Miscellaneous distractions and diversions.
Every year I lead a group of kids in the construction of an “Electric Scribbling Machine”, as part of the local elementary school’s Discovery Day program. The program sessions are run by parents and local community members, and can be…
Many retro computers and game systems have a composite video output – the familiar round yellow plug. Unfortunately, composite video inputs are increasingly rare on modern TVs and computer monitors, creating a headache for retro enthusiasts. This is a mini-review…
I recently watched a new documentary about the Amiga years: From Bedrooms to Billions. It’s a $5 Vimeo rental that will be fascinating for anyone who lived through the 1980’s home computer revolution, or who’s interested in retro-computing technology. I…
Data compression is fun! I’ve written a new compression scheme that’s designed to be as fast as possible to decompress on a 68K CPU, while still maintaining a decent compression density. I’m calling it FC8, and you can get the…
Are you a 68K assembly language guru, or just good at optimizing code? I’m working on a project that’s a replacement ROM for old 68K-based Macintosh computers, part of which involves decompressing a ~5MB disk image from ROM into RAM…
Capacitors don’t last forever – an unfortunate fact of life for those who collect vintage electronics. The common electrolytic capacitor is one of the most problematic. It’s the type that looks like a little metal can, and after a couple…
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