Questions tagged [software]
For questions about the applications and programs that can be run on retro devices (computers, etc.)
94
questions
6
votes
2answers
1k views
What are the “other crontabs” that /etc/crontab refer to? [closed]
The /etc/crontab file on ubuntu has a header that reads:
# /etc/crontab: system-wide crontab
# Unlike any other crontab you don't have to run the `crontab'
# command to install the new version when ...
8
votes
0answers
190 views
What happened to the Speakeasy computational environment?
After reading his interview with the Computer History Museum , Cleve Moler (creator of MATLAB), mentioned that the Speakeasy Computational Environment was a precursor to MATLAB, and served as some ...
2
votes
1answer
182 views
Where can I find the software for “DESIGN: a program to create data entry programs” by J. Michael Wuerth?
I have a copy of the book, DESIGN: a program to create data entry programs by J. Michael Wuerth.
Does anyone know where I can obtain a copy of the accompanying software for the book?
1
vote
0answers
215 views
What was this early 2000s software subscription that had a billboard theme and was about music and bands? [closed]
I cannot remember the name of this music software CDs I used to have. We would get it in the mail every month and it had interviews and song samples in a game style UI with a city/billboard theme. ...
4
votes
1answer
345 views
How can I run OpenSSH under AmigaDOS?
I want to use OpenSSH for Amiga, copied ssh and other files to OS:Utilities from extracted archive, but I'm unable to run the binary. Tried to set protection but it didn't help either. How to make it ...
38
votes
1answer
4k views
How did voice dialing work in old Nokia phones?
For example on S40 or the 3310, users were able to set voice tags (also known as voice commands) for contacts. The phone could then recognize the command later and dial the right number.
With neural ...
25
votes
1answer
2k views
Why was IBM's Scientific Subroutine Package superseded?
It is a familiar fact that scientific software tends to do a lot of vector arithmetic and similar, that one does not want to keep rewriting the low-level code for such, so the usual practice is to use ...
6
votes
3answers
365 views
New chess engines on retro hardware
Does anyone know of any efforts to write modern chess engines for old hardware? (e.g. C64, A2e?)
I'd love to see how a pared-down Stockfish or Leela that could fit in RAM could do rating wise etc.
...
4
votes
1answer
251 views
Identifying and recovering programs from tapes
A couple of days ago, I was given some old tapes with programs written on them. However, I am having some trouble with them.
I do not know what computer they were programed for. After recognising the ...
5
votes
2answers
204 views
How to get Terminate running in DOSEMU on recent machines? [duplicate]
When trying to run http://www.terminate.com/ under http://www.dosemu.org/, I get Runtime Error 200.
I know that this is a well known issue with software compiled with Turbo / Borland Pascal and using ...
3
votes
0answers
140 views
Is there any way to obtain the abandonware 1994 original release of Klik & Play in non-English, non-“For Schools” versions?
In the mid-1990s, I purchased a Swedish boxed copy of v1.0 (I believe) of Klik & Play in a computer store. Since that, the floppies have died and I stupidly even threw away the entire big box and ...
4
votes
3answers
275 views
Was imported software for computers as common as it was for consoles?
In the 90s and in Western countries, you were able to buy import software for pretty much every video game system, for instance, Super Nintendo, Mega Drive, PC Engine, PlayStation and so on.
To run ...
2
votes
1answer
185 views
How did VisiCalc decide how many decimal places to display?
VisiCalc represented numbers in BCD to be able to handle decimals precisely. But how did it decide how many decimal places to display?
In some screenshots like https://www.researchgate.net/figure/A-...
3
votes
1answer
410 views
What were the most common applications of the 8087?
The original IBM PC had a slot for the 8087 floating-point coprocessor. This was a somewhat esoteric feature at the time – previous microcomputers had done all their floating-point in software – but ...
2
votes
1answer
211 views
What was the reason for AmiPro's limitation in displaying two pages together when scrolling?
I have fond memories of using Lotus AmiPro word processor. If it would run on 64-bit Windows, I'd probably still use it today.
One of the most infamous bugs in the program was its inability to show ...
1
vote
0answers
32 views
Where can I find EVOC20 package for Emagic Logic 2.5?
I know the vocoder was firstly developed by the company Emagic, which then bought by Apple. Now it is part of Logic Pro X and impossible to find the original version, that can work in Windows.
Does ...
7
votes
1answer
1k views
What is the point in interpreting an integer literal differently depending on the machine?
I was reading the user manual for an old program "UNRAVEL": http://www.ml1.org.uk/pdf/Unravel_User_Manual_1971.pdf. On page 9, it describes the syntax for integer constants:
Unsigned ...
4
votes
1answer
113 views
Are there any CHIP-8 games that break if `SAVE` / `RESTORE` *doesn't* change the pointer register?
The CHIP-8 instructions SAVE Vx (Fx55) and RESTORE Vx (Fx65) are originally specified to increment the pointer register I as each register is saved/loaded, so by the end of the instruction, the value ...
2
votes
0answers
119 views
Where can I find software for the Imlac computers?
There is an emulator for the Imlac PDS-1 and PDS-4 computers, but not a lot of software to run on it. I know about this collection: http://www.ubanproductions.com/imlac_sw.html
Is there anything else ...
50
votes
14answers
11k views
Did many programs really store years as two characters (Y2K bug)?
The claim that programs stored dates as two ASCII or similar characters because computers were limited in resources seems wrong to me because it takes more memory than one 8-bit integer would. Also in ...
10
votes
1answer
489 views
How much time and how many people were required to develop Delphi version 1?
I would guess the compiler was primarily a modification of Borland's Turbo Pascal, while the Integrated Development Environment and Visual Component Library required a lot more development from ...
9
votes
1answer
786 views
Where did the lookup table in Entombed come from?
Entombed is an Atari 2600 game where you move through an infinite vertically-scrolling maze and try not to die. This maze is procedurally generated, with two bits from a PRNG (underlined) added each ...
22
votes
6answers
2k views
Does the “Amiga Client for Novell NetWare” exist?
On page 139 of Brian Bagnall's book "Commodore: The Final Years", there is the statement that at CeBIT Hannover in March 1989, Commodore announced (amongst other things) "Novell Netware for Amiga".
I ...
3
votes
3answers
367 views
Understanding the meaning of the term “Modifying a software program” in a book
In his book The Silicon Jungle David Rothman mentions several times the term "modifying" or "customizing" a software program.
e.g. Chapter 8:
And then the consultant didn’t even supply instructions ...
27
votes
4answers
6k views
Unix Haters Handbook - guaranteeing synchronous, atomic operations
I've come across Filesystems with versioning and have been reading through the Unix Haters Handbook, linked there. I came across page 85:
On the other hand, techniques for guaranteeing synchronous, ...
4
votes
1answer
459 views
SID to WAV converter that exports per channel separately
For a C64 SID project of mine (https://soundcloud.com/c64er) I was using an converter almost 10 years ago, but it is missing now with its name... I researched many sites, but no lucky. Is there any ...
6
votes
4answers
536 views
Were there any games/software that used a resolution or resolution-mode higher than what was advertised available on the machine?
Were there any games/software that used a resolution or resolution-mode higher than what was advertised available on the machine ?
On home / personal computers between anytime - 1984 .
Without ...
5
votes
9answers
624 views
Were there any games/software that used memory beyond what was advertised available to BASIC on the machine?
Were there any games/software that used memory beyond what was advertised as available to BASIC on the machine ?
On home / personal computers any time up to 1984 .
Without needing to plug in any ...
5
votes
1answer
217 views
Can't install El-Fish on MS-DOS 6.22
El-Fish is a fish tank "game", where you have virtual fish on your screen. The game has no goal, it's more like an interactive screen saver.
I got my version from a number of different sources, one ...
30
votes
22answers
8k views
Was self-modifying code possible using BASIC?
Was self-modifying-code possible using BASIC?
Parameters:
On commonly affordable home-computers before 1984
Code that changes its own instructions while it is executing
Using BASIC only
Not using ...
2
votes
1answer
267 views
Historical speed of linear programming solvers
A few years ago, I remember seeing a video of Ray Kurzweil discussing how linear programming was an example of how software (algorithms) - independent of hardware - is also getting faster (...
8
votes
5answers
390 views
Build automation tools before make?
I realized that make was "only" invented in 1976 and seems to be one of the first build automation tools (at least it's probably the oldest still in use). Make with its shell focus seems like a total ...
2
votes
2answers
489 views
What is a .95END file?
While cleaning out some old computers owned by my grandfather I came across some files marked with the file format .95END that had creation dates in early 1995 (though they could be from much earlier, ...
11
votes
4answers
532 views
In what way could the Sperry Univac BC-7 computer “speak and understand” English?
Researching for this question I ran across this 1978 advertisement for Sperry:
The computer is nicknamed "B.C." and the actor says (in part):
What I really like about BC is he speaks and ...
87
votes
20answers
18k views
Have programming languages driven hardware development?
Programming language development has been influenced by hardware design. One example from this answer mentions how C pointers were, at least in part, influenced by the design of the PDP-11. Has the ...
1
vote
1answer
248 views
How was the modem MNP protocol implemented in software?
When first modems for PCs started to appear in the USSR in late 1980s, they usually were in the form of an ISA card, and supported a bare minimum of the Hayes AT commands. Given the quality of Soviet ...
3
votes
3answers
465 views
Pirated spreadsheet software introducing intentional errors?
Was there ever a case of a spreadsheet application introducing intentional floating-point errors when it detected that it had been pirated? Particularly errors that were small enough to go unnoticed ...
3
votes
1answer
202 views
Ways To Test iMac G3 Before Buying
I am going to buy an old iMac G3 Over the next couple of days/weeks, and I want to make sure that I am buying a system with no problems. I usually ask for the serial number and good pictures before ...
3
votes
4answers
667 views
Combination of processor and Windows version
Have an old(ish) laptop with a Pentium T4400 @ 2.20 GHz processor, and some old software1 that requires Windows 95 or NT.
With a view to running this software on that hardware, I tried installing ...
10
votes
1answer
487 views
Colorful print ad in ca. 1990 magazine
I'm trying to find a software ad in a comic book style that I remember from one of my father's computer magazines in the early 1990s. I know this is a long shot, but somebody might recall it or even ...
48
votes
11answers
20k views
Why not use fractions instead of floating point?
Considering all those early home computers, the ZX Spectrum, the Galaksija, the VIC-20, the Apple I/II/III, and all of those, they all have some 8-bit CPU which does integer arithmetic and no floating ...
5
votes
1answer
1k views
Microsoft Flight Simulator 1.0 “DIVIDE BY ZERO” command
I was reading an Wikipedia article named "History Of Microsoft Flight Simulator" and I noticed something weird about Microsoft Flight Simulator 1.0:
November 1982
sometime during 1981-82
...
14
votes
5answers
4k views
Security Issues with Bootable Games
I'm not sure if this is the correct place to ask this question or Information Security, but here it goes.
Certain storage mediums can also be bootable, for example USB drives or CD/DVDs. These ...
3
votes
1answer
830 views
How did PC boot games handle saving?
I was reading on this RCSE page about old PC games that you had to boot into to play.
Obviously the machine that the game would run on would at least have enough RAM and necessary graphics ...
5
votes
4answers
744 views
How was corporate training done before PowerPoint?
The usual thing today is a laptop (maybe desktop) PC (or Mac) connected to a video projector to display content from PowerPoint (or Keynote) slides. How was it done, in general, before this hardware ...
5
votes
0answers
420 views
Rainbow Technologies Ltd DRM system for DOS
A number of games from the early 1990s appear to be protected with a DRM system developed by Rainbow Technologies Ltd. The system allows content in the games to be unlocked by sending the manufacturer ...
13
votes
1answer
527 views
How did Drive Overlay programs break BIOS disk barriers on older PCs?
I was just reading a thread on Vogons about OnTrack and EZ-Drive setup, and it occurred to me that I have no idea how they work.
Please explain why the barrier existed and then how the overlay ...
8
votes
3answers
467 views
Is there a non-paging ITS for the PDP-6 or PDP-10?
In the late 60s, the Incompatible Timesharing System ran on a PDP-6 without any paging hardware (i.e. an MMU in modern terminology). See the Jargon entry for BLT, for example, which states (my ...
9
votes
2answers
478 views
Can 6502 programs be transliterated to the SPC700?
The SPC700's instruction set is derived from the 6502's, but moves the instructions around and adds a few. But is it fully backwards compatible?
Assuming that the program fully separates data and ...
6
votes
4answers
2k views
What is the (usually lower quality) “software rendering” mode visible in so many “second-generation” FPS games?
During a conversation, a friend of mine sent me this picture:
It's the first Thief (I guess), with so-called software rendering.
I already experienced this effect in Quake 1-2 and to an extent, in ...
