iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by George Beckett

Tynemouth Software @tynemouthsoftware.co.uk · 22/09/2026

Happy Birthday to the Jupiter Ace. If you fancy a bit of Forth (or ZX81 BASIC, ZX80 BASIC or Lambda 8300 BASIC) with added RC2014 expansion and maxed out 51K of RAM, check out the Minstrel 4th. www.tindie.com/products/tyn... Message me direct if you want to order from outside the UK.

Minstrel 4th V4.52 with Forth keyboard overlay

Minstrel 4th with the new Multi-standard 9 way D joystick interface (Boldfield / ZXpand / Kempston).

Minstrel 4th keyboard overlays for Forth, ZX81 BASIC, ZX80 BASIC and Lambda 8300 BASIC.

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George Beckett @markgbeckett.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Amazing how quickly sunrise and sunset times are changing as we approach #autumn #equinox, as seen here at Edinburgh Castle, calculated using a #zx80 or #Minstrel2 (8K ROM) supercomputer. github.com/markgbeckett...

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George Beckett @markgbeckett.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

NHS Organ Donation need your help. 8,700 people are waiting for an organ and deceased donation rates are declining. They need 1M people to confirm their organ donation decision (takes 2 mins) on NHS Organ Donor Register register.organdonation.nhs.uk/start/ #OrganDonation #ODW26 #OrganDonationWeek

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George Beckett @markgbeckett.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Why have one temperature sensor when you can have two? Allows me to check addressing in my I2C library (github.com/markgbeckett...) and to see how consistent the sensors are (pretty good, as it happens). #Minstrel4th #i2c #retrogaming

Output of test run, comparing measurements made by two sensors.

I2C devices connected to the SC137 interface card, connected to the Minstrel 4th.

Sensor connected and set up ready for testing.

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George Beckett @markgbeckett.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

This @tynemouthsoftware.co.uk blog blog.tynemouthsoftware.co.uk/2026/08/time... rekindled my interest in maze generation, and I delved into Eller's Algorithm which generates perfect mazes (weblog.jamisbuck.org/2010/1W2/29/...). Here's my Forth implementation - github.com/markgbeckett...

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Reposted by George Beckett

Tynemouth Software @tynemouthsoftware.co.uk · 25/08/2026

It amazes me that legislation like this keeps getting through and nowhere along the line do any of our alleged representatives consider how this might impact anything other than large corporations. All I can say is, if you want something from a small seller, buy it now, whilst you still can.

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Reposted by George Beckett

Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

"We'd like your photoshoot to be with a historic telescope" "But my book is about creating a virtual universe inside a futuristic supercomputer" [pulls in massive favour from colleagues at the Edinburgh Parallel Computing Centre] "Great news - I can offer you both space-age and sparkly" 👌👩‍🔬

Catherine is looking moody in a blue shirt that is colour-co-ordinated with a blue strip light that runs along cabinets that house computers. In the foreground a photographer is taking her photo.

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Reposted by George Beckett

The Centre for Computing History @computinghistory.org.uk · 24/08/2026

BBC Domesday at 40! 📀 Tickets are LIVE for our 19 Sept event at the Centre for Computing History, Cambridge. www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/77318/Do... Explore the original system, hear from those involved & see if you can find your 1986 contribution! 🔎

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Reposted by George Beckett

Dominique Boutigny @alvindediaspar.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

In one of my picture of the eclipse, taken a little bit before sunset I have a spot on the Moon. It is probably an artefact but there is a slight chance that it is the flash of a meteorite smashing the moon. May I ask you to check your pictures for a similar spot around 18:50 UTC ? 🧪 🔭

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Reposted by George Beckett

Fuzzweed @fuzzweed.co.uk · 08/08/2026

UK people. Do you remember / were you part of the BBC doomsday project in 1984? The Centre for Computing History is looking for memories (especially if you made it onto the laser disc) for their upcoming 40th anniversary exhibition . forms.cloud.microsoft/e/s5HEvKBkV4

forms.cloud.microsoft

Microsoft Forms

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George Beckett @markgbeckett.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

Ported my I2C interface to work with (#Minstrel4th) Tree Forth. Tree Forth is not as easy to use as Ace Forth, plus its easier to crash machine with bad code. However, it is quite a bit faster. #retrogaming

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George Beckett @markgbeckett.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

First version of #Forth I2C interface is complete (for #JupiterAce ROM on @tynemouthsoftware.co.uk #Minstrel4th). Based on Steve Cousin's Z80 m/code I2C demo. It includes example for LM75A temperature sensor. github.com/markgbeckett...

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Reposted by George Beckett

SmallRun @smallrun.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

New shop on SmallRun: Tynemouth (@tynemouthsoftware.co.uk). Making new things for old computers → smallrun.net/shop/tynemouth

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Reposted by George Beckett

EPCC @epcc.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

The Rubin Observatory’s Legacy Survey of Space & Time (LSST), expected to create up to 500PB of data, has begun. EPCC’s Somerville research cloud hosts the UK's Data Access Centre, which will serve LSST science data to the international community: edin.ac/4gjaKYb

This 1.7-gigapixel image of a field of stars in the constellation Lupus showcases the unprecedented view of the Universe that NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory gives us. Equipped with the LSST Camera — the largest digital camera in the world — Rubin combines a wide view of the sky with the ability to detect extremely faint objects. With this capability, Rubin can reveal details of the cosmos across an enormous range of scales, from distant galaxies, to individual stars, to the wispy clouds of dust spread throughout our galaxy. The faint, glowing clouds spread across this image are galactic cirrus: clouds of interstellar gas and dust that can be seen in the foreground of the Milky Way. Rubin’s ability to capture scenes like this in unmatched detail will open new windows into the structure of our galaxy and the Universe beyond it. Credit: NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory/NOIRLab/SLAC/AURA

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Reposted by George Beckett

Sinclair Research @sinclairresearch.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

The Lambda 8300 - a ZX81 clone that squeaks at you with every keypress and makes you type PRINT in full. Tynemouth Software's reverse engineering of its ROM is a brilliant read: blog.tynemouthsoftware.co.uk/2026/0…

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George Beckett @markgbeckett.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

Inspired by @timsretro.bsky.social (youtu.be/4sX05bnFuwc?...), I am experimenting with connecting I2C sensors to the #Minstrel4th. The SC137 (smallcomputercentral.com/rcbus/sc100-...) seems a good place to start. #retrogaming

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Reposted by George Beckett

Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

We have the best library at the Royal Observatory in Edinburgh, packed full of ancient astronomical books. This one is (apparently) in German? Anyone interested in helping us find out what it says? Danke! 🙏

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George Beckett @markgbeckett.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

Done work on the #ZX80 version of Toni Baker's Draughts game. Found a bug, that occasionally caused a crash. Having fixed that, I found two more challenging bugs, also now fixed. This is how I think Toni intended the game to play. github.com/markgbeckett...

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George Beckett @markgbeckett.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Looking at options to improve my port of Toni Baker's ZX81 draughts game (github.com/markgbeckett...) and spotted that @zx81keyboardadventure.com did something similar ten years ago (www.zx81keyboardadventure.com/2016/10/zx81...). Time to take a look. #retrogaming

zx81keyboardadventure.com

ZX81 Draughts - Challenge Accepted 34 Years to Late

Retro computer blogging on games, software, electronics, Arduino, Raspberry PI & projects for the Sinclair ZX81, ZX Spectrum & retro other computers.

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George Beckett @markgbeckett.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

Made some further improvements to #zx80/ #minstrel2 version of Toni Baker's draughts/ checkers. More bug fixes plus removed the need to prefix moves with odd characters. Computer plays a reasonable game. github.com/markgbeckett...

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George Beckett @markgbeckett.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

Why not take the opportunity on this auspicious day to power up your #Minstrel4th or #JupiterAce (or #EightyOne emulator) and learn some #forth. It's easier than you think, and your reward is being able to write fast and compact code - github.com/markgbeckett... #maytheforthbewithyou

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Reposted by George Beckett

Tynemouth Software @tynemouthsoftware.co.uk · 04/05/2026

May the 4th be with you. The Minstrel 4th. *3.25/6.5MHz Z80 based computer kit *49K RAM *Jupiter ACE compatible *Forth or ZX81 BASIC *RC2014 expansion slot *40 key keyboard *PAL/NTSC mono composite video *1 bit sound www.tindie.com/products/tyn... (or DM me directly if you don't want to use Tindie)

The Minstrel 4th with keyboard in all it's glory

Minstrel 4th board close up showing clock jumpers, ROM selection and a real Z80 (one of the last production batch)

ZX81 BASIC running on a Minstrel 4th. Mostly compatible apart from high resolution graphics and custom loaders. Yes it supports FAST/SLOW mode and it can run 3D Monster Maze.

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Reposted by George Beckett

Royal Astronomical Society @royalastrosoc.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

Are you a physics teacher in the UK? We need your help! 🧑‍🔬🧑‍🏫 We've created an open letter for teachers to sign and express their grave concern at the devastating proposed cuts to astronomy, space science and particle and nuclear physics. ✍️ 👉️ ras.ac.uk/news-and-pre... #STFC #UKRI

ras.ac.uk

Open letter on astronomy cuts from UK physics teachers

drupal-media[data-view-mode=half_page_width] { display: inline-block; width: 50%; } The Royal Astronomical Society is encouraging physics teachers in the UK to sign ...

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George Beckett @markgbeckett.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

In 1981, Toni (sometimes Tony) Baker published a book on how to write machine code for your ZX81 (and ZX80). Working through the book, you would develop (among other things) a draughts game including a computer player.

Copy of Mastering Machine Code on Your ZX81 by Tony Baker

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George Beckett @markgbeckett.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

Heloise Stevance, Dan Ryczanowski and Steven Gough-Kelly showcased some of the features of the @lsstuk.bsky.social Broker #Lasair, which receives and processes up to 10 million alerts from @vrubinobs.bsky.social every night, capturing the ever-changing cosmos.

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George Beckett @markgbeckett.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

Matthew Temple is worried about differential chromatic refraction and asks if we can do better for @vrubinobs.bsky.social

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George Beckett @markgbeckett.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

Qianjun Hang is working to improve photometric redshift at highest redshifts that @vrubinobs.bsky.social will observe. @lsstuk.bsky.social

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George Beckett @markgbeckett.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

Tom Cornish describes his work to eliminate systematic errors from @vrubinobs.bsky.social observations to enable more accurate interrogation of galaxy clustering for the study of dark energy. @lsstuk.bsky.social

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George Beckett @markgbeckett.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

James Mullaney joins the two, new @lsstuk.bsky.social Community Scientists, showcasing some of the capabilities of the Rubin Science Platform, where astronomers will interact with the Petabytes of @vrubinobs.bsky.social data products. #capturethecosmos

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George Beckett @markgbeckett.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

Stephen Thorp is creating a generative model of expected observed galaxy distribution with @vrubinobs.bsky.social LSST to help inform study of large-scale cosmological structure. @lsstuk.bsky.social

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George Beckett @markgbeckett.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

Yue Zhao is looking for X-ray sources with optical counterparts. To date, around 500 have been discovered, but @vrubinobs.bsky.social #LSST survey coupled with @lsstuk.bsky.social #Lasair Alert Broker will allow Yue to discover and study many more.

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George Beckett @markgbeckett.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

Julia Erceg studying ability to use images from @vrubinobs.bsky.social Data Preview 1 to interrogate host-galaxy properties of AGN, having modelled and subtracted the black hole at the centre. @lsstuk.bsky.social

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George Beckett @markgbeckett.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

Tom Wilson explains how huge number of previously undetected objects that @prelovac.bsky.social will observe presents problem for traditional crossmatch with other surveys and how the @lsstuk.bsky.social Macauff crossmatch uses multifaceted modelling to significantly improve the number of matches.

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George Beckett @markgbeckett.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

Elham Saremi kicks off Day 2 of @lsstuk.bsky.social #AllHandsMeeting, presenting her work to fuse LSST and VISTA images to reveal important high-redshift galaxies not obvious in optical bands alone. @vrubinobs.bsky.social

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George Beckett @markgbeckett.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

I've ported Perilous Swamp to @tynemouthsoftware.co.uk #Minstrel4th, but using my port of Tree Forth/ ZX81 Forth. Probably wasn't a great idea: took much longer than I expected and will require you to write new ROM for your Minstrel 4th, to play it. However, here it is - github.com/markgbeckett...

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George Beckett @markgbeckett.bsky.social · 29/03/2026

Lighter evenings are here with the return of #BritishSummerTime. Check out sunrise/ sunset near you with this handy type-in for #ZX81/ #Minstrel3 - github.com/markgbeckett... #edinburghcastle

Minstrel 3 showing sunrise/sunset times at Edinburgh castle over coming week.

Screen of a Minstrel 3 showing sunrise/sunset times at Edinburgh castle over coming week

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George Beckett @markgbeckett.bsky.social · 28/03/2026

Sound from an unmodified #ZX81/ #ZX80? Surely not. However, Toni Baker showed how to get quite impressive sound from the tiny micros, provided you were happy with a flickering screen. Also works on #Minstrel2 / #Minstrel3, though you need to access signal on mic socket. github.com/markgbeckett...

Minstrel 2 computer, with copy of Toni Baker's book on machine code and a cassette player.

Minstrel 2 computer, about to load program, with copy of Toni Baker's book on machine code and a cassette player.

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Reposted by George Beckett

EPCC @epcc.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

EPCC PhD student Kejia Zhang is researching multimodal story generation using generative AI for contextualised mathematics education. He aims to develop a learning system called MathsTale, which will enhance children’s engagement and learning experiences: edin.ac/4bf1x01

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Reposted by George Beckett

Rubin LSST:UK @lsstuk.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

Wondering what makes the @vrubinobs.bsky.social such a powerful discovery engine? This excellent new video from Slac National Accelerator Laboratory explains all. 🔭 www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMo4...

youtube.com

How Rubin Observatory Maps the Universe Every Night

YouTube video by SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

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Reposted by George Beckett

EPCC @epcc.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

The UK-developed Lasair software system has begun ingesting, processing, and filtering millions of astronomical alerts from the data captured nightly by the 10yr Vera C. Rubin Observatory's Legacy Survey of Space and Time: edin.ac/4czsWLa Image: NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory/NOIRLab/SLAC/AURA

edin.ac

Opening a real-time window to our vast and ever-changing skies | EPCC

As the Vera C. Rubin Observatory issues its first live alerts of changes detected in the night sky, a UK innovation is allowing us to observe millions of astronomical events as they unfold.

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George Beckett @markgbeckett.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

Pleased to see #IRIS #Somerville computer @epcc.bsky.social can handle 1M+ events to be classified by @lsstuk.bsky.social #Lasair each night. On Tuesday, @vrubinobs.bsky.social began streaming details of changes in our night sky: a huge milestone for survey astronomy - www.lsst.ac.uk/news/2026-02...

lsst.ac.uk

Lasair ingests 800,000 Rubin alerts as public alerts stream begins

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Reposted by George Beckett

Rubin LSST:UK @lsstuk.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

Hunting down supernovae in near real time! Last night, the UK data broker Lasair ingested and rapidly processed 800,000 alerts as the @vrubinobs.bsky.social public alerts stream began! Now anyone can observe astronomical events as they unfold thanks to Rubin’s data brokers. What a milestone! 🔭

A graphic showing the Rubin Observatory as a white observatory building on a dark hilltop. The night sky is in the background, with data alerts dotted across the sky.

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George Beckett @markgbeckett.bsky.social · 01/02/2026

#runthemonth 100-mile challenge for #ProstateCancerUK completed at the Vogrie Park Run with support from 21st Midlothian Scout Group. runthemonthme.prostatecanceruk.org/fundraising/...

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George Beckett @markgbeckett.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

Sadly I don't have a #ZX80, but I do own the next best thing, a @tynemouthsoftware.co.uk #Minstrel2. Happy birthday to the ZX80! #retrogaming

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George Beckett @markgbeckett.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

One week and 15 miles to go to complete #runthemonth for #ProstateCancerUK. I wonder if my running shoes will ever be dry again, If you're able, please donate at runthemonthme.prostatecanceruk.org/.../georges....

runthemonthme.prostatecanceruk.org

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George Beckett @markgbeckett.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

Edinburgh buried in a dark rain cloud today, with a cold wind from North Sea, which made it all the more surprising that I really enjoyed my run today! #runthemonth runthemonthme.prostatecanceruk.org/fundraising/...

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George Beckett @markgbeckett.bsky.social · 21/01/2026

Seventy miles down, 30 to go #runthemonth. We're on track to reach 100 miles by end of January though 30 miles in the next 10 days seems daunting. runthemonthme.prostatecanceruk.org/fundraising/...

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