Newest Questions
6,547 questions
21
votes
3
answers
3k
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How much faster are binaries produced by Modern compilers vs 1980s compilers vs for Retro CPUs/Computers? Binary benchmarks
See title.
I saw that forks of LLVM and GCC compilers for 80s CPUs like MOS6502, Z80, Intel, M68k, etc are being maintained.
Please note that I'm talking about the binary benchmarks, not the compiler ...
- 311
5
votes
0
answers
185
views
Why the Sega Master System port of "Ancient Ys Vanished: Omen" is unplayable in a Sega Master System 2?
I heard that the Sega Master System version of the game doesn't work in Sega Master System II and other Masters System Hardware that has more modern VDPs than the initial release.
Please, could ...
- 2,118
1
vote
1
answer
148
views
What are the system identification strings in floppies and their files, for System/38 and AS/400?
I wrote an application that can open IBM floppy disk images. In the vast majority of cases (the System/23 being the only exception I have found yet) I can obtain a system identification string that ...
- 2,118
7
votes
0
answers
302
views
Why is there an ANSI sequence specific to select the Fraktur font?
As I was looking for a way to properly render console output in my websites, I looked into a library that would transform ANSI codes to HTML (or plain text, markdown... but in my case, I want to use ...
- 955
12
votes
2
answers
1k
views
How does the IBM 5150 PC test the DMA device?
I have been analyzing the diagnostics tests of the precursor of the IBM PC, the System/23 Datamaster, and found that the DMA device is tested by faking a light pen strobe at a specific point of the ...
- 2,118
16
votes
1
answer
932
views
What was the PE subsystem value of 8 (`IMAGE_SUBSYSTEM_NATIVE_WINDOWS`) used for?
The Portable Executable format defines a header field that specifies the Windows subsystem under which the executable is meant to run. Typically it is used to declare the executable as being a GUI or ...
- 26.9k
6
votes
2
answers
689
views
Is MDA based on the Datamaster video subsystem?
I have read the claim (Byte Magazine, September 1990, "The creation of the IBM PC") that the IBM PC Monochrome Display Adapter (MDA) is based on the previous computer's video subsystem, ...
- 2,118
5
votes
0
answers
212
views
Old pc car game, mission select inside old camper
1994 to 1997 I think. You selected the missions inside old camper/trailer. Was little junky outside. Very redneck. Mostly drove around in desert areas and if you didnt look out for cops you would get ...
- 51
5
votes
0
answers
151
views
An attempt to connect Pelco CM9502 KBD keyboard to PC
I have an old CM9502 KBD keyboard which controlled the old CM9500 system. There is no CM9500 matrix system installed anymore. But its CM9502 KBD keyboard is still with me.
I connected 12V and GND pins ...
- 59
4
votes
0
answers
126
views
Searching for a third model of IBM System/23 Datamaster
I have been told from a former IBM employee that there's a third model of System/23 other than the 5322 and 5324. It was application-specific and had a printer embedded in it. However he doesn't ...
- 2,118
2
votes
0
answers
130
views
Tandy Color Computer 2 fantasy game with a Burma Shave jingle knockoff on the game-over screen
My memories on this are somewhat vague, because it was been literal decades, but when I was a child, somewhere in the late 1980s to the early 1990s, we had a Tandy Color Computer 2 (and later a Color ...
- 191
11
votes
2
answers
1k
views
What was the purpose of the System/360 unnormalized floating point add/subtract instructions?
Floating point was optional on System/360, but if it was present, it included separate addition and subtraction instructions that performed postnormalization of the result, or not.
Operands to all ...
- 771
12
votes
2
answers
2k
views
What was the first computer-based video editing software ever developed?
I was browsing the Wikipedia article on video editing software, but I noticed it doesn't include a History section.
I'm specifically interested in early digital or computer-assisted video editing ...
- 131
3
votes
0
answers
96
views
IBM System/360 channel interrupt priorities
IBM's System/360 Principles of Operation (A22-6821-7) says of channel interrupt priorities (page 112):
"The assignment of priority among requests for interruption from channels is based on the ...
- 771
8
votes
1
answer
195
views
Looking for Pascal Source for APL Interpreter
There exists an APL interpreter written in CDC Pascal, which source was published in The BYTE Book of Pascal. Multiple scanned copies of the book in PDF form can be found online, some pretending to ...
- 21.9k
1
vote
0
answers
57
views
IBM documents giving System/360 device address assignment defaults/suggestions/recommendations?
Was there any IBM documentation giving specific device address defaults/suggestions/recommendations? It appears that all, or nearly all, device control units allowed selecting arbitrary device ...
- 771
10
votes
1
answer
997
views
Identify this large arcade game, had a chair you moved around a central part
Another thread tweaked my memory of being at Wasaga Beach in the 1980s and going into the arcade with no quarters - frustration to the max for a kid! I wonder if anyone can identify this game I saw ...
- 21.8k
34
votes
4
answers
14k
views
What UI first distinguished radio buttons from checkboxes with circles and squares?
Nowadays most UIs use circles for radio buttons (where the user must select only one of the presented options) and squares for checkboxes (where each option can be independently selected or unselected)...
- 8,143
11
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Sequential Analog Computers?
I was wondering whether there have been any documented uses of computer systems which work with fully analog values in a discrete time space.
Classical analog computers usually operate with fully ...
- 213
9
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Space Invaders ships remaining not initialized
I'm referencing this Space Invaders code.
(I'm porting this to another processor and I'm trying to understand it.)
The p1ShipsRem variable doesn't seem to be initialized, but it is tested early in the ...
- 923
9
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Was the TRS-80 Model II widely adopted for business use?
This question induced me to learn about the TRS-80 Model II.
It was completely different architecture and much higher performance than the Model 1. Though it was expensive, it was innovative for its ...
10
votes
2
answers
2k
views
What was the first x86 processor to run a virtual machine?
The 286 had protected mode, so that's kind of like a VM.
The 386 was advertised as being able to virtualize itself. I know that 386 Jedi memory tricks allowed EMM and stuff, but I don't know of any ...
4
votes
1
answer
237
views
How to read Mark 2 vlbi recorded VHS?
Such recorders uses standard vhs cassettes for storage in digital format.
But is it possible to recover the astronomical data using a classical vcr linked to an usb video grabber as a soft decoder ? ...
- 392
12
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Were there any protected mode PC booters?
The "PC booter" era lasted until around 1990, but the 386 was generally released in 1986. That's quite a narrow window, but it strikes me that a protected-mode booter game, using non-...
- 353
1
vote
0
answers
241
views
What made Atari arcade games developers noticeably stronger than others in 1984? [closed]
There's a thing that makes me thinking a lot, aside the fact that arcade games in years 1980 to 1990 were astoundingly exempt of bugs (for the developer I'm now and knowing all the challenges all ...
- 361
9
votes
1
answer
583
views
Earliest use of SECDED memory ECC
The IBM System/370 Model 145, introduced in 1970, was one of the first mainframes to use semiconductor main memory, and instead of simple memory parity, as had been common with core memory, it used ...
- 771
16
votes
5
answers
4k
views
If modern keyboards use 8-bit microcontrollers (due to low cost), what microcontrollers did keyboards for 8-bit/16-bit era of computers use?
This is something that has had me confused for a long time. I recall building a keyboard myself with quite a cheap microcontroller a year or so back. Several websites I'd checked mentioned the usage ...
- 1,057
6
votes
1
answer
294
views
Origin of DG RDOS System Password
This is not really a question about retro-hardware/software so feel free to close it if it is out of scope.
The Data General RDOS System Password was the well known DE2LA6 - it tells you that in quite ...
- 2,915
3
votes
0
answers
147
views
Books on IBM DOS/360
Were there any good books on IBM DOS/360 programming?
Or, for that matter, BPS, BOS,or TOS?
I know that many of the IBM manuals are on Bitsavers, but I'm looking for more introductory/tutorial level ...
- 771
4
votes
0
answers
130
views
Can CBM DOS truncate REL files?
I know that I can make a REL file bigger, by writing to a record after the end of the file --- the file gets automatically extended to include that record.
Is it possible to also make files shorter ---...
- 1,546
7
votes
1
answer
348
views
IBM DASD CKD records per track planning documentation
IBM's DASD (disk, drum) for the System/360 used a variable number of variable-sized Count-Key-Data (CKD) records on each track, rather than modern fixed-size sectors. The manuals for e.g. the 2311 and ...
- 771
6
votes
0
answers
281
views
Original Space Invaders message routine with delay
I'm referencing this Space Invaders code.
Could someone explain why the PrintMessageDel routine checks for a delay value of one instead of zero?
The interrupt service routine decrements the isrDelay ...
- 923
3
votes
0
answers
150
views
Trouble using Irwin floppy tape drive(s)
I have some experience using Colorado QIC-80 tape drives, which connect to the floppy controller on the motherboard, and have used plenty of DOS and Linux tools to dump data from those drives.
But ...
- 795
24
votes
2
answers
2k
views
ZX Spectrum Elite are vipers coming out of docking station?
Must have been around 1985, I bought Elite for the ZX Spectrum. I had already seen it a friend owning a BBC micro, so -
first thing I did to get into a quick fight was launch from the docking station, ...
- 461
20
votes
5
answers
5k
views
Why is the Unix command "touch" called touch? How is it related to new/create or update?
The Unix touch command is used to update a file’s access time and modification time, or to create (misspelled creat in the system call) a new file.
Since English isn’t my first language, I’ve always ...
- 711
-4
votes
0
answers
103
views
Can the BeagleBone be used to emulate ROM for retro consoles like the NES in real-time? [duplicate]
I'm exploring the possibility of using a BeagleBone Black or BeagleBone Green to emulate an NES cartridge in real-time—specifically, to interface with the 72-pin NES connector and simulate a dynamic ...
- 5
22
votes
2
answers
6k
views
What happened in the graphics card benchmark scandal in the 1980s?
In the mid 80s, PC magazine said that a graphics card vendor submitted a card that performed so much better than all the others that they looked into it, and found out that either the card or the ...
16
votes
1
answer
849
views
Was sterling support a part of official (ANSI/ISO) COBOL standards?
Prior to 1971, the British used a mixed-base currency system -- 12 pence in a shilling, 20 shillings in a pound, written as £sd (for librae, solidi, and denarii, where £ is a stylized L).
In written ...
- 40.6k
18
votes
2
answers
2k
views
What was Borland Operating System Services (BOSS)?
The New Executable (NE) format used by 16-bit Windows and OS/2, and the multitasking ("European") MS-DOS 4, contains a "target operating system" field at byte offset 36h from the ...
- 3,898
-4
votes
3
answers
335
views
Can Microsoft Windows 1.0 run on CPUs older than Intel 8086 with some software patches and hardware modifications? [closed]
Is there was any microprocessor older than Intel 8086 (e.g., Z80, Intel 8080) which can run The Microsoft Windows 1.0 and at least display the GUI without glitches?
Also, using software mods, binary ...
- 103
15
votes
1
answer
3k
views
What did a mouse from before 1988 with 5 buttons look like?
Reference: Mouse Events
The first time I remember using a 5 button mouse was around 2008, when knocking the side of the mouse against the keyboard generated an event. On closer examination - there ...
- 2,915
15
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Did mixing an 8 bit ISA card in a 16 bit ISA environment slow down the whole bus?
I was looking at the handbook "Writing HOT Games for Microsoft Windows" (published Oct 1994) and came across something that I'm confused by.
Specifically, Appendix A, Section 10 notes "...
- 18.7k
15
votes
2
answers
5k
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Where can I find the initial version of the /etc/magic file used by the file(1) command?
I'm researching the early implementation of the file(1) command. Today, we can go all the way back to its first commit from around 40 years ago via its Git repository,
$ git clone "https://github....
- 711
4
votes
3
answers
901
views
How to Extract Image Resource in Compilation?
How can image files be extracted from a compiled executable which contains certain resource files?
Precis on Resource Compilers
Visual C++ 1.5 did have a 16 bit console based resource compiler rc.exe ...
- 159
10
votes
1
answer
551
views
How widespread was COBOL's concept of a "condition name"?
COBOL has a peculiar type of name called a condition-name; it got the concept from IBM Commercial Translator. Does this sort of thing occur in any other language of the time? Or was this an isolated ...
- 40.6k
13
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Why did the AT Attachment HDD interface limit itself to 16 heads?
The ATA interface is intended to attach fairly simply to a PC AT's expansion bus, and is designed around the PC AT as a result. It reserved 16 bits for the cylinder number, 8 bits for sector number, ...
- 2,303
5
votes
1
answer
263
views
Saving C64 RAM Between $A000-$BFFF and $E000-$FFFF with Action Replay 6 Cartridge
I am trying to remember how to save RAM between $A000-$BFFF and $E000-$FFFF with Action Replay 6.
As I remember it was possible, but however I try AR6 saves Kernals always:
S"MEMORY.BIN",8,...
- 379
16
votes
1
answer
2k
views
How Did 1988 PCs Achieve 12 MHz DRAM Cycles with 80 ns Chips
I'm haunted by an advertisement (on p.47 in the August 1988 issue of BYTE) for a zero wait state 12 MHz 80286 PC with 80 ns memory. How was this possible given the timing constraints of chips of the ...
- 1,598
8
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Why did the NES/FC's PPU's OAM use memory that 'decays' over time?
According to the Nesdev wiki's article on the NES/FC's PPU (https://www.nesdev.org/wiki/PPU) : "while the palette is made of static memory, OAM uses dynamic memory (which will slowly decay if the ...
- 1,057
6
votes
0
answers
487
views
Very old graphics card [closed]
Hi we have an old machine that has a Vampower 3-07 graphics card - I believe from the early 1990s. The card has failed. Does anyone know of what the standard of that card is (i.e. what to search for ...
