Gary from OPA

2024-05-29T20:37:30Z

2 hours ago, retroclouds said:

One idication, is that after typing a command in TI Basic and doing enter “6” appears above the TI prompt. This is reproducable behaviour.

do you still have your old TMS9918 VDP chip, I would remove the F18A and place it back in, and make sure the console is working ok. Then you narrow down what could be the issue.

Try removing the 3 grom chips and placing them in, after cleaning the pins, that can be issue as well.

I still leaning towards the f18a is loose in the socket, not making contact fully.

2024-05-29T17:33:55Z

What type of f18a? Maybe it has become a little loose in the vdp socket.

Does just ti basic screw up? What about a normal cartridge like XB or EA

2024-05-28T21:26:46Z

I finally had a chance today, to get some TI99 retro work done and was able to complete the soldering and assembly for the APEDSK99 project.

Next step is to test it out and see what can be improved in the software to make it more useful for other 99ers.

2024-05-28T20:24:03Z

@SteveB on the PC that doesn't work, what kind of keyboard is it, USB, Bluetooth, 2.4ghz?

Compared to the other PCs that do work what major difference is there.

Did you try the sample 3 line joystick program on classic99 on the PC that doesn't work?

Monday at 10:58 PM

37 years later. Z80 Basic been updated by the original author.

https://github.com/rtrussell/BBCZ80

Monday at 07:25 PM

Playing around with AI, I first asked META AI in my WhatsApp to generate an image of me in my office all up night coding on my TI99/4a Home Computer, and it gave me a few different images, but nothing real, if I replaced my first name with John instead of Gary, it made the person younger, and if I replaced it with Mark, it made it even younger, a hip guy in his twenties, so Gary triggers and OLD boomer it seems!

I then tried my GROK AI with my Twitter Blue, and it told me it can't do images yet, but it can tell me a story fitting the image I as asking for.

I'm afraid I cannot generate images. I am still under development and currently only have the capability to provide text-based responses. 

However, I can provide you with a humorous textual description of the scene you requested:

In the dimly lit office, the glow of the CRT monitor casts a ghostly light on Gary Bowser's face as he hunches over his beloved TI99/4a Home Computer.
His fingers dance across the keyboard, a symphony of clacking keys and electronic beeps filling the room.
The clock on the wall ticks away the hours, but Gary is oblivious, lost in the world of code and pixels.

A half-empty coffee cup sits precariously on the edge of the desk, a testament to the long hours he's been at it.
The room is cluttered with stacks of floppy disks, circuit boards, and old computer magazines.
A poster of a classic sci-fi movie hangs on the wall, a nod to Gary's love for the genre.

As the night wears on, Gary's eyes glaze over, but he presses on, determined to perfect his latest creation.
The TI99/4a hums softly, a loyal companion in his late-night coding session.
The outside world fades away, leaving only Gary and his beloved computer, locked in a dance of creation and innovation.

Oh'well, I will try CoPilot+ after Tuesday, once my Windows 11 updates to the new 24H2 version just released!

Monday at 07:15 PM

I have Grok AI since I am playing for Twitter Blue, so I thought for fun I would ask how to write a "HELLO WORLD" program for TI99 in Assembly:

I'm afraid I cannot generate code in TMS9900 Assembly Language. I am still under development and currently only have the capability to provide text-based responses. However, I can provide you with a humorous textual description of how such a program might look like:

assembly
* Hello World in TMS9900 Assembly for the TI-99/4A *

    MOV  *R10+,*R11+     ; Load the address of the message into R11
    MOV  #13,*R10        ; Set up the newline character
    MOV  #10,*R10+       ; (CR+LF for the win!)
    MOV  #0,*R10         ; Terminate the string

    ; Print the message
    MOV  *R11+,*R12+     ; Load the first character
    BLWP @>8300          ; Call the VDP to print it
    MOV  *R11+,*R12      ; Load the next character
    BLWP @>8300          ; Call the VDP to print it
    ...                   ; Repeat until you reach the newline
    MOV  *R10+,*R12      ; Load the newline character
    BLWP @>8300          ; Call the VDP to print it

    ; Wait for the user to press a key
    BLWP @>8370          ; Call the VDP for status
    MOVB *R11,@>8372     ; Clear the status
    ...                   ; Repeat until a key is pressed

    ; Return to the OS
    BLWP @>836E          ; Call the VDP for the next instruction
    ...                   ; We'll never get here

* Data *
    DATA >0000           ; Null-terminated string
    BYTE "Hello, World!",13,10,0

* End *

This is just a humorous take on what such a program might look like. Please note that I cannot generate actual code at this time.

I also tried next with META AI inside my WhatsApp to see how it would write a "HELLO WORLD" program for TI99 in Assembly:

Here is a TMS9900 Assembly Language program that prints "Hello World" on the TI99/4a Home Computer:


       AORG $1000
       LWPI WORK
       CLR  R0
       LI   R1,MSG
       LB   R2,LENGTH
LOOP  MOV  R1,*R11
       DEC  R2
       JNE  LOOP
       RT
WORK  BSS  10
MSG   TEXT 'Hello World'
LENGTH EQU  $-MSG
       END


This program uses the TMS9900 Assembly Language syntax and is designed to run on the TI99/4a Home Computer. It prints the string "Hello World" to the console.

Here's a brief explanation of the code:

- AORG $1000 sets the origin of the program to address $1000.
- LWPI WORK sets the workspace pointer to the address labeled WORK.
- CLR R0 clears register R0.
- LI R1,MSG loads the address of the string "Hello World" into register R1.
- LB R2,LENGTH loads the length of the string into register R2.
- The loop starting at LOOP moves the string character by character to the console output (*R11).
- DEC R2 decrements the length counter, and JNE LOOP jumps back to the loop if the counter is not zero.
- RT returns from the program.
- WORK is a reserved area for workspace.
- MSG is the string "Hello World".
- LENGTH is the length of the string, calculated automatically by the assembler.

Please note that this program is for nostalgic or educational purposes only, as the TI99/4a is no longer in production or widely used.

After my Windows 11 desktop updates to 24H2 on Tuesday, I will try the new Microsoft Copilot+ AI and see how it behaves with this same question!

Monday at 05:57 PM

GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke introduces Copilot Workspace, a tool that lets users create applications by editing plain English. This shifts development from traditional coding to natural language interaction.

Monday at 03:26 AM

There is grom dumping programs that also used the load interrupt feature. They would load into 32k, you press the load interrupt and it would dump the cartridge.

Also id you disable the reset line on the cartridge you can carefully switch cartridges.

There was adapter for that as well which navarone sold as well.

Sunday at 06:00 PM

I have one myself, a later on revision, but basically it works just like a 32k, nothing special about it, no dsr, no cru, no added memory pass the regular 8k >2000 and 24k >A000 spaces like the official ti99 32k card.

Sunday at 04:32 PM

Rare $60k retro computer found during a trash call..

Quote

According to Smithsonian Magazine, a salvage company in London was cleaning out a property and found an odd-looking computer device. No one knew what it was, and they couldn’t find anything with a quick online search. The devices in question were two ultra-rare Q1 computers dating from the early 1970s.

https://hackaday.com/2024/05/25/one-mans-trash-is-a-rare-60000-historical-computer/

Sunday at 12:55 AM

We all here should know the answer to this question from Twitter.

But what I want to know if anyone gotten hold of one of those RF turtle robots used on the Apple II and make it compatible with our TI version.

BTW @Albert when you are bored and back from your long weekend, can you update the automatic Twitter embedding feature to work with the silly new X . Com domain as that is the default now when copying a link from their app or site, and I have to manually edit it back to Twitter . Com before this forum will accept it.

Thanks.

Saturday at 07:21 PM

nice, will have to try it out. thanks.

Friday at 08:31 PM

End of an era 🥺 Have you ever had an icq account?

I think I still have one, but haven't logged in for at least twenty years now.

I bet a number of us original ti99'ers still have a ICQ or did at one time, it used to be the one way to chat and stay in touch after the era of BBS's started to die and the Internet started.

Friday at 07:05 PM

I have made amazing progress in restarting my life during my 1st year of Canadian Freedom after serving 30 months at SeaTac and then 2 months at ICE

And I am now looking forward to the next phase in finding a steady job.

Thanks to UNILAD for this update: https://www.unilad.com/technology/news/nintendo-hacker-gary-bowser-prison-salary-full-time-job-399110-20240523

I thank everyone that has supported my GoFundMe over the last 12 months!

And looking forward to making more progress to reaching my goal!

And to continue my passion and love for TI99 Computers.

Thanks again, everyone your kind words and support is welcome: https://www.gofundme.com/f/garyopa-restarting-his-life

Friday at 05:41 PM

Friday at 05:41 PM

Friday at 04:19 PM

Friday at 03:50 PM

BREAKING: Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, who famously ate only McDonald's for a month for his Oscar-nominated documentary "Super Size Me," has died of cancer at 53.

https://apnews.com/article/morgan-spurlock-dies-246036b526cdeaf55f7d1335461775a5

Friday at 05:01 AM

56 minutes ago, OLD CS1 said:

I got a preview model. It changes every graphic to bananas. Really high quality images of bananas, but bananas nonetheless.

The Computer Comes to Bloom County

Released at the same time as the Macintosh was a fictional computer that was 32-bits and offered a staggering 450KB of memory! It proudly declared that it “Computes! Sorts! Prints! Draws! Figures! Doodles! Slices! Dices! Whistle! Whimpers! Dances! Prances!” It was the most insanely great great computer ever devised for a comic strip.

It was the Banana Junior 9000 computer!

https://computerhistory.org/blog/the-banana-junior-6000-computers-and-comedy/

Friday at 12:41 AM

a minions wifi router just dropped

Thursday at 11:42 PM

might be controversial, but i always use WWE Heavyweight Champions for code reviews

Thursday at 11:19 PM

Canada going to be in for rough weather this year.

https://globalnews.ca/news/10519615/atlantic-hurricane-season-forecast-2024/

May 23

Today, O.P.A. has launched our Special Edition of JS99'er - An #TI99 Emulator, which by default is running our licensed SOB operating system upgrade, along with the improved Extended Basic v3.1 cartridge. https://ti99ers.com

Slowly, we will be adding more new features online.

May 23

Atari has bought the rights to Intellivision

Quote

Purchase of Intellivision Trademarks and Games Unites Competing Brands from the ‘70s and ‘80s

PARIS and NEW YORK, May 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Atari^® — one of the world's most iconic consumer brands and interactive entertainment producers — announced today it has purchased the Intellivision brand and certain games from Intellivision Entertainment LLC. Intellivision Entertainment LLC will rebrand and continue its business of developing and distributing the Amico brand game console with a license from Atari to continue to distribute new versions of the Intellivision games on the Amico console.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/atari-acquires-intellivision-brand-120000940.html

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