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1500 questions
17
votes
1 answer
What did memory dumps look like on 36-bit machines like PDP-10s?
I spend a lot of time looking at hex dumps of memory, which have a format that should be familiar to most:
00010000 00 FF 48 65 6c 6c 6f 20-77 6f 72 6c 64 21 00 00 ..Hello world!..
But on 36-bit machines like the PDP-10, the natural unit of…
John Källén
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17
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8 answers
Were there ever any dumb terminals in a portable form factor?
I’m curious if there was ever a case of a company making some sort of serial ASCII terminal, but in a portable factor, such as a laptop or even reasonable luggable. I’ve seen plenty of portable devices with a terminal emulation functionality, but…
an earwig
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17
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1 answer
When was an image of an apple first used to promote the APL language
The APL community is contemplating the adoption of a common logo but some are worried about trouble from Apple lawyers. Now, IBM and others have been using apple motifs in promoting APL for a long time, but how long exactly? Maybe it can be shown to…
Adám
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17
votes
3 answers
In x86 real mode, how does BIOS know what hardware is present?
I know that BIOS is obsolete, hence why I'm asking here :-) BIOS needed to do things like start loading the OS, for which it (usually?) would have needed things like a hard disk driver.
However, BIOS lived in a ROM. Since the designers of the BIOS…
Michael Stachowsky
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17
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3 answers
Ideal resolution for color computer on NTSC
Suppose you were, in the early eighties, designing a color computer to run on an NTSC TV with a free hand to choose the specifications within the limits of the technology of the time. What would be the ideal resolution?
NTSC has 262.5 scan lines,…
rwallace
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17
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1 answer
How did Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons/Ages know it was running on a Game Boy Advance?
I remember finding out there was a secret area in both games that you could only get to if you were playing on a Game Boy Advance. Even the 3DS releases don't allow access to them. My question is, how did the games know they were running on a Game…
puppydrum64
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17
votes
4 answers
How were the special effects achieved for the Kraftwerk Die Roboter 1978 music video?
The following video for Kraftwerk's Die Roboter is very interesting because it features some effects which I think might require a framebuffer to achieve. Having a framebuffer in 1978 would to my knowledge be a very big deal.
I'm interested in how…
The Movie Man
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17
votes
3 answers
How can I store a machine language program to disk on a C64?
I know I can use LOAD "PROGRAM",8,1 to load a program in a certain spot in memory, using the first two bytes of the file on disk.
Now let's say I have used the .MON command on the Final Cartridge III to write a machine language program.
How can I…
Bart Friederichs
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17
votes
3 answers
Why can't I invoke the next interrupt service by incrementing the AX register after calling the same interrupt?
I have two snippets of 8086 assembly code, both of which are supposed to do the same thing: make the mouse appear on the screen.
Show_Mouse:
push ax
mov ax,0 ;Reset Mouse
int 33h
mov ax,1 ;Display Mouse
int…
puppydrum64
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17
votes
4 answers
Appropriate battery replacement for my A3000
I know the interwebs are full of information relating to the replacement of batteries for various computers, and the Amiga's are no different. But before I do anything rash, I wanted to ask for some input.
My A3000 still has the original clock…
Geo...
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17
votes
1 answer
Seeking details relating to Amiga 3000 serial numbers
I am the original owner of my Amiga 3000. As I remember it, I purchased the machine fairly early after release. I'm cleaning and detailing the machine, and I took a quick picture of the serial number sticker on the mainboard.
Obviously this…
Geo...
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17
votes
1 answer
How can I interface with an old Atari from a modern computer?
I have an old 8bit Atari at my dad's house which would be fun to play with.
It has a keyboard, computer and screen, turn it on, and program BASIC.
But I'll possibly want to load the code from a modern computer. The reason being, saving/load from…
dwjohnston
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17
votes
1 answer
What was the first programming language to use `+` for string concatenation?
Many reasonably modern programming languages (Java, Python, C++, Ruby) use + to represent string concatenation. "A" + "B" is the string "AB".
Languages with a more mathematical background tend to use other operators for this (Haskell uses the monoid…
Silvio Mayolo
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17
votes
4 answers
Why does Pascal have numeric labels?
Pascal was intended, in part, to be a simple language to implement. Some of the design decisions reflecting this are
Declarations/definitions must be given in a strict order (labels, constants, types, variables, routines); they can't be mixed. (The…
texdr.aft
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17
votes
1 answer
In what year did term "program" first appear in the meaning of "series of coded instructions"?
I'm trying to figure out year when the term "program" was firstly used is the meaning ‘a series of coded instructions which directs a computer in carrying out a specific task’.
Additionally I need a book/paper/essay where I can read this…
No Name QA
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