Retrocomputing (Commodore, Sinclair, Apple II, etc)

[Plague von Karma]

Not entirely shocked this thread didn't exist before, but it does now. Retrocomputing is the concept of using old or otherwise obsolete computers for compatibility purposes. It's not always that, though; nostalgia and the like are common as well. Due to the flexibility these retro computers provide, it's incredibly easy to produce homebrew software or upgrade them. Some have even managed to get these things to connect to the internet (albeit in a limited format), allowing community members to visit message boards and the like. Hell, there's a project called the MEGA65 aiming to make a "definitive" Commodore C64, so to speak. There's emulation software for some retro computers (here's a C64 one), but as compatibility with old storage media and hardware has rapidly declined in recent years, you're not always able to get a "full" experience. This isn't to say it's a good way to experience these ancient OSes without selling a kidney or two, though: this stuff can be expensive.

Most communities (which are surprisingly large) focus on computers from after the 1960s, such as the Commodore 64, Sinclair ZX Spectrum and Apple II. Here in the UK, there's a whole museum for retrocomputing as a whole, which some primary and secondary schools sometimes take students to on educational visits. You really have to marvel at the things people go through to preserve this old software, then proceed to take it to a height that just wouldn't be feasible back in the day. Some of these computers are over 50 years old, still working and taken damn good care of. These things really are built to last!

Personally, I've got a Commodore 64 Model G, an offshoot of the original C64 that was (seemingly) only released in Europe. I'm not really "experienced" in the whole tech aspect, I mostly use it for using old software and display purposes, though I'd definitely be interested in taking it further. The Model G was made from spare parts of various systems at the time, including the 64GS, which is odd, to say the least. Despite a number of problematic changes, it's compatible with basically everything the C64 has, and it fetches a fair price. Outside of this, I used to have an Amiga 500 which I sold for a buck a while back, but it's since ballooned in value and I cry myself to sleep every night at the neg. I still have a bunch of old floppy disks for it that were given for free with various magazines, so I may cop another sometime to alleviate the anxiety that having software for a system I don't have brings me. There are some super cool games on the C64 that look stunning for the hardware, and I'd recommend looking it up. There's no "brand name" to look for, so to speak, this was long before household names were really a thing. There was the odd sequel, but that's about it.

So, anyone else into the hobby? Any interesting finds? Or do you have any memories from days of yore?

 

[Lemonade]

I can't join in your excitement of retrocomputing sadly (yet), but I could see myself developing an interest through the tangentially related keyboard side of things. Some of the switch technology in "vintage" keyboards seems really cool. For example, as someone who spends a fair bit of time in the mechanical keyboards hobby, I hear a lot about how great Alps switches are/were. Also, the keycaps on older keyboards are absolutely beautiful (https://imgur.com/a/hiLVX, https://i.redd.it/u0vrnhdtfga01.jpg, these days it's usually paying $$$ and waiting for group buys) and daresay I would probably buy a computer just to get a keyboard it came with. Naturally, using the computer would then be required to actually use the keyboard.

You mentioned you aren't too experienced, but what do you reckon the modern tech-interested person can learn from actively tinkering with 8-bit computers? For example, do you find that interacting with your C64G helps close some of that gap between software and hardware? Is retrocomputing an effective environment where you can "learn by doing", for example, assembly? I find that I need to come up with a personal project/goal myself to really understand what's going on.

 

[Plague von Karma]

You mentioned you aren't too experienced, but what do you reckon the modern tech-interested person can learn from actively tinkering with 8-bit computers? For example, do you find that interacting with your C64G helps close some of that gap between software and hardware? Is retrocomputing an effective environment where you can "learn by doing", for example, assembly? I find that I need to come up with a personal project/goal myself to really understand what's going on.

A lot of old computers have pretty outdated coding environments, but there's always merit in learning old techniques in case they can be applied to modern contexts, and assembly is pretty similar to now iirc? I don't know much, unfortunately. There are some old programming languages (eg. Forth for the Jupiter Ace, which has actually been restored) as well which can be fun to tinker with.

 

[Plague von Karma]

Well, this was a pickup I didn't expect. This is an Amstrad PcW16, released in 1997. It seems to have issues with the power supply and gets stuck on standby, but it seems extremely fixable. Gonna make it a little fixing project. It came with a v1.12 "Rescue Disk" and the original manual which will be nice when going through the process. It's primarily a word processing machine, using a package called LocoScript. LocoScript faded into obscurity due to rising MS-DOS usage and inability to adapt to the new market. By the time they got a package done for IBM-compatible machines, it was over.

From what I can see, the PcW16 is not something you see for sale every day. There's very few past eBay listings, despite quite a bit of documentation being available online. None of the documentation answers my problem from what I can see, though. Apparently this wasn't sold in many places other than Dixons, and didn't sell well as a result. I'm guessing it's rare, it's like that kid you heard everyone talking about at school but never saw.

It's certainly a flashy little thing, with that coloured keyboard and stuff. If I can't get it working I may see about giving it to a Retrocomputing museum or something.

 

[Annika]

I own several old Apple computers (an Apple IIc, a Macintosh SE, a Macintosh IIci, a PowerBook 1400c, an iBook G3, and a PowerBook G4). I also have a Sinclair ZX-81 with some kind of RAM expansion installed, but no software for it.

After the initial thrill of connecting a decades-old computer to the Internet (or writing a computer program to make a bunch of flashy lights, in the case of the Apple II), I was at a loss as to what I should do with them. I wanted to install A/UX, a UNIX flavor that Apple ran on its servers in the early-mid 90s, on my IIci, but I couldn't figure out how to bypass the installer's requirement for a SCSI CD-ROM drive.

If anyone has a suggestion for what to do with them or just wants to see pictures, let me know!