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1500 questions
27
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3 answers
How does the Gameboy's memory bank switching work?
I'm writing a Game Boy emulator, but I don't completely understand how its memory mapping works. Here is what I (think) I know (and don't know).
The CPU can address up to 0x10000 memory locations with the 16-bit address bus. The memory is mapped as…
dav
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27
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4 answers
Term “console” in game consoles
Not sure if this exactly fits here, but I’m interested in the history of word “console” in game consoles and in computing in general.
I can see at least two usages for the term, which at least superficially seem rather unrelated:
game…
tuomas
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27
votes
3 answers
What was the ASCII end of medium (EM) character intended to be used for?
I can find information about how characters were used to structure transmissions in general, and I can find information about transmission characters which are still commonly used today, though perhaps not for their originally intended purpose. But…
Ryan1729
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27
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4 answers
How can I connect a DIN plug keyboard to USB?
I have a wonderful IBM Model M keyboard, which has the best key action of all keyboards I ever used. The problem is it has the big round 5-pin DIN connector used in AT PCs.
I have some PS/2 to USB converters, and I know they are very 'moody', often…
SF.
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26
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6 answers
Why weren't discrete x86 CPUs ever used in game hardware?
Please don't point out APUs with x86_64 cores used in current generation game consoles, these are not part of the question
I cannot recall a single arcade system or game console that ever used x86 for its CPU. I'm happy to be corrected in the…
Brian H
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26
votes
4 answers
How much RAM could one put in a typical 80386 setup?
I read on Wikipedia that 80386 could theoretically handle 4GiB of RAM. Knowing how long ago that was, I find it impossible to believe that anyone could actually connect as much to the CPU. So, given the constraints from motherboards and actual RAM…
d33tah
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26
votes
1 answer
Where does the Z80 processor start executing from?
Strangely I can't find this information anywhere online -- I've thoroughly looked at the datasheet, and I've searched things like "Z80 program counter initial value" -- but I can't find anything!
My question is simply: when the Z80 just turns on,…
Jacob Garby
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26
votes
8 answers
Did terminals (e.g. VT100) require a terminal driver on the host computer?
I'm wondering if terminals (like, e.g. the VT100) required the installation of a driver on the host system in order to work with that host?
I looked at the documentation of the VT102, and there is nothing mentioned about a driver.
I imagine that the…
weibeld
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26
votes
6 answers
Can x86 processors run 8-bit applications?
I was wondering if it is possible to run 8-bit applications within QEMU. I know that the x86 architecture can run 16-bit applications, but can it also run 8-bit applications?
Retro Gamer
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26
votes
2 answers
The almost-was Atari IBM PC
One of the more remarkable events in the history of personal computers was IBM contemplating basing their PC on Atari technology. That this was seriously considered, everyone agrees, but it's hard to pin down specifics. Some versions…
rwallace
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26
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3 answers
Where did DOS store graphics fonts?
I remember using a wysiwyg print program called Fontasy for CGI graphics in DOS because of a lack of standardized graphics fonts. Companies were selling "font packs" for other type fonts. Prior to Win 3.1 releasing TrueType fonts it seems everybody…
Barnstormer
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26
votes
3 answers
How was polyphony achieved on systems with only one audio channel?
Systems like the ZX Spectrum have simple audio hardware with just one channel. But apparently it was possible to do polyphony on these systems. How was that achieved?
The amazing thing with these systems is that the audio hardware seems to only be…
rcntxtlztn
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26
votes
5 answers
What makes a floppy disk bootable?
A lot of web sites describe how to create a bootable floppy disk using an existing image (via dd). But what about the image makes it bootable?
I'm interested in making my own bootable floppy images for an IBM PC and want to understand the details.
Sydius
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26
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5 answers
Why is the RM Nimbus PC-186 not IBM PC compatible?
The RM Nimbus range of computers were popular in British schools during the late 80s and into the 90s. When I was at high school Nimbus PC-186 machines were all over the place. Many web pages that discuss these machines (such as Wikipedia's article)…
Richard Downer
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26
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2 answers
How did Z80 multiprocessing work in the Namco Galaga hardware?
Galaga was a popular arcade game developed and released by Namco (Midway in N. America) in 1981. It had amazing, fast, smooth 2D-sprite graphics, and relied on Namco hardware that utilized 3 Z80 CPUs running at ~3 MHz.
I am aware from the limited…
Brian H
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