Dinosaur's Pen

Old computers & ancient tech Updated daily

[dinosaurspen]

Just two things: I'm not reading all that, and if you want to reblog any of my posts with paragraphs-long walls of chatgpt vomit don't.

[commodorez]

Roadkill from the rise of the PC – David Gesswein, Janet Walz

This was a mix of Ohio Scientific equipment and a TI Professional PC, both machines that were left in the dust by computer market forces.The TI Professional PC was not 100% IBM compatible, so it didn't pan out, even if it did have a powerful graphics output.

Meanwhile, David's Challenger II featured a unique OSI-560Z processor lab, a board that allowed the user to have a Z80, or 6100 processor, which was a PDP-8 on a chip. This machine could be seen running FOCAL, and playing a PDP-8 specific game while the 6502 was busy running other software -- at the same time on the same computer.

[dinosaurspen]

What do you think of the new BoC album?

Hey, I meant to ask you about this!

I keep seeing it likened to Campfire Headphase x Geogaddi and I agree with that read. I was surprised how much it reminded me of Campfire Headphase on first listen, I was not expecting the strings and psychedelia and more organic feel overall given the singles that were released.

I feel like it continues the eschatological themes of Tomorrow's Harvest. I doubt it's intentional but I can't shake the mental image of it as something post-post apocalyptic, far, far in the future in a world marked by but uninhabited by human beings. It feels very cosmic, a bit nihilistic, seeped in memory and yet not really nostalgic.

Production-wise it feels special, interesting things going on with the manipulation of the vocal samples (especially on Father & Son), and the audio engineering overall feels really polished. Maybe too polished, I like the layer of grit on older BoC. (This was also a "complaint" I had for Tomorrow's Harvest and it went on to be my favorite of their LPs, so take it with a grain of salt.) I would also like to take a moment to mourn the lack of numbers stations or other radio transmission-y sounds, another favorite auditory flourish of BoC's music, but it does make sense thematically if there really is no one left ...

BoC is possibly my favorite artist of all time, but their albums tend to take awhile to grow on me and I think I'm still in that phase with Inferno. I doubt it will topple Tomorrow's Harvest, Geogaddi or Trans Canada Highway as my favorite releases but I haven't been able to stop thinking about & listening to it since it came out.

[dinosaurspen]

How many computers is too many?

When you run out of space or money, whatever happens first.

Slightly more serious answer is probably too many to take care of or use. I amassed a rather sizable collection when it was fairly easy to come by old(er) computers - before retrocomputing became A Thing so they were still largely considered e-waste and could be picked up for cheap, if not free. They are at my family's home because I don't have space for them, and I'm a little guilty they don't get to be in regular operation / maintenance. I don't like collecting for the sake of collecting, I think collections are meant to be enjoyed and I feel bad if they can't be.

[commodorez]

I made a game manual for Desert Miner.

Thank you to @stealingpotatoes for the cover artwork.

Thank you to 4004, foobles, jbevren, @seat-safety-switch, & ZephyrZ80 for helping me through the tougher parts of 6502 assembly.

[findsomethingtofightfor-deactiv]

REBLOG IF YOU WANT CURIOUS ANONS

[foone]

VGAPride is my DOS program for displaying pride flags. So happy pride month, everyone! Here's a selection of pride flags as displayed on a Pentium 60.

[thegikitiki]

State of Technology…

   UNIVAC 1107, 1960s

[dinosaurspen]

UNIVAC 1232 & Control Data 3800 satellite control computers, both manufactured in the 1960s and used until the 1990s. Smithsonian Udvar-Hazy Center, own work.

[dinosaurspen]

Shell advertisement featuring the IBM SSEC computer. (Image source, further information)

[dinosaurspen]

In Your Defense: The SAGE System//Boards of Canada - Come To Dust

Got the idea after seeing a BoC fan MV featuring the Constellation, one of my favorite planes and realizing I could add to that body of work.

Maybe I'll do more in the future, there's a lot in Tomorrow's Harvest that fits with archival footage of SAGE and other artifacts of the Cold War.

[dinosaurspen]

DEC PDP-10 // DEC PDP-11

Source: Hewlett-Packard Company Archives (1, 2)

[kimi-wa-kasa-o-sashiteita]

Radio Astronomy (ph. Fritz Goro)

[humanoidhistory]

A staff sergeant uses a light pen with early warning radar at Otis Air Force Base, Massachusetts, 1982.

[dinosaurspen]

Combing through old DEC-related footage trying to scrape together enough for a sequel to this, and ran across an old trade show vid

" . . . oh my god, DECn Donuts?"

One frame later

"Oh my god, it's really DECn Donuts!"

[virescent-phosphor]

hang on, I've got coffee

[dinosaurspen]

Combing through old DEC-related footage trying to scrape together enough for a sequel to this, and ran across an old trade show vid

" . . . oh my god, DECn Donuts?"

One frame later

"Oh my god, it's really DECn Donuts!"

[dinosaurspen]

IBM System/360. (Source)