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Yesterbits

@yesterbits.com
449 followers 137 following 83 posts

Doing things (or, considering doing things, at some point) with old computers, usually.

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Retrocomputing Roundtable @rcrpodcast.com · 11/08/2026
RCR Episode #290: MiniDisc vs. 8-track. Recorded back in March. We struggle to find things that happened in 1990. The Video Toaster did. MiniDiscs didn't, but we talked about them anyway. Also 2-XL, programmable remotes, magazines, and a fine mist of Macintosh models. rcrpodcast.com/2026/08/11/r...
rcrpodcast.com
RCR Episode 290: MiniDisc vs. 8-track | Retrocomputing Roundtable
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Yesterbits @yesterbits.com · 13/07/2026
When you're a child in the 1980s, angry, and in possession of crayons, but don't yet know how to spell.
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Retrocomputing Roundtable @rcrpodcast.com · 08/07/2026
RCR Episode #289: ZIP me down to Maxis Sim City. Recorded back in November. This time: Some things of 1989. Like PKZIP, like SQL Server. Also: Microsoft seems to own Zork, MBASIC, Tandy 16B, and the Myst board game. rcrpodcast.com/2026/07/08/r...
rcrpodcast.com
RCR Episode 289: ZIP me down to Maxis Sim City | Retrocomputing Roundtable
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Yesterbits @yesterbits.com · 14/04/2026
I guess Apple Orchard went to press later than Softalk. Because as far as I know, August 1984 was the last issue published of both magazines. Here's the editorial from Apple Orchard, Aug/Sep 1984, lamenting (and incredulous at) the loss of Softalk (and of Peelings, but less surprised by that).
The Shakeout Cometh. Apple Orchard 1984, Aug/Sep, Planting a Seed column.Softalk is gone. Peelings is gone. And, contrary to rumor, Apple Orchard yet lives.
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Yesterbits @yesterbits.com · 08/04/2026
I'm pretty impressed by what Photoshop can do when processing a scanned book page that a prior owner has written all over. Good job that he wrote all over it in blue ink. But the writing is just... gone. Nice.
Side by side before and after of a book page scan, with blue pen writing all over it and with just the pen removed by Photoshop.
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Yesterbits @yesterbits.com · 27/01/2026
I don't remember ever seeing a SwyftCard ad. But even if I have, this one's kind of interesting because it's targeting elementary schoolers(' teachers). In Teaching & Computers April 1986.
"I put a SwyftCard in every Apple in my school because it makes using a computer actually easier than using a typewriter."
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INIT HELLO @init-hello.org · 26/01/2026
INIT HELLO, V2 is coming this summer! INIT HELLO will be back for a second year at the System Source Computer Museum in Hunt Valley, Maryland, June 19-21, 2026! This year adds a third day (Friday). Stay tuned for more info on registration, hotels, talks, and events! init-hello.org/2026/01/init...
init-hello.org
INIT HELLO, V2 COMING THIS SUMMER - INIT HELLO
INIT HELLO is excited to announce that the conference will be back for a second year at the System Source Computer Museum in Hunt Valley Maryland June 19-21, 2026! Thanks to the overwhelmingly positiv...
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Retrocomputing Roundtable @rcrpodcast.com · 25/01/2026
RCR Episode #288: NeXT, Sound Blaster, and IRC. Indulge your nostalgia for the weather from October. We cover 1988, Amstrad, Akalabeth, Altos, Apple IIc Plus, Adventure International, and also additional areas. Possibly we misunderstood what "bring your A-game" meant. rcrpodcast.com/2026/01/25/r...
rcrpodcast.com
RCR Episode 288: NeXT, Sound Blaster, and IRC | Retrocomputing Roundtable
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Yesterbits @yesterbits.com · 22/10/2025
\o/ I have finally reconnected with Summit Software's BetterBASIC, a variant of BASIC for the IBM PC that I—but apparently nobody else—used extensively in the mid-1980s. For years and years it has been nowhere on eBay. Until it was. And now it's here.
BetterBASIC binder from the side.BetterBASIC binder out of its slipcover.BetterBASIC manual title pageBetterBASIC disks (backup copies, but, still, disks).
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Yesterbits @yesterbits.com · 19/10/2025
Remember: you will find the letter "oh" next to "en" on the left side of the dial. The numeral "oh" is always in the same space as the word "operator." www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuYP...
youtube.com
1954 How to dial your phone by Bell System
YouTube video by trendymagic
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Ron’s Computer Videos 🧍‍♂️🖥️📼 @ronscompvids.bsky.social · 14/06/2025
Let's talk about INIT HELLO w/ Cat and Paul (July 26–27, 2025)! youtu.be/65Rqmww_lsg
youtu.be
Let's talk about INIT HELLO w/ Cat and Paul (July 26–27, 2025)!
YouTube video by Ron's Computer Videos
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Retrocomputing Roundtable @rcrpodcast.com · 08/06/2025
Retrocomputing Roundtable #286 will be recorded here at 4pm eastern North American time: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Utxt... — join us as we try to think of something momentous that happened in 1986.
youtube.com
Retrocomputing Roundtable episode 286
YouTube video by Retro Computing Roundtable
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INIT HELLO @init-hello.org · 06/06/2025
INIT HELLO: Sat-Sun July 26-27, just north of Baltimore at a fantastic computer museum, featuring Apple II-inspired workshops, talks, contests, and other enthusiasts. Details in the linked post. Lots of people have already signed up, but there's still room! init-hello.org/2025/06/init...
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INIT HELLO @init-hello.org · 05/06/2025
The (tentative) schedule for INIT HELLO is now available! init-hello.org/schedule/ Deadlines are rapidly approaching to reserve space in our hotel blocks, order shirts, register to go. But it's not yet too late!
init-hello.org
Schedule (tentative) - INIT HELLO
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INIT HELLO @init-hello.org · 04/06/2025
Deadline is coming up SOON to order your INIT HELLO shirt (or hoodie, or sweatshirt). Orders close on JUNE 15. init-hello.org/shirts — can be delivered to you (US addresses) or picked up at the event.
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Retrocomputing Roundtable @rcrpodcast.com · 04/06/2025
RCR episode #285: You'll Have Mail. In 1985, the Amiga arrived, NeXT was founded, Quantum Computer Services began its journey to becoming AOL. We also talk INIT HELLO and System Source, ZX-Spectrum clones, MIDI, and more! rcrpodcast.com/2025/06/04/r...
rcrpodcast.com
RCR Episode 285: You’ll Have Mail | Retrocomputing Roundtable
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INIT HELLO @init-hello.org · 02/06/2025
INIT HELLO registration closes June 30, deadlines for hotel blocks and shirts are sooner. Details at the link below about what we're planning, what the deadlines are, how to sign up for space. We hope to see you in July! init-hello.org/2025/06/have...
init-hello.org
Have you registered yet? - INIT HELLO
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Yesterbits @yesterbits.com · 26/05/2025
@retroist.com Catching up on the Lonely Island podcast and suddenly there's you asking about spelling bee. Very cool.
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Retrocomputing Roundtable @rcrpodcast.com · 26/05/2025
RCR episode #284: Hammer time. In 1984, Apple introduced the Macintosh and the Apple //c, IBM introduced the PCjr, HP introduced the LaserJet, FidoNet began distributing mail. 🌮 rcrpodcast.com/2025/05/26/r...
rcrpodcast.com
RCR Episode 284: Hammer time | Retrocomputing Roundtable
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Retrocomputing Roundtable @rcrpodcast.com · 24/05/2025
RCR episode #283: A STRANGE GAME. In 1983, the era of it being always DNS began. From Atari, the XL; from Apple, the Lisa, ImageWriter, and //e; from Radio Shack, the Model 100; from Lotus, 1-2-3; from David Lightman, wardialing. rcrpodcast.com/2025/05/23/r...
rcrpodcast.com
RCR Episode 283: A STRANGE GAME | Retrocomputing Roundtable
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Retrocomputing Roundtable @rcrpodcast.com · 23/05/2025
RCR episode #282: End of Line. Kick back and relaaax with us as we toast the highlights of 1982, including Tron, WarGames, C64, Vectrex, Choplifter, Pitfall!, The Computer Programme. rcrpodcast.com/2025/05/23/r...
rcrpodcast.com
RCR Episode 282: End of Line | Retrocomputing Roundtable
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INIT HELLO @init-hello.org · 14/05/2025
INIT HELLO (July 26-27 at System Source, just outside Baltimore) wants YOUR ideas for cool workshops, presentations, activities! What do you want to share, or build, or present? Slots are limited, so send your proposals soon (not later than June 15). More details at init-hello.org/2025/05/call... !
init-hello.org
Call for Presentations - INIT HELLO
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Yesterbits @yesterbits.com · 06/05/2025
I made a 1-line snake game in Applesoft. IJKM controls. 1GR:S=0:COLOR=1:FORY=0TO38:X=RND(1)*39:PLOTX,Y:NEXT:COLOR=9:HLIN0,YAT0:HLIN0,YATY:VLIN0,YAT0:VLIN0,YATY:FORZ=0TO1:COLOR=7:PLOTX,Y:K=PEEK(49152)-201:I=(K=2)-(K=1):J=(K=4)-(K=0):M=I<>J:X=X+I:Y=Y+J:C=SCRN(X,Y):S=S+(C=1):Z=M*C>1:?S:NEXT:GETA$
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INIT HELLO @init-hello.org · 01/05/2025
Registration for INIT HELLO is now open through June 30! Capacity is limited, so register soon! init-hello.org/2025/05/regi...
init-hello.org
Registration is Open - INIT HELLO
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Colin McMillen @colin-mcmillen.piaille.fr.ap.brid.gy · 23/04/2025
www.colino.net/wordpress/en/shuffle…
colino.net
Shufflepuck Cafe for Apple II
35 years later, the great Shufflepuck Cafe game is, finally, available on the 8 bits Apple II line of computers. The splash screen The Cafe A game against Bejin **Download:** * the Shufflepuck Cafe floppy image * the game manual **Requirements:** * An Apple ][+ or more recent, with 64kB of RAM or more. * A mouse and MouseCard * A real Apple II – emulators don’t do the game justice1 * The game is visually more enjoyable on a monochrome screen. This is a design choice. **More information:** I have tried to be faithful to the original game, and the implementation is almost complete. The only missing things are the player pusher’s configuration, and the mid-table blocker. I have had great joy developing it, and I hope you will have as much pleasure playing it on your Apple II. Here is a short teaser of the game, against one of the toughest opponent. The start of a game against Biff * * * 1. Known emulator issues – **AppleWin** mouse emulation makes the game almost unplayable. – **Virtual ][** mouse emulation makes the game almost unplayable. – **MAME** `apple2e` emulation flickers awfully. Use `apple2c` emulation. Mouse emulation feels kind of wrong and the pointer leaving the window makes playing annoying. Use `-nowindow`. ↩︎
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Retrocomputing Roundtable @rcrpodcast.com · 30/03/2025
Episode 285 will be recorded here in a little over an hour, 4pm eastern NA time: www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIWr... — Amiga, NeXT, Windows 1.0, Brazil. Join us, (still) preoccupied with 1985.
youtube.com
Retrocomputing Roundtable episode 285
YouTube video by Retro Computing Roundtable
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INIT HELLO @init-hello.org · 26/03/2025
INIT HELLO is honored to welcome Laine Nooney, author of The Apple II Age: How the Computer Became Personal (University of Chicago Press, 2023), as our keynote speaker. init-hello.org/2025/03/init... www.lainenooney.com init-hello.org
init-hello.org
INIT HELLO WELCOMES LAINE NOONEY AS KEYNOTE - INIT HELLO
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INIT HELLO @init-hello.org · 25/03/2025
INIT HELLO now has a Discord server. Come join us! More announcements soon to come... discord.gg/JkKQV7prNM init-hello.org
discord.gg
Join the INIT HELLO Discord Server!
Community server for the INIT HELLO gathering, an Apple II community event. | 55 members
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INIT HELLO @init-hello.org · 12/03/2025
A newly formatted floppy for a new conference!! init-hello.org #AppleII #apple2
init-hello.org
Welcome - INIT HELLO
You have a diskette, and you want to start fresh. So you run “INIT HELLO” on your Apple II and you get a clean slate. A clean slate is coming to the System Source Computer Museum north of Baltimore, M...
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Nox LadyAiluros, Avatar of Virtue @ladyailuros.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
I kinda did a thing.... with a lot of help of course! init-hello.org #AppleII #Apple2
init-hello.org
Welcome - INIT HELLO
You have a diskette, and you want to start fresh. So you run “INIT HELLO” on your Apple II and you get a clean slate. A clean slate is coming to the System Source Computer Museum north of Baltimore, M...
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Yesterbits @yesterbits.com · 09/03/2025
The System Source museum, 20 minutes outside of Baltimore in Hunt Valley, MD, looks... amazing. museum.syssrc.com Also has most of the DigiBarn collection, hosts The Bloop Museum & National Electronics Museum. I must work out a way to visit this. www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqiF...
youtube.com
Insane Computer Collection at System Source Museum
YouTube video by Usagi Electric
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Yesterbits @yesterbits.com · 05/03/2025
David Greelish talked with Allan Pincus, one of the creators of the Computer Junkyard game, available here: youtu.be/qCrPH-vh3ds...
youtu.be
Interview with the creator of the Computer Junkyard game
YouTube video by David Greelish
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Yesterbits @yesterbits.com · 05/03/2025
Computer Junkyard, a board game soon to launch as a Kickstarter. Seems cool, seems like I'm in the target audience. Seems... a little like escaping everyday concerns by playing The Game Of Life. www.kickstarter.com/projects/com...
kickstarter.com
Coming soon: Computer Junkyard
The Best Computer Game Not Played on the Computer: A board game where you build a vintage computer & install an old software game!
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Yesterbits @yesterbits.com · 25/02/2025
Sinclair ZX-81, but the US model. Not a Timex-Sinclair 1000. Still has a £ in the lower right of the keyboard though.
Front of a ZX-81Back of a ZX-81Close-up of back reads:
FCC IDENTIFICATION DATA.
Model No. ZX81 USA.
Personal Computer.
Made in Engliand.
No user serviceable parts inside.
Use only Sinclair approved AC adapter.
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Floppy Days Podcast @floppydays.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
New episode of Next Without For Podcast! The History of BASIC www.nextwithoutfor.org/2025/02/show...
nextwithoutfor.org
Show 014 - The History of BASIC
Randy and Earl cover the history of the BASIC programming language, including its origins, and the wide adoption of BASIC on 8-bit systems i...
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Floppy Days Podcast @floppydays.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
Feb. 17, 2025 was the 12th anniversary of the publication of the first episode of the Floppy Days Podcast! Thanks, everyone, for the support all these years! www.floppydays.com
floppydays.com
Floppy Days Vintage Computing Podcast
Vintage computing podcast for all types of home computers from the late 70's through the 80's. Covers the Apple II, Commodore PET, and TRS-80 Model I to the Commodore 64, Atari 800, TI-99, Tandy CoCo...
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Retrocomputing Roundtable @rcrpodcast.com · 23/02/2025
We'll be recording episode 284 here in about 20 minutes: www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUrw...
youtube.com
Retrocomputing Roundtable episode 284
YouTube video by Retro Computing Roundtable
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Yesterbits @yesterbits.com · 13/02/2025
The Epson LX-90 printer, circa 1985, used "Printer Interface Cartridges." One would provide a Centronics connector; there were also cartridges specific to Apple //c, Commodore 64/VIC-20, IBM PCjr. And Epson's support site, in 2025, has manuals for each of them. epson.com/Support/Prin...
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Adrian's Digital Basement @adriansdigitalbasement.com · 05/02/2025
A great read on proving the Mac Classic II ROM contains a bug that unintentionally relies on an undocumented 68030 instruction to allow the machine to boot and not crash. www.downtowndougbrown.com/2025/01/the-...
downtowndougbrown.com
Downtown Doug Brown » The invalid 68030 instruction that accidentally allowed the Mac Classic II to successfully boot up
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Retrocomputing Roundtable @rcrpodcast.com · 26/01/2025
RCR Episode #281: The IBM PC and its sticks of ennui. In 1981, we got the BBC Micro, ABC 800, ZX-81. And IBM PC, but not for games! We communicated with Kermit and AT commands. Also, Atari ST Notebook, a woven Pentium, and SF's Muni ditches floppies. rcrpodcast.com/2025/01/26/r...
rcrpodcast.com
RCR Episode 281: The IBM PC and its sticks of ennui | Retrocomputing Roundtable
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Space Quest Historian @spacequesthistorian.com · 14/01/2025
This is cool: A version of the first Zork adventure game that lets you play the game and watch what the source code does under the hood at the same time. eblong.com/infocom/visi...
eblong.com
The Visible Zorker
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Shaun Musgrave @shaunmusgrave.bsky.social · 04/01/2025
It’s important we tell our own stories if no one else does. Here is my memory of the Unisys ICON and some ICON games, a computer that only Xennials from Ontario would have used. They were almost all destroyed and no archives or emulators exist. True lost media. postgamecontent.com/post/7717260...
postgamecontent.com
The Unisys Icon: One Canadian Xennial's Memories of Ontario's Obscure Computer
One topic that often comes up in retro gaming circles is how aspects of gaming history not part of the American story don't get enough attention. I personally feel it's mostly up to the people to whom...
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Yesterbits @yesterbits.com · 12/01/2025
FB reminded me that 13 years ago, I decided to do what seemed a kind of quaint and odd thing: I bought an Apple IIGS. Whether that turned out to have been a good move is debatable. But it’s been kind of a fun slide down the slope at least.
An Apple IIGS set up on a desk. The caption of the Facebook post reads “I decided to start 2012 with a new computer…”
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Yesterbits @yesterbits.com · 01/01/2025
560x192
Apple II+ screen showing two diagonal lines at 560x192. Text at the bottom reads:
 
HGR:F=0:FORY=0TO159:HCOLOR=3+4*F:F=1-F:X=INT(Y/2):HPLOTX,Y:HPLOTX+200,Y:NEXT
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Retrocomputing Roundtable @rcrpodcast.com · 30/12/2024
RCR Episode #280: Cheap home computers. In 1980, Commodore introduced the VIC-20, Sinclair introduced the ZX80, Tandy introduced the Color Computer, and HP tried to breed a computer out of calculators. Also other things happened. Which we discuss! rcrpodcast.com/2024/12/30/r...
rcrpodcast.com
RCR Episode 280: Cheap home computers | Retrocomputing Roundtable
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Yesterbits @yesterbits.com · 29/12/2024
A couple of years ago I got a fresnel lens on a stand to make the Osborne 1 screen more readable. #computersaremyforte
Osborne 1 with the lens off to the side ("before")Osborne 1 with the lens in front of the screen ("after")
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