Forth Version 1 Runs Again

Some people love Forth and some people hate it. However, you usually think of Forth as something running on a little computer such as an 8-bit microcomputer. When [Chuck Moore] developed the system back in the 1960s though, it ran on an IBM 1130. [Carl Claunch] took a scanned listing of the original code and got it running once again.

There are actually a few blog posts with details. Luckily, Forth is pretty simple — especially the core parts. However, there are a lot of differences from a modern Forth. The most obvious is that the dot keyword starts a definition and does not print the top of stack. However, internal details are different too — the system, for example, stores characters in packed EBCDIC — an ASCII-like code used by IBM computers.

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Compaq Portable III Rises Again For A Noble Cause

[Autuin] found a Compaq Portable III destined for the scrap bin at Free Geek Vancouver. Upon seeing it he realized that it still had some fight left in it — perfect to go up against the tyranny of hipsters and their shiny Macbook Pros at his local coffee shop.

Unfortunately, being a 286, the computer couldn’t do much. He could take the usual route; which is to remove all the internals, and use the vast amount of space to fit a more modern computer inside. However, he decided to go a different path and save the internals, leaving it in original working order. The computer didn’t have enough power to browse the web, but it had just enough room to fit a small single-board computer inside, to which he could connect through serial. He hasn’t taken it down to the coffee shop yet, but we’re hoping for a few horrified hipsters and a full mission report when he does.

Thanks to [Alec Smecher] for the tip.

Portable Atari 2600

atari 2600 portable

benjamin heckendorn of portable playstation 2 fame has been working on a prototype for a mass produced portable atari 2600, code named ‘phoenix’.

it has a 3.5″ screen, takes 6 aa batteries, uses standard atari game cartridges, and will someday allow me to play hours and hours of joust and moon patrol on international flights.

ben recently started a phoenix blog to help us stay on top of the latest phoenix development news.  thanks for the tip jesse!

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MIDIbox SID — Serious C64 Sound

c64 midi box

sign-language sent us a link to some instructions for turning your old commodore’s sid chip into a midi controlled synth capapble of pumping more grooves than you ever thought possible.  i was really excited to post a commodore hack, but then i scrolled down and saw this image.  c64 slayings are really hard for me to stomach.

let’s keep it clean, folks.

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