Now, when working at home I spend most of my time coding and writing on my retro-fitted TRS-80 PC running Ubuntu, but when not there it is either a laptop or smart phone. Mobility is something we take for granted and that freedom to go anywhere with that computing power has changed our lives and […]
Category Archives: Retro Computing
Posts that discuss computers and technology from the 70s, 80s & 90s.
Pascal – the perfect language for Retro Computing
Begin As a professed software nerd, I really enjoy writing code, whether it is low-level Assembly language for bare hardware access and control, C for high-level coding with great performance, Java for pure business reach or simple Javascript for a better web experience. The different languages all have their advantages and situations where they are best […]
Classic Mac OS key combinations you need to know
One of the most iconic features of the Macintosh when it hit the market set it apart from the leading machines of the day, the fact that it appeared to be so much simpler for everyday users than a command prompt such as with DOS and CP/M machines. Instead of typing commands with a myriad of […]
Oh No! Atari 1040 ST Floppy Drive Issues
As an avid collector of classic retro computers from the 80s and 90s I am on the regular lookout for the common problems that can occur with these computers over time, especially with parts that involve leaking capacitors, batteries or more notoriously, moving parts such as with floppy and hard disk drives. Dorm Room Computing […]
Ready Player One – a Fantastic Storyline for Retro Fans
The 80s are about to be back in style If you haven’t already read the book Ready Player One (or listened to it read on audio book by Wil Wheaton of “Star Trek: The Next Generation”) then I have just the treat for you. This book has it all, great characters, fantastic storyline and so much […]
Connecting the classic ColecoVision game system a modern HD TV
If you know anything about classic game systems from the 80s you know that the Atari 2600 broke us all out of basic “Pong” and stormed the market creating a vibrant home game market. But, while it wasn’t one of the first, when the ColecoVision hit the market it set the bar with quality of […]
Completing my dream TRS-80 PC
With the core components of my TRS-80 Model 4 PC working and looking good, the next step was to get my case bezel ready to accept the different shaped 12″ LCD display to replace the previous 30 year old 12″ square CRT. First step was to take some measurements using some marked cardboard pieces to […]
Heart transplant for my TRS-80 PC
With the keyboard re-assembled I needed to figure out if all of the keys were working. To test this I plugged the keyboard back into the base unit and main motherboard and fired it up. Lucky for me, all was working again. So to test all the keys I wrote short program to show the […]
TRS-80 PC: Disassembly!
Time to disassemble this TRS-80 Model 4 and figure out all of the problems I have to solve. I already figured out: the CRT bezel is cracked the keyboard is missing a couple of keys the remaining keys have a connection problem and don’t work the case is very dirty and grungy So the first […]
Building my Retro TRS-80 PC
80s Retro I am am a kid of the 80s. I grew up on music from Blondie, Rush and The Police. The 80s were a great time to be a teen, especially a nerd teen. MTV was born (as a music channel, not reality TV), Dungeons and Dragons swept the nation and home computers started to […]