Two Stop Bits | dfarquhar's comments

dfarquhar 471 days ago | parent | on: 80s computer brands overview: I hope I didn't leav...
So far, others have pointed out 9 and I remembered two I meant to include and forgot. So I'll be adding those 11 very soon.
dfarquhar 493 days ago | parent | on: SvarDOS: FreeDOS optimized for 8088 systems
If it runs on DOS and is open source or public domain and someone wants to build an installation package for it, FreeDOS will bundle it. Plus it includes docs, localization for every language, and tons of other stuff that's useful if you have the space, but on an XT you don't.
dfarquhar 540 days ago | parent | on: The best type-in I ever typed in: Crossroads, for ...
Indeed it was. Without the checksums, there was a good bet you'd make a mistake and the program wouldn't work. If you know, you know.
- qingcharles 538 days ago
  Oh, I know :( :(
  10 pages of hex... execute it... instant reboot lol
dfarquhar 578 days ago | parent | on: Doom8088: Doom for 16-bit DOS computers
VGA or MCGA only, so I won't be loading this up on my Tandy 1000 next to the 8088 version of Wolf3D.
- Frenkel 577 days ago
  I've made a quick hack that should work on a Tandy 1000 and it looks like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RdrLXblnlU With CGA graphics it looks like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUEcr7XnbuA And in monochrome: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5o3rYTZt6BM
  Seriously, proper Tandy / CGA / EGA / Monochrome graphics is on the to-do list.
dfarquhar 608 days ago | parent | on: Rarer than rare: The Mindset II
Yes, that is indeed his earlier video on the Mindset. The Atari connection is another thing that makes this early PC fascinating.
- komadori 608 days ago
  I watched the Mindset II video first, and it was fine if a little dry, but it wasn't until I saw the first one that I really appreciated what it was all about.
  As an aside, in that first video he says it's not clear what the capabilities of the Mindset's sound system is. It occurred to me that if MAME supports the platform then its source code might tell you, so I had a look:
  Each channel (second channel optional) is driven by a Intel 8042 microcontroller bit-banging an 8-bit resistor ladder DAC. Whatever support exists, if any, for accelerating synthesis or multiple voices must be contained within its firmware blob.
dfarquhar 609 days ago | parent | on: The Pictorial C64 Fault Guide
This has helped me fix a couple of C-64s. It's especially helpful when the culprit isn't one of the usual suspects, RAM or the PLA.
dfarquhar 613 days ago | parent | on: IBM Blue Lightning: World’s Fastest 386?
I'm of two minds on that one... When IBM started building these chips they may have had zero interest in selling them and may have intended just to use all of them themselves. Using its own CPU rather than buying Intel CPUs could allow them to hit a lower price point or improve profit margins. On the other hand, the loophole was that IBM could sell the chips on a PCB, whether as an upgrade for an existing PC, or a motherboard. IBM's ill fated Ambra side project used Blue Lightning chips, and a fair number of inexpensive clones ended up with IBM-made 486SLC2 motherboards in them. I used to love getting surplus IBM 5160 and 5170 cases in the 90s and dropping these boards in them.
dfarquhar 613 days ago | parent | on: IBM Blue Lightning: World’s Fastest 386?
I knew about these chips but knew next to nothing about their origin, or how they were related to the SLC/SLC2 chips. This was a good read.
dfarquhar 616 days ago | parent | on: Interesting DOS programs
This site is one of the all-time greats, it's been running since the 90s.
dfarquhar 616 days ago | parent | on: Exponential Technology's PowerPC Speed Demon
VIA ended up owning Exponential's patents, and that gave VIA some ammunition to counter-sue when Intel sued them in the early 2000s.
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