I wanted a printer for school to use with the TI, and one day on the way home from work, my dad stopped in a nondescript office equipment shop and asked about a printer. As I recall, the TP-I had been discontinued in favor of the TP-II, and so dad was able to grab one for a discount. It was mid-1983 when I printed my first page of text with it.

The TP-I would not print graphics, being a daisywheel printer, but it produced the highest quality text of any printer I ever owned, save for the HP LaserJet sitting behind me. It didn’t have a cut-sheet feeder or a tractor feed mechanism, and so paper had to be fed into it one sheet at a time. For program listings, I did use tractor feed paper, but it would end up skewed a bit here and there, what with no proper tractor feed mechanism in place.

Since then I’ve gone through quite a few printers — just about 20 in all.

So, what was your first printer? When did you get it and what system did you use it with?

The exhibit is located on the third floor of the museum and is spread across three large rooms, each with a different focus. The largest area of the exhibit is a dark space with a selection of games projected on the walls in front of controller stations where visitors can take turns playing. The playable displays include PAC-MAN, Super Mario Bros., MYST, The Secret of Monkey Island, and Flower.

The exhibit runs from March 16th to September 30th at the American Art Museum and, from there, it will go on a 10 city tour across the country. As a special feature for the opening weekend, the three-day GameFest gaming festival was being held during our visit. GameFest featured talks by industry veterans including Nolan Bushnell, various discussion panels, additional hands-on game stations, and even real-life, in-the-flesh “video” games in which visitors could participate. Some of the GameFest-ivities can be seen towards the end (in the outdoor courtyard) of the video I captured during my visit to the exhibit.

I found The Art of Video Games to be surprisingly well done and a very immersive (and nostalgic) experience that is well worth having. (And it’s free!) My only real complaint is the glaring absence of the Amiga among the historical platform displays. Of course, not every system from which sprang an original game can be included, but in an exhibit focused on video game artistry, there needs to be an Amiga. (The Amiga’s “featured four”, in my reckoning, might be Defender of the Crown, Beneath a Steel Sky, Another World, and Lionheart.)

A companion book has been published to accompany the exhibit. The Art of Video Games: From Pac-Man to Mass Effect is written by curator Chris Melissinos and features a foreword by director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum Elizabeth Broun and an introduction by Mike Mika, head of development for Other Ocean Interactive and an advocate for the preservation of video game history. The book features over 100 composite images of video games and retails for $40 (though it can be had for much less at a certain, massive online bookstore).

Whether during the initial D.C. run, or on the 10-city tour, check this one out, if you’re able. Photos of the exhibit can be seen in the event’s Flickr group and in my own photo set.

Yes, in fact, it’s true. But it’s not not another Apple podcast — it’s the Not Another Apple Podcast?!

The podcast in question is a twice-a-month show hosted by myself and computer historian David Greelish of The Classic Computing Blog and the Retro Computing Roundtable podcast.

Every two weeks, David and I will take a look at the Apple of today, and it’s products, balanced with discussion and comparison / contrast to the Apple of the past. Each episode may end up leaning further into one time-frame than the other, but we’re hoping for a nice, balanced mix overall as the show progresses.

We’ve just posted our first episode, and I hope readers will consider giving it a listen. Any feedback would be most appreciated over at the Not Another Apple Podcast?! website.

Direct podcast link: NAAP-Show-01.mp3
iTunes link: Not Another Apple Podcast?!

As for the capacitors — well, there’s nothing to do but replace ‘em when it’s needed and hope that no real damage has been done. But, when it comes to dealing with fading floppies, there are a number of approaches out there, requiring a variety of different, and often rather complex, hardware setups. I’m happy to report that I’ve recently discovered one of the most elegant data preservation solutions I’ve ever seen, thanks to Lazy Game Reviews.

LGR recently posted a video demonstration of the KryoFlux USB floppy disk controller. The KryoFlux device is a highly flexible floppy drive controller board that attaches to old school floppy drives — 5.25-inch, 3.5-inch and 3-inch drives that use the standard Shugart 34-pin connector — via ribbon cable, and to a modern computer running Mac OS X, Windows, or Linux via USB 2.0. Software on the modern machine allows you to use the device to read in floppy disk data as a raw stream via measurements of the media’s magnetic flux transition timing, removing the need to worry about source formats, sector density, and the like. The data can then be stored as a disk image file. It is also possible to write disk images out to a wide variety of disk formats, including (but not limited to): Acorn Electron, Apple, Amstrad CPC, Archimedes, Atari 8-bit, Atari ST, BBC, Commodore 64, Commodore Amiga, MSX, IBM PC, PC-8801, Sam Coupe, Spectrum, E-MU Emulator & Emulator II, and DEC RX01 & RX02.

Features, as listed by the manufacturer:

• Read at lowest level possible – precisely sampling the magnetic flux transition timing. Custom formats? Recording scheme violations? Encodings? KryoFlux will read them all.
• Save as raw stream, or export to common sector formats supporting: Acorn Electron, Apple, Amstrad CPC, Archimedes, Atari 8-bit, Atari ST, BBC, Commodore 64, Commodore Amiga, MSX, IBM PC, PC-8801, Sam Coupe, Spectrum, E-MU Emulator II and many, many others.
• Write back to disk. KryoFlux supports “one-click” writing of IPF files, and will soon be supporting more image formats as well.
• Write blocker. Disable accidential writes by removing one jumper, impossible to work around in software.
• Parallel export support. E.g. An Amiga/ST dual format disk can be written as raw stream, an ADF and an ST file, all at the same time during a single disk capture.
• Intelligent software allows production of sector images for virtually all normal disks for systems containing a generic FM or MFM floppy controller. Many other weird synthesiser sample disk formats should work right out of the box.
• Read variable rate “zoned CAV” disks in a normal fixed rate drive.
• RoHS and WEEE compliant.
• High quality immersion gold coated boards produced in cooperation with, and assembled by, Olimex Ltd.

In short, the KryoFlux device is something of a miracle for vintage computer collectors who actually like to use their old school hardware. The unit is available to order in two different versions: the Personal Edition Basic (just the controller board) for €89.95 and the Personal Edition Advanced (controller board plus requisite cables) for €94.95.

I will definitely be adding a KryoFlux controller to my arsenal in short order.

I think a lot about video games. I’ve been playing them for about 35 years now, and I’m fortunate enough that video games — playing them and writing about them with the rest of the great crew at TouchArcade — are my livelihood. This morning a twitter pal of mine tweeted out a great page scan from The Usborne Guide to Computer and Video Games, a children’s book published in 1982.

The page is entitled “Future Games” and starts out as follows, and then proceeds to say sooth on several different types of games. (Click the image for a slightly larger version.)

Within ten years the computer games of today will probably seem very basic and primitive. The games of the future will be faster and more exciting, with superbly realistic screen displays.

These games will contain computers a hundred times more powerful and faster than those of today and capable of storing millions of pieces of information. Computers like these will be built by packing more and more complicated circuits into a chip of silicon.

Faster and more realistic screen displays? Definitely. More exciting? Well, the retro gamer in me gives pause, but in many cases, yes. At the time this article was written I was gaming on an Atari 2600, and a TI-99/4A wasn’t far away. Ten years later, in 1992, I was gaming on a Macintosh LC (as best I could…), and an Amiga 1200 wasn’t far away (thankfully).

Thanks to Kate Lorimer (@WhatKateDoes), a chiptune-making, retro loving Scottish lass, for the tweet.

Luckily, I did some searching and found that there are a couple of SD card reader options out there that let you emulate physical storage volumes with flash memory. The Drive Pak from Roger Taylor of Roger Taylor Software looked like a good option, and so I ordered, paying $89.00 (plus shipping and handling) to Taylor through PayPal on March 6, 2011.

Ten days later, I checked in via email to request a status on the shipping of the unit, and Taylor promptly replied, indicating that he was waiting on a batch of cases, which might not arrive for two weeks. I checked back in on April 12 and was told that the cases still were not in-hand and that there were many orders before mine. The next I checked in was months later, on August 10th, when Taylor sent me the following response:

It’ll be a little bit longer. I’m still backed up but occasionally I have to interleave come ebay orders to raise the funds to buy more of the uDrive modules from Australia. I have to order in bulk or I’d completely go belly up like I almost did before. I did receive a new batch of cases from my machinist and have plenty of boards, so it’s just a matter of me catching up on orders and not running out of the other key parts….I’m making the paks daily, so hang in there; it’s coming.

That’s the last I inquired specifically about the unit I purchased, now 10 months ago.

Taylor runs the the www.tandycolorcomputer.com website,  www.colorcomputer.net, and used to run www.coco3.com. He’s also active on the CoCoList listserv, and has made a few posts there over the course of the year indicating that he is moving as fast as he can, and guaranteeing that anyone who has ordered and paid for a unit will receive it – at some point.

Heading into December, I still really wanted the device. My CoCo 3 has been just sitting there, sadly gathering dust. Taylor mentioned that he sometimes sells the units on eBay here and there to help fund the overall process, so I searched eBay and saw an active auction of his for the same device I ordered nine months earlier. The auction showed two units available. I swallowed hard and, on December 8th, did a BuyItNow, paying $89.00 again for another unit. I did not make any indication that I had ordered earlier, fearing he would think I intended to immediately ask for a refund for the original, which was not my plan. My plan was to, whenever I received the first unit (if ever), sell it on eBay, myself, to recoup my funds.

I messaged Taylor through eBay the following day to ask if the item had shipped, and he responded with the following:

These items were late going out and I apologize. I didn’t know I was out of ACIA chips that go in the pack! PLEASE hang in there a few more days and it will arrive safely.

So, the big shock here comes in noting that he is selling an item on eBay, marked as “Available,” when it does not actually exist. Also, his message is a bit ambiguous as to whether the unit has shipped or not.

I followed up with lengthy messages of concern on December 29, January 3, and January 9 … and have received neither any further response from him nor the second unit I purchased (nor the first, for that matter).

It was my intent, in deciding to publicize this situation as a cautionary heads-up to readers who might one day do business with Roger Taylor, to demand a refund for both units from him. But, instead, I am going to periodically update this post, letting people know how Taylor has chosen to handle the matter. He owes me two units — let’s see when I get them. That may be of more value to members of the CoCo community out there, in the long run.

I have left negative feedback on the eBay auction in question…and I still want the units I paid for.

Update [Feb 26, 2012]: In the last week I’ve heard several people indicate that, on Coco3.com, Taylor recently made some posts indicating that he was looking / hoping for someone to take over the ownership and responsibility of the DrivePak situation. Commenter “charles” recalls Taylor there mentioning that the new owner would have 30 to 60 DrivePak orders to fullfil. Also, Coco3.com has been down for days, now…

One of the most exciting computers that I ever owned, and certainly one of the most significant in the history of personal computing, is the Amiga 1000, the first Amiga model release buy Commodore in the fall of 1985.

At the time of its release, the system featured a powerful 7.14MHz Motorola 68000 processor, on-board custom co-processors to aid in graphics and audio tasks, a UNIX-like, pre-emptive multitasking operating system, and a graphical user interface to tie it all together. The Amiga 1000 unit retailed for $1,295 at launch and was significantly more powerful in every respect than the flagship IBM computer, the PC/AT, which featured a 6MHz Intel 80286 processor and retailed for approximately $6,000.

I learned about the coming Amiga in the summer of 1985, though, sadly, I don’t recall where. It certainly wasn’t “online,” which then would’ve meant on a dial-up BBS of some sort, as I had no modem on the Apple //c I was using at the time. I was intrigued by what I heard and excited about the prospect of owning one. (I was definitely outgrowing that //c.) It wasn’t until I walked into a Waldenbooks and picked up the August 1985 issue of Personal Computing magazine, however, that my lust truly began. And, began, it surely did.

The issue in question featured a striking cover showing the Amiga 1000 unit with several screens of software in action, filing out of the display. Inside, there was a main article and a few associated articles that went into great detail with regard to the system’s capabilities and specifications. I recall finding it actually painful that I was unable to get the text into my brain faster, such was the allure of the machine that was being so clearly described. Geek porn, this definitely was.

Remember, younger readers out there, this wasn’t just a faster version of the same old thing, like we generally see with computers today. This was a time when most every new computer brought with it an entirely new operating environment. To embrace a new platform in those days was to venture into unexplored shoals. (It was a thrill I experienced many times, but one that I lament new users today will never know.)

From that day until the day in late October 1985 when I brought my Amiga 1000 home from Cheney Computer in Newport News, VA — the first Amiga 1000 sold in the state of Virginia — I was transfixed by that copy of Personal Computing. I carried it everywhere, even to school, and read it constantly. I read it over and over and lusted and imagined and, in time, I pretty much wore it out. And sadly, like most of the computer magazines I had back in the early days (many of which I’ve reacquired in more recent years), I’m not sure where it went off to.

The degree to which that magazine impacted my life at the time was so dramatic that, a few years back, I sought to locate a copy, to have a look at what it was that sustained me so, until I had my hands on the hardware. I’ve had an eBay automated search in place for three years, at least, but I’ve never found a copy.

Well, I recently posted a request for the magazine over at Amiga.org and, as good fortune would have it, a reader there had scanned the magazine some years before and was able to provide me with a series of images that captured every page of Amiga coverage in that issue. Hats off, JimS — and many thanks.

In order to share this wonderful bit of computer journalism with others out there, I’ve assembled the various page scans into an ordered PDF that includes every bit of Amiga mention in that 27 year old issue of Personal Computing.

By all means, have a look: Personal_Computing_1985-Amiga.pdf

Please, do let me know if you happen to recall reading this particular issue, way back when. And, for those that are strangers to that wonderful period in computing history, I hope these scans convey a bit of the excitement that we old geeks enjoyed so long ago.

A few weeks back, Egan Ford, who was inspired by Roberts’ work, assembled a spiritual successor to the Apple II Game Server and placed it online. The Apple Game Server Online is a wonderfully retro-styled website that features a list of Apple II games — now about 200 in number — and associated audio files that contain the audio data from data cassette versions of the games. These audio files can be played back from the browsers of many networked devices out there (like an iPad or a laptop) to load any of the listed games into an Apple II, II+ or IIe when tethered to the vintage Apple’s audio cassette input jack via audio cable.

The drill goes like this: you link your Apple II to the web-enabled host device, type “LOAD” at the Applesoft BASIC prompt, and hit “PLAY” in the web browser. In (usually) less than 20 seconds later, you’re playing a game. It couldn’t be much easier, and the data transfer is not far from floppy speed — and it’s getting faster; Ford has been updating the project earnestly.

From comp.sys.apple2 (usenet):

v0.2 on 12/18:

I updated http://asciiexpress.net/gameserver today.  With Michael Mahon’s help I was able to speed up the 12kHz/6kHz 8000 bps HIFI to  12kHz/8kHz 9600 bps.  I also fixed a big that effected some games that  loaded below $800.  Lastly I removed the CRC code in favor of a faster  checksum + file length check.

v0.3 on 12/20:

I’ve added a 3rd download option (TRACK).  TRACK files are CD  compatible WAV files (44.1kHz/16bit) with a modified loader for 11025Hz/7350Hz zeros and ones (8820 bps).  I also posted a video of loading a game via a cheap CD player ( http://asciiexpress.net/gameserver/cdload.mp4 ).

Eric Ford’s efforts here join those of Brendan Roberts in contributing greatly to the “Apple II Forever” mindset. As the remaining supply of 5.25-inch floppy disk media and functional, mechanical drives age and dwindle, finding alternatives for program storage must be a priority for the vintage computer enthusiast.

As you can see in the above video, I’ve had fun putting the system (v0.1 is shown) through its paces. If you’ve got an Apple II with a cassette input (any II other than the //c or IIgs) stored away somewhere, don’t miss this easy way to have a little retro fun.

I got my first computer, a TI-99/4A, on Christmas morning, 1982. I was 10 years old, and from that Christmas on, it was games and hardware I wanted Santa to leave me under the tree. On through my teenage years, part of my ritual for getting into the Christmas spirit and enjoying the holidays was downloading and watching Christmas demos on whatever system I had at the time (and every platform out there had a few of them).

Enjoying these demos is a personal tradition that I had, sadly, long left behind until last Christmas when I was inspired to seek out one of the demos I remember best, Audio Light’s 1985 musical slideshow for the Atari ST. With the help of an emulator, I captured it to share online with readers.

Here, a year later, I recently brought it up and watched it run through it’s pixellated images and 3-voice musical holiday greeting. As I watched, it occurred to me that it might be nice to gather a few of the other demos I remember from those good ole’ days and present them here, in order to perhaps share some of the holiday cheer that they used to inspire within me.

The following list of demos ranges across a number of platforms of olde. I’ll start with the Atari ST demo I presented last year. Happy holidays, and I hope you enjoy the shows!

Atari ST: Audio Light Christmas demo (1985)

C64: “Seasons Greetings from Commodore” (1982)

DOS PC: Sierra On-Line’s “A Computer Christmas” (1986)

Tandy CoCo 3: Spectral Associates’ Holiday Demo (1986)

C64: Magic Disk Christmas demo (1989)

Amiga: Psygnosis’ Holiday Lemmings 1993

C64: Jingle Disk Christmas demo

UPDATE: It’s not a Christmas thing I’ve ever seen in person, but after just being reminded of it online, I had to add Sega’s two-level Saturn freebie Christmas NiGHTS to the list. What a lovely game it is.

Sega Saturn: “Christmas NiGHTS” (1996)

May this holiday season bring you all faster modems and floppy disks a-plenty!

When Another World landed, I had been eagerly awaiting its arrival since March, when we first heard that it would be coming to iOS during its creator Eric Chahi’s excellent session at the 2011 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. But, my familiarity with (and love for) the title began much earlier, shortly after its initial release through Delphine, back in 1992. In fact, I had a Mac LC at the time, and when I saw it on my friend‘s DOS PC, it motivated me to go back to the Amiga in order to play it. It’s just a lovely game in all respects.

Not long after I interviewed Eric for my early review post, he contacted me asking for my mailing address. That had me rather curious, and I provided it to him, and the matter passed out of my mind until about three weeks later when I received a cardboard tube in the mail…from France. What I found inside stunned and amazed me. Eric had sent me a rare treasure, indeed.

Eric, who is an artist beyond the realm of game development, wanted to do his own cover art for Another World, and Delphine was cool with it. He produced a stunning oil of an alien landscape featuring our hero Lester in a moment of liberation, standing at the precipice, feeling the wind of an alien world blowing through his hair. I’ve long considered it a very moving piece. And so, apparently, did Delphine CEO Paul de Senneville.

Paul de Senneville was a contemporary art collector at the time, and he was so fond of Eric’s Another World oil that in 1991 he commissioned 120 lithograph prints to be made on acid-free fine art paper. Eric informs me that about 50 of them have been signed and distributed, most of the rest having been lost and forgotten at Delphine. He has been keeping a small number of the prints himself, however, for some “special people,” and he indicates that my obvious passion for the game, along with the photos I shared of my own “Byte Cellar,” inspired him to sign and deliver one of these rare prints to me. I do not exaggerate when I say that, of all the objects in my room of vintage machines, Eric’s Another World lithograph is my most treasured.

Since receiving the print, I have had it framed (notice how the frame matches the clouds…nice, eh?) and found a place for it on the wall of my computer room, alongside my lovely MYST Channelwood poster, appropriately just behind my Amiga.

Thank you once again, Eric.