Retro Computers

Photos from Revival, Wolverhampton, May 2013

Andy — Wed, 22 May 2013 19:56:14 +0000

I have uploaded some photos of the event to this sites facebook page. Please check them out! (And feel free to ‘Like’ the facebook page)

Revival 2013 Photos

Blanka playing Street Figher 2 as Blanka

Andy — Sat, 18 May 2013 22:10:43 +0000

This has to be one of my favorite photos from Revival so far. One of the Cosplay entrants came as Blanka from Street Fighter 2.

Here he is playing as Blanka on The Centre for Computing History’s Super Famicom.

Dos(PC) Emulator for Raspberry Pi Released

Andy — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 12:24:21 +0000

Homebrew Coder Pate who first off released a DOS Emulator for the Nintendo DS, then moved onto the Android has now posted a release of his DOS Emulator for the Raspberry Pi. For those who dont know a Dos Emulator lets you play old PC Games such as Doom, Duke Nukem 3D, Theme park and similiar games from that period, in short an excellent way to play old games on a new device that was never intended to run the game.

The current status of the emulation is as follows:

CPU: 80486 processor, including the protected mode features (for running DOS4GW games) but without virtual memory support. The emulation runs at a speed of around 20MHz 80486 (which equals a 40MHz 80386) machine.
Memory: 640KB of low memory, 4MB of EMS memory and 16MB of XMS memory.
Super-VGA graphics, with a maximum resolution of 640×480 with 256 colors.
SoundBlaster 2.0 (including AdLib-compatible FM sounds) sound card.
US keyboard.
Two-button mouse.

For more information, and a download link, visit this forum post : pix86 v0.03 released! – Dos(PC) Emulator for RaspBerry Pi Released

Invasion of the Zombie Monsters

Andy — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 10:06:46 +0000

Enjoy this brand new classic for 8 bit computers. Action, speed, different weapons and a huge variety of stages and enemies, are packed inside an horizontal shooter as never seen in ages on a MSX or ZX Spectrum. With an outstanding soundtrack composed by César Astudillo (“Gominolas”), an 80s legendary videogame music composer, and its funny and detailed graphics and visuals, this is a game you cannot miss!

Source : Invasion of the Zombie Monsters

Cambridge move for Suffolk computing history museum

Andy — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 22:09:04 +0000

A museum documenting developments in computing over the past 50 years is to move to Cambridge.

The Centre for Computing History is to relocate to the city from its base in Haverhill, Suffolk, and could be open by the summer.

The charity has been looking for new premises for two years.

Director Jason Fitzpatrick said: “It’s important to be in Cambridge because of the city’s history and the part it has played in the home computing era.”

Read the rest of the BBC News article here : Cambridge move for Suffolk computing history museum

Tatung Einstein TC01 – Did you have one?

Andy — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 09:16:56 +0000

Think its time to dig out my Tatung Einstein TC01 - its been in storage for quite a while now. Did you have one of these? What are the best games for it?

Sabre Wulf remake released.

Andy — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 09:54:19 +0000

One of the most popular games from the 8-bit computing era has been remade for the PC- Sabre Wulf! (BTW – I prefer the Amstrad CPC version over the Spectrum! )

Guide Sabreman through the maze of jungle pathways, searching for the four pieces of the Wulf amulet which will persuade the guardian of the cave to reveal the exit.

Armed only with his sword, Sabreman must fend off jungle creatures, rampaging rhinos, sleeping wild boar and the local natives in his quest, collecting treasures
on the way and making use of the local plant-life which unleash strange powers, albeit temporarily!

Download it from here : Space Time Games

Usborne Computer Books

Andy — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 23:10:10 +0000

Here are some scans of the Usborne computing books I own. Did you own any of these?

How To Make Computer Model Controllers
Usborne Guide To Computer Jargon
Practice Your BASIC
Simple BASIC

SEGA of Japan Launch Range of Console-Themed Laptops

Andy — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 10:55:23 +0000

Hot off the press – SEGA of Japan Launch Range of Console-Themed Laptops.

SEGA of Japan have teamed up with ebten to launch a range of SEGA NOTE PCs. The laptops are themed around 3 SEGA consoles with an additional SEGA-themed laptop. The 3 consoles are Mega Drive, Saturn and Dreamcast which you can see in the above image.

As the laptops are Japan exclusive they will probably be very expensive to import.

For more info, visit the SEGA Driven website : SEGA of Japan Launch Range of Console-Themed Laptops

The sound of the dialup, pictured

Andy — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 19:06:12 +0000

I found this article today by Oona Räisänen via @rickasaurus on twitter. Makes a very good read. The audio clip will bring back many memories for most of you.

If you ever connected to the Internet before the 2000s, you probably remember that it made a peculiar sound. But despite becoming so familiar, it remained a mystery for most of us. What do these sounds mean?

You can find the rest of the artice at : The sound of the dialup, pictured