[Any MSX love?]

Thanks, flanauf.

Was not aware they were similar.

I take it, I will require a old Win/Dos PC with a 3.5" floppy drive ?

[Any MSX love?]

I have 2 MSX computers. The more common Toshiba HX-10, and a Sony Hitbit HB-75B. I also have one of these

 

 

But no idea how to use it since it came with no instructions. And googling the device just gives vague posts, and non-English links. There doesn't seem to be a full documentation PDF/txt anywhere.

If anyone here knows how to use one, any chance of a bit of help ?

[Which classic computers have stood the test of time the best and worst?]

I believe the 1200XL was designed prior to the 800XL

 

Whats that got to do with my post ? I was talking about visually, nothing to do with history.

 

 

 

And esthetics is less important for me than usability.

 

The OP wanted comments on "Visually", NOT "Usability". If we were talking about usability, then my list would be very different.

[Making a video on TIPI tomorrow (Fri 5/25)]

jonecool, really enjoyed your NanoPEB videos. It was the one where you describe how to use ti99DIR, that got me back using my TI.

[Is some TI legacy hardware becoming redundant?]

I could never go back to the original media, I simply don't have the time to faff about with loading tapes. Today, life is to short to faff with old media.

I mean, I still know a few mates from the late 70s and early 80s, and they're all married with kids, family life, and work fulltime. When they get home they have to deal with kids, the wife, meals, a bit of TV. Then when they finally get a hour spare they fire up one of their retro machines.

I do the same, but I don't have to deal with kids or a wife. But I do have to deal with my dog, and have a myself a meal. I get a hour or two in week days, and a few more hours at weekends. I do not want to deal with faffing around looking for tapes or disks. Might have to rewind them, then might have several tries of loading them. All that can be alleviated by using a modern sdcard solution.

A sd2sio for my A800. Sd2iec for C64. DivMMC Future or TZXDuino for my Spectrums. On TI994A, I have NanoPeb and Flashrom 99. Everything at the click of a button. No need to spend hours looking for tapes, rewinding tapes, dealing with tape/disk errors, or finding the disks.

 

This has nothing to do with purism, and everything to do with real life, and dealing with life today, not 35+ years ago. 35 years ago, I had plenty of time. But even back then, I would have died for some of today's modern sdcard solutions.

[Making a video on TIPI tomorrow (Fri 5/25)]

jonecool, many thanks.

I do apologise, it wasn't the website, it was my browser. I use Chromium with the uBlock Origin extension, and I have it on a quite aggressive setting with lots of custom filters. I white-listed both sites and can now see images.

And I mixed up the speech synthesizer case with the 3D printed one - which is clearly plastic - now I can see it.

[Making a video on TIPI tomorrow (Fri 5/25)]

Thanks for the reply but I have looked through the entire corei64 website and find nothing related to a new metal case. Your link just gives me a "Product Not Found".

I have also looked through the entire arcadeshopper website, and again I see nothing to do with a new metal case replacement.

 

Is it US only ? I live in the UK, perhaps that why I'm not seeing it ?

[Is some TI legacy hardware becoming redundant?]

I don't understand, if the modern equivalent does exactly the same thing, only smaller and more convenient, then why bother with the often cumbersome original ?

All this hardware needs space, so if you have it then great, but I live in a bungalow - I'm not old I just like the convenience and cheap rent - and space is premium. I already have nearly 14 CRTs, of various models and makes.

Also, this hardware will need (constant ?) maintaining, extra power cables and serial/data cables. The 1541 is slow, unless you have a jiffydos version, and the discs can rot or get mould. And often than not, the original hardware is getting expensive, compared to modern equivalents.

 

I appreciate your love of the original, although I don't understand why you would play the games on a emulator - especially since you have the original machine.

[Making a video on TIPI tomorrow (Fri 5/25)]

Great video.

That case looks amazing, is it available anywhere ?

[Is some TI legacy hardware becoming redundant?]

Who has space for a Peb ?

I'll take my Nanopeb, every single time, over a Peb.

This also goes for other large original items like the Commodore 1541. I have 4, but I will happily take the modern equivalent (Ultimate II or sd2iec) + SDCard, over a 1541.

I would also swap a multi-hundred tape collection for a Tapuino, or TZXDuino. It's the convenience, not having to worry about degradation, and finding space for huge collections.

 

A bit like the comment from jonecool, I love all these modern hardware devices coming out, I often find these more exciting than the original hardware.

[Which classic computers have stood the test of time the best and worst?]

Best, Visually :-

ZX Spectrum original - iconic design, and will never go yellow. Mine still works today, and still looks amazing. And, people are still doing amazing things on the Spectrum like the amazing Bifrost and Nirvana engines.

TI99/4a - IMO, still looks amazing with a sort of 70s silver futuristic look to it - This wouldn't look out of place on a Blakes 7 set. Home of some amazing ports. Has some great modern hardware like Nanopeb, and Flashrom 99.

Oric Atmos - I love the contrasting Black and Red look to it, and it has a few great games. And it never yellows, due to it's colour. Most machines on ebay still look great. I love mine, even got a matching tape deck.

Commodore 16 - Ages better than the C64 breadbin, due to it being black, although the keyboard can yellow. More reliable than the Plus/4, but you still need heatsinks on the TED and 8501. I really love mine, some great games like Big Mac.

Enterprise 128 - Always liked the look of this machine. Never had one, and the prices these go for means I probably won't own one.

Memotech MTX512 - Another, built-like-a-tank computer. I think these also looked great. I remember seeing the adverts in the 80s and wondering what they were like. Only ever tried one at a computer event, never owned one or knew anyone who had one.

Worst, Visually :-

Dragon 32/64 - Never liked this behemoth of a machine, it's just so damn ugly. Looks even worse if it yellows badly. And the colour palette was awful, just green, more green, red blue and yellow. Oh, and green. And the joysticks, oh dear god, the joysticks.

Commodore 128 - Dear god, this was a monstrosity. Complete waste of time and effort bringing this thing to the market, and it flopped. When they yellow, they go full Commodore yellowed.

Atari 1200 - Not a popular choice, but I really think it looks terrible. It's like they took a 800XL - which still looks great, and just slapped a huge Frasier forehead on it. Thankfully, it didn't leave the U.S.

[What would U have done to make the Amiga succeed better?]

The price of Amiga hardware, especially hardware upgrades, were also part of the Amiga's downfall.

In 1993, at one of Earls court computer shows, me and a mate went there to buy "something" for our Amigas because we were getting bored waiting for AGA software.

I had a 4Mb Amiga 1200 + 80mb HD, my mate had a 1200 + 8Mb + 120mb HD. At the show, he spent over £850 on a 040 accelerator + 16Mb ram (I believe) + SCSI. When I finally caught up with him a few days later we both saw how disappointed we were in the performance of £850. True, the 040 was a nice upgrade for the 1200, but at that cost it didn't wow me. And most Amiga hardware was priced at mental prices.

In late 1993, I saw another mate had ditched his Amiga 4000 for a 486 DX2 66, 8Mb, CDRom Drive, SB16, 200Mb HD, SVGA Card, 14" VGA Monitor, etc... and was blown away with it. I couldn't believe he paid less for it than my other mate paid for just his accelerator - though the 486 was pre-owned.

Then in 1994, I decided to sell my CD32 - I only had it 6 months but was bored waiting for decent games. I put the money to a pre-owned Pentium 60, 8Mb, CDRom, SB16, Tseng Labs ET4000, 14" SVGA Monitor. This thing, in 1994, was state of the art and blew away any of my mate's Amigas. When they all saw Doom 2 running on it, they all jumped on the PC bandwagon.

I mean, to me - a die-hard Amiga fan in the late 80s and early 90s (Although I was still a Atari fan and kept my AtariST 1040), the PC platform was a breath of fresh air. To me and my mates, we could build what we want, how we wanted, how much we wanted to spend, and there was so much software out there. I remember walking into a massive PC World in early 1995, and was blown away at the huge wall of PC games, especially CDRom games. These, to me. were such exciting times to be a PC dos gamer.

 

Of course, there is a sort of irony in that, if those who had a Amiga 4000 still had it today, boxed and in good condition, could still sell it for almost what they paid for it 26 years ago. I could probably still get nearly £200 for my CD32, the same I sold it for back in '94. My pimped accelerated Amiga 1200 is probably worth £500, as everything is still in amazing condition and all boxed. Infact, in another 10 years my 1200 will be worth more than my current, almost state of the art, gaming PC.

 

To me, personally, the Amiga, Atari ST, 800XL, C64, Spectrum, never died. Places like this will always keep these amazing machines alive. And, as long as there are amazing people making amazing modern hardware for our old machines then they will never die.

And, no company, or silly corporate decision, can take away our memories we have with these classic machines.

[Bruce Lee crashes on Altirra]

Did the Atari ever get a release of Bruce Lee 2 ? Or was that C64 only ?

[Vectrex screen issue]

Bought a vectrex a few months ago and now it's starting to play up.

 

When you first turn it on cold, it will work for around 5+ minutes before the screen starts to zoom in and out, before fading out and just the sounds are heard.

If I turn it off and on then it's just the sounds. If I leave it off for a few hours then it works again for 5 minutes before the problem re-appears.

 

Does this sound like a capacitor problem ? Or worse ?

 

Any help, most appreciated.

[How much do you appreciate ingame music, and name your favorites please!]

For me, personally.

 

1. Ballblazer - Awesome music that never I never get tired of. I think it sounds much better than the C64 sid version.

2. Warhawk - Again, the music (In my opinion) is better than the C64 version - which is also awesome. The Atari version just sounds cleaner, and has great bass sounds.

3. Jet Set Willy - This is my favourite Hubbard music on the Atari, just superb.

4. 180 Darts - I don't know why, but this tune just fits the game perfectly, and without it the game would feel a bit flat.

5. ElektraGlide - Wouldn't be the same game without the great music. Do agree with the other comment about the music stopping when you hit something.

6. Panther - Better on the C64, but the Atari version is also great.

[The FinalGROM 99]

Thanks for the replies.

I couldn't find a FAQ, I read all 23 pages, and looked around the TI forum.

I did find the website.

 

I take it I just do as these instructions say ?

 

 

Amount

[ ] assembled FinalGROM 99 board, buttons and LED soldered €45

[ ] assembled FinalGROM 99 board, without buttons and LED €45

[ ] FinalGROM 99 laminated cartridge label € 1

world-wide shipping for up to two carts €10

Get the first option if you plan to use your FinalGROM 99 without shell. The other option is intended for FinalGROM 99s in cartridge shells so that you can mount the buttons and LEDs of your choice on the shell.

Please contact the developer at r@0x01.de for further information

 

Contact that .de email address and then wait for a reply ?

Many thanks for your help.

[TIME PILOT - final release]

Did a quick knock-up of a 80's style Atari Disk.

 

[TIME PILOT - final release]

Just tried the update above, and running on real hardware it's amazing. Where were you back in the early 80s ? lol. This would have been amazing if it had been released on the US Gold label.

[The FinalGROM 99]

Hi,

Are these still available to buy anywhere ?

Would you buy one if you already own both a Flashrom 99, and a Nanopeb ?