#nostalgiatech

🎄💾🗓️ Day 8: Retrocomputing Advent Calendar - Commodore PET 🎄💾🗓️

The Commodore PET (Personal Electronic Transactor) came out in 1977 and was among the earliest personal computers - featuring an all-in-one design with a keyboard, monochrome monitor, and cassette deck - all within a single chassis. Powered by an MOS Technology 6502 microprocessor running at 1 MHz, it had 4 KB of RAM and was expandable up to 96 KB in later models. The PET had Commodore BASIC stored in ROM, allowing users to write and execute programs directly. Its display supported text resolutions of 40×25 or 80×25 characters, using the PETSCII character set for semigraphic capabilities. While early models did not have sound, later versions included a basic beeper. PET's all-in-one design and user-friendly interface contributed to its popularity in education and business, and it sold approximately 219,000 units before its discontinuation in 1982.

Check out the wikipedia page for some extended history and great photos -

🎄💾🗓️ Day 5: Retrocomputing Advent Calendar - Compaq DeskPro 1 🎄💾🗓️

The Compaq Deskpro Model 1, introduced in 1984, featured an 8 MHz Intel 8086 CPU, which had better performance than the IBM PC's 4.77 MHz 8088 processor. It combined Color Graphics Adapter (CGA) graphics with high-resolution Monochrome Display Adapter (MDA) text, delivering enhanced text display. This improved speed and better text clarity over IBM PCs equipped with standard graphics. The Deskpro's architecture allowed for various disk configurations and was an influence for many personal computers.

Check out The Centre for Computing History's Compaq DeskPro 1 page (and other resources there!)

And here's a somewhat "first computer" story from Adafruit team member Anne!

"In my first year of EE (junior) we were limited to larger computers. My senior year we could check out Compaq Portables (really luggables) which allowed us to run C compilers and compile cross assemblers onto a machine for ease of use.

When I graduated, I needed a computer and went to a PC store. They contrasted the IBM PC/XT 8088 with the newly released Compaq DeskPro 1. With an 8086 processor running at 7.16 MHz, it was faster. It came with monochrome graphics (green or yellow) with both CGA and text mode video. I bought the dual 5.25" floppy version to start, to have enough money for an IBM ProPrinter for output.

The machine was great and I spent many hours on programming, databases, word processing and more. It was upgraded eventually to a 30MB RLL hard disk and an added 720k 3.5" floppy."

It got through the '286 era and was supplanted by a '386 machine. I still have the DeskPro and I intend to resurrect it in the not too distant future.

🎄💾🗓️ Day 10: Retrocomputing Advent Calendar - BeOS 🎄💾🗓️

BeOS, developed by Be Inc. in the mid-1990s, was an operating system for multimedia applications, multitasking, and multithreading. Initially designed for the BeBox—a proprietary hardware platform featuring dual PowerPC processors—BeOS was later ported to the Macintosh and x86 architectures. Its kernel was monolithic, and the system was primarily written in C++. It featured a 64-bit journaling Be File System (BFS), which supported metadata and allowed rapid file queries and fast performance for multimedia tasks. Despite its technical strengths, including support for symmetric multiprocessing and a responsive graphical user interface, BeOS struggled to gain market traction. Development ceased in 2001 after Palm Inc. acquired Be Inc.'s assets. BeOS continues through Haiku, an open-source project aiming for binary compatibility with BeOS R5.

A bunch of resources and links for this one!

🖥️💾🎨📀

🎄💾🗓️ Day 16: Retrocomputing Advent Calendar - Tandy 1000🎄💾🗓️

Tandy's 1000, sold by Tandy Corporation in 1984 via its RadioShack stores, was a low-cost home computer designed to be compatible with IBM PC software. It shipped with an Intel 8088 processor, 128 KB of RAM, expandable to 640 KB, and had better-at-the-time graphics and sound than many of the standard PCs. The 1000 had the Tandy Graphics Adapter, or TGA, and the more superior SN76496 or NCR 8496 sound chips. The built-in joystick port also made it desirable for gamers and home users. Different models were produced, each with improved hardware, before being discontinued in 1993. One of the main selling features was its compatibility with IBM-PC, the MS-DOS operating system, and expansion slots for peripheral devices.

And check out our guide! Tandy 1000 Keyboard to USB with CircuitPython. https://learn.adafruit.com/tandy-1000-keyboard-to-usb-with-circuitpython

IrDA codec board 🔧📡🕰️

Outdated Tech with Nostalgia: A Sentimental Journey