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retrocomps.bsky.social @retrocomps.bsky.social · 4h

Give your 64's VAL function a lession in mathematics with this short-but-powerful machine language routine!

Article from a 1988 issue of COMPUTE!'s Gazette, featuring a hack to use functions from the C64's built in BASIC interpreter to interpret a broad array of BASIC statements as a function. Headings are Typing It In, Using Smart VAL, and Error Trapping.

retrocomps.bsky.social @retrocomps.bsky.social · 10h

Long before Robot Unicorn Attack, "Always" got some serious MIDI work in this strange Tetris clone. This is TRIS-ME (1997). (Source.)

An old school Windows shareware title with a lot going on. Menus are Play, Options, Info, and (greyed out) "TRIS-ME 1997 (C) Unregistered Version." The playfield is a standard black field with falling Tetronimos composed of rounded spheres of various colors. Top left are colorful notes of Level, Score, Money, and Bonus; playfield left is the Next indicator, with hearts, clovers, magic wands, and a timer. Top right is a spellbook, with the colorful word "CAST!" below; below that are various spellcasting reagents, and their point values. A strung-out orange tank cat with green stripes has a chat balloon, currently empty, where messages would appear; at the bottom right are the buttons "Play!", "Buy!", "Stole!", and "Return!" The whole thing is set up against a faux-granite backdrop.

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retrocomps.bsky.social @retrocomps.bsky.social · 16h

If I had a dime for every sticker they included in the Gradiente Expert XP-800's box for their keycaps, I'd have $1.50. (Source.)

A three-piece computer unit. Up top, the white monitor reads: "MSX BASIC versão 1.1 Br 'G r a d i e n t e' 28014 bytes livres OK" up top, then "color auto goto list run" down below. The computer itself is a grey pizzabox, with black angular highlighting joining the two cartidge slots and the power light. Image bottom, the Expert's keyboard; a full keyboard, it includes multimedia buttons, a blue directional keypad, and the same angular black highlighting as is on the face of the computer proper. A small recess in the computer allows the keyboard to be locked in place, although this seems only to be to hold the keyboard in position, not to store the keyboard.

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retrocomps.bsky.social @retrocomps.bsky.social · 22h

Man, 80s computer books made even non-relational databases look fun. (Source.)

The cover to the book, "Writing Your Own Program: Creating A Database: Adventure Game." Each line is in its own font. The computer (a black affair with rainbow keys" depicts a scuba diver swimming, handcuffs in hand, as it is attacked by a giant cross octopus; the painted octopus is literally bursting out of the monitor. A tiny little banner in the corner states: "For Commodore 64 And Apple IIe Computers"

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retrocomps.bsky.social @retrocomps.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

"As the leading West Coast exhibition devoted to PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS of Artificial Intelligence, AI '88 provides a forum where vendors and users can meet to discuss specific needs, exchange ideas, and get down to serious buying and selling..." (Source.)

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retrocomps.bsky.social @retrocomps.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Mugshot Memory Test, "41½ Fun Projects for the Commodore 64", Dale Disharoon

Three screenshots of a face. First screenshot shows a blank face and a randomly generated face, labelled "Remember this man's face..." Second screenshot shows two slightly different faces, labelled "Sorry, that's not the man." Third screenshot shows a face in reconstruction, labelled "Okay, do you recognzie the nose?" with options for different noses.

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retrocomps.bsky.social @retrocomps.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I could make a whole sub-bot based just on programming books with dragons on the cover. (Source.)

The cover to "Programming Your Own Adventure Games in Pascal" by Richard C. Vile, Jr. In the distance, a castle appears. In the mid-ground, a red dragon blocks the path to the castle; nearby, an Indiana Jones-type character shoots at the attacking dragon.

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retrocomps.bsky.social @retrocomps.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Pixel-A-Pixel for March '89 (Source.)

In purple frame, the results for the "Pixel A Pixel" art contest from the March 89 issue of Microhobby magazine; all these were made on the spectrum. Here, we have two first-place images, with 31 of 100 votes; the second place image has 27 of 100 votes. The first image by Tomas Aceytuno Dominguez is titled "Leuco" ("White" or "Pale" or "Colorless", I'm not sure); it depicts a man in fron tof a crashed spaceship, holding a gun at some unshown beast; stars and planets appear in the background over cold icy mountains, and growths appear, indicating a frozen forest. Second is a picture of Judas Priest, by Pedro José González Casares; it shows two rockers with their foots up on speakers playing guitar, while colored lights on stage and strobing camera effects indicate they're in a busy show. Third is a picture of a pegasus rampant, by Jorge Morga Bachiller; in a white circle it shows a white pegasus, rampant, its wings spread (and one wing escaping the circle), a huge untamed mane.

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retrocomps.bsky.social @retrocomps.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Some people say I focus too much on Commodore computers, but they're just sour appleheads. (Source.)

From page 203 of the Apple Almanac: A drawing of two people talking to each other. On the left side of the image is a man, in a striped polo, with an Apple II for a head. To the right side is a woman, in a blouse, with an Apple Disk II disk drive for a head. They're using their hands animatedly, the man spreading his hands for emphasis, the woman touching her disk-drive head to indicate listening. Illustration drawn by Martin Cannon.

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retrocomps.bsky.social @retrocomps.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

The subject of the 2025 film True North, the Henry F. Hall Arson was one of the first cases of computer based protests... and one of the the first deaths adjacent to a computer.

A picture of Henry F. Hall. Windows on a high floor are open, and punch cards (then worth millions of dollars of labor) are being poured out. (When the students had demanded justifications for their grades, the principal told them the justifications had been "lost" in the school's internal mail system.) Piles of cards are pouring over the street as police mill around outside.

A photo from above, showing police and firetrucks standing in piles of punch cards, and a crowd of onlookers watching. Televisions crews at the time reported the crowd encouraging the police to burn down the building with the students inside.

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retrocomps.bsky.social @retrocomps.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

For a machine called the "Spectravideo," how come it's a grey and white box with only a tiny splash of red?

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retrocomps.bsky.social @retrocomps.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

The Inheritance: Chaos in Scotland (C64; Infogrames, 1987) (Source.)

The Inheritance: Chaos in Scotland (C64; Infogrames, 1987). The player's view, outside a green mansion (with turuquoise planters and a black security camera); they've driven up on a yellow and red car with pontoon fins (sort of a sendup of a 540K. A balding butler (with jowls, mauve shirt, black tie, and purple pants) says: "Come in, Mr. Stone. We're expecting you. If you would like to follow me."

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retrocomps.bsky.social @retrocomps.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Is it a wargame? Is it a chess clone? Yes.

From K-Power Magazine issue 1, a 'Screening Room Strategy' article for "Archon: Where Brain Meets Brawn." Broad sections include Icons (showing pieces), Strategy Screen (showing a chessboard), Combat Arena (showing the real time combat screen), and Getting Started.

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retrocomps.bsky.social @retrocomps.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

One thing I really like about MSX Fan magazine are these extremely thorough overviews of the the programs in the back of the magazine, describing the purpose for each line and variable in the program in plain Japanese. (Source.)

A magazine article about the MSX game Temimu. Top left, a screenshot showing a knockout; top header, the name 'Temimu' by Hirota Yusuke, for the MSX and the MSX 2/2+ with 8K RAM. First column, the meaning of each variable; the first group are for the physics and status of each Temimu, the second group are for controlling which attack is in motion. The next three columns give descriptions for each subroutine within the BASIC program. The inset box, "A Word from the programmer", describes how he feels over the hill for only having started programming in BASIC when he was in highschool and seeing kids programming in assembly at age 12. A few non-implemented moves are drawn in, like the Sleeper Whole Cobra Twist, the Romero Shooter, the Bear Hug, and one I can't even begin to read, although they all look like birds being pushed up against each other.

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retrocomps.bsky.social @retrocomps.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

The 'ribbon' metaphor for Windows programs was divisive. But it was a far sight better than what came before. (Source.)

A screenshot of Word 2003. This screenshot has 27 toolbars, a menu (with only seven items) that you have to expand for some reason, very few text labels, tiny icons, and no obvious way to chord from one page to the next. Each toolbar is coded different, so they are of varying widths, some are floating, some are up top while some are down below, and one is a side pane for some reason. That's not to say anything about the dozens of controls hidden within the menu proper. The tiny text editing area, dwarfed by the dozens of toolbars with dozens of controls, reads: "It is getting a bit crowded in here!"

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retrocomps.bsky.social @retrocomps.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

♪ The song I sing will tell the tale of a cold and wintry day; / when evil fled, and brave men bled, the Dark One came to stay... ♫

A Commodore 64 screenshot. Underneath the gothic font header of "The Bard's Tale by Michael Cranford", a bard plays a lute and sits on a barrel, drink at his side; customers lean in to listen. Below are the lyrics above: "The song I sing will tell the tale of a cold and wintry day;"

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retrocomps.bsky.social @retrocomps.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

The 'Clementina', Argentina's first computer, a Ferranti Mercury mainframe named for its demo program that played "My Darling Clementine." Installed 1961, and effectively destroyed in Onganía's Night of Long Batons in 1966.

A replica of the Clementina computer. It's an 18m long computer with a desk, a QWERTY machine with photoelectric tape reader on the right, and a hardware monitor on the left; image left, one vacuum tube rack lies open, revealing the vacuum tube network within.

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retrocomps.bsky.social @retrocomps.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Galaxy Travelers (Stuart & Donna Paltrowitz; BASIC, 1983) (Source.)

Two astronauts sit in a cockpit. On the tall viewscreen before them, they see a flying wing heading twoards an alien planet in deep, dark space.

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retrocomps.bsky.social @retrocomps.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

In 1968, a professor posited that students do not actually learn; they simply memorized words and strung them together in arbitrary fashion, learning to pass time-pressed examiners not the material. Prof. Mendoza put this to the test by creating a program that actually combined material randomly.

From "Cybernetic Serendipity: the Computer and the Arts," published 1968:

3503 Programme 4a

The breeze drifted by. Across the fields softly moved the clouds and then the breeze, which calmly touched the treetops drifted across the fields. Quietly the sun shone over the woods. The sky calmly shone across the fields.

Out of the door ran Squirrel and off hurried Hare who munched and crunched two buns happily. Off slowly flew Old Grey Owl and Squirrel soon ate two buns. Old Grey Owl who peered at a strawberry pie munched and crunched two buns but noisily Little Grey Rabbit who peered at an old oak tree slowly ran down the path to the woods. Soon she hurried down the path to the woods but then she sniffed at two buns. She hurried down the path to the woods.

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retrocomps.bsky.social @retrocomps.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Murder. Treason. Sabotage. Espionage. Intergalactic war. Just another day on the planet Harmony. (Source.)

Up top, an alt deco take on a spaceship control concole, with a brown chair at the silvery panels; the three monitors show workers at the base of a pyramid, a three-dimensional map (currently highlighting the planet Harmony: "Friendly, population:low, Tech Level:medium"), and a topographic map with a selection cursor. The catchphrase "Murder. Treason. Sabotage. Espionage. Intergalactic war. Just another day on the planet Harmony." is in the middle. Dense, breathless ad copy below gives multiple paragraphs of reasons to play the game ("Introducing Maelstrom", "Mind-Bending Strategy", "Heart-Stopping Action", "Ever-Changing Plots"), and an 800 number to call to order. The logos for Merit Software and Don Bluth Multimedia appear at page bottom, as well as the box art (the same spaceship instrument panels as shown above).

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retrocomps.bsky.social @retrocomps.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Ever wonder how hit CBS Show 'Whiz Kids' turns the stars into star hackers? Issue 1 of K-Power Magazine has the secret!

A program listing titled "How 'Whiz Kids' Fakes It: Check out this program CBS uses to make Richie Adler look like a whiz kid typist!" Translations are available for the Commodore 64, TRS-80 Model 4, Timex Sinclair 1000 and 1500, Apple, Atari, IBM, TI-99/4A, TRS-80 Color, TRS-80 Model III, and VIC-20 computers. A tiny picture of Richie Adler, a nerd in fannel wearing glasses and typing at a deconstructed keyboard, appears in the bottom right.

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retrocomps.bsky.social @retrocomps.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

DELPHI Lets Your Imagination Run Free

An abstract picture of a man and woman on a monitor, looking at each other while reaching out of the monitor to type on the same keyboard. The monitor is surrounded by features like "Download Software" (a disc), "Multiplayer Games" (cards), "E-Mail, Fax & Telex" (an envelope with wings), "Internet Services • Mail, Telnet & FTP" (a globe with atomic orbitals), "Special Interest Groups" (a guitar), and "Reference & News Serives" (a book). The bottom headline touts "Five Hours Free!" while giving instructions to log in.

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retrocomps.bsky.social @retrocomps.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

"Find out why members of the Dumb Terminal Fan Club are some of the smartest people around..." (Source.)

Up top, the headline: "The Dumb Terminal lets you put it all together." Image center, a striking fellow with curly hair stand behind his Dumb Termina with a gride grin, in front of the handtools and booklets he presumably used to assemble his Dumb Terminal. Around him is dense ad copy, describing how it includes "all essential electronic components" and the ability to join the Dumb Terminal Fan Club (with T-shirt if you include $6). The bottom right hand corner is a mail-in card. Byte Magazine for January 1978, Volume 3, Issue 1, page 59.

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retrocomps.bsky.social @retrocomps.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Kevin and Kell was one of the first webcomics, but before that, it was a print comic for the BBS/ISP industry magazine Boardwatch. (Source.)

Kevin (a rabbit) unplugs his computer, and looks into the wire. Pulling the wire over his head, he disappears into the network and travels along the wire. Surprised, Kevin pulls himself out of the wire. In the last panel, Kell asks: "How's the new server?" Kevin states: "It seems to have more bandwidth."

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retrocomps.bsky.social @retrocomps.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Writing BASIC Adventure Programs for the TRS-80 (Frank DaCosta, 1982) (Source.)

The cover for a book, "Writing BASIC Adventure Programs for the TRS-80", by Frank DaCosta. The call text reads, "Create exciting computer games while you learn valuable new programming techniques!" A dragon curls around a TRS-80, taking a swipe at a knight who is standing on the keyboard, his sword raised to take a swing at the fearsome beastie perched on the monitor and disk drives.

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retrocomps.bsky.social @retrocomps.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Aroma Disc Player (Charles of the Ritz, 1983) (Source.)

A batch of discs for the Aroma Disc Player, some of which are in wax paper sleeves and some of which are in Digipak sleeves. Scents include Pina Colada, Christmas Tree, Fireplace, and Seduction.

An ad for The "Aromance" Aroma Disc Player by International Fragrance Technologies. A hand is pushing a disc into the frontloader; a small wisp of presumably scented steam is rising out of vents on top, into the text of the ad. Up top it reads, "The electric room freshener. There's no better gift to clear the air." The ad copy describes its guarantees, the three free discs included (the ones pictured are Christmas Tree, Honeysuckle & Rose, and English Garden), as well as a subscription plan offering three records every six weeks for $10.95 plus shipping.

Box art for the Aroma Disc Player, showing a slender disc being loaded into a frontloading disc player. Source: https://www.soft-electronics.com/

A later model, the Aromance 2100 looks less like a TRS-80 and more like a CD player, with power switch, slideable "Intensity" control, and a printed-on "power" light.

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retrocomps.bsky.social @retrocomps.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Popful Mail (PC8801, 1992) (Source.)

An ad for the fantasy platformer Popful Mail. Top center is our heroine, Popful Mail, a cheerful red-headed swordswoman with elfin ears and a bindle on her sword. Top left is an inset of Tatto, the party magician, with a staff topped with a half-moon. Top right is an inset of Gaw, the party's scrungly dragon thing. Bottom left inset is Slick, a white-haired elf, the party explosive master, looking like a mad scientist. Bottom right inset is Glug, a heavyset dwarf, holding hammer and wrench. Top background is a watercolor painting of a forested swamp, with volcano and castle in the background; bottom background are screenshots (emphasizing the quality animation). Purchasing details appear page bottom (mail or fax, cash-on-delivery; 8700 yen).

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retrocomps.bsky.social @retrocomps.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Death Knights of Krynn took the familiar gold box D&D formula and moved it the world of Dragonlance, where Arthurian heroes fought Gothic horrors.

In a landscape screenshot, the top shows a rotting knight flying on a skeletal dragon, with red eyes watching the attacking knight from the night sky. The text reads: "Maya screams in despair as she recognizes the gruesome remains of her ex-lover. Sir Karl brandishes his sword as his death dragon swoops towards the scattering crowd. Press button or return to continue."

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retrocomps.bsky.social @retrocomps.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

COMPUTERS PUT PEOPLE OUT OF WORK (Source.)

This newspaper-political-cartoon style comic from the book "A Common Sense Guide to Selection of a Computer System" shows a very mean all-in-one computer giving the boot to a hapless old man, kicking him out the door and down the stairs.

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retrocomps.bsky.social @retrocomps.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

LEARN TO TYPE OR GET BLOWN TO BITS.

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retrocomps.bsky.social @retrocomps.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

WE'RE PUTTING A RACETRACK RIGHT THROUGH YOUR LIVING ROOM

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retrocomps.bsky.social @retrocomps.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

"How do we tell would-be customers that the Internet gives people the world?" "Have the only image in the ad be the world, surrounded by twelve Internets." "Brilliant!" (Source.)

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retrocomps.bsky.social @retrocomps.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

"20 top titles available..." (Source.)

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