and working on the actual experience and the user story on that side about controlling the lights and what particular things you needed to do in trying to craft a UI around that. That's what I initially started. CHARLES: That was really fun. ELRICK: Yeah, that was really fun. That just started progressing more and more. As you said as we started to think about how could we access these lights from different places, using different devices and then that's how we stumbled into the Internet of Things. CHARLES: And it turns out, there's actually a lot of tech in the form of platforms out there that have been developed to help with this, although I would say that the water are still pretty murky as to kind of the best set of patterns to follow. ELRICK: Yes. JOE: That's hard to find information, especially with regard to design patterns. Since we've been working on this light thing, there's been so many times I've Googled and looking for prior art and found none or next to none. It's very much the Wild West. ELRICK: Yeah, because it's like going from a point where you're controlling one piece of data per se, like you have one sensor that does one thing. Now, it's starting to grow until you can have one sensor that can do multiple things and send it across different types of data and then how do you structure that data, how you capture it, how do you hold that state somewhere and it's one to one source of truth. It's just going to be the Wild West of how do you manage this, how do you structure it. It is definitely growing and changing constantly. CHARLES: I think one thing that is difficult is it feels very much like they're aligned in terms of silos. For example, the Hue has the Hue Bridge, which is capable of talking to the light bulbs and then they also have an API which is under development by which you can connect publicly to servers hosted by Philips to talk to the hues inside your office but if you want to integrate your Hue API like we did with Slack or with your iPhone or maybe some other device that you're trying to control, it becomes a little bit more difficult. You have all these vendors like Nest, MyQ and there's a whole bunch of lines like doorbells and smart this and that and everything and they're very good at talking. They have an ecosystem, this large vertical ecosystem, assigned with each one but actually getting cross cutting communication is a problem that I think is something that we've had to deal with and it's very, very difficult where we want to start having these devices talking to each other. ELRICK: Yeah, that area right there is ripe for innovation. I don't know the names off the top of my head but I know that there are people trying to make a smart hub per se. You can think of it like Jarvis from Iron Man. You buy that thing, you put it down in your house, you tell it all the devices you have and that takes care of all the communication between everything. There's definitely an area there that someone can step in and say, "You know what? I figured it out and here's your Jarvis Box." JOE: We're starting to see stuff like that with Alexa and Google has something similar. That's a little scary to me. I think that the one thing that needs to be made clear is when you're talking about these silos, it's a very good point because we think they're decentralized. We think these things are decentralized but in a way, they're not yet. We don't have peer-to-peer communication necessarily like Hue. They're going to public API but you're going through their ecosystem. You're passing through their lens, so to speak. We think Slack has distributed teams but there's a centralized server where those messages passed through so how do we break from that into full decentralization? CHARLES: Right, I know that's – ELRICK: The Jarvis Box. You could probably have a server at your house that keeps all your data there and then it spits out what it needs to spit out to the IoT server somewhere if they're doing some collection. When you leave your house, to say, "I need that information to come back to my cell phone now." Maybe in the future, you'll be able to control that, either from your house or just send out the pieces of data that you need and the centralized stuff, you can just keep at your house. CHARLES: The whole question of ownership is one that I feel is something that we have not addressed head on. Everybody is just rushing forward with how do I implement this, how do I get it done and it definitely is worth taking a step back and understanding who owns the things that I'm working with and that I'm inviting into my home. I think that smartphones provide a great example of how it can work really well for the consumer. I think certainly, in their inception I think this is mostly true if you have an iPhone. Most Android devices, you actually own that piece of hardware and the things that you install on it are very much controlled by you. I think that Apple especially, gets a big shout out for making sure and putting in those safeguards so that anyone who's participating in the ecosystem has to first acknowledge that the data is going to be owned by the user. I think that's maybe a little bit less true than it was back in 2009 or whatever but I think that there's definitely a lot of thought that went into that upfront, that I worry isn't going into with Alexa. Is Amazon protecting? Is there an understanding that if you're participating in that ecosystem that ultimately, the thing is owned by me? I feel the same way about a lot of these AI and robots where it may participate in the conversation but who is it really serving? Is it serving you or is it a proxy to serve somebody else like a Google or an Apple or an Amazon? JOE: I may just be a pessimist but I think it's safe to say that it's almost always the latter when money is involve. ELRICK: They had some situations arise where the powers that maybe we're trying to get the actual recordings and different things as Alexa is always on. Let me turn mine off because she's going to say, "Oh, did you ask me for something?" I have one sitting right here in front of me. They have been in situations where people had said, "Because that's constantly recording and that recording is going somewhere," and then if situations have arisen, they said, "We want that recording," and then Amazon is like, "No. We're not going to give you that recording because that is private information." They're trying to find a way to get around that and what laws and things are going to come out of this area that we're in right now, it's still unforeseen. But I think that companies that are in this space, know that the future of their company rests on them protecting that data and user data because if you don't, then people will sidestep and go elsewhere. CHARLES: Right. In so far, they hold that as a value. In so far, people are conscious of those concerns. If that's something that people are willing to pay money for, then you've got a market driving force pushing you in that direction. But if people don't care, they don't think and they're just like, "Whatever. It's cool," that's not going to be something that a business is going to roll into their product because ultimately, if people care, then it'll affect their bottom line. If they don't but it won't and they're going to act in their own best interest. ELRICK: True. CHARLES: I do worry that there needs to be a social awareness of what kind of powers these devices actually will end up having over our lives and hopefully, those will guide it but you're absolutely right. ELRICK: True. I view all of this IoT stuff and data is not too far off of what people do on Instagram per se like you have your pictures, you can either post crazy pictures or you can post casual pictures. How you use the power that these IoT devices are giving you is essentially falls into your hands like what am I going to send across this thing. I think that hopefully, the power falls into the user's hands and they empower people with these devices and not make them feel like a prisoner in their own home or car because this IoT things are popping up in vehicles now. If you step into your car, you start talking and your car is listening. If they go from it like the same way we approach our applications and such and say, we're going to empower the user, I think if these IoT companies take that approach and learn from the mistakes that were made in software by not empowering users, then after a couple years they're like, "Oh, my goodness. We need to empower the user." When Steve Jobs was preaching about this in the 80s and everybody thought he was crazy. Don't fall into our mistakes. Empower the users and I think that this technology in this space would just keep flourishing if they do that. CHARLES: Absolutely but it is going to take a generation of engineers to make sure they're always pushing in that direction, a generation of users who don't just wait for companies to hand power to them but demand it. ELRICK: Demand it, yes. CHARLES: Yeah, demand it and a generation of business owners who are going to listen and think about the long game and realize that that's the path to long term health and viability. ELRICK: Yep, even outside of the whole privacy thing where it's like there's too much data being sent out. People are building just cool stuff with IoT that doesn't really send that much data outside of normally that we do. Even on our phone, people use GPS all the time and that is sending data about all your locations, where you are, what restaurant you're at, what bus stop you're at, what bus you're on, what plane you're on and people are building a lot of cool things, just even using that. I saw the other day that someone had a bicycle, it has GPS and lights and gyroscopes and all kinds of stuff in that bicycle. When you're riding, the lights will go off and say, "It's time for you to take a right." It will blink in a certain sequence or take a left. It register your speed and it all comes back to your phone so it's not too outside of the norm of what we do on a regular day. There's people building things just in that sweet spot per se with these IoT devices that are building some pretty cool stuff. JOE: It's a very good point because Slack doesn't have to be centralized. It can be peer-to-peer. Hue doesn't have to be centralized outside of having a bridge on your local network. We don't really need to be phoning home for all of this stuff and if we move towards like a true decentralization, we don't need trust at that point. A company has our best interests at heart if we think about it as your trust ideal to remove the need for involving third party in the first place. CHARLES: Yeah, so what would that look like? I'm going to fast forward a little bit because we were a little bit further along on our journey and we've been experimenting with Amazon IoT services and we've been maintaining our own APIs to control our Hues directly. While they're still going through the bridge, it's not incorporating any other ecosystem but we are still routing all of this stuff through this low level Amazon infrastructure. There's a class of problems that that solves which it does help to have those primitives to be able to access your IoT devices through a firewall, to have them and be able to, at least have a known way to update themselves and distribute software to them. There's these fundamental infrastructural problems but at the same time, Amazon doesn't have any access to that data that's moving through their land, so to speak. What they're essentially doing is leasing you a railroad but they don't have new visibility into what's contained inside the cars. JOE: Do you know that? CHARLES: I actually don't know that because of course, it's through the Terms of Service. ELRICK: Who reads EULAs? They're too long. JOE: I think it's more often than not, people are going to use convenience over privacy. CHARLES: That's true so it is in keeping with what I understand of other Amazon services, which do have those guarantees. I don't know in particular for the Amazon IoT. But let's talk about that a little bit. Let's talk about a little bit about our setup and why we went to using Amazon IoT services and what it provides for us. ELRICK: We decided to use the Amazon IoT platform as a means to allow us to one control the bulbs from anywhere, to get access to them and then also to be able to distribute that change to anything we want. Coming through IoT or coming through their platform, when a change happens, you don't necessarily just have to send it to our one set of bulbs. You can send it to anything you want. You can send it to a phone, to another application somewhere, to a database. It gives you the ability and the flexibility to distribute that change or that state change anywhere. CHARLES: Which is I guess getting at the heart of it is actually managing this distributed state beast of a problem and really, the AWS IoT just helps you get your foot in the door. There are still a lot of cans of worms that are involved once you get there but for the first point that you have said, I want to unpack that a little bit because it's a problem very familiar to us but might not be to the listeners, you've got the set of devices and they come up, they connect to your Wi-Fi and that's fantastic and they can talk to other things on your Wi-Fi, on your local network and can discover services there. But what if you want to control them from outside like I want to send a message from Slack and have it affect the lights in our office. You've got to move through some public cloud to do that because Slack servers are not on our local area network. What you can do then is have essentially one thing that the IoT services provides is your device comes online and it immediately calls home to a generic location and opens up, what is in practice a web socket. You can program in whatever language you want but that's probably the analogy that's most familiar to everyone. It basically connects a web socket that then you can send messages to it in real time so any time I want to connect to that, I can do it and I don't need Hue's API. I don't need Slack's API. I can just talk to one API which is the low level Amazon -- AWS IoT API -- and I can send real time messages to my devices. That's a huge problem solved right there. But it's hard to maintain that infrastructure yourself. We could write our own AWS IoT but then we'd probably host it on AWS anyway. JOE: The real world is not a JSON Blob. That becomes a problem. In college, I took a course where we programmed robots for the majority of it and what you quickly find out is that you can't count on revolutions of a wheel or what have you. The world is imperfect. Keeping a state is one thing but keeping state reflected back and keeping state up to date is where the challenge has been for us. CHARLES: That is right because you've got this highly distributed systems. That's kind of a second class of problems that it attempts to solve for you. You got these highly distributed set of devices but even if the connections are 99.9% reliable, sometimes they're highly latent. You can't control the latency on the connection and sometimes, it fails altogether, which can affect one, how do I even read state from these things. Is the button pressed? Is the button not pressed? Is the light on? Is it off? Is the wheel spinning like you said? Or is it off? These are things that you need to know and then you need to react to those changes like, "We're spinning at 90 RPM. I want to bump it up to 10. How do I get my system to converge on that desired state based on my current state?" It's hard because you don't know all of the demons of distributed state management are in full like they have ripped off their masks and they're roaming about. ELRICK: Yep. I saw them introduced something the other day but I haven't had time to dive too deep into it. It was something called Greengrass that it will continue to gather and allow you to utilize your devices locally and it will keep all that data and then it will do the diffing, let's say when you connect back online until what your old state was and what the new state is and then go about updating everything. JOE: That could be very useful. ELRICK: Yeah. It just got implemented probably three weeks ago or something like that. It's inside of the IoT platform. I just clicked in and they said, "We have a new feature now called Greengrass," but I haven't got time to dive too deep into it but like you were saying, state management is something that's extremely difficult, especially across a distributed systems. They know it's a problem and it seem to be addressing that problem and trying to make it simpler for people and give you these tools to say, "Here are some stuff that you can leverage," and a lot of that is great. CHARLES: I think that's an excellent point and I think that it's also worth mentioning too that there's two sets of state that you have to manage. There's the runtime state, which controls the flow of data as your system operates. Then there's the static state of just what is the code that's going to run on this device. Let's say, my robot or my button that's got V1 of the software, that all it does when I push it, it rings a bell. That's V1. I want to add this awesome feature to this button that when I push it, it rings a bell and it also pops open a Topo Chico from the refrigerator or something like that. The question is how do I get that software from my laptop with that Topo Chico enhancement all the way to my button, which is what essentially amounts to being across the internet inside this private network. In the current state or when you're first starting out hacking, let's say this is based on a Raspberry Pi, I just burn a new Raspberry Pi image with my new software with V2. I walked over and I stick it into the Raspberry Pi and that doesn't really cut it. That does a great job but now, I want to turn this into a business and I want to have 20,000 of these things installed or let's think big like every home in America gets one. Every home in the planet, I want two billion of these type of devices. What happens when I come out with V3? ELRICK: Then you can either go the route of hiring -- CHARLES: Hiring a favor. ELRICK: -- Technical folks to go out, to update all your Topo Chico poppers or have your users struggle to do it or what we did, implement Resin. Let Resin update your Topo Chico poppers around the world. CHARLES: Right. There are a lot of problems in terms of static state management, runtime state management, peer-to-peer communication and problems of resiliency and robustness. I'm hoping that we can discuss these over the coming weeks and months because each one is a topic in of itself. ELRICK: And offline management too. CHARLES: And offline management too, there you go. There's another one. There's a lot to explore, a lot that's unknown and there might be people who have answers to all of these and there might be papers on them but they're buried in weird corners of the internet. I'm hoping that we can fill the podcast with a couple of guests to come in and talk about these different things. ELRICK: Yeah, that would be fantastic. CHARLES: Yeah, I'm really looking forward to it. ELRICK: I started playing around with Watson IoT. It is an IoT service that allows you to leverage the natural language processing and computing from Watson. It's pretty awesome. CHARLES: Wow, that is really cool. ELRICK: That's another space of IoT that we can explore and hopefully, we can explore over the next few podcasts. CHARLES: Yeah, awesome you all. Well, I think that's about it for this episode. Thank you, Joe. JOE: Thank you, Charles. CHARLES: Thank you, Elrick. ELRICK: Thank you, Charles. It was fantastic. CHARLES: And I look forward to hacking on the lights with you guys. That is always one of my favorite things to hack on. I don't get to do it enough but I think we're going to try and have a big throw down on state management on Friday, right? ELRICK: Oh, yeah. CHARLES: It is going to be exciting. It's going to be super nerdy and we'll let you all know what the outcome of that is. See you all next week. As always, please don't hesitate to get in touch with us. You can get us on Twitter at @Frontside or send an email to Contact@Frontside.io. We always love to hear from our listeners. Take care!

Zur GPN17 des Entropia e.V. im ZKM - Zentrum für Kunst und Medien und der Hochschule für Gestaltung (HfG) hat Florian Magin (@0x464d) einen Vortrag zu Automated Binary Analysis gehalten und war bereit uns auch im Podcast zu erzählen, wie er mit mathematischen Verfahren Software auf Schwachstellen analysiert. Florian studiert Informatik an der TU Darmstadt und engagiert sich im CTF-Team Wizards of Dos seiner Universität. Sein Interesse an der Computersicherheit hat ihn auch zur Firma ERNW Research geführt, wo er als Werkstudent in der IT-Sicherheitsforschung tätig ist. Wie wichtig die Suche nach Schwachstellen und deren Absicherung ist, wurde kürzlich bei der weltweiten Verbreitung der WannaCry/WannaCrypt-Schadsoftware bewusst, die die Aufmerksamkeit von einer anderen und lukrativeren Schadsoftware Adylkuzz ablenkte. Unter der Binary Analysis versteht man die quellenlose Analyse eines Programms alleine auf den Daten im Maschinencode auf einem Speichermedium. Ein erster Schritt der Analysis ist die Wandlung der Maschinensprache in Mnemonic durch einen Disassembler. Dieser Programmcode kann sich deutlich von einer ursprünglichen Quelltext des Programms unterscheiden, da der Maschinencode erzeugende Compiler eine Vielzahl von Optimierungsmöglichkeiten umsetzt, die den Ablauf und das Abbild des Programms im Maschinencode deutlich verändern können. Eine Herausforderung stellt sich inzwischen in der Größe der Programme: Während es inzwischen zahlreiche Wettbewerbe gibt, Programme unter extremen Platzbeschränkungen umzusetzen, wächst die Größe klassischer Programme stark an. Ein Maschinensprache-Befehl kann in einem Byte kodiert sein, wie früher etwa hexadezimal C9 auf dem Z80 eine Unterroutine beendet, so können in 4 Bytes Operationen wie eine Addition samt Parameter definiert sein. Die automatisierte Binäranalyse hat besonders durch die Darpa Cyber Grand Challenge im Jahr 2016 großes Interesse geweckt, wo die Teams autonome Software entwickeln sollten, die für sich alleine den CTF-Wettbewerb bestreitet. Eine Anwendung solcher automatisierten Programme ist die schnelle Überprüfung von neuer Software auf bekannte oder typische Schwachstellen oder Implementierungsfehler. Eine sehr allgemeine Methode zur Detektion von Sicherheitslücken ist das Fuzzing: Das Open Source Tool AFL modifiziert beispielsweise korrekte Eingabewerte und prüft bei welcher Modifikation das Programm vom zuvor aufgezeichneten Programmablauf abweicht und damit einen Hinweis auf eine mögliche Schwachstelle gibt. Es kann dabei idealerweise auf dem Sourcecode operieren oder auch das Programm in einem Emulator wie QEMU ausführen und analysieren. Wie schwer aber selbst Source Code zu verstehen sein kann, zeigen die Wettbewerbe International Obfuscated C Code Contest (IOCCC), zu möglichst schwer verständlichen sinnvollen Code, und der Underhanded C Contest, wo ein scheinbar sinnvoller Code für Menschen möglichst unvorhersehbare Zusatzfunktionen aufweist. Ebenso können sehr beliebte Programmiersprachen wie Python sehr unvorhersehbar reagieren, wenn man versehentlich Tabulatoren und Space vermischt, oder gleich die Programmiersprache Whitespace benutzt. Ein weiteres Beispiel ist, dass das Breitenlose Leerzeichen in neuen C++-Standards erlaubt ist, und für den Menschen ununterscheidbaren Code ermöglicht, der unterschiedliche Dinge tut. Aber auch Computer können getäuscht werden, wenn zum Vergleich unsichere Hash-Funktionen genutzt werden, wie jüngst die Shattered-Attacke auf die SHA-1 Hash zeigte. Eine automatisierte Analysemöglichkeit ist die Control Flow Graph Recovery, die beispielsweise mit IDA , radare2, binary ninja durchgeführt werden kann, um aus einer eindimensionalen Speicherdarstellung zu einem Programmnetz, wo zusammengehörige Programmblöcke miteinander vernetzt werden. Hier kann auch schon sichtbar werden, ob beschränkte Bereiche ohne Authentifikation erreicht werden können. Ein weiteres automatisierbares Verfahren ist die Datenflussanalyse, wo die Verarbeitung und Auswirkungen von Variablen und Daten im Verlauf des Programms analysiert wird. Hier kann der Verlauf von beispielsweise vertraulichen Daten kontrolliert werden. Bei einer Symbolischen Auswertung wird das Programm abstrakt mit einem Interpreter auf beliebigen variablen Daten bzw. symbolischen Ausdrücken auf allen Pfaden gleichzeitig ausgeführt. Für die Pfaderkundung benötigt man hier eine Strategie zwischen der Breitensuche und Tiefensuche, um die relevanten Teile des Ausführungsgraphen möglichst schnell abzudecken. In der automatisierten Analyse werden dabei offene Sprungmöglichkeiten zu nahezu beliebigen Adressen sehr interessant, da dies einen starken Indikator für einen Angriffsvektor liefern. Mit Return-oriented Programming kann man so bestehenden Code gezielt anspringen und für eigene Zwecke missbrauchen. Das Open-Source Framework Angr wurde von Forschern des Computer Security Lab at UC Santa Barbara entwickelt und belegte mit Shellphish auf der Darpa-Challenge den dritten Platz. Ein weiteres Open-Source Analyseframework ist Triton, welches man leicht in eigene Projekte einbinden kann. Sehr verbreitet ist auch das Framework S2E der École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. Ein weiterer Finalist der Cyber Grand Challenge ist das Team CodeJitsu von der University of California at Berkeley, Cyberhaven, and Syracuse. Die Binary Analysis Platform wurde vom Team um Professor David Brumley am Cylab der Carnegie Mellon University entwickelt. Funktionale Programmiersprachen wie OCAML oder Haskell haben für den Anwendungsfall der symbolischen Auswertung ganz besondere Vorteile. Ebenso werden Programmiersprachen auch auf ihre inherente Unsicherheit im Sinne der Language based security untersucht, sowie fertige Programme versucht auch auf ihre Korrektheit zu verifizieren. Ein Tool, das dies vereinfachen soll ist der Z3 Prover. Hier kommt die Suche nach Sicherheitslücke zur Mathematik: In der formalen Darstellung einer Routine kann das Verhalten als Abbildung aus symbolischen Variablen beschrieben werden, und die Suche nach einer Lösung führt auf die entsprechenden Logik oder Optimierungsverfahren. Literatur und weiterführende Informationen Florian Magin: Introduction to Automated Binary Analysis, Vortrag auf der GPN17, 2017. Program Analysis reading list D. Brumley: Analysis and Defense of Vulnerabilities in Binary Code, PhD thesis, School of Computer Science Carnegie Mellon University, 2008. Podcasts M. Musch: Steganographie, Gespräch mit S. Ritterbusch im Modellansatz Podcast, Folge 57, Fakultät für Mathematik, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT), 2015. J. Breitner: Incredible Proof Machine, Gespräch mit S. Ritterbusch im Modellansatz Podcast, Folge 78, Fakultät für Mathematik, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT), 2016. GPN17 Special Sibyllinische Neuigkeiten: GPN17, Folge 4 im Podcast des CCC Essen, 2017. M. Lösch: Smart Meter Gateway, Gespräch mit S. Ritterbusch im Modellansatz Podcast, Folge 135, Fakultät für Mathematik, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT), 2017. F. Magin: Automated Binary Analysis, Gespräch mit S. Ritterbusch im Modellansatz Podcast, Folge 137, Fakultät für Mathematik, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT), 2017.

Episode 6 of the Bally Alley Astrocast covers The Incredible Wizard, the port of the arcade game Wizard of Wor. Paul and I are joined by our new co-host Michael Di Salvo. Paul and I cover the Arcadian newsletter issues 7 and 8 (June and July 1979). Paul and I discuss six letters to the Arcadian, dating from the Spring and Summer of 1979. The next Astrocast podcast (episode 7) will feature holiday feedback in the December episode. If you have any holiday stories to share, then please send this feedback that you'd like to see included in episode 7 by December 16'th. I can't wait to hear your tales! Recurring Links  BallyAlley.com - Bally Arcade / Astrocade Website What's New at BallyAlley.com Orphaned Computers & Game Systems Website Bally Alley Yahoo Discussion Group Bally Arcade / Astrocade Atari Age Sub-forum Bally Arcade/Astrocade High Score Club Bally Alley Astrocast Facebook Page The Classic Gaming Bookcast - By Chris Federico Introduction/News Three Voice Music Program - This "AstroBASIC" program, by Brett Bilbrey and George Moses, allows the user to create three voice music on the Bally Arcade/Astrocade. This program was printed in the "AstroBASIC" manual on page 70. This program can be used on real Astrocade hardware to create new music. I encourage people to make music on the Astrocade using this software and then to send it in for inclusion on the Astrocast. I'd love to see music submissions start to pour into the show! Lesson 9: Three Voice Music with Bally BASIC - This is a tutorial by George Moses from the "AstroBASIC" manual. It explains how to use the Three Voice Music Program (above). Michael's History with the Astrocade Astrocade Kiosk - This was the dealer's display cabinet, intended for small shops and large department stores. Made by the Santa Cruz Wire and Mfg. Co., this kiosk stood over five feet tall and resembled a coin-op cabinet. It came wired for 110 volts for use with the Astrocade and a TV (not included with the unit). There was a cartridge selector inside for up to ten game cartridges to be demonstrated (with a time limit); a "10 key" switch selected which cartridge was played. Crazy Eddie's TV Commercial - This TV commercial features the Astrocade, Odyssey 2, Atari, Colecovision, Arcadian 2001, Intellivision and Vectrex. "Astrocade Owners!" Ad - This half-page ad appeared in the January 1983 issue of Electronic Games. It lists "the professionals who support your computer with programs, hardware and information to help you enjoy your Astrocade to the maximum! Contact any of them for details." Each of the companies listed has contact information, along with a brief summary of what they do. Running this ad was very expensive. Richard Houser, from Astrocade Sourcebook (one of the companies in the ad), has said that everyone in this ad grouped together funds to run it for several issues in Electronic Games magazine. When asked if the ad worked at all, Richard said that it did have noticeable results. Castle of Horror (Gameplay Video) - A gameplay YouTube video uploaded by "ArcadeUSA" on September 21, 2013. WaveMakers' Castle of Horror is the one tape game that Michael Di Salvo bought in the 1980s. He thinks he heard of it from the ad that was run in Electronic Games. Swap 'N Shop Text Channel - Michael used the Cablevision Swap 'N Shop channel from his cable provider to sell his Atari 2600 in the early 1980s so that he could buy a Colecovison. This is an example of that channel for those (like me) who have never heard of this before. This is a five minute segment of a community access channel called 'Swap 'N Shop' from back in 1984. It is provided by Cablevision TV service in Downers Grove, IL. The Incredible Wizard The Incredible Wizard in Shrinkwrapped Box- If you bought this game in 1982, this is what you would have brought home. The Incredible Wizard Cartridge - This is a high-quality picture of The Incredible Wizard cartridge. "Astro Arcade" TV Commercial - This thirty-second TV commercial from 1982 features several prominent game for the Astrocade, including The Incredible Wizard, and several games that were never released. The Incredible Wizard Ad - This advertisement is from the 34-page Astrocade, Inc. 1982 game catalog. This is a color catalog of the cartridges available for the Bally Arcade/Astrocade. Check out the ads for the unreleased cartridges: Bowling, Creative Crayon, Conan the Barbarian, Music Maker, and Soccer! The Incredible Wizard, "Let's Play" Video - A "Let's Play" YouTube video uploaded by "ArcadeUSA" on September 29, 2013. HSC01 Round 4: The Incredible Wizard - Round 4 of the Astrocade High Score Club (March/April 2016) featured The Incredible Wizard as the main game. The Incredible Wizard - The instruction manual in pdf format. The Incredible Wizard Screenshots - I used the Astrocade emulation in MAME to take screenshots of the twenty unique dungeons that I've come across in "The Incredible Wizard." The dungeons that the player reaches on each stage seem to be randomly selected. Therefore, there are probably more dungeons that I'm not aware of yet. I reached these later levels using save states in MAME while searching for more dungeons. Check out all the level variety that I've seen so far in, as the Wizard calls his collection of dungeons in the arcade game, the "Caverns of Wor." Wizard of Wor (Video) - This is a gameplay video of Wizard of Wor in action. This appears to be the MAME version of the game. Use this video to compare the Astrocade home port of the game against the original arcade version. The Incredible Wizard Review 1 - This is a review by Joe Santulli of The Incredible Wizard for the Bally Arcade/Astrocade. This review first appeared in the January/February 1996 issue of the Digital Press #28 newsletter. The Incredible Wizard Review 2 - Here is a second review of the "Wizard." This review is called Astrocade's 'The Incredible Wizard' for Astrocade by Danny Goodman and was published in Radio Electronics, April 1983: 14, 20. This review is in pdf format. You can read the review in text format here. "Wizard" Strategy Guide - Here is an in-depth strategy guide for the The Incredible Wizard. This is from an article called Conquering: The Incredible Wizard from Videogaming Illustrated, Dec. 1982: 24-26. You can read the article in text format here The Incredible Wizard Video Review - This video review was uploaded to YouTube by Nice and Game on August 19, 2010. The Incredible Wizard (Partial Z80 Disassembly) - This is a disassembly of the Wizard of Wor clone for the Astrocade called The Incredible Wizard. This disassembly was begun in November 2011 and has been worked on in fits and starts over the last few years. There is plenty of work that needs to be done, but this is a healthy beginning. The Incredible Wizard Press Release - June 1982 press release announcing The Incredible Wizard. Picture of The Incredible Wizard Ad at Baseball Game - According to an Astrocade press release from June 1982, this was the world's first video game to be projected on a giant screen (25' x 35') at a baseball game. Other than knowing that this is a White Sox game played in Chicago in the Summer of 1982, I don't know who took this picture. This picture is from the Digital Press CD released in 1997. Thanks to Digital Press for allowing this picture to appear on Bally Alley. The Incredible Wizard CES Contest - This is a press release from June 6, 1982. Astrocade, Inc. held a special three-day Incredible Wizard video game contest at the June 1982 Summer CES. Arcadian Newsletters Arcadian 1, no. 7 (June 15, 1979): 47-54. - The seventh issue of the Arcadian newsletter. Arcadian 1, no. 8 (July 20, 1979): 55-68. - The eighth issue of the Arcadian newsletter. Coin-Operated Americans: Rebooting Boyhood at the Video Game Arcade - Carly Kocurek examines the factors and incidents that contributed to the widespread view of video gaming as an enclave for young men and boys. Coin-Operated Americans holds valuable lessons for contemporary culture as we struggle to address pervasive sexism in the domain of video games—and in the digital working world beyond. HSC01 Round 12: The Adventures of Robby Roto! / Q-B2B - The main Astrocade High Score Club game is not a cartridge-based game this round. Instead, it is an arcade game that uses the "Astrocade chipset." The Adventures of Robby Roto! is the main game for Round 12 of the Astrocade High Score Club. The BASIC bonus game is a Q*Bert clone called Q-B2B by WaveMakers. Jameco JE 610 ASCII Keyboard Datasheet - These keyboards, from 1979, were often hacked with the 300-BAUD interface to create a keyboard that could be used with Bally BASIC. From the datasheet: "The JE610 ASCII Encoded keyboard kit can be interfaced into most any computer system. The keyboard assembly requires 5V @150mA and -12V @ 10mA for operation. Interface wiring can be made with either a 16-pin DIP jumper plug or an 18-pin (.156 spacing) edge connector." Bangman (AstroBASIC) - This is the "AstroBASIC" (2000-baud) version of Bangman by Ernie Sams that appeared in Arcadian 1, no. 7 (Jun 15, 1979): 47-49. Bangman is a take-off on the classic Hangman word spelling game. It has two novel features - letters being entered are hidden from view of the opposing player - and the penalty for losing is not a hanging... One person keys in a word to ten letters; another tries to guess it with no more than nine wrong guesses using the knob and trigger. Bangman (Video) - This is a gameplay video of Bangman by Ernie Sams for Bally Arcade/Astrocade. This BASIC program appeared in the June 1979 issue of the Arcadian. ABC Hobbycraft Website - ABC Hobbycraft used to sell Astrocades in the late 1970s and early 1980s. They were a hub of Bally Arcade/Astrocade activity. The company still exists today in Evansville, IN, although now these specialize in trains, plastic models, scale models and accessories. aMAZEd in SPACE (AstroBASIC) - This program is by Aquila and Richard Houser appear in Arcadian 1, no. 8 (Jul. 20, 1979): 58,60-61. aMAZEd in SPACE is a rocketship-thru-the-maze challenge with a number of levels of difficulty. Maneuver spaceship thru maze without crashing into walls. Direction is controlled by joystick 1. Path size, maze height, maze width and degree of difficulty, are selected by keyboard input. Score is based on these inputs and time taken to complete maze. It takes quite awhile to complete maze interior, so start small. aMAZEd in SPACE (Video) - aMAZEd in SPACE is a BASIC game by Aquila and Richard Houser for Bally Arcade/Astrocade (Arcadian, July 1979). Astrocade Programming Sheets - Nine Programming and Graph sheets specifically for use with the Bally Arcade/Astrocade. Many of these were created by Spectre Systems in 1982. The different sheets are BASIC Programmer's Sheet, Z-80 Programmer's Sheet, Screen Map (Type 1, Character Number CX, CY Value), Screen Map (Type 2, FC/BC Color Map), Screen Map (Type 3, Right/Left Color Map), Screen Map (Type 4, Totally Blank, Screen Map (Type 5, Blank, No Map Key), Screen Map (Type 6, Blank Character Graph Paper), and Screen Map (Type 7, Character Graph Paper, With Color Key). Slot Machine (Bally BASIC, 300-Baud) - Slot Machine was written for Bally BASIC by Ernie Sams. This program was originally published in Arcadian 1, no. 8 (Jul. 20, 1979): 59. A correction was published in Arcadian 1, no. 9 (Aug. 18, 1979): 69. Slot Machine (Video) - A gameplay video of Slot Machine by Ernie Sams. This video shows a full game being played. The Music Synthesizer (Article, Text Format) - The Music Synthesizer by Chuck Thomka. "The synthesizer circuit, which is contained wholly within the 40 pin custom I/O chip, is a very versatile circuit which contains counters and amplifiers to give the programmer tremendous control of the three voice output along with a tremolo, vibrato, and even a noise generator. The output frequency range is very accurately adjustable from less than 14 hertz to ultrasonic frequencies. The upper limit may be set by the capacity of your TV sound system." This tutorial original was made up of two parts: The Music Synthesizer [Part 1], Arcadian, 1, no. 8 (July 1979): 62-66. and The Music Synthesizer, Part 2, Arcadian, 1, no. 9 (August 1979): 71-73. This text version of the tutorial is missing four parts as they appeared in the Arcadian newsletter. The missing parts are: 1) Sound Graph - A Bally BASIC program that allows access to the sound ports and makes a simple graph of the results. Arcadian, 1, no. 8 (July 1979): 65. 2) Touch Tone Simulate - A Bally BASIC program that can be used to dial phone numbers. Arcadian, 1, no. 8 (July 1979): 65. 3) The Sound Synthesizer as Perceived by Chuck Thomka - A visual overview of the sound ports. Brett Bilbrey has said that this has some errors, but he can't remember what they are. ARCADIAN, 1, no. 8 (July 1979): 66. and 4) Frequency Table - A table of all the sound generating keys, their &(17) values, the resultant frequencies, and any special notes about them. ARCADIAN, 1, no. 9 (August 1979): 73. The two tutorials have been extracted from the two different issues of the Arcadian newsletter and combined into one text document. Sound Graph ("AstroBASIC," 2000-baud) - Sound Graph b Chuck Thomka from Arcadian, 1, no. 8 (July 1979): 65. This utility is part of the "The Music Synthesizer" tutorial by Chuck Thomka. In order to understand what "Sound Graph" is doing, the user must read the tutorial or at least have previous knowledge of the sound ports. With this knowledge, then you may be able to make some noises, but you won't be able to understand why they work or really what is happening. "Sound Graph" is an early BASIC program that allows direct access to the sound ports. The user can try making different sounds by changing the ports with an interface that uses hand controller #1.. Touch Tone Simulate - Touch Tone Simulate by Chuck Thomka from Arcadian, 1, no. 8 (July 1979): 65. and modification from Arcadian, 2, no. 10 (Sept 1980): 90. This utility allows the user to type in a phone number, and then dial it by placing a phone near the TV speaker and then pressing PRINT. The Bally Arcade will automatically dial the phone number. Make sure that when you use the program that your TV's volume is set to a high enough level so that your telephone can "hear" the TV. Fabris/Thomka (Phone Conversation) - A very technical phone discussion between Bob Fabris and Chuck Thomka about circuit frequencies. This was probably recorded on January 2, 1982. This recording (in FLAC format) is 15:29 long. Memory Display (Bally BASIC, 300-baud) - Memory Display by Chuck Thomka from Arcadian, 1, no. 8 (July 1979): 67. This is a machine language utility for BASIC. This program displays input memory locations in both Hexadecimal format (with hex pairs in reverse order) and Bally BASIC decimal format. This is a nice memory dump program that displays the decimal and hexadecimal location numbers (address) and data. It will do whole blocks of dumps by giving a starting and ending address. It will increment the address by the entered amount if you only want to check every 1000'th location, for example. Use negative numbers to check the upper memory: -32767D = $8001 to -1D = $FFFF. Square Root (Bally BASIC, 300-Baud) - Square Root by David Stocker from Arcadian 1, no. 8 (Jul. 20, 1979): 67. The Arcadian does not have any comments or instructions for this program. Although the name implies that the program calculates a square root in BASIC, it would be impossible to know that while running the program as it gives no indication of what the program is asking for at the INPUT prompt. Only a look through the code would give a hint of that information. Distance Between Two Points (Bally BASIC, 300-Baud) - Distance Between Two Points by David Stocker from Arcadian 1, no. 8 (Jul. 20, 1979): 67. The Arcadian has no comments about this program, though from the title it can be surmised that this eighteen-line calculates the distance between two points. Bally Chess Board (Bally BASIC, 300-Baud) - Bally Chess Board by John Collins was originally offered for sale for $6.00 in 1979 (as Chess), then later printed in the Arcadian newsletter in the October 1984 issue on page 120. Bally Chess Board ("AstroBASIC," 300-Baud) - Bally Chess Board by John Collins was originally offered for sale for $6.00 in 1979 (as Chess), then later printed in the Arcadian newsletter in the October 1984 issue on page 120. BATNUM (Battle of Numbers) - BATNUM for the Bally Arcade by Ron Schwenk was originally printed in Creative Computing. It has not been archived from tape and is only available as a type-in BASIC listing. Mastermind - Mastermind for the Bally Arcade by Ron Schwenk has not been archived from tape and is only available as a type-in BASIC listing. Scott Waldinger (Type-in Programs) - Scott Walldinger advertised ten programs for sale in Arcadian 1, no. 8 (Jul. 20, 1979): 68. The ten programs are Connect Four, Craps 2, Horse Race, Robot War, Sea Battle, Slot Machine, Star Wars, Star Ship, Star Trek, and Tic-Tac-Toe. None of these programs have been archived from tape; they are only available as a type-in BASIC listings. A Guided Tour of Computer Programming in BASIC - A link on Amazon.com to A Guided Tour of Computer Programming in BASIC by Thomas A. Dwyer and M.S. Kaufmann. A book recommended by Arcadian subscribers. 57 Practical Programs and Games in BASIC - A link on Amazon.com to 57 Practical Programs and Games in BASIC by Ken Tracton. A book recommended by Arcadian subscribers. 24 Tested Ready-To-Run Game Programs in BASIC - A link on Archive.org to 24 Tested Ready-To-Run Game Programs in BASIC by Ken Tracton. Programmers who submitted program to the Arcadian used this book for inspiration. BASIC Computer Games: Microcomputer Edition - A link on Amazon.com to BASIC Computer Games: Microcomputer Edition, edited by David H. Ahl. Programmers who submitted program to the Arcadian used this book for inspiration. The BASIC Cookbook - A link on Archive.org to The BASIC Cookbook by Ken Tracton. Programmers who submitted program to the Arcadian used this book for inspiration. Classic Letters Ron Schwenk Letter to Bob Fabris (February 2, 1979) Ron gives early comments on a few cartridges: "Football is very good. They even have music with Vibrato! It sure sounds good. I quickly ran out of them, but should have more in a week. Maze/Tic-Tac-Toe is ok, but mainly for kids. I think that Star Battle is their poorest videocade and don't care for it at all." The add-under never made it out the door. It had issues from the start. Ron already has a criticism, "In the expansion unit it looks like they are increasing the amount of ROM but decreasing the RAM. And increasing the price!" Not only does the increase cost of the unit upset Ron, but he is confused by what's on offer. He hopes that Bob can clarify the statement, "To get 80 characters per line, does 'optional TV printer' mean a video monitor?" Ron has written a Mastermind game. This is mentioned in passing by Bob in the March 1979 Arcadian on page 31. There is an ad for Ron's Mastermind in the July 1979 Arcadian on page 68. The program was never printed in the Arcadian, but there is printed BASIC listing of the program available in the Bob Fabris Collection. Copies of two other games are also available: BatNum and One Check. Ron includes a one-page listing of the Bally items that he carries through his company Schwenk Enterprises. Among these items are the Bally Arcade systems. At the time the list price was $329.95 for a system with four controllers. Ron sells them for a cash price of $289.53 (or 296.95 for credit card purchasers). After looking over Ron's 11-cartridge listing, I noticed that the list price for 2K cartridges is $19.95 and the 4K cartridges sell for $24.95. Ron sells the carts for slightly cheaper than retail: his cash price is about $18 for 2K carts and $23 for 4K cartridges. RM Martin Letter to Bob Fabris (May 28, 1979) Mr. Martin has some programming questions for Bob Fabris. Along with this letter, I found handwritten notes that Mr. Fabris prepared to answer the questions that he was asked. Mr. Martin says that his Checkers game, by John Collins, cheats. This game was printed in the May 1979 issue of Arcadian. As usually occurred, there were errors in the original listing. The June 1979 issue of Arcadian printed some corrections. Hopefully these got Mr. Martin fixed-up. Over the years, John Collins revisited his Checkers program, eventually making two major updates to it (calling them, quite originally, Checkers II and Checkers III). Mr. Martin asks how he can convert Star Trek and Wumpus written for other computers that have READ and DATA statements. The Bally doesn't support these commands, and he wonders how he can work around this limitation of Bally BASIC. All of the information in this letter is pretty typical for much of the correspondence that is written to the Arcadian. It's this letter's last paragraph that made me choose to include it in this podcast. Mr. Martin says, "You are doing one hellofa job. I have learned more about computers than I thought I ever would. Thanks." I'm not sure if this is an accurate summary of Mr. Martin, but I picture him as somebody who purchased his Bally Arcade to play games in much the same way that someone may have bought an Atari VCS in 1979. Then he stumbled into the Arcadian newsletter, bought Bally BASIC and was delving into his game system after realizing it could do much more than he originally thought possible. Guy McLimore Letter to Bob Fabris (May 29, 1979) Guy recently received Scott Waldinger's version of the Star Trek program that he ordered. Scott must have ordered this from the classified ad in the May 1979 Arcadian on page 46. The instructions and the BASIC listing are available here: Star Trek by Scott Waldinger (Bally BASIC Listing) Guy hasn't had time to type in the listing yet, but it looked to him like Scott Waldinger found a unique way around the Bally's lack of substantial memory and multi-dimensional arrays. That's one of the neat details about the Bally system. People who owned it had to find interesting, and perhaps unique, methods to work around the system's minuscule 1.8K or RAM and limitations imposed by the Bally BASIC cartridge. It seems that Bob must have given Guy the corrections for Checkers, for its now working for him. He's glad there is a BASIC version of this program, "Bally has held up the videocade version." Actually, this cartridge never did ship, although a usable 2K prototype does exist-- though I've not played it. Guy says that the "the programmer [of Checkers] deserves applause for his work, as I would have bet it couldn't be done in 1800 characters." Guy is working on a light pen. The work is currently stalled, but if he gets it working, then he plans to sell it through the Arcadian. However, I don't think that this ever occurred. Some people in the Bally community did end up creating their own light pens, among them are Craig Anderson and Leroy Flamm. The Light Pen was supposed to be used with the Creative Crayon cartridge, but that cartridge never shipped and I don't think a prototype has ever surfaced. Bally's National Service manager told Guy that they planned to revise the Hacker's Manual and make it into an advanced operations manual. This never occurred. It seems that Guy already had doubts about it being released, for he mentions to Bob that if Bally falls through with this project then he thinks that someone, maybe even himself, should make such a manual for the Bally Arcade. Laurence Leske Letter to Bob Fabris (June 6, 1979) This is a letter that Bob Fabris wrote to Larry Leske, an employee at Bally. Bob is hoping to get some more information on the internal workings of the Bally system. Bob says: "I publish a newsletter for owners of the ARCADE, and provide them with material which enables them to better understand the machine, and which informs them of operations that are possible. The inputs for my paper come primarily from the more technically oriented subscribers. I now have over 600 persons subscribing from across the country and Canada, plus a handful foreign, and we are all concerned about the status of the Add-On, or Programmable Keyboard. We have the Bally story of 'waiting for the FCC to act on the TI proposal', but we have also been waiting since last year when the Add-On was originally expected. Many of the subscribers responded to the JS&A advertising of Oct/77, and are quite frustrated with the situation. "We would be greatly interested in a surrogate keyboard, with additional memory capacity and capabilities approaching those which were advertised in the literature - a more powerful BASIC and a full-size ASCII keyboard, at least. In addition the units should have some equivalent to GRAFIX, ZGRASS, TERSE, etc., languages if at all possible." Before I continue with Bob's letter, I want to say how fascinating I find Bob's statements. He's basically writing a letter to Bally saying, "Hey buddy, we can't wait anymore for your delayed keyboard add-on, so we're gonna make our own." Imagine this happening today. You'd probably get a cease-and-desist letter from the manufacturer. Times surely have changed! Bob continues: "I am writing this letter on Jay Hess' recommendation to let you know that we as a group exist, and are interested in upgrading the system to higher capabilities. Of my group, I would suspect 70% to 80% would be in a position to purchase a unit in the $400-600 range. "I would be pleased to receive your comments and thoughts about our 'problem', and to answer any questions you may have." While searching the BallyAlley website for some additional information on Larry Leske, I found a quote from an article called In the Mind of Tom Defanti... Inventor of ZGrass by Suzan D. Prince. This was printed in the June/July 1982 issue of "Business Screen." Here's what Tom DeFanti says about Larry Leske: "About this time [1976 or 1977], another friend, Larry Leske, decided he could no longer afford to remain a student at the University [of Chicago] and went to work for Bally Manufacturing Co., the games producer. There he discovered the Bally Professional Arcade system, a fully assembled home computer game unit Bally planned to market to the public. Leske started programming on the Arcade, and believe me, he nearly knocked our socks off. Two others—Jay Fenton, a top programmer and developer of Bally BASIC; and Nola Donato, a language programmer-- and I, quickly wrote all the code for this new form Leske based on Grass. In 1979 Bally brought out the Arcade and its new software written in Z-Grass." Tom's remarks are not entirely accurate, for the BPA came out in 1978, and Bally never actually did release Z-GRASS. The full article can be read online: In the Mind of Tom Defanti... Inventor of ZGrass (Article) - In the Mind of Tom Defanti... Inventor of ZGrass by Suzan D. Prince. Business Screen (June/July 1982). Also, of note, there are several recorded phone conversations between Bob Fabris and Larry Leske. Larry Leske and Bob (Phone Conversation, Part 1) - Bob Fabris talks on the phone for about eight minutes with Larry Leske, who's been working on a programmable keyboard kit. [Arcadian volume 1, issue 8, page 55] It seems likely that Fidelity Electronics will take over the system, and they plan on possibly reviving the ZGRASS add-under in about six months. Larry has great respect for the engineering at Fidelity, and thinks it's likely they'll get out a quality product fairly quickly. Given this, Larry doesn't really want to compete with them, so the project is put on hold. [Arcadian, volume 2, issue 3, page 19] Bob Freeman and Bob (Phone Conversation, Part 2) - Bob Fabris talks on the phone for about fifteen minutes to Bob Freeman, who's been working on an S-100 adapter for the system [Arcadian volume 2, issue 2, page 11]. With Larry Leske losing interest on programmable keyboard work, Fabris is now particularly interested in this. Freeman is also thinking about things like a modem. But he's not moving at a fast pace unless there's enough interest to make it profitable. Fabris is planning on surveying the Arcadian readers on what they want. [Arcadian volume 2, issue 3, page 19]. Freeman has also programmed a system monitor ROM (it COULD be the "ADS System Monitor," but this is only conjecture), to be used for debugging assembler programs. Freeman wonders if Fidelity Electronics would consider speeding up the system's Z80, but Fabris says they're trying to cut costs on the board instead. They might consider a retrofit kit, though. They probably originate from around this era. It's intriguing to know that Bob reached out to Bally for help and maybe even guidance. Light Pen Plans and Schematics - These plans by Leroy Flamm show how to build a light pen for the Bally Arcade/ Astrocade. The documentation refers to a tape with a program for the hardware. It can't be certain, but that program is probably Light-Pen Graphics Program, which was printed in Arcadian, 7.4 (Aug. 15, 1986): 68-69. Guy McLimore Letter to Bob Fabris (June 14, 1979) Guy thanks Bob for his additions to Skyrocket (known also, on BallyAlley.com as Logo). According to the letter, it was Bob that added the rocket's vapor trail. Guy thanks Bob for his corrections to Checkers, but he's still having issues with the game. Guy is meeting with Bally's national sales manager [probably Jack Nieman] in Evensville on June 20, 1979. He plans to "get on his case pretty heavy about the keyboard expansion." Guys feels that "The potential is there for Bally to wrap up a large hunk of the personal computer market, but they are blowing it by holding up the keyboard, by failing to provide adequate documentation for Bally BASIC, and by falling to properly promote the system, service current customers, and provide software. I have just seen information on ATARI's new system, and Bally is going to lose customers to this new system if it doesn't provide the keyboard FAST." Guy is "encouraging all local Bally owners to write Bally encouraging a firmer commitment to expansion of the unit and demanding definite answers on the keyboard." He goes on to say "If all 600-plus ARCADIANS would write, maybe it would make a difference. Unfortunately, Bally is in the unique position of being able to well afford to ignore public demand, since their income from consumer products is only a tiny, tiny fraction of their total income. They just don't seem to give a damn one way or the other." Guy has "given Bob Fabris' address to two or three Bally owners in [his] area that [he] contacted through the Evansville Computer Club. One man [Guy] talked to [...] was frankly flabbergasted at all the information that was left out of the manual. [Guy] showed him &(9) [to control the left/right color boundary], the music oscillator and vibrato controls, ABS(X), the PEEK and POKE functions, ROM subroutines, etc. and [the man] nearly lost his teeth. He echoed the sentiments of so many others-- "Why doesn't Bally let people know what they have here?" Guy's light pen, which he talked about in his previous letter dated May 29'th, still won't work. Guys says, "This is unofficial and-- as yet-- not for publication, but I am negotiating with a major war gaming wholesaler in the East to supply him with game support software for the Bally system. He intends to become a Bally wholesaler, and will deal with Bally dealers by mail order if this goes through. I will be acting as his consultant on this project. Nothing is settled yet, but if it works out, we may be able to provide Bally dealers nationwide with a source of reliable software. If you wish, you may run in the ARCADIAN that I am interested in hearing from programmers who wish to license or sell their software. I can make NO PROMISES yet, though. It might help if I could give him some idea on these programs-- availability, reliability and such. Guy added a handwritten note here: "Again, P.S.: Hold off on this. Negotiating still proceeding, but slowly!" Guy makes a point that I've noticed over the years when reading the instructions for software published on tape. Guy says, ""So far, most of the Bally software I've seen is pretty amateurish in terms of presentation and documentation, while being surprisingly sophisticated in terms of actual program writing. What is needed is a tutorial on documentation, and my submission for such an article is enclosed. An improperly documented program is almost as bad an no program at all." [Unfortunately, I was unable to find in the Fabris Collection this documentation that Guy wrote.] John Sweeney Letter to Bob Fabris (July 14, 2016) This is a double-spaced, nine-page type-written letter. John laments about the "new delay in the keyboard [add-under]." John gave up waiting for the add-under already and he has purchased a TRS-80 with the money he had set aside for the keyboard expansion. However, he still plans to use his Bally Arcade. In fact, he plans to get the two systems talking to one another. John has enclosed the schematic (for the main logic components) for a memory expansion that he created for his Bally Arcade. John assembled it with, he says: "wire-wrap on a 4 1/4" x 4 1/2" Vector board, mounted in a Radio Shack instrument cabinet. Actually, the mechanical problems of getting the signals out of the Bally, and of arranging the power supplies and cabinet were more formidable than any of the electronic or logic problems, save one. [which he doesn't mention] "As drawn, the schematic provides for up to 8 kilobytes of additional memory. At this moment, I have 3K installed, and the last 32 addresses at the top of the space are decoded to provide I/O & other special purposes." John goes into great detail about how his RAM expansion unit works. He provides a parts list too. Any listeners who are hardware hackers will probably be interested to read (or at least skim) this letter. This information was never published in the Arcadian newsletter, but I suspect that it was probably shared with some Arcadian subscribers. The hardware and software projects that were created by the Bally Arcade users in the late 1970s and early 1980s seem to fit very close with what homebrewers on 8-bit and 16-bit classic gaming systems and computers are creating today. The Bally system is hardly unique in this respect, even for its time of release. The Apple II, TRS-80, Commodore and S-100 users all were hacking away nimbly at their systems. The difference, to me, is that we don't look at the Bally Arcade system today as a computer, but rather as a game system in the same vein as the Atari VCS or, perhaps, the Intellivision. In 1978, one didn't bring home an Atari VCS and start adding RAM to it. Atari owners played Combat. They had great fun doing it (and so did I!), but maybe the Bally users had a type of fun that Atari game system owners couldn't touch: the fun of learning a system and creating with it.  

Rodnay Zaks, Founder of Sybex Books Rodnay Zaks was the founder of computer book publisher Sybex Books, and is author of many classic computer programming books, including 6502 Applications (1979), Programming the 6502, Advanced 6502 Programming, and 6502 Games. He also wrote or co-wrote Programming the Z80, Programming the 6809, Your First Apple II Program, Programming the Apple II in Assembly Language, and other books. This interview took place on October 14, 2016. Rodnay on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodnay_Zaks Teaser quotes: "The first 5,000 books sold out, mail order, within a few days. So it was clear that there was more interest than we anticipated." "She said, 'There is a computer in this machine?' I said 'Yes.' And she went out screaming and never returned."

Episode 5 of the Bally Alley Astrocast doesn't cover a game this episode. Chris has left as a co-host, so the review of The Incredible Wizard has been pushed to episode 6. Paul and I cover the Arcadian newsletter issues 5 and 6 (March and May 1979).  We cover a bit of feedback too. Paul and I discuss eleven letters to the Arcadian, dating mostly from the Spring of 1979. Recurring Links  BallyAlley.com - Bally Arcade / Astrocade Website What's New at BallyAlley.com Orphaned Computers & Game Systems Website Bally Alley Yahoo Discussion Group Bally Arcade / Astrocade Atari Age Sub-forum Bally Arcade/Astrocade High Score Club Bally Alley Astrocast Facebook Page The Classic Gaming Bookcast - By Chris Federico Introduction/News 280 ZZZap / Dodgem - MAME Bug Report and fix (July 2016). Bally Arcade / Astrocade - Bally BASIC Demo (1978) - Video. Bally BASIC Demo, by Bally Mfg. Corp. - Functional Series - 8K cart - 1978. This cartridge has a small (about 6") chain attached to the top-front. This cartridge was made in limited quantities and only distributed to dealers, as was also done with the Dealer Demo cartridge. The first 4K is a "crippled" version of Bally BASIC that doesn't have access to the keypad or hand controllers- except #3: all the inputs are disabled. The remaining 4K of the cartridge is a program written in BASIC. Bally Arcade / Astrocade - Bally Dealer Demo (1978) - Video. Bally Dealer Demo. Bally Mfg. Corp. Functional Series. #6001. 4K cart. 1978. This cartridge was not sold to the general public and was only produced in limited quantities. The only public sales began in 1983 and came from ABC Hobbycraft (who acquired Astrocade's remaining inventory). The cartridge runs about two minutes and features the "built in" software of the Bally console. Written by Dick Ainsworth. 280 Zzzap / Dodgem Disassembly - A partial Z80 disassembly of 280 Zzzap / Dodgem. This game was released by Bally Mfg. Corp. in 1978. It was programmed by Jay Fenton. Cosmic Raiders Disassembly - A partial Z80 disassembly of Cosmic Raiders. This 8K game, part of the Action/Skills Series released in 1983 by Astrocade Inc., is part #2019. Written by Bob Ogden, Scot L. Norris, Julie Malan, and Lisa Natting. Music from the Bally BASIC Demo cartridge - This music is used as a segue between segments. Astrocade High-Resolution Upgrade - These five in-depth "packages" (documents) were created by Michael C. Matte in 1986. These documents explain how to upgrade a Bally Arcade/Astrocade from the "Consumer Mode," which uses the low-resolution display (160x102 pixels), to "Commercial Mode," which uses the high-resolution mode (320x204 pixels) used in arcade games such as Gorf and Wizard of Wor. Red White and Blue Ram Announcement - Ken Lill's September 12, 2016 formal announcement of the new RAM expansion that he is working on that will be Blue Ram compatible. Bagpipes (For Player Piano) - This music, created in BASIC, is used as a segue between segments. Floppy Days Podcast - Randy Kindig's vintage computing podcast for all types of retrocomputers. 2600 Connection - The online presence of the classic Atari 2600 newsletter 2600 Connection, originally edited by Tim Duarte, that began publishing in 1990. HSC01 Round 11: Galactic Invasion / Outpost 19 - Most-Recent round of the Astrocade High Score Club. Outpost 19 Map - A map for use with WaveMaker's game Outpost 19. MazeMaker II Music - This music, written by by Mike Peace for the WaveMakers' BASIC game MazeMaker II, is used as a segue between segments. This music sounds very similar to the theme for the movie Bladerunner. Astrocade BASIC Screen Layout: 88 x 160 Graph Paper - The archive includes three versions of the graph paper: a jpg, a TIFF image (with layers), and a TIFF (with no layers, "flattened"). To make the best use of the TIFF files requires a graphics editor (such as Photoshop or GIMP) that can deal with layered TIFF files. Mega Everdrive for the Sega Genesis - The Mega EverDrive v2 is a flashcart, which loads the ROMs in the console itself. The handling of the flashcart is very simple. Bruce Lee for Sega Master System - A homebrew game that attempts to recreate the classic Atari800/C64/Spectrum game Bruce Lee for the Master System. Collect the lamps and fight Green Yamo and the Ninja! Programmers of the Bally Arcade/Astrocade Built-in Programs - This is an attempt to credit those people who programmed the four programs built into the Bally Arcade/Astrocade. These programs include: Calculator (Jeff Fredricksen), Checkmate (Lou, or possibly correctly spelled "Low," Harp), Gunfight (Alan McNeil), Scribbling (Jay Fenton), and miscellaneous code (Ken Freund). Frenzy: A ColecoVision adaptation that beats the arcade original - By Chris Federico. The incredible Berzerk sequel is even better on the ColecoVision than in the arcade. Calm down! We wouldn't make such a claim without offering some great arguments, would we? Arcade Games Based Around Astrocade Chipset - By Adam Trionfo. Space Zap Arcade Game (1980 Midway Mfg.) - Video overview and review by "Keith's Arcade." The Adventures of Robby Roto - Thanks to the kind generosity of Jamie Fenton, the original ROM images for Robby Roto have been made available for free, non-commercial use. Wizard of Wor Disassembly - David Turner started the Z80 disassembly of the arcade game Wizard of Wor in 2002. Arcadian Newsletters Arcadian 1, no. 5 (Mar. 23, 1979): 31-38. - The fifth issue of the Arcadian newsletter. Arcadian 1, no. 6 (May. 4, 1979): 39-46. - The sixth issue of the Arcadian newsletter. Bally BASIC Hacker's Guide - This was the supplement written by Jay Fenton in 1979 that went along with the Bally BASIC manual. It's full of all sorts of goodies, most of which found their way into the AstroBASIC Manual... but not everything. Simon (Bally BASIC) - By Brett Bilbrey and Joe Borello. Bally BASIC, 300-baud program. First program printed in the Arcadian (Arcadian 1, no. 5 (Mar. 23, 1979): 35,38.) "One Player, Hand Controller. The computer shows you a pattern that you have to repeat, using joystick controls." Simon ("AstroBASIC") - By Brett Bilbrey and Joe Borello. This 2000-Baud version of Simon has been converted by Mike White to run under "AstroBASIC". First program printed in the Arcadian (Arcadian 1, no. 5 (Mar. 23, 1979): 35,38.) "One Player, Hand Controller. The computer shows you a pattern that you have to repeat, using joystick controls." Clock (Bally BASIC) - By J. Cousins. Arcadian 1, no. 5 (Mar. 23, 1979): 36. Clock is a 31-line Bally BASIC digital clock program that accepts hours, minutes and seconds. There is some error checking to make sure that the input data is accurate. It seems that FOR loops are used for the timing of the clock, so this program may not be that accurate. Convert Hex To Decimal (Bally BASIC) - By Ernie Sams. Arcadian 1, no. 5 (Mar. 23, 1979): 36. This program concerts a hex number to decimal using Bally BASIC. Man Vs Snake: The Long and Twisted Tale of Nibbler Official - HD Movie trailer for this 2013 videogame documentary. W&W Software Sales Program - Digitally archived Bally BASIC programs by Bob Weber. Self-Portrait: A Graphics Demo ("AstroBASIC") - By Guy McLimore, Jr. April 10, 1979. Hand-written BASIC listing from an unpublished Arcadian submission. This program draws a simple Bally Arcade unit. Fox & Hounds (Bally BASIC) - By Esoterica Ltd. Fox & Hounds is a classic new version of an old game. It's you with 4 pieces against the computer with only one! Move 'checkers style' to prevent the computer from intruding your territory. We guarantee that you will not beat the computer twice in a row. Programming Work Sheets - Page 3 of these worksheets seems to have been created (or inspired) by Chuck Thomka. This worksheet helps a BASIC user use the CX and CY valuables. Random Art (Bally BASIC) - By Ernie Sams. Arcadian 1, no. 6 (May. 4, 1979): 44. Random Art is a quick little moving box program. Arcadian At 2x Size (Bally BASIC) - By Glenn Pogue. Arcadian 1, no. 6 (May. 4, 1979): 45. "A further step along the way was taken by Glenn Pogue, who modified the "Game Over" routine of [Arcadian 1, no. 4 (Feb. 19, 1979): 25], making it print the word Arcadian in 2x normal letter size. I have not been able to totally duplicate this feat, I think it lies in the small differences in ROM locations that have previously been noted." Set I - Games and Fun - Eight programs written by David Stocker in 1979: Building Blox, Cheese Boxes, Color Match, Memory Match, Random, Rock/Paper/Scissors, Siren, and Slot Machine. Set II - Video Art - Fifteen programs written by David Stocker in 1979. This set includes the following video art programs: Building Blox, Color Box, Color War, Color Wheel, Electric Doily, Laser Duel, Perspective Box, Random Box, Random Line, Reverse Box, Rubber Band, Scroll Three, Scroll Two, Spiral, and Video Wallpaper. Classic Letters Tom Woods Letter (February 3, 1979) - February 3, 1979 letter to Bob Fabris from Tom Woods. The explanation of the "Onboard Calculator" in the March 1979 issue of Arcadian seems to be based on this letter. Bob seems to have expanded on the letter (by writing an example program). George Hale Letter (February 14, 1979) - February 14, 1979 letter to Bob Fabris from George Hale. George Hale has used an ohmmeter to trace-out the 50-pin connector on the back of the unit. He has included an illustration of it. He's not sure he's 100% right, but he can see that every pin of the Z80 is present on the 50-pin connector. The Bally PA-1 Service Manual doesn't explicitly give this 50-pin information in an easy-to-read illustrated format (as George created), but the Bally Arcade's schematic does provide the necessary information for the information to be extrapolated. Also, the "third page" of this letter was written later. It is one-page letter to Charles Vollmer, Bally's National Service Manual. George explains that his letter to Bob crossed in the mail with his receiving the Bally Service Manual. He notes that most of the information he figured out is correct, although he numbered his 50-pin connector in reverse order from the one provided in the Service Manual. Boyd Perlson (February 26, 1979) - February 26, 1979 letter to Bob Fabris from Boyd Perlson. Boyd, who seems to be an accountant, has developed a system on the Bally for keeping track of his chargeable time for each office client. He would like to know how he can make printouts of this, rather than copying the information off of the TV screen. This is just another example of the Bally system being used in situations that I wouldn't have ever expected! James Wilkinson Letter (March 30, 1979) - March 30, 1979 letter to Bob Fabris from James Wilkinson. This letter talks about the experience that James had running GAME OVER from the February 1979 issue. He had to substitute line 50, which originally had X=3164, with X=3159. This discrepancy is caused by differences between versions of the Bally Arcade's 8K ROM. Craig Anderson (of Hoover Anderson Research & Design) eventually covers this problem in detail (nearly four years later!) in the January 1983 issue of the Arcadian in an article called Sneak Up and Bite Ya Department. He did this because "AstroBASIC" programs that he would write would work on some versions of the Bally Arcade and not on others. Sneak Up and Bite Ya Department - This is a January 1983 article by Craig Anderson from the Arcadian which discusses the differences between different 8K on-board ROMs in the Bally Arcade/Astrocade. Brett Bilbrey Letter (April 10, 1979) - April 10, 1979 letter to Bob Fabris from Brett Bilbrey. Brett sends corrections for a typing mistake that he made in SIMON (printed in the March 1979 issue). Many people had called Brett directly to find out how to fix the program. Brett had NO idea how they got his phone number, but he figured that it must mean that they're very interested, and he thinks that's good. He expects "many letters" to be coming (to, possibly?, Bob) about this SIMON mistake. Some of the issues that people had were not understanding common computer notation, such as that the asterisk means to use the "times" key, the difference between "O" and "0," and the "not equal" sign. He wants people to write to him, NOT call, as that "ties up" the phone line for his family. Brett tried transferring programs over the phone using his Bally unit, but he doesn't go into details about how he does it. Brett put up flyers in the Computer Center (at, I suppose, the University of Michigan?) to form a Bally user group. The first meeting will be May 12, 1979. This is probably the user group that became the Michigan BUGs (Bally User Group) and eventually called the Michigan AstroBUGS. Brett has included two programs: a SIN subroutine and OTHELLO. He says, "No mistakes, I hope!" Othello was never published in the Arcadian, but it was published fourteen months later in the June 1980 issue of the Cursor newsletter. Brett Bilbrey Letter (April 14, 1979) - April 14, 1979 letter to Bob Fabris from Brett Bilbrey. Brett sends another correction for SIMON. He makes an odd-sounding, but understandable, statement when he says, "Many people have called in response to these errors. I am now writing to these people to help them with other questions and problems. So, if there had not been the mistakes, I would never have contact all these other Bally users in this area." "Also," Brett says, "many of these people now know of the user's meeting coming up May 12 at the Computer Center. The attendance is expected to be about 50 users." Brett notes that the April issue of BYTE, on page 193, has news called "Magnavox Files Suit on Microprocessor Video Game Patents." Included among the manufacturers they have filed suit against is Bally. As a follow-up to this 1979 news, I came across an 11-page Activision Case Reading by Ralph Baer, called "VIDEOGAME HISTORY: A little matter of record keeping." I am not sure when this was written, but it seems to be possibly from the late-90s or early-2000s. Mr. Baer states: "Let's examine the numerous stories floating around about the various videogame patent infringement lawsuits that were carried on by Magnavox and Sanders Associates, the owners of the seminal Baer patents and of the Baer, Rusch and Harrison patents. Those lawsuits started in the mid-seventies and ran all the way through the 1990's, the last of them for past infringement only, since the patents had long since lapsed. Bally, Seeburg, Mattel, Activision, Nintendo, Data East, Taito and others fought lengthy legal battles against the Magnavox/Sanders team in an effort to avoid having to pay license fees. They lost every one of those lawsuits, both in the initial actions in various Federal District Courts and finally, ignominiously, in the Court of Appeals. Then they had to pay up!" Brett also says, "One of the Arcadians [by which he means a subscriber to the Arcadian newsletter] who called, mentioned an article in a recent STOCK (I don't know the name) which states that Bally will be cutting funding to their home arcade program. This is said to be because of their casino opening in Atlantic City." I checked, and Bally's hotel/casino opened on December 29, 1979. Brett closes his letter with, "I am sorry for the mistakes in SIMON, and hope it did not cause too much trouble! But many users have learned something about debugging and a little about BASIC (sort of a learning experience). I will try to prevent further bugs from happening." Videogame History: A Little Matter of Record Keeping - By Ralph H. Baer John Collins Letter (April 12, 1979) - April 12, 1979 letter to Bob Fabris from John Collins. John says, "Many of the stores in our area have not been able to be resupplied with the Bally Arcades and have not been able to get the new tapes [cartridges], even after two months wait." This delay is so bad, in fact, that John asks, "Do you know whether they are still manufacturing the basic unit?" John is working on a version of HANGMAN, BOWLING and a special spelling routine. He'll furnish a copy when the bugs are worked out. Bob was having trouble with John's CHECKERS program (which was eventually printed in the May 1979 issue of the Arcadian), but John didn't know of any glitches. He hoped that Bob might be able to provide what the game board looked like and what level the game was playing when a bug occurred. John explains that the number printed on the screen tells the user that the computer is "still working." The number also provides the "type of decision or level the computer was at when it made its move." John describes in detail what the computer is doing as each number is printed on the screen. John dictated this hand-written letter to his wife, which I found rather surprising. He ends his letter with, "My wife's arm is tired, so I must close now." I found that pretty amusing. Mary Stanke Letter (April 21, 1979) - April 21, 1979 letter to Bob Fabris from Mary Stanke. After reading Joe Sugarman's SUCCESS FORCES, I recognized Mary's name right away. Joe originally hired her as a secretary, and over the years she continued to move up in the company, eventually coming, it seems, his right hand man (woman?). This short letter informs Bob Fabris that JS&A can not provide him their "list of owners of the Bally, as JS&A has a policy wherein [they] do not divulge this type of information to anyone, nor would [Bob's] material be of interest to [JS&A] since [they] have discontinued offering the Bally Home Library Computer." So, now we know. By April, for certain, JS&A had given-up 100% on Bally! David Stocker Letter (April 23, 1979). - April 23, 1979 letter to Bob Fabris from David Stocker. David submits two of his tapes to Bob Fabris. These tapes contain a total of 23 programs. It seems that David took some of the programs from the Bally BASIC manual, changed them up a bit (or a lot-- I don't know) and sold them on tape and as program listings. David would like Bob to inform the "Arcadians" about his programs, which he sells as two sets for two different prices. If you buy one set, then the cost is $8 (or $4 if you return the tape). If you buy both sets, then the cost is $10 (or $6 if you return the tape). This returning of the tapes seems like it would have really complicated matters and been extremely labor intensive. There are three pages of hand-written instructions for some of the programs. Both sets of David Stocker BASIC programs were added to BallyAlley.com on March 13, 2015. Since these were available on tape-- they are some of the earliest third-party programs available on tape for a game console. Mr. Stocker even beat Activision to the punch, so it's too bad this stuff isn't up to say, "Pitfall" quality. The instructions for these two tapes provide the hand-written BASIC listings for each program. This was common even in the early days of the "Arcadian" newsletter. Mr. Stocker's script is quite small (or maybe it was reduced), plus the quality of the original paperwork was also difficult to make out, which makes these programs quite hard to read. The first tape is called "Set I - Games and Fun." It contains eight programs. The second tape is called "Set II - Video Art." It contains fifteen video art programs. John Perkins Letter (April or May 1979) - April or May 1979 letter to Bob Fabris from John Perkins. The Bally Astrocade only has 4K of RAM. This may seem like a plenty of RAM when compared to, say, the Atari 2600 (which only has 128 bytes of RAM), but 4,080 bytes of this 4096 total bytes of RAM is all dedicated to screen RAM. This makes up the entirety of the Astrocade's 102x160 bitmap screen (the remaining 16 bytes of RAM is called the scratch pad). Things begin to get really confusing when you consider that the BASIC cartridge doesn't contain any of its RAM, and yet it somehow (almost magically) it provides the BASIC programmer with 1.8K of RAM to program the system. How is this done? John Perkins wrote a hand-written letter to Bob Fabris which provides some of these answers. This letter is the background and research for which the tutorial in the May 1979 Arcadian called "Screen Operations" by Mr. Perkins is based. The tutorial, as printed, condenses the information that John provided to Bob. The tutorial also excludes a short example program that John wrote that shows how to display four colors on-screen at once. The letter explains how the BASIC program is hidden on the screen in plain sight by taking advantage of some of the Bally Arcade's Left-Right Color Boundary. In the early 2000s, I had a phone conversation with Mike White. I remembered that he said this article explained the details correctly, but that is was a bit muddled with some of its information. I couldn't remember exactly what Mike meant by this, so I emailed him back in February and he provided me with a full explanation. Mike says, "John Perkins declares the program to be "stored in the even bits" with the picture using the odd ones. This is "computer geek" thinking and not what an algebra teacher would say! In algebra the digits are numbered 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8! While in computers it's 0-1-2-3-4-5-6-7! Now, turned around to their natural format they become; 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 and 7-6-5-4-3-2-1-0 respectively! Therefore, hex 55 (01010101 binary) is EVEN and hex AA (10101010 binary) is odd in a computer ONLY! If you did this on a math test you would flunk out, and may be sent to the principal's office!" Doug Marker Letter (September 1979) - September 1979 letter to Bob Fabris from Doug Marker. Doug is a "computer specialist working on IBM compatible machines." It's notable that since this letter was written in 1979, Doug must have been working on IBM compatible mainframe computers, as the IBM personal computer wasn't released until August 12, 1981. Doug started his career as a hardware engineer, advanced to a software engineer and eventually became a Systems Engineer for IBM. This type of in-depth knowledge of hardware and software is a common thread among quite a few letters in the Bob Fabris Collection: many users had technical backgrounds. What sets this letter apart from so many of the other letters is Doug's location: he lives in Auckland, New Zealand! Doug doesn't explain how he came across the Bally Home Library Computer in New Zealand. Perhaps he ordered it directly from JS&A from the original September 1977 ad in Scientific American. What's significant about this letter is that there is no PAL version of the Bally Arcade system. Thus, Doug is using an NTSC system in a PAL territory. This isn't unheard of (many collectors do it today), but it's quite unusual (especially for 1979). Doug says, "I am presently building a PAL modulator so that I can get color. The USA has a different color transmission system called NTSC, so I have to modify my Bally." He talks about working on upgrading his unit's RAM internally to 8K or 16K, but won't work on this until he has the PAL modulator working correctly. Doug has done some exploration on his own of the built-in routines of the 8K system ROM, but he proposes a project that he would find very useful: a list of all of the built-in routines in the "resident ROM and the BASIC ROM." Doug goes into some depth on what he has discovered on his own about how the interrupts works on the Bally Arcade. Doug's final discussion is about changing the speed of his Bally Arcade unit, providing that the custom chips can handle it. [Which I don't think that they can do.] He intends to replace the basic timing of the microcomputer by replacing the master oscillator, which he has to do anyway so that he can get the PAL color working correctly. He plans on replacing the 14.31818 MHz with a 16Mhz crystal oscillator. Comments from Tom Meeks - Tom Meeks worked at Astrovision. Among the questions that he answers in this compilation of comments from the Bally Alley Yahoo Group are if any PAL Astrocade systems exist.  

¡Estamos de vuelta! Y volvemos con un tema que no habíamos tocado antes: la retroinformática. Junto con Fran Gallego, repasaremos las máquinas mas conocidas en la década de los 80 y los 90, en especial el Amstrad CPC. Aunque parezca increíble, Fran usa esta máquina para dar una asignatura de Inteligencia Artificial en la Universidad [...]

Episode 4 of the Bally Alley Astrocast covers the Bally Arcade/Astrocade cartridge game Sea Devil and the BASIC type-in game (published in the Arcadian newsletter) The Pits. Chris and I discuss, as always, what we've been up to lately. Paul and I cover the Arcadian newsletter issues 3 and 4 (January and February 1979).  We cover a bit of feedback too (we could always use more though-- so keep it coming to us). Paul and I discuss seven letters to the Arcadian, dating from late 1978 and early 1979. The show ends with a short tune called Golden Slippers played from a type-in program called Player Piano from the Bally BASIC manual Recurring Links  BallyAlley.com - Bally Arcade / Astrocade Website What's New at BallyAlley.com Orphaned Computers & Game Systems Website Bally Alley Yahoo Discussion Group Bally Arcade / Astrocade Atari Age Sub-forum Bally Arcade/Astrocade High Score Club Bally Alley Astrocast Facebook Page Introduction Sea Devil/The Pits - Astrocade High Score Club, Round 10: Sea Devil / The Pits (July/August 2016). Includes a screenshot of The Pits. Cartridge Review - Sea Devil Sea Devil Manual - (1983) Game "manual" (instructions) for Sea Devil by L&M Software. Sea Devil Ad - (1983) Advertisement for Sea Devil. This document contains much more of the game's backstory than is in the manual. Sea Devil Cartridge - Picture of the Sea Devil cartridge. Sea Devil Video Review - YouTube video of Sea Devil gameplay by "Highretrogamelord" BASIC Game Review - The Pits The Pits (2000-Baud "AstroBASIC" Tape Image) - This WAV version of Rex Goulding's The Pits can be played using the "AstroBASIC" cartridge. This game appeared in Arcadian 3, no. 10 (Aug. 12, 1981): 108. The Pits for "AstroBASIC" - A fantastic Game! - March 25, 2011 post on Bally Alley Yahoo group (message #10456). ArcadianNewsletters Arcadian 1, no. 3 (Jan. 13, 1979): 17-22. - The third issue of the Arcadian newsletter. Arcadian 1, no. 4 (Feb. 19, 1979): 23-30. - The fourth issue of the Arcadian newsletter. Bally BASIC and "AstroBASIC" Manual Differences - By Richard Degler (October 2010) Success Forces Book - Purchase Joe Sugarman's 1980 book from Amazon.com. The Seven Forces of Success - Joe Sugarman's 2014 eBook on Amazon.com. Division with Decimals - By Paul Law. "Division with Decimals is just in from Paul Law who says he modified a BYTE 2/79 program. N indicates the length of the decimal portion." This 300-Baud Bally BASIC program can be loaded into BASIC using the 300-Baud tape interface. Game Over (Program) - By Tom Wood. "This routine will print "GAME OVER" depending on which version of the Bally Arcade that the user has." This 300-Baud Bally BASIC program can be loaded into BASIC using the 300-Baud tape interface code. Game Over (Article) - By Tom Wood. This pdf document was excerpted from the Arcadian. This is the program's explanation, the BASIC loader, the Z80 machine language source BASIC Zgrass--A Sophisticated Graphics Language for the Bally home Library Computer - By Tom DeFanti, Jay Fenton, and Nola Donato. This article was printed in Computer Graphics, 12, no. 3, (August 1978): 33-37. Abstract: "Home computer users are just now discovering computer graphics. Modest extensions to BASIC allow plotting but not much more. The Bally Home Library Computer, however, has hardware to aid implementation of video games. Custom integrated circuits working on a 160X102 pixel (2 bits per pixel) color television screen allow certain forms of animation in real time. To give this power to the user, BASIC Zgrass has been designed and implemented. It is an extension of BASIC that allows parallel processes, picture objects that move, scale and group together as well as several drawing modes. There are also software controls of a three-voice music synthesizer, interactive input devices, a film camera and an IEEE bus interface. We will concentrate mainly on the language design for making it all easy to learn and use." Bally BASIC Hacker's Guide - By Jay Fenton. This was the 1979 supplement written by Jay Fenton that went along with the Bally BASIC manual. It's full of all sorts of goodies, most of which found their way into the "AstroBASIC" manual... but not everything. Bally Arcade - More than Fun - By Graham M Wideman and Mark J Czerwinski. Electronics Today, November 1978. Paul and I refer to this article as "Bally Arcade: Game or Computer," but that's only the title on the cover of the magazine. This article covers the Bally Arcade. Although the page numbers are not consecutive in this scan, the article is complete (full page advertisements were removed). The article is notable because it assumes a basic level of technical knowledge and includes photographs of the internals. Chain Store Age 'Catalog' - This 'catalog,' from June 1978, was put together by Bally to promote the Bally Professional Arcade to salespeople. This is a full-color 'catalog' that is a large download (9MB). It is 8 1/2" x 11" and is sixteen pages long. I love the 1970's style art! Bally Programming Keyboard - Color picture of the unreleased "programming keyboard." The Bally Arcade system sits on top of this "add-under." Classic Letters Letter to Bob Fabris, From Brett Bilbrey (December 11, 1978) - Brett was a mainstay of the early issues of Arcadian and Cursor. He went on to write two Astrocade cartridges (ICBM Attack and Treasure Cove), contribute to the "AstroBASIC" manual and work for Action Graphics (as well as contribute to the Bally community in many other ways). Later, Brett worked for Apple. This eight-page letter shows a hardcore user's enthusiasm for the Bally Arcade. Star Trek - By Brett Bilbrey (and/or friends). Brett did not 'write' the Star Trek game. He either typed it in from the book 101 BASIC Games or one of his friends that Brett started Spectre Systems with did it. This 300-Baud Bally BASIC program can be loaded into BASIC using the 300-Baud tape interface code. Star Trek (Docs) - Instructions for the above program. Byte Magazine (December 1978) - Many articles dedicated to Life. While none of these articles/programs are specific to the Bally Arcade/Astrocade, the manual for Life by Jay Fenton does directly lift quite a bit of material from that issue of the magazine. Interact Model One Computer - The Newman Computer store suggests potential Bally Arcade purchasers buy the Interact Model One instead. (oldcomputers.net) Letter to Bally Arcade Customers, From Joseph Sugarman (May 1979) - Joe Sugarman, the president of JS&A, claims that the company "had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in advertising to obtain our sales." That's a lot of money, which makes it hard to believe this claim. However, in the early 70s, when JS&A began, full-page ads in the Wall Street Journal cost about ten-grand (says Joe in his 1980 book, Success Forces), so perhaps this high-dollar advertising figure is possible. Letter to Bob Fabris, from Glenn Pogue (Jan 22, 1979) - Glenn says that if a user complains about the unit's name change, then Bally will send a "tag" to those users who request one that says "The Bally Computer System." This letter has a list of release dates (month and day) for Bally games, including some that were never released at all (including Checkers, Desert Fox, Astrology and Drag Race/Desert Fox Bally Dust Covers Pictures - Each time the Bally system's name was changed, the dust cover reflected the new name. Unit Label Variations - Lance Squire does an excellent job explaining the different labels on the dust covers of the Bally units. He also gives an approximate rarity level for each label. Letter to Bob Fabris, from Guy McLimore (January 29, 1979) - Guy is a Bally Arcade dealer for ABC Hobbycraft. Guy has popped up on the Bally Alley Yahoo group from time to time. In this letter, Guy says that he gets more information from the Arcadian newsletter than he can get from Bally-- and he's a dealer! He mentions several programs he's working on. He suggests that Bally should make a second, more detailed (I presume) version of the Bally BASIC manual for "the really rabid Arcade freak." In a way, Jay Fenton's Hacker's Manual was this second "book," but it was only about twenty pages long and probably wasn't widely available. Fantasy Game Package - By Guy McLimore. 1979. There is an advertisement for this program in Arcadian 1, no. 7 (Jun 15, 1979): 54. A fantasy game package for advanced players is available for those who enjoy the Dragon/Dungeon type of operation. The package includes: Dungeon Grafix I and II, Fantasy People and Multidie. Arcadian Logo - By Guy McLimore. From Arcadian 2, no. 1 (Nov. 29, 1979): 3., "Logo shown at the head of page one is based on an idea by Guy McLimore, and embellished by myself. If you'd like to see it in action (literally) and in living color, the program is included." Letter to Bob Fabris, from Jim Unroe (December 27, 1978) - Jim canceled his order with JS&A after waiting for long time and then he got an Arcade unit right away from another dealer (yes, even at the end of 1978, JS&A wasn't getting enough units from Bally to fill orders). He's having issues with his unit (it sounds like overheating). He notes that you can have commands executed directly from tape rather than being loaded as a program line. This is one advantage of Bally BASIC over "AstroBASIC." Jim talks about wanting to create an elaborate alarm system using his Bally Arcade. Letter to Bob Fabris, from Joe White (November 26, 1978) - Joe talks about his general experiences using the Bally to program in BASIC. Joe's son, Greg, wrote Bally Trek, which is based on Erik Mueller's Star Trek for MINOL - Tiny BASIC. Bally Trek - By Greg White. 1979. Unpublished Arcadian submission. Bally Trek is based on Erik Mueller's Star Trek for MINOL - Tiny BASIC. Bally Trek follows a popular style of game program from the 1970s era. Other examples on the Bally Arcade/Astrocade include Space Chase by WaveMakers and Star Trek/Starship Command by Esoterica. This 300-Baud Bally BASIC program can be loaded into BASIC using the 300-Baud tape interface code. Letter to Bob Fabris, from John Sweeney (January 22, 1979) - John requests Executive Software by Tom Wood because he is trying to write an assembler for the Bally Arcade. This is very early in the Bally Arcade's history to be working on something like this. There is no evidence that this assembler was created, but General Video Assembler (which required a RAM expansion) was eventually written and released on tape in 1982 by Dave Ibach and Steve Walters (General Video). Dave used this assembler to write his centipede-inspired, cartridge game, Sneaky Snake. John talks about safe places for assembly code in Bally BASIC (he uses the editor/buffer). He recommends some articles/books for Tiny BASIC information. General Video Assembler with Examples (Programs) - By General Video. The General Video Assembler is made-up of four programs which include: General Video Assembler Collector, General Video Assembler Pass I, General Video Assembler Pass II, and General Video Assembler Text Editor. Also included are sample programs (both as assembler code and in their final assembled form), Flying Witch Sample, Logo Sample. This 2000-Baud "tape" runs from "AstroBASIC and it requires extra RAM. General Video Assembler (Docs) - By General Video. Written by Dave Ibach. Documentation for a Z80 assembler that runs on the RAM-expanded Bally Arcade. End-Show Music Golden Slippers (MP3) - Tune for Player Piano form the Bally BASIC owner's manual.  

The show's two hosts discuss what will be covered in future episodes of the Bally Alley Astrocast. Recurring links: BallyAlley.com - Bally Arcade / Astrocade Website What's New at BallyAlley.com Orphaned Computers & Game Systems Website Bally Alley Yahoo Discussion Group Bally Arcade / Astrocade Atari Age Sub-forum Bally Arcade/Astrocade High Score Club Episode Links: Bally Arcade / Astrocade FAQ Bally Software Downloads - Cassette TapesAudio Recordings from Bob Fabris Collection Arcadian Newsletter Software and Hardware for the Bally Arcade - A Technical Description Picture of the Crazy Climber homebrew cartridge Picture of the War homebrew cartridge ZGRASS Documentation Arcade Games Based on the Astrocade Chipset Gorf Arcade Game Seawolf II Arcade Game Space Zap Arcade Game Wizard of Wor Arcade Game Full Bally Alley Astrocast - Episode 0 Transcription Adam: Hi, everybody.  My name's Adam Trionfo, otherwise known as BallyAlley on the AtariAge forums.  And I'm here with... Chris: Chris, otherwise known as "Chris." Adam: And you're listening to the zero-ith episode of Bally Alley Astrocast.  See, I barely know the name of it yet. Chris: I think me and Adam believe that we thought up the name Astrocast ourselves, and we came to find out that there had already been one, it just hadn't been started. And I guess it was Rick and Willy (I think it was only those two). Adam: Yup. Chris: And, it kinda sat there for a year.  Hopefully they will be contributing to Adam's podcast here. Adam: I don't think of this as "Adam's podcast." (And I just used finger-quotes, sorry about that.)  This is our podcast.  Chris and I are recording this right now.  Also, Paul Thacker, who is a regular of the Bally Alley Yahoo group (which we can talk about at a later time).  We're hopefully going to do this together at some point.  I wanna sound natural as possible for this podcast.  So, I'm trying to not read anything off a piece of paper.  I don't like the sound of my voice, and the fact that I'm letting you hear it means that I love you guys. Chris: It's a great level of trust he's exhibiting, you guys.  Plus, I would immediately take his script away from him if he had one because... Adam: Oh, thanks, Chris! Chris: Yeah.  Extemporaneous is more fun to do, and I think it's more fun to listen to. Adam: So, in saying that, we do have some notes we wanna talk about. For this episode we wanna basically go over what we want to cover.  Which is what people seem to do in these episodes.  Saying, "Hey, there's gonna to be an episode of a podcast called 'this'."  And, that's what we're doing here.  So, here's what we're going in our podcast number zero. Chris: It was always funny to me, like oxymoron, like: episode number zero. Adam: Right.  Right. Chris: Let's go negative one.  Let's be rebels. Adam: You may or may not know what a Bally Arcade, or an Astrocade, is.  It was a console that was developed in about 1977.  It was released in 1977, but the first units were not actually shipped, for various reasons, until January 1978.  And very few people got them.  They were first released by catalog-only, by a company called JS&A.  Those systems had overheating problems.  Most of them were returned-- or many of them were returned.  JS&A only sold approximately 5,000 units (so it says on the Internet).  I don't know where that number is quoted from.  I've never been able to find the source.  Bally eventually started selling them through Montgomery Ward.  Now, Bally also had something called the Zgrass that it wanted to release.  This was going to be expanding the unit into a full-fledged computer.  This never was released.  The Bally system itself did not come with BASIC, but it was available nearly from the start.  Many people used it.  A newsletter formed around it called the ARCADIAN.  The system has 4K of RAM and it does not use sprites, but it could move object just as well as the Atari [VCS] and other systems of its time period.  It could show 256 separate colors and through tricks and machine language, it could show all of them on the screen at once, but not normally in a game.  Although there are a few screens that did it (but not actively during a game).  The system is fun to play... if you can find one that works.  If you don't already have one, you're going to discover (if you go searching for one) they're not inexpensive.  They're becoming pricey on the Internet because of the overheating problems they had, since the beginning (with the data chip), you will find that if you own [should have said buy] one now, you're getting a unit that "has not been tested," which means, of course, it is broken.  If you find one on the Internet that says, "Not tested," please, do not buy it.  Just let it stay there and let someone else buy it.  And, when they get it and it doesn't work, if they're surprised then they did not read the "Bally/Astrocade FAQ."  We'll go into much greater depth about this system in the next episode.  I just wanted to let you know that's the system we'll be talking about.  It has a 24-key number pad.  It has a controller that is-- is it unique?  Well, I think it's unique. Chris.  Um-hum. Adam: It has a paddle built into the top knob.  It's a knob-- it's called.  And it has a joystick-- an eight-directional joystick.  It's built like a gun controller-style pistol.  It's called a "pistol grip."  It's sorta shaped like one, if you picture a classic arcade-style gun, and then just cut off the barrel.  That's basically what you have.  Something that was originally mentioned, and I think Bally might have called it that for two years, are Videocades.  Videocades are the cartridges.  These were actually also referred to as cassettes.  These are not tapes.  These are about the size of a tape, but they are ROM cartridges.  In the beginning they held 2K and later on they held 4K for Bally.  Astrovision, or Astrocade, Inc., later released some 8K games in about 1982.  Those were usually considered the best games on the system because they had more ROM to spare and to put more features into the games.  Now, BASIC was available from about the third or the fourth month after the system was released to the public.  It was originally called BALLY BASIC.  It did not come with a tape interface, but one was available for it.  BALLY BASIC cost approximately $50.  The tape interface, which could allow the user to record at 300-baud... which is pretty slow.  To fill the 1.8K of RAM, which is available to BASIC, would take about four minutes to load a complete program.  Better than retyping it every time, isn't it?  But, it's not a great speed.  Later on, the system (when it was rereleased), it actually came with BASIC.  It was still called BALLY BASIC, but today to differentiate it from the original BASIC cartridge, most people call it ASTROCADE BASIC or AstroBASIC.  The reason for this is the later BASIC has a tape interface built into the cartridge itself.  This can record and playback information at 2000-baud, which is an odd number because it's not a multiple of 300.  Because when 300-baud tapes were speeded up by a newer format later, they were 1800-baud.  Tapes were available, which meant the user community was able to grow because they could share programs.  It was sometimes a problem for them because I could record a program on my tape drive and I could send it to you in the mail.  And you'd say, "It's not loading.  It's not loading!"  Well, you'd sometimes have to adjust your read and write heads to match it.  Imagine having to do that today?  To having to... uh, I wouldn't want to think about doing it.  So, even if you can believe it, with that kind of an issue, with users having to adjust their tape systems in order to load programs sometimes, there were commercially released tapes.  These have been archived and are available and you can download them from BallyAlley.com. Chris: So, the play and record head on anybody's tape recorder... there was the possibility that it had to be adjusted to play a tape his buddy had sent him because he had a tape recorder with differently aligned play and record heads in it-- I mean, that's something else! Adam: Now, the recorders that were normally used were called shoebox recorders.  These were recommended.  If you tried to record to a home stereo, maybe Chris can understand this better and tell me more about it in a later episode, but you really couldn't record to one and then get that information back.  I'm not sure why.  But, the lower quality that was available from the low-end tapes that were less expensive were actually better.  Just like there were better audio tapes available, which you should not have used for data because... because, I don't know why!  So, ideal podcast length.  In my mind I see about an hour, or an hour and a half.  While I listen to many podcasts, among them Intellivisionaries (and others) that are not short.  And, as has been discussed on the Intellivisionaries, there's a pause button.  So, if somehow we do end up at five hours, please understand that there is a pause button.  If we end up less, you don't need to use the pause button.  Isn't that great?  Technology... right? Chris:  Well, a very good idea that you had was obviously to conduct interviews with some, I guess, what, Bally game writers, people who are really knowledgeable about it. Adam: Well, there's quite a few people I'd like to interview.  If we can find people from the 70s and the 80s, and even now, there's some people who have written some modern games-- at least written some programs for the system. Chris: It would help if they're still around. Yeah. Adam: Something that's interesting, that I wanna use, is that there's actually recorded interviews that we have from the early 80s and late 70s of phone conversations that Bob Fabris did (from the ARCADIAN publisher).  There was a newsletter called the ARCADIAN and it published for seven years (from 1978 to 1984 or 85, depending on how you view things a bit).  He recorded some conversations with some of the more prominent people of the time. Chris: That's cool! Adam: We've made WAV files of those or FLAC files and they're available for download (or many of them are already) from BallyAlley.  But, it might be interesting to take out snippets from some of those and put them in the show.  I hadn't thought of that before, but that's why we're going over this. Chris: Yeah.  Absolutely. Adam: Right. Chris: That's really cool.  We say Bally Astrocade, like we say Atari 2600, but it was never actually called the Astrocade when Bally owned it. Adam: Not when Bally owned it; no.  But after it was resold they had the right to use the name Bally for one year. Chris: Oh. Adam: And Astrovision did do that.  So, for a short time, for one year, it was known as the Bally Astrocade.  And it actually was called that. Chris:  Oh.  Okay. Adam:  But, somehow that name has stuck.  And that is what the name is called.  And many people think it was called that from the beginning.  It was originally released under a few different names, which we'll get into at a later date.  I think of it... I like to think of it as the Bally Arcade/Astrocade. Chris: Yeah. Adam: It depends on how you look at it.  Sometimes I go with either.  Sometimes I go with both.  Sometimes I call it the Bally Library Computer.  It just on how I'm feeling at the time.  So, we also don't plan to pre-write episodes.  You might have noticed that by now.  We do have a list that we're going by, and we do wanna use notes, but reading from a script is not what I wanna do.  I don't want to sound dry and humorless.  I like to have Chris here making fun of me-- well, maybe not making fun of me, but, you know, Chris here... helping me along to give me moral support.  And I enjoy that I'll be doing this with him, and hopefully Paul as well. Chris:  It is strange for you and I to sit around talking about old videogames. Adam: Oh... isn't it!  Isn't it though! Chris: [Laughing]  Some of the sections that Adam has come up with are really interesting.  They sound like a lot of fun.  And what's cool is that they are necessarily unique to a podcast about the Bally console.  For instance, we were talking about the ARCADIAN newsletter.  There's going to be a segment-- it will probably be every episode because there is a LOT of source material.  This segment will delve into ARCADIAN notes and letters that did not make it into the published newsletter.  It's kind of a time capsule.  In some ways it will be fascinating even for people who don't know a lot about the Bally Astrocade because what you're getting is correspondence from the 70s and 80s, before anybody really knew what was gonna happen with the 8-bit era, you know? Adam: There's material in the archives.  All of this material is from Bob Fabris.  He was the editor or the ARCADIAN.  Two people, Paul Thacker and I, we bought that collection from an individual who had bought it in the early 2000s directly from Bob.  It was never broken up, so it's all together in about eight boxes-- large boxes-- all in different folders.  Bob Fabris kept a really, really detailed collection and in great order.  He kept it in that shape from 1978 until, what?, about 2001 or 2002 when he sold it. Chris: Wow. Adam: So the fact that it survived and then someone else bought it and didn't want to break it up and sell it is pretty amazing to me.  We were able to pool our funds together, Paul and I, and purchase it.  All of it has been scanned.  Not all of it is available.  Oh, and by the way, BallyAlley, in case there are some listeners who don't know... BallyAlley is a website that I put together.  It's mostly from the archives of the ARACADIAN.  But, there's a lot, a LOT, of interesting material there.  If you're interested in the Bally Arcade, you should check it out.  It's BallyAlley.com. Chris: Adam is being kinda modest.  He's done a lot of work on this.  You're gonna find archived materials that will make your eyeballs pop out of your head. Adam: [Laughing] Chris: You know, he's... Adam: If you saw Chris, then you'd know that's true. Chris:  Yes.  Absolutely.  I'm recording blind.  You know, he's very picky about high quality scans (as high as possible only).  He's vey meticulous about it.  And I definitely recommend that you guys visit BallyAlley period com.  I know it's a lost battle; humor me.  They're not dots.  All right... anyway. Adam: All right.  Cartridge reviews.  The Bally Arcade... it has a lot of perks, one of them is not it's huge library of games.  I take that back.  It has a huge library of games.  Many of them, as some people may not even know who are listening to this, were released on tapes.  But the vast majority of games, that people would think of as the console games, are cartridges.  The Bally could "see" 8K at once.  It didn't have to bankswitch or anything like that in order to do that.  There was never a bankswitching cartridge that was released for the Bally.  At least at that time.  Since the library is so small, I'm not sure if we're planning to cover a game per episode, or since we plan to cover all of the games (and there are certainly less than fifty, if you include prototypes) and some of them are not games.  Some of them were... BIORHYTHM, so that you could know when it would be a good time to get it on with your wife to have a baby.  You know... [laughing] So, if that's what you wanna talk about and listen to... write us and say, "That's sounds great.  I want you to tell me when I can get my wife pregnant." [laughing]  The other day my wife was taking a look at a game I was playing for a competing console, the Atari 8-bit game system. Chris: I thought you were gonna say the Arcadia. Adam: No, not the Arcadia.  I was playing a SUPER BREAKOUT clone.  She took a look at it and didn't know what it was.  I said, "You know, it's a BREAKOUT clone."  She's like, "I don't know what that is."  I said, "No.  Look at the game for a minute.  It looks like BREAKOUT."  And she still didn't get it.  And I said, "Okay, so you're gonna have a ball that bounces off a paddle and it's gonna hit the bricks up above."  And she goes, "I've never seen this before."  And I said, "Okay.  You've heard of PONG, right?"  She's like, "Well, yes I've heard of PONG."  I said, "It's that." Chris: [Laughing] It's that... except better.  Between you and all of the people you're in contact with from the Bally era, and people like Paul.  People who actually wrote games back then... Adam: Um-hum. Chris: Information about how the console works and its languages and stuff... is that pretty-much taken care of, or are there more mysteries to be solved. Adam: There's some mysteries.  The neat thing about this system was that even in the ARCADIAN, in the early issues, you could get access, for like $30, to the photocopies that were used at Nutting Associates.  These are the people who actually designed the Bally system for Bally.  They did arcade games-- we'll go more into that in another episode.  This information was available to subscribers... almost from the get-go.  So, if you wanted to have a source listing of the 8K ROM, you could get it.  Of course, it came with a "Do Not Replicate" on every single page, but... it was... you were allowed to get it.  You could purchase it.  It was freely available and it was encouraged for users to use this information to learn about the system. Chris:  The reason I ask is that I'm wondering what the next step is.  Whenever I think of this console... do people refer to it as a console or a computer, by and large? Adam: A game system in my eyes.  I mean, it's a console.  People don't think of it as a computer.  No. Chris:  I'll start over.  Whenever I think about this system, what usually comes to mind is the fact that it is unexploited.  And that is perhaps the, not quite an elephant in the room, but that is the only real disappointment about the Astrocade is that there are these amazing, vivid, brilliant, games.  I mean, the arcade conversations on the Astrocade are, for all intents and purposes, arcade perfect.  This was a superior machine.  And yet, players were teased with a handful of astonishing games and then that was it.  So, "what could have been," comes to mind for me a lot.  And the phrase tragically untapped.  What I'm wondering is why nobody has brought up the initiative of making new games.  The last two were arcade conversations.  They were not original, but they are, of course, phenomenal.  I mean, two of the best titles, you know are WAR (which is a conversion of WORLORDS) and, of course, CRAZY CLIMBER.  You were in charge of all the packaging and EPROM burning for those.  I'm not saying... Adam:  Partially.  Partially.  For all of one of them I was, but the other one was handled by a man name Ken Lill.  I did... I came up with the package design and stuff like that, and made a lot to make it happen.  But, I didn't program the games.  No. Chris:  Right.  But I mean, somebody else did the coding, but didn't you have all the cartridge shells.  And you were burning... Adam:  I made sure it all happened. Chris:  Okay. Adam:  Yeah.  I mean, I didn't do all the work though. Chris:  Okay. Adam: It helped that I was there.  Put it that way. Chris:  We're talking about CRAZY CLIMBER, mainly, right?  Because you helped with WAR as well. Adam: Yeah.  I did both.  Yeah. Chris.  Okay. Adam:  Um-hum. Chris:  And you wrote some of the back of the box copy. Adam:  I did all of that.  Yeah. Chris:  As expensive and limited as such a run would be, that's not really quite what I'm talking about.  As having to go through all that to give people physical, boxes copies, I guess.  Another reason why people might not have written anymore Astrocade games is that the relatively few surviving consoles could be prone to overheating themselves to death at any time.  But, then there's emulation. Adam: Right. Chris:  MESS is all that we have, and it's not perfect.  So, wouldn't that be the first step for somebody to write a really good Astrocade emulator?  I would do it, if I knew how. Adam: Yes.  If there's one of you out there who's like, "Who couldn't write an Astrocade emulator?" Chris: Yes. Adam:  Please, would you do me a favor and send that to me tomorrow? Chris:  It's time.  ...Tomorrow... [laughing] Adam: Something that I wanna get at is that MESS does work for most games.  There are a few that don't work.  Some of them used to work and now they're broken.  MESS was updated to make it "better," and now some games don't work.  I don't understand why that happened.  The biggest drawback to MESS is that is doesn't support the tape.  It doesn't support-- it supports BASIC, but you can't save or load programs.  And since they're hundreds... there's probably over 500 programs available.  And there's... many, many of those have already been archived and put on BallyAlley.com.  So you can try them out on a real system, but not under emulation.  And it's quite easy to use under real hardware.  We'll get into that at another time too. Chris: In terms of cartridge reviews.  And I'm only going to say this once.  Thanks, by the way, for saying that this is our podcast Adam: Sure. Chris:  I thought I was just being a guest.   Adam:  No.  No... you're just a gas. Chris:  I'm just a gas.  So, should I help you pay for the the Libsyn? Adam: I think we'll be okay. Chris: All right. Adam: All of our users are going to send donations every month. Chris:  Oh, that's right. Adam: [Laughing] Just kidding there, guys. Chris:  So, I'm just going to say this once.  And you're welcome.  Review is a word I have a problem with when it comes to my own, well, stuff I write.  But now, apparently, stuff I talk about.  Because I associate the word review with critics.  I think I was telling you the other day, Adam... Adam:  Yes, you were. Chris:  I would never hit such a low level of self-loathing that I would ever call myself a critic.  Talk about a useless bunch.  For me they'll be overviews.  It's very picky.  Very subjective.  It has nothing to do with anybody else.  You wanna consider yourself reviews-- totally respect that-- but I don't do reviews.  So, either that, or I'm in some sort of really intense denial.  But, personal reflections on games, reviews leaves out... when you call something a review, it leaves out the fact that taste is subjective.  It's a personal thing.  I can't review food for you and have you think, "Oh, now I like that food I used to hate."  One's tastes in games, music, etcetera is just as personal.  So, Adam was saying that there's so few of them, that we're not going to cover a game every episode.  So, what we're going to do is alternate, so that you don't go completely without game "content" (isn't that a buzzword, a frequent word online now: "content"). Adam:  That is.  Yeah. Chris:  Everybody wants content.  I gotta table of contents for ya.  We're going to alternate actual commercial cartridge games with commercially available tape games and even type-in programs, because there were a lot of good ones. Adam: Most of them were written in BASIC. Chris:  Which is just awesome to me. Adam:  Yeah. Chris:  We were thinking of alternating the games stuff I was just talking about with this: Adam:  The Astrocade system, well, the Bally Arcade system, as it was originally designed for home use, it had two versions.  There was an arcade version, which came out in 1978 with the first game, Sea Wolf II in the arcades. And there was the version that was released for the home.  It had 4K of RAM, while the version in the arcades had 16K (and some additional support), but they use the same hardware (like the data chip). They're so similar in fact, that many of the systems games were brought home as cartridges.  They don't use the same code.  They are not-- you can't run code for the arcade and vice-versa.  You can, for instance, take a Gorf and run Gorf on Wizard of Wor hardware.  It'll look the wrong direction, but you can do that.  The systems are very similar in that respect.  But, you can actually take an Astrocade (and it has been done before) that is a 4K unit, and actually do some fiddling with it, change the ROM a bit, give it more RAM (there's more that you have to do)-- there's actually an article about it, it was written in-depth (it's available on BallyAlley, the website).  And you can make it into an arcade unit.  It wouldn't be able to play the arcade games, but it would have access to 16K of RAM and that sort of thing. Chris:  When you say Sea Wolf II, you mean the arcade game was running this hardware that you're talking about. Adam:  Right. Chris: Much of which was also in the console. Adam:  Yes. Chris:  Okay.  And that goes for WIZARD OF WOR, GORF, SPACE ZAP.  Well, that explains why there are so many arcade perfect home versions. Adam.  Um.  Right.  They don't share the same code, but they are very similar.  The Hi-Res machine could display, in what was considered then a high resolution.  The Bally display in 1/4 of that resolution.  I think perhaps will have the first episode cover specifically the hardware of the astrocade. Chris: So, you are saying that this segment would cover the arcade games that used the astrocade hardware, and I find that really, really interesting (because I never knew that).  I thought that they were just, you know, very similar and some of the same people created the home versions, but I didn't realize that... I never realized they were so close. Adam: So, another segment that we plan to do is called, "What the Heck?!?"  It's going to focus on unusual hardware and maybe even released items, but something that, while it was released through the Arcadian newsletter or perhaps the Cursor newsletter (and maybe even one of the other small newsletters that were around for a short time for this system exclusively).  When we're talking about a released product here, we are probably talking about in the tens-- the twenties.  I mean, new homebrew games get a wider release than games that are considered released back then.  Maybe not the games, but hardware peripherals.  There was something called the Computer Ear which could do voice recognition-- sort of.  But the software for that isn't available, I don't think… maybe it is.  I have the hardware, but I've never tried running before. Chris:  We're also gonna-- I say "we," even though Adam's knowledge about, well pretty-much all of this stuff is much greater than mine, hoping to cover the Zgrass keyboard/computer.  Is that a fair description? Adam:  Yeah.  That's what you would read on the Internet about it.  And if you can call that true, then that's what it is. Chris:  Right.  And not just on the WikiRumor page. Adam:  Yeah. Chris:  It's a very unusual system and it's worth learning about.  See, you don't hear about any of this stuff anywhere else and that's what's really cool about this podcast.  Everything you've got archived, everything you've learned, you just never read about it back then, you know? Adam:  It was available to read about, but not in the normal sources that people read about the Astrocade.  Which would have been Electronic Games and some of the other computing magazines at the time.  But they didn't talk about, I mean, it was mentioned briefly... but only as a product that was supposed to come out.  But, in a way, ZGrass did come out.  The product, the language, ZGRASS, was available.  There was a hardware system, a computer (which could cost upwards of $10,000) that used some of the custom chips that were available in the Astrocade.  It was called the UV-1.  It was-- I'll get more into that when I cover the Zgrass system in some future episode, which is why we're talking about it here.  I would like to discover more about it.  I wanna learn.  I want-- I don't think I can use it, because it has not been archived.  But, the documentation is available on BallyAlley.  I have that.  Maybe I'll go through that a little bit.  It was... something to learn about and share... Chris:  Yeah.  Really cool. Adam:  It's all about sharing, man.  And caring.  Okay.  The Bally Arcade and Astrocade history.  History of the month is something that we are going to have.  It's going to start with the "Arcadians" #1, which was the first available newsletter.  The "Arcadians" was a newsletter that published for just four issues.  And it was published-- and it was only two pages.  The first one, I think, was only front and back.  Then, I think, maybe the next one was four pages, but that was only two pages front and back.  It was really just a round-robin letter.  It predates the "Arcadian."  It was only available to a few people.  These have been archived.  You can read them online.  I'm gonna start there.  As soon as BASIC was released, it took a few months after the Astrocade came out (excuse me, before the Bally Arcade came out).  Once that system came out with Bally BASIC (which required a separate BASIC interface so that you could record to tape), then Bob Fabris, the editor, said, "We've got something we can explore together.  Let's do this.  Let's pool our resources and come up with a way to share information.  That was what they were all about.  They did this very early on.  That's something that interests me greatly about the system, and I want to be able to share that and compare it with knowledge of other systems that were out at the time. Chris:  That's really cool.  I mean, it's one of the earliest systems of any kind, that I know of, that actually did have a community.  You know, that were really trying to goad each other into doing new things and write programs and stuff like that.  I mean, I can't imagine there was an Altair community.  I'm trying to... Adam: There was an Altair community. Chris:  Oh.  Well, but they were all very rich.  And they had a lot of time on their hands! Adam:  ...those switches, right? Chris:  I hope that you're gonna to do a "What's New on Bally Alley" I know I keep going on about this, but that is just an amazing website to me.  You do a lot of updates to it, so when you do add new things to the BallyAlley website.  And, who knows, maybe this will give you a reason to add more things to the website. Adam:  It could.  The website isn't updated very frequently.  I have great intentions, everyone.  So, if you've been wanting to see updates, give me some motivation to do some.  I don't mean send me money.  We, as the two of us (and other people on the Yahoo group), we do like to BS about the system.  But, there's so much information in my archives, and there are only a few people who share it with me.  Basically, two other people.  We're thinking about putting it up on archive.org, but some of it is kind of-- I think it should, might remain hidden from viewers, even though it might be archived there.  Because, it's personal letters that, I think, probably shouldn't be shared.  Because, there's personal information there.  I mean, when I got the collection, there was actually checks still that were un-cashed in it that were written in the 70s. Chris:  Wow! Adam:  Those kind of things I did not scan.  Because I was like… what? [sounds of exasperation and/or confusion], it was very strange to me.  They are un-canceled, unused checks out there in some boxes that were people subscribing to the newsletter.  I'm not sure why he didn't cash the checks, but... they're there! Chris:  So you could have them in the archive, I guess. Adam:  Right.  But I don't think I wanna-- I don't think that sort of information should be shared. Chris:  Oh, I agree.  But, you know, I mean back then a dollar, back then, was the equivalent of fifty grand today.  Don't you love it when people say stuff like that?  It's like... well, you're going a little overboard. Adam:  Right.  [Laughing]  We had to walk up and down the hill both ways... Chris: Both ways! Adam:  ...in the snow.  Pick up the coal from between the tracks. Chris:  Any Cosby reference, I'm on!  What I'm hoping... do you think that Paul is going to take part in some way in this first episode? Adam:  I would like him to.  If we take a long time, then probably. Chris:  Well, I'm hoping we're going to hear a lot from Paul Thacker. Adam:  Paul Thacker, he will definitely join us, at least, for the... if he can't make it into this zero episode, he will be in for the first one.  He's a good guy.  He has helped me-- more than helped me!-- he has... he is in control of archiving tapes.  That is his department.  After I wasn't really updating the site too much anymore (I actually had even pulled away from it), in about 2006, Paul Thacker came forward and he introduced himself to me through an email.  He said he would like to help with archiving tapes.  And... he really, really has.  He's the leader in that department.  He has contacted people to make archiving programs possible.  He has followed up with people with large collections.  He has archived them.  Not all of it is available on the website yet, but it is... it has been done.  They're truly archived.  And, what's neat about Paul he has tapes that were available between users.  If you're familiar with growing up with these old systems, you might have had a computer like an Atari 800 or a Commodore 64.  Maybe you had some tapes that you recorded to (or disks).  You would write a "Game Number 1."   And then that was what you'd name the program-- even if the program was a type-in from a "Compute!" magazine or an "Antic" magazine. Chris:  Oh, you would save it as "Game Number 1" Adam:  This is how these tapes were.  People would write one program on it... maybe, maybe even give it a clueless name, that meant nothing to either Paul or I.  Paul would record the whole side.  Paul would go through and say, "What's on here?"  Paul would find a program.  Paul would find SIX different versions of that program!  Paul would find programs that had been halfway recorded over.  Paul made sure to archive all of that, separately (and as efficiently as possible), document it.  So, something I want to cover... there are so many topics... I should back up here, and I should say that there are a lot of topics available to anyone who is starting a podcast.  Something that has to be zeroed in on (and that's not supposed to be a pun on the zero episode) is that you have to choose.  You have to narrow.  You have to focus.  I am no good at that.  I am not good at that... I can't do it. Chris:  How many fingers am I holding up? Adam:  Chris is holding up a finger, and I'm supposed to see one.  And I'm hoping that is what he was doing-- and not giving me the finger. Chris: [Laughing] Adam:  So, I would like to cover the ancestry of the Bally Arcade.  Something that came up and about 2001, perhaps 2002, is someone named Tony Miller, who was responsible for working on the Bally Arcade when it was created, mentioned that the Bally Arcade's chipset is actually a direct descendent of "Space Invaders" arcade game's... the CPU for "Gun Fight".  Or something to that affect.  I didn't understand it then, I might be able to understand it better if I find those exact posts (which are definitely archived).  Now, "Gun Fight" used the Intel 8080 CPU, which is why the Astrocade uses the Z80.  Because it's compatible... sort of.  The Z80 can run 8080 but not the other way around.  As you can see, my knowledge of all of this is completely limited.  What I just told you, is pretty much what I know.  There's obviously a story there.  If I could find people to interview, if I can dig into this, there is a GOOD story there.  And I would like to discover it and present it. Chris:  Yeah, 'cause that would mean Taito took some technical influence from Midway.  Because it was Midway that added a CPU, at all, to "Gun Fight," right?  So... that's pretty interesting. Adam:  We'll find out, Chris. Chris:  Yeah.  So, I've already talked about writing new games as the next logical step once one has a lot of information about any game system, or any computer (or anything like that).  So, are we going to encourage activity in the homebrew Astrocade scene?  Because, there is a latent one there.  You should definitely cover the two released games that we've already talked about: WAR and CRAZY CLIMBER.  Those were pretty big deals.  The first new Astrocade game since... what?... 1985-ish?  I mean, on cartridge... Adam:  It depends on how you look at it.  There were actually some people in the community, who were just sending cartridges back and forth to each other, who were sharing code in the 80s.  They're not considered released cartridges.  Something that is available to the public… yes. Chris:  In terms of talking about homebrew programming, you can also talk about people who just play around with this system, or even interview them.  What do you find interesting about the… Adam:  Yeah.  I would like to do interviews with people who actually have a lot of experience with the system and maybe grew up with it, which I did not do.  I didn't learn about it until... the 90s.  About homebrew programming: I believe, and I would love to make you guys believe, that homebrew programming did not start in the 90s.  I would like to let you know that homebrew programming has been around since 1975 (in my eyes) and earlier.  The very, very first PCs, and by that I mean "Personal Computers," not "IBM Personal Computers," (alright?)... these systems were programmed in people's living rooms, in people's kitchens.  If that is not homebrew programming, I don't know what is. Chris:  Right. Adam:  These people were learning for the sake of learning.  They were playing for the sake of the experience of touching the hardware, learning the software-- they weren't doing this for work, they were doing this for pleasure.  This is the same exact reason people are homebrewing games today.  They were doing this back then.  An insight that you get to see very clearly is in the in the "Arcadian" newsletters, and in the "Cursor" newsletters as well, is people want to teach other people.  They are about sharing.  They are about, "Hey I wrote this.  This is great.  You guys should type it in and try it out... and if you find out anything about it, let me know what you think.  If you can add something to it… if you can cut off six bytes and add a sound effect, please do that, because there's no sound."  These people wanted to help each other, and through that it is available in archives, and we can look at this and learn today.  I would like to have that happen, so that people of today, people who have the knowledge, have modern computers that can cross-compile and create new games-- that would be neat... to me. Chris:  Yeah. Adam:  It has been neat, went two have been released already.  But, even if new games don't get created, what about MESS?  Let's make that better. Chris:  Before we go any further, I think you should "share" your email address so that you get feedback. Adam:  My name is Adam, and you can reach me at ballyalley@hotmail.com Chris:  You can private message me on AtariAge.  I'm chris++. Adam:  Now we expect to get loads of email.  We are gonna be clogged.  We're going to have to have the first episode be nothing but reader feedback. Chris:  I'm telling ya, we really got a good thing going, so you better hang on to yourself. Adam:  [Laughing] Chris:  That's a Bowie quote.  Well, before we wrap this up, let's cover the obvious thing.  How did you get so involved in the Bally Arcade/Astrocade? Adam:  When I first began collecting some of these older consoles and home computers... I never stopped playing them, but when they started becoming available for a quarter, I said, "You know, why don't I just buy each one of them."  I had a very large collection for awhile, until I finally gave some of it to Chris... got rid of most of it, and... I am glad I did, because now I play the games I own.  What I don't play, I get to eventually.  In about 1994... '93... I read about this system in one of the books I had that was from the early 80s that covered the Zgrass, actually.  It was the system, I was like, "I want to get a Zgrass, that'd be neat."  I don't have one.  I did find out that it was related to the Bally Arcade.  From there... I wanted one.  I found my first one for a quarter.  I picked it up at a flea market. Chris:  Oh. Adam:  It came with a few games.  In fact, I saw the games first, and I was like, "How much you want for these?"  Each game was a quarter.  I think there was four or five of 'em.  Then I saw the system, but I didn't have that much money with me.  I had like a dollar left or something (I'd already bought some other things).  I was talking to a friend that I'd gone with, and he said, "Why don't you go back there and offer him your buck for it?"  I went back, and I said, "How much do you want for the game (the system)?"  And he goes, "A quarter." Chris:  Wow. Adam:  So, I still had change to go by another: 2600, an Intellivision... no... [laughing]  But, I didn't find anything else that day. Chris:  Those were the days before you people let eBay ruin that part of the hobby. Adam:  So, I did know that there was an "Arcadian" newsletter.  But, I was a member of an Atari 8-bit user group here in town.  It so happened, I was bringing it up... talking with someone there, and they said, "Oh, I've heard of that!"  I'm like, "Oh, you've heard of the Bally?"  They said, "Oh, sure.  You should talk to Mr. Houser" (who was the president of the Atari club).  Then he said, "I think he wrote some games for it."  I said, "Hmm.  That sounds interesting."  So, I approached him.  By 1994, there were very few users left in the Atari 8-bit group.  Who was left, we all knew each other very well (or, as well as we could-- even though some of us only knew each other from meetings).  We started talking.  He told me that he'd been involved with the "Arcadian."  He had published tapes.  He had something called "The Catalog" [THE SOURCEBOOK], which I now know was the way most people order tapes (but, back then I didn't).  He kept track of all this, and he still had all of his things.  He invited me over one Sunday afternoon and he showed me what he owned, which was... pretty-much everything for the Astrocade that was released.  We went through it one Sunday afternoon, and his son (who was in his early 20s) shared his memories of the machine.  I fell in love: I thought, "Wow, this system is great!"  While I was there Mr. Houser, his name was Richard Houser, he said, "Hey, you know what... we should call up Bob."  I said, "Bob, who?"  He said, "He was the person who used to publish the "Arcadian."  I said, "... Really?"  He's like, "Yeah, let's call him."  So, he called up Bob.  They chatted a bit (for a while) and he told him who I was-- I didn't talk to Bob.  But, he was available back then.  I thought that was great, so I wrote Bob a letter.  I said, "Would it be okay if I get some of your information..."  Later on, in the late-90s, he gave me permission to do that.  At the time, I just said, "Hey.  Here I am."  What's really neat, is I started sending him ORPHANED COMPUTERS & GAME SYSTEMS (which was a newsletter I did in the early-90s.  After three issues, Chris, here, joined me on board).  I sent them to him.  When I bought the Bally collection from him, those issues that I'd sent to him brought back to me.  Which, was, like, this huge circle... because it came through several people, in order to come back.  I found that really neat. Chris:  Yeah. Adam:  Eventually, with Chris, we discovered the system together.  We played around with it.  What was it...?  About 2001, I started BallyAlley.com.  It doesn't look great now, and it looked worse then.  Now, here I am... having a podcast.  How about you, Chris? Chris:  I never stopped playing all the way through either.  You know? Adam:  Why should've we? Chris:  Well, yeah.  I kept playing the old games through the period when they started to be called "classic" and "retro."  This happened at some point in the mid-90s. Adam:  During the HUGE crash during in the 80s (that none of us saw). Chris:  Yeah... that none of us knew about, except for the great prices (which I attributed to over-stock). Adam:  I didn't even think about it. Chris:  Well, they weren't all cheaper.  Even into '83/'84, I remember spending thirty-odd dollars on PITFALL II: LOST CAVERNS for the 2600. Adam:  Yeah, right.  I got that for my birthday, because it was $30... and I didn't have $30, I was a kid. Chris:  Right.  'Cause... that was about two-million dollars in today's money. Adam:  Also, for us, I think, we went onto computers, like many people our age at the time.  So, we sort of distanced ourselves.  The prices for computer stock stayed about the same, as they had for Atari cartridges, and things like that. Chris:  That's a good point.  Yeah.  In coming across "classic," after I hadn't really stopped playing my favorites (and discovering new favorites, thanks to the advent of thrift shops and video games at Goodwill, and stuff), I'd read that and say, "Oh, they're classic now.  Oh, all right.  If you say so."  I thought that was really funny.  So, by the late 90s, I thought I was the only person on earth (not literally, but pretty close) who is still playing these "old" videogames.  All I had when we started hanging out again, Adam, was an Atari 2600 and a Commodore 64.  That was all I wanted.  I didn't want to know about anything else, I didn't want to know about this new CD-ROM, with the "multimedia." Adam:  So, let's... this time period would have been...? Chris:  This is 1997.  By this point, I had been writing my own articles and essays for my own amusement (saving them as sequential files on 1541 floppies using the Commodore 64).  I wrote a file writer and reader program.  I thought I was the only one doing nerdy stuff like this, but I had fun doing it.  And I was still playing all the old games, picking 'em up for a buck or less, while making my rounds at the thrift shops and at Goodwills and everything like that.  I was in a subsidiary of Goodwill that was attached to the largest Goodwill store in Albuquerque.  I ran into a buddy of mine, from ten years previous.  He and I have been freshman in high school, and then I went to another high school and lost touch with all of my friends.  This guy's name, if you can believe this goofy name, was Adam Trionfo.  The store had an even goofier name: the U-Fix-It Corral, but then it changed into Clearance Corner.  Is that right? Adam:  Correct.  Yes. Chris:  Adam was working there.  So, I'm going through a box of... something... from the 80s.  He came over, "Are you Chris?"  I said, "Yeah.  Adam?"  He and I, you know, sort of shook hands.  I said, "Well, that's cool, you're working at Goodwill."  "Yup."  Then I left, and I never saw him again... Adam:  [Laughing] Untill today. Chris:  Until today.  That's why it really sounds improvised here.  He gave me a newsletter he had written about... old videogames (and they weren't even all that old yet, at the time).  He started ORPHANED COMPUTERS & GAME SYSTEMS (on paper, kids!) in 1994.  I asked him, "So, you write about video games too?"  He said, "Yeah."  We started hanging out playing games... a lot.  I didn't know anyone else at the time who liked to play Atari 2600 and Commodore 64 games.  He eventually nudged me to the Internet (or, dragged me... kicking and screaming).  When I encouraged him to start up his newsletter again, he said he would if I'd collaborate.  We did that for couple of years.  Sent out a lot of paper issues.  Had a ball writing it.  Going to World of Atari 98 (and then CGE 2003).  Using interviews that we had conducted at those to feed the material for the newsletter.  In 1999, it became a website.  We've actually been pretty good about adding recent articles... Adam:  Recently.  Yeah. Chris:  ... which is good for us.  I don't know what any of this has to do with what you asked me.  In 1982, we took a trip back East to Buffalo to visit family.  My mom's sister's best friend had a son named Robert, who was a couple of years older than me (I was ten, he was probably twelve or thirteen).  He was the kid who first showed me Adventure. Adam:  Never heard of it. Chris:  Summertime of '82 [mumbling/talked-over??] I got my mind blown by it.  This same guy, Robert, took me into his basement to show me his Atari computer (I believe).  He said not to touch it, because he had a program in memory.  He was typing in a program and he had a magazine open.  That's all I remember.  I wish I had focused on the model number or which magazine it was.  It looked like all of this gobbledygook on the screen.  I was absolutely captivated because-- who didn't want to make his own videogames?  I'd been playing Atari VCS games since February of '82.  It became an obsession with me, on par with music (believe it or not).  He said not to touch it because he hadn't saved it yet.  I said, "How do ya save it?"  You know what I mean?  I didn't ask him any smart-ass questions: "Okay, ya gonna take a picture of the screen?" Adam:  [Laughing] Chris:  He said, "I save them on these."  He showed me just a normal blank cassette, like you would listen to music on.  That just entranced me: all of these innocent music cassettes hiding videogames on them.   Adam:  [Laughing] Chris:  I learned how to program in BASIC that summer from a book checked out from the library.  I mean, I just really got interested in talking to this new thing.  This home computer: the microcomputer (as it was called quite often).  The "micro" to separate them from "mainframes," because, you know, a lot of our friends had mainframes in their bedrooms. Adam:  Right. Chris.  Then he brought me over and showed me one more thing before we had to go.  This was the Bally Professional Arcade.  I thought it was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen.  We played THE INCREDIBLE WIZARD.  He let me play for a little while.  I said, "This is just like WIZARD OF WOR!"  He said, "Yeah, it is."  I can't remember if he had an explanation, or had read an explanation, of why the name was changed.  That was my only experience with the Astrocade.  I loved the controller.  To this day, it is still one of my favorite controllers.  I love the trigger thing, and I love the combination of a joystick and a paddle in one knob on top of it.  I didn't see another Astrocade until I started hanging out with you again in '97.  It figures that you were able to collect all of that amazing stuff because you worked at Goodwill. Adam:  I didn't use that to my advantage. Chris: [sarcastically] I'm sure you didn't! Adam:  I wasn't allowed to do that. Chris:  Yeah, well, I'm sure you didn't steal it... Adam:  No. Chris:  But I mean, come on!, you probably made note of what came in. Adam:  There was actually a rule that I had to follow.  When anything came in, it had to sit on the shelves for 24 hours before it could be purchased by an employee.  That didn't mean we had to show everyone where it was, but it had to be out.  And, that was true: it was out.  That didn't mean we said...  (because there were people that came in every single day, just like I used to like to go around too).  It would be on the shelf, but that didn't mean it would be right on the front shelf, saying, "Buy me please, Atari game collector."  It was in the store somewhere! Chris:  You put it in the back, near the electric pencil sharpener! Adam:  No, I didn't hide it either.  I didn't want to get in trouble. Chris:  Nah.  I know.  Adam had an original Odyssey with all of the layover-- the "layovers?"  With all the airplane stops.  No, with all the overlays. Adam:  [Laughing] Chris:  Which, is pretty amazing!  You had an Odyssey, with original 1972 Magnavox console, with everything else: an Intellivision, he had an Odyssey 2 (with boxed QUEST FOR THE RINGS)... and... Adam:  I had 43 different systems. Chris:  Holy cow! Adam:  I am so glad that I don't have that anymore! Chris:  That is a lot for an apartment. Adam:  So, now I have a few left. Chris:  Yes, folks, he does have an Astrocade. Adam:  I do. Chris:  He does have all of the original cartridge games for it.  I think you got all of them? Adam:  I had them, but now I have a multicart.  I got rid of most of them.  I feel... I kept some of my favorites.  I kept my prototypes. Chris:  Which is cool.  Obviously, you have WAR and CRAZY CLIMBER. Adam:  Right. Chris:  THE INCREDIBLE WIZARD. Adam:  I think, I have number 2's, because the programmer got number 1's. Chris:  That's pretty cool.   Adam:  Yeah.  But, honestly, I don't care about the numbers on them.  They were hand numbered, because collector seem to like that.  Personally, since I did the numbering, I found it annoying. Chris:  Well, there were fifty sold? Adam:  There were fifty each.  Yeah.  There was a run of 20 for WAR, because we didn't have any cartridge shells.  We got more, and we did the second run.  The run of CRAZY CLIMBER was always 50.  It was released all at once. Chris:  You have number two, and [sarcastically], that's a collectors item.. Adam:  Right! Chris: ...if anyone knew what it was. Adam:  I should have got number 0!  Think of this, this episode is a collector's item already! Chris:  You taught me a great deal about the Astrocade and how it worked.  You've told me some things that I just find...  so cool.  Like, you had to use the screen for code, because part of your available RAM was the Screen RAM, right?  (And still is.) Adam:  Under BASIC, that's correct. Chris:  That's how I became even more interested in the Bally Arcade/Astrocade. Adam:  We are about finished wrapping things up here.  Just for the last few things to say.  We are going to have an episode every two weeks (or so).  So, that would be bimonthly.  I hope you guys... if you have any ideas that you want to come up with, will send in some feedback.  If we get no feedback by the first one, that's okay... because we expect... a couple of people... to listen to this.   Chris:  Thanks for listening, and thanks for inviting me along, Adam. Adam:  Good to have ya! [End of episode]

Flash news L'UHD pas crackable ? Et la connexion internet obligatoire ? Je boycotte ! Des disques durs à l'hélium bientôt disponibles. La lithographie à UV extrême arrive. Doucement. Très doucement. Le raspberry Pi 3. Encore plus puissant (dans les 50%). Zut, j'aurais dû attendre avant de prendre un 2… AMD tease un monstre de puissance au format console. DX12, 4K et VR ready. 12 TFlops, Prix non communiqué … AMD veut standardiser le GPU externe. Moi, trouve ça cool. Depuis 2009. Actualités Une brigade du precrime en chine ? Mais sans les mecs chelous dans la piscine (je crois....) minority report (s. spielberg http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181689/) Bitcoin : la blockchain à la croisée des chemins. Qui est le maillon faible ? Une batterie contre le réchauffement climatique ? Sauver le monde, STEP by STEP Microsoft sabre Astoria et rachète Xamarin “Dossier émulation” avec la famille Vendé L’émulation, c’est quoi donc ? Définition générale, exemples divers. Les jeux vidéo, oui mais pas seulement. Utilisation en développement cross-platform, rétro-compatibilité, etc. Différence avec la virtualisation. Quelques mots là-dessus et pourquoi c’est utilisé dans tous les data-centers. L’émulation, est-ce sale ? Le Swat va-t-il débarquer ? Vais-je brûler en enfer ? Oui, bien sûr. Comment ça marche ? Les difficultés de l’émulation : des puces connues (6502, Z80, 68000) mais une majorité hardware non documenté : retro-engineering. En plus, variabilité dans l’électronique des jeux (puces dans les cartouches, etc.). Les divers types d’émulation : HLE, LLE, frame accurate, cycle accurate, interprétation, recompilation dynamique, etc. Quelles machines pour émuler quoi ? Puis-je jouer à Red Dead Redemption sur mon téléphone ? Niveau de fidélité des émulateurs, exemple BSNES, ou comment avoir besoin d’une machine à 3 Ghz pour émuler une super nintendo… Emuler sur PC, sur Téléphone, sur console (Wii / Xbox, PSP, moddées), un mot sur les consoles “OpenSource” type GP2X. Sur les tablettes de jeux de chez Archos ou JXD. Emuler sur Raspberry Pi : Pi Zéro + retropie = la moins chère des “métamachine” ? La question de l’écran. L’épineuse question de l’affichage… dois-je acheter un tube cathodique aux puces dès maintenant. La réponse est : oui. Mais quand même, les shaders c’est pas pour les chiens… il faut bien que votre GTX 960 serve à quelque chose ! La question de la manette. Je joue au clavier à la Megadrive, vais-je brûler en enfer ? Oui aussi. Emulation vs rétrogaming ? Consoles de salon (BIOS requis occasionnellement, surtout pour les machines à disque) : Atari 2600 : Stella / MESS (Atari 5200 / 7800) Vectrex : MESS Colecovision : NES: Nestopia, FCEUX SNES: Snes9X Megadrive / SMS / 32X: Fusion PC Engine : Turbo Engine / Ootake 3DO : 4DO Neo Geo : FinalBurn / Kawaks ? Playstation : ePSXe Saturn : SSF N64 : Project 64 Jaguar : project tempest Dreamcast : Demul / nullDC Gamecube / Wii: Dolphin Playstation 2: PCSX2 Consoles portables : Gameboy / color / advance : Visual Boy advance VirtualBoy : Mednafen DS : DesMuMe PSP: PPSSPP Neogeo Pocket : NeoPop Lynx : Hand Ordinateurs (souvent, BIOS / OS requis) : TRS -80 : SDLTRS CPC : Caprice ZX Sinclair : Apple II: Macintosh : Basilisk 2 / (Vmac ?) Amiga : WINUAE Atari ST : Steem ? PC DOS : DosBox la console intellivision pour jouer à “space armada” http://www.emu-france.com/emulateurs/5 consoles-de-salon/43-mattel-intellivision/) émulateurs de Fabrice Bellard : qemu (http://wiki.qemu.org/Main_Page) (x86 en javascript dans le navigateur) http://www.bellard.org/jslinux/ émulateurs Thomson (TO8, MO5, …) http://dcmoto.free.fr/ Arcade (peuvent requérir des pack de roms compatibles) : Mame, FinalBurn Alpha, Nebula (model 2), Demul (NAOMI), etc. Les Multimachines: MESS Mednafen

For our second part of the Sega Arcade Classics we cover probably the most prominent of hardware iterations: the System 16.  Sega's popular hybrid of a 68000 processor and Z80 co-processor proved to be the foundation of Capcom's CPS series of arcades, SNK's Neo Geo, and of course the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive.  In this episode we cover the many classic games from this series including Shinobi, Altered Beast, and Golden Axe.

Rob and Jason are joined by Edouard Alligand to discuss the use of C++ template metaprogramming in real world projects.   Edouard is an experienced kernel programmer, but has spent the last several years working on the hot topic of next-generation databases at software publisher quasardb. He has a strong background in low level programming, beginning with his first programming language: Z80 assembly.  Edouard is a C++ enthusiast with a strong taste for template metaprogramming, generic programming, and you're not doing it right if the compiler doesn't crash programming. News C++ Hints C++ Abstraction Penalty: Idiomatic vs Raw How rvalue/lvalue/xvalue got their names Edouard Alligand @edouarda14 Edouard Alligand's GitHub Links CppCon 2015 - How I stopped worrying and love metaprogramming CppCon 2014 - Edouard Alligand Multiplatform C++ Brigand Library QuasarDB Blog QuasarDB Website  

Retro Entre Amigos – Episodio 3x09 Hola a todos!!! Volvemos como la Primavera y os traemos tan solo tres horitas de programa. En esta ocasión, y para empezar, haremos un repaso a lo que ha sido WeekEnd Mini y nuestra participación allí. Tendremos la suerte de contar don DOS estupendas cartas de nuestros oyentes que serán comentadas por los habituales contertulios de nuestra “mesa ovalada”. En la sección “Os traigo un Juego”, Alex Fanboy nos desgrana esa curiosa obra “indi” llamada “THIS WAR OF MINE” El compañero McLeod_Ideafix en “Misterios de 8 bits y menos”nos hará un recorrido histórico por la historia de los bits en los procesadores y nos desvelará que los procesadores viejos NO mueren.. sino que van al cuarto de baño.. ah!!! E información sobre el Z80 que a algunos nos ha dejado a cuadros!!!. En las secciones habituales, Seth Garamonde en “Reinsertando al YayoGamer” intentará ponernos al día para no hacer el ridículo cuando vayamos a jugar online, así como a distinguir los insultos!!! Todo esto y mucho menos.. con una paleta que parece sacada del Payaso pobre de Micolor XD… lo tendréis si os sentáis un ratito con nosotros en “Retro Entre Amigos” y recuerdas lo que era charlar con los amigos una tarde.. cuando los Veranos parecía que nunca se acabarían Ah!!!. Muchas gracias a “La Guarida del Sith” por permitirnos incluir la cuña promo de su nueva temporada. Un audio con el que muchos nos sentimos identificados y que nos provoca una intensa emoción. Saludos a TOD@S Josua Ckultur

Il Cervello Elettronico: Storia, concezione ed evoluzione delle prime CPU. quando è cominciato il lungo cammino dei processori? alcuni spunti -> l'ottimo Federico Faggin e lo Z80, intel con l'8080, i primi IBM (seppure non-CPU) e così via, a ritroso...

Este é o episódio 17 do Retrocomputaria. O dossiê agora é sobre o Zilog Z80, um dos processadores emblemáticos dos anos 70 e 80. Neste episódio, depois de comentários aleatórios sobre linguagens de programação (hehe), falamos dos sucessores oficiais (Zilog Z180/Hitachi HD64180, Zilog Z380, Zilog eZ80, Zilog Z800/Z280), dos compatíveis (ASCII/Panasonic R800, Toshiba TLCS900, Kawasaki … Continue lendo Episódio 17 – Parte B – Z80 →

Este é o episódio 17 do Retrocomputaria. O dossiê agora é sobre o Zilog Z80, um dos processadores emblemáticos dos anos 70 e 80. Neste episódio, falamos da origem da Zilog e do Z80 (dica: Intel 8080), damos um passeio por dentro do processador, as vantagens do Z80 sobre outros processadores concorrentes, os desafios de … Continue lendo Episódio 17 – Parte A – Z80 →

Remember, wherever you went, there you were.Welcome to Show 099!  This week's topic: The 2007 State Of The Podcast! Links discussed on today's show:z80pack 1.14 is released - a Z80 cross-development / simulator package with simulation of many virtual CP/M machine components!Missed the Vintage Computer Festival East 4.0?  Videos clips are on YouTube...Gamasutra has a nice article on Star Raiders, "Video Game's First Space Opera"!Be sure to send any comments, questions or feedback to retrobits@gmail.com. For online discussions on Retrobits Podcast topics, check out the Retrobits Podcast forum on the PETSCII Forums page! Our Theme Song is "Sweet" from the "Re-Think" album by Galigan. Thanks for listening! - Earl This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 License. 

  I can't run Linux on my Atari 800.  But it plays a mean game of Missile Command.  'Nuff said...Welcome to Show 048!  This week's Topic: Book Review: Digital Retro! Topics and links discussed in the podcast... Here's the site for the book Digital Retro!Pictures from the C4 Expo - you missed the fun?  Here are some pictures.  Read 'em and weep...And this is a direct link to the Z80 inside - whoa, they popped the top off that chip!The Apple II Game Server is being actively worked on - stay tuned!Magnetc tape in the gigabits per square inch?  Wow!  That's better than my C2N datasette... Be sure to send any comments, questions or feedback to retrobits@gmail.com. For online discussions on Retrobits Podcast topics, check out the Retrobits Podcast forum on the PETSCII Forums page! Our Theme Song is "Sweet" from the "Re-Think" album by Galigan. Thanks for listening! - Earl  

  This witty comment intentionally left blank.Welcome to Show 047!  This week's Topic: The Z80 Microprocessor! Topics and links discussed in the podcast... Apple history abounds, courtesy of The Apple Computer History Weblog, and the Apple II History site!Obsolete Technology?  We love it!  Check out the Obsolete Technology Website at oldcomputers.net.Computer Collector Newsletter is now Technology Rewind.  Congratulations on the new site!How many computers used the Z80?  Well, at least more than 200, and this site has them listed...Yes, Zilog still makes Z80s!  Excellent!Wikipedia's Z80 page has good stuff.The Z80 Official Support Page will give you years of Z80 reading pleasure.MyZ80 will give you the Z80 experience on a modern day PC.  It is one of many Z80 / CP/M emulator solutions out there.Check out the WinApe Amstrad emulator for a Z80 experience in a mainstream home retrocomputer emulation.If all of this is not enough for you, and you want a Z80 FPGA core (for free!), have at look at the T80 page on the Opencores.org site. Be sure to send any comments, questions or feedback to retrobits@gmail.com. For online discussions on Retrobits Podcast topics, check out the Retrobits Podcast forum on the PETSCII Forums page! Our Theme Song is "Sweet" from the "Re-Think" album by Galigan. Thanks for listening! - Earl  

  Happy Holidays and a Wonderful New Year! Welcome to Show 025!  This week is a variety show! Topics and links discussed in the podcast... Commodore Returns? Not quite, but the brand name and logo live on! Check it out at the Commodore web site. Have a look at the Space-Time Productions Single Board Computer, a Z80 single board system from 1982! (Link revised Feb 2006) Need a multitasking OS with windowing UI for your Amstrad CPC? Well, you are in luck, check out the SymbOS web site for more details! Ars Technica has a neat multi-page article on the history of microcomputers and their associated market share. You can see it here. The inventor of the mouse and many other key components of modern computing, Doug Englebart, is the guest for the current episode of NerdTV. Very interesting episode. Wonder how retro games were made? Read the diary of a game developer from the mid 80s during the creation of a very popular game, Paradroid! You can find this at the most excellent ZZAP 64 web site. Be sure to send any comments, questions or feedback to retrobits@gmail.com. For online discussions on Retrobits Podcast topics, check out the Retrobits Podcast forum on the PETSCII Forums page! Our Theme Song is "Sweet" from the "Re-Think" album by Galigan. Thanks for listening! - Earl