Retro Thing

You've probably heard of Moore's Law. It's the notion that the number of transistors in dense integrated circuits will double every two years. When Intel co-founder Gordon Moore threw out the idea in 1965, he had no inkling that his observation would hold true for the next 50 years. In 1971, the Intel 4004 microprocessor contained about 2,300 transistors. In 1990, the Intel 80486 processor offered a staggering 1,000,000 transistors, and a modern 6-core Intel i7 processor crams several billion transistors onto a single die. 

Analysts have highlighted the amazing rise in desktop computing power for decades, but many have missed the point -- it's not neccessarily about creating faster, more powerful machines. When I first started playing with computers in the early 1980s, they were cumbersome and expensive. My father gravely pointed out that we couldn't afford a $1000 home computer (the equivalent of $2,600 in 2014 dollars), but he was willing to rent me an old Commodore PET from the local microcomputer emporium for a month. In 1981, computer ownership was out of the question for all but the most die-hard fanatics. 

Fast-forward 34 years and it's possible to purchase a name brand Windows 8 notebook computer for only $150. While it won't set any performance records, it's an ideal lightweight travel companion (which is why I recently bought one) or a decent starter machine for someone on a Mac & Cheese budget. In 1981 dollars, that computer would have cost a mere $58 -- about the same price as a couple of Atari 2600 video game cartridges. 

While bleeding-edge computing power still costs thousands, the industry has progressed to the point where a $150 notebook (or even a $59 smartphone) can fulfill the computing needs of many. And things are only going to get cheaper; the $100 laptop that was once the holy grail in third world educational circles will soon be something that anyone can pick up from a local big box retailer.

The recent availability of decent "good enough" computers is important for the millions of people here in the developed world who still don't own a computer or have access to the Internet. It's a good thing for parents who want their kids to have phones but don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on a gleaming new iPhone. It's a good thing for seniors who rely on the Internet to stay in touch with family and friends.

Information is power, and access to information has never been easier or cheaper.

I'm a huge fan of classic H-P calculators, especially the HP-16C -- their first and only programmer's calculator. It has become a much sought-after collector's item, which ensures that good examples sell for insane amounts on eBay. That's not so great for those of us who actually want a real, honest-to-goodness programmer's calculator on our desks. 

Enter DM Swiss Made Calculators. These clever little Swiss devices are miniature emulations of vintage Hewlett-Packard calculators, including the HP-11C (Advanced Scientific Programmable), HP-12C (Business Calculator), HP-15C (Scientific with Matrix & Complex Math) and HP-16C ("Computer Scientist" model). Each model costs 89 Swiss Francs (about $95) and is available in untreated, brown and blue titanium. They run on a single CR2032 battery which should last for years in normal use, and it's possible to update the firmware using a serial connection. 

Apart from that... they're calculators. They're really small. They fit in cool leather pouches, too. 

Visit DM Swiss Made Calculators for more info

Vince Briel seems to be on a one man quest to remake each and every cool 1970s microcomputer. His past designs include a tiny version of the Altair 8800, the Apple I, Commodore KIM-1 and even a VT-100 terminal emulator.

His latest creation is a wicked version of the Ohio Scientific OSI 600, the Superboard III. It features a low power (3.3V) WDC65C02 processor at 1 MHz and includes 32K RAM and 1K video RAM (25x25 characters with the standard OSI text and graphic character set - a switchable 32x32 mode is also available). 

Unlike the original, there's no cassette interface but there is a 9600 bps serial port for loading programs. If you'd like a slightly more modern method of loading data, there's also a USB port that can be used to power the system and transfer programs using a terminal program such as Hyperterm. 

The original Superboard II was a brilliant example of early microcomputer miniaturization because it was an all-in-one system with the keyboard, processor, memory, video and I/O circuits all on the same board. Briel's recreation achieves the same effect with custom keycaps on Cherry MX mechanical switches that emulate the look of the original with a better feel. 

One nice change is the functionality of the Break key. On the original Superboard II, its proximity to Return caused all sorts of problems because it caused a cold reset (losing everything in memory) when tapped accidentally. To avoid this sort of nastiness, the new version requires you to hold the key for 3 seconds before performing a reset. 

There's also a 40-pin expansion port, although the pinout is different than the original to prevent enthusiastic vintage fans from attempting to plug old 5V expansion cards into the low voltage 3.3V Superboard III and causing damage. 

All in all, this might be the most impressive Briel recreation yet and I can't wait to see what he's got up his sleeves for the future. I'd love to own a Commodore PET-2001 clone. Just saying.

Briel Computers Superboard III Microcomputer

I did something unusual the other day and charged up an old Nokia phone that's been lying around the house for at least five years. After a few exhilarating minutes wasted playing Snake, I decided to try using it as my main phone for a while. 

And so -- on day three -- my fancy smartphone is sitting impatiently in its charging cradle, while I wander around town with my tiny little old-fashioned phone. It doesn't do maps or email, nor will it play fancy games or allow me to Tweet. But the battery should last a couple of weeks, and it turns out that I can still text at a reasonable pace using the keypad and T9 text recognition.

Perhaps this is the logical backlash as smartphones seem to be getting ever larger -- last year 4.5-inches was all the rage, this year it seems that everything has at least a 5-inch screen. While the computing experience is undoubtedly awesome, I simply don't need to tote a monster tablet phone wherever I go. 

And so far so good. I still get twitchy when I have to entertain myself somewhere for a few minutes and can't revert to scanning email or watching YouTube videos starring Romanian jugglers with flaming kittens. But I'm doing alright. My biggest fear is actually that I'll suddenly need a map, and Google Maps will be nowhere to be found. Even that panic is a tad unfounded since I have a perfectly good Garmin GPS unit for the car.

I've even found myself lusting after the stunning new aluminum-skinned Nokia 515 candy bar phone -- sadly only available on the grey market in North America. 

Now all that remains to be seen is whether my new low-tech phone habit can be sustained. So how about you? Do you ever get the urge to leave your snazzy smartphone at home in favor of something old fashioned?

There have been several Altair 8800 remakes and emulations in recent years, but this brand new version by Mike Douglas does a great job of mimicking the impressive look and feel of the original without relying on outdated technology. Instead of a case crammed full of boards, a Microchip microcontroller is used to emulate an 8080A CPU running at 2 MHz with 64K RAM, 16K ROM, along with printer, cassette and floppy disk I/O. 

The case is the same size as the original, but it's just an illusion...

 Douglas explains: "The Altair 8800 Clone is a full size, fully functional replica of the computer that started a revolution – the Altair 8800. Whether used for personal or educational purposes, the Altair Clone is a great way to relive this important period in computing history and learn core computer science principles at the same time!

The Altair Clone provides an accurate, hands-on experience without having to worry about damaging a vintage computer. Built with modern hardware on the inside, the Clone is also less expensive and much easier to keep running than a vintage computer.

The Clone is available fully assembled or in kit form. The kit requires installation and soldering of all switches, LEDs and resistors (surface mount components are pre-installed at the factory). The kit also leaves power supply wiring, serial port wiring and mechanical assembly for the user to complete."

The price is the same as the original base unit from 1976, a mere $621. David Greelish of The Classic Computing Blog recently interviewed the creator, and it's a fascinating chat.

Altair 8800 Clone [via The Classic Computing Blog]

Selling to a good (and wealthy) home: One fairly rare working prototype Commodore home computer.

It's not even fully functional because the company never finished the software, deeming the machine too expensive to sell well in the early 1990s. The price? Already an astounding € 5,686 with five days to go in the auction. This will be a fun one to watch.

Retro Thing's Bohus had a chance to play with a C-65 several years ago, here's what he had to say:

After the spectacular success of the Commodore 64, the company barely knew what to do with themselves. They created the Commodore 128 that combined C64 functionality with unique high powered modes of its own, but it didn't really work out. Of course there was the mighty series of Amiga computers from the mid 80's onwards, but Commodore was convinced they could still make good use of the popular C64 technology.

Enter the Commodore 65; in many ways like a C64 that went to "11". It featured a sleek new design, two SID audio chips, a built in 3.5" floppy drive, better graphics abilities, expansion to 8 megs of RAM, and a flat bit to rest your coffee on. Some working prototypes were made in 1990-91, and when Commodore was liquidated after their bankruptcy in '94, some of these machines got out. No one knows exactly how many are out there; estimates range from 50 to several hundred.

This particular unit is owned by Jason Compton, well known Amiga fan, editor of Amiga Report (a hyperlinked online magazine pre-HTML... wow!), and all around super talent. After speaking with Jason about the C65 it seems clear that while the machine had a lot of things going for it, it was simply too late to market. By 1991 Nintendo & the PC were leading gaming and computing away from the standards that the original C64 had set. 

With millions of Commodore 64's sold in the world, it seems like there could have been interest in an improved version like the 65. The C65 went unreleased not because ol' "chicken lips" (the unfortunate nickname for Commodore's logo) was too chicken to offer new products, but because the C65 simply would not have sold in the early 90's. Especially not at the $300-400 projected price. Sadly the evolutionary C65 will go down in computing history as another unfortunate casualty of Commodore's legendary lack of insight.

Want to find out how much it sells for? You can watch the auction here [eBay].

From the early 1960s brochure: "Donner's Model 3500 is a full-fledged analog computer weighing just 28 lbs. Designed for engineers, educators and scientists, it can be used to study almost any physical system that can be described by differential equations. It can be operated on desk tops and benches by anyone who can run a slide rule. The standard 3500 contains 10 amplifiers, stabilized or unstabilized as the user chooses. The computer performs accurately with 1% or 0.1% computing components, and is furnished ready-to-work for $1850, depending upon specific equipment desired."

Fast forward 50 years, and I'd much rather have a Macbook. It's astounding to realize just how far we've come in the past half century; the Donner 3500 used vacuum tubes and was anything but simple to use. These days, you could create a comparable analog function generator using a variety of solid-state op amps and buffers that cost only a few cents each.

Learn more about the Donner 3500 at VintageComputer.net

In most of the world, the era of 8-bit computing was winding down in 1984, even though computers like the Commodore 64, Radio Shack CoCo and Apple IIe still dominated the home market. Things would change dramatically in the next year, with the introduction of machines such as the Atari ST and Commodore Amiga with their powerful Motorola processors, custom chipsets and svelte 3.5" floppy disk drives.

Things were much different in the German Democratic Republic. It would be another 5 years before the Berlin Wall crumbled, and the struggle to appear modern in a world of microprocessors and accelerating technology was getting harder with each passing month. The GDR has a burgeoning electronics industry, but the primary focus was the production of desktop machines destined for business use. Home computers were unheard of. 

That's where the Robotron Z1013 comes in. Once you got past the rustic presentation, it was a reasonably powerful home or educational machine. The processor was initially a Z80 clone running at 1MHz, with a 2K ROM bootloader, 16K RAM, monochrome video output and a cassette tape interface for program storage.

There were a couple of gotchas, of course. Available as a DIY kit, this single board computer didn't include a real case and the horrific membrane keyboard was arranged alphabetically. Worse, a chronic shortage of microchips meant that the system used chips that had been rejected for use in commercial machines -- the Z80-compatible processor and memory were de-clocked from 2MHz to 1MHz, simply because they didn't function reliably at full speed.

The Z1013 was on the market for five years, but sales dried up with the collapse of the communist regime and the sudden availability of much more sophisticated machines from the west. Still, many brilliant German programmers learned to code on this machine before stepping to the forefront of software design in the early 1990s.

Read more about the Robotron Z1013 in the computer museum

Yeah, I know. Everyone who's cool these days carries a Macbook Air or an Ultrabook. The thing is, this machine is far cooler than anything I could lug around in a messenger bag.

The Clacker is an all-in-one computing environment that includes an ergonomically hostile keyboard that clacks (of course), stereo horn speakers, a retro kitsch landline phone and what appears to be the top third of an old grandfather clock that houses an LCD screen with a few surprises:

"The LCD also features an antique video projector built into the back which is powered and spins custom brass film reels while LED lighting flickers in a custom projection box, to give the impression that the image is being projected onto the LCD through the back. The projector and light box are visible through bevelled glass in the side of the LCD housing."

There are a few kinks to iron out (I suspect the Difference Engine gears have a nasty habit of chewing up neckties) before Datamancer Enterprises can mass produce this system, but you can order a handmade one right now for an unspecified price.

For more steampunkesque delights, visit the Datamancer site.