Questions tagged [software]
For questions about the applications and programs that can be run on retro devices (computers, etc.)
2
votes
4answers
341 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 ...
4
votes
0answers
368 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 ...
7
votes
1answer
160 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 ...
5
votes
0answers
113 views
Do you have a non-paging ITS for PDP-6 or PDP-10?
In the early days (late 60s), the Incompatible Timesharing System ran on a PDP-6 without any paging hardware (i.e. an MMU in modern terminology). (See "The Big BLT".) It was later moved onto a PDP-...
9
votes
1answer
174 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 ...
5
votes
4answers
578 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 ...
16
votes
2answers
3k views
First commercial DOS game?
What was the first commercial game sold for use on IBM/MS/PC DOS after the IBM August 12, 1981 release.
0
votes
1answer
259 views
What was the name and origin of this security software?
I am trying to find a free software for security, that I downloaded for tracing someone attached to my computer. I remember using this on my Windows 98 system. You could see on a map where the ...
6
votes
1answer
174 views
Did Radio Shack initially attempt to get a monopoly on commercial software for the TRS-80 Model I?
This question is about the era of the TRS-80 Model I, ca. 1977-1979. Originally there was no software you could buy, other than BASIC itself, which was in ROM. You would write your own, or type in ...
6
votes
3answers
350 views
Identification of old text-to-speech voice/engine
I have heard it many times before, but I can't recognize where the TTS file/engine comes from. But what in do know is that it sounds very old, so it seemed appropriate to post this question here.
...
6
votes
1answer
326 views
Need help identifying math game where equations let you move from room to room?
Can anyone help me find an old math game where equations let you move from room to room? I played the game on an Apple II back in middle school and I want to use it with my daughter to teach her math. ...
10
votes
1answer
720 views
Where do command line switches originate from?
In Linux we have command line switches traditionally started with minus ls -al. In Windows those start with slash dir /b.
I remember that on RSX-11M that I used to deal with and later on RT-11 the ...
10
votes
2answers
636 views
Where did Fast InvSqrt() come from?
The fast inverse square root algorithm is probably best known for its use in Quake III Arena, the source code of which was released to the public a few years after its release. However, the algorithm ...
9
votes
3answers
453 views
Old school backup systems: what are they?
So being a sysadmin for several years, I learned that "Jesus saves, but God makes tape backups," several times over.
Watching Season 2 of Halt and Catch Fire, there is some data loss.
Being that ...
9
votes
1answer
433 views
Was there a 'git' in the 1990s?
I seem to remember using a source code control system back in the early- to mid-1990s called git. Am I nuts?
I used to work at IBM way back then. We didn't use it for a big project, but I distinctly ...
8
votes
2answers
809 views
What is the best way to obtain old versions of Windows?
I'm wondering what the best way obtain old versions of Windows would be, specifically:
DOS
Windows 95
Windows 98/SE
Windows 2000/ME
Windows XP Professional
Windows 7 Professional
Microsoft Office for ...
1
vote
0answers
254 views
What are some programs known to take advantage of Intel MMX instructions? [closed]
Although MMX techology, introduced in 1997, is long superseded by SSE series of extensions, it's still included in every modern x86 CPU for backwards compatibility.
What are some examples of ...
18
votes
2answers
1k views
How did Windows ME “cripple” DOS?
Windows ME includes the ability to create a bootable DOS floppy. This floppy contains versions of COMMAND.COM and IO.SYS that are "crippled" to remove real mode. This is done with only one changed ...
-9
votes
1answer
429 views
How many old computing methods are still with us today? [closed]
Reading some of the questions here got me to thinking... how many of the old methods, software or hardware, are still with us today?
My two examples:
HTML. It's line oriented, for crying out loud. ...
5
votes
0answers
250 views
Find the PGP SDK
Starting in 1998 (I think) the PGP company run by Phil Zimmerman released the PGP SDK for Mac, Unix and Windows. This was a big event because it was the first time that comprehensive, high grade ...
59
votes
11answers
15k views
Did Apple not originally allow anyone to develop software for the Macintosh?
This probably nearly belongs on Skeptics.SE but here goes.
Within the last few years I've become an Apple convert for the most part, which occasionally brings me into (usually) good natured conflict ...
22
votes
4answers
3k views
What was the first piece of software to be called an engine?
Nowadays I hear a lot about graphics engines, game engines, physics engines etc. but don't remember the term being used much, if at all, back in the 80s and the 8-bit era.
I'm not including Charles ...
1
vote
0answers
358 views
How were 3D effects created before GPUs? [closed]
Games like Super Mario 64 were revolutionary: full, round, hi-definition 3D models moving in real-time and able to be interacted with. This was because they were designed for machines with separate ...
82
votes
15answers
21k views
How was early randomness generated?
Many programs make use of randomness, from BASIC guess-the-number games to encryption key generators. This randomness could have been generated in many, many different ways: hardware, software, ...
11
votes
1answer
405 views
What API did the POKEY module provide?
The POKEY module was used in many, many Atari arcade games, including most that contained the Atari Math Box. It could be used to sample potentiometers, scan matrices of switches and, more famously, ...
20
votes
2answers
997 views
Actual code written by Ada Lovelace?
I have seen some claims that Ada Lovelace was the first programmer.
Is there any actual code to back this up?
5
votes
1answer
220 views
What are some names of professional music software for the Macintosh Classic / SE?
I'm not asking for opinions, recommendations or reviews. I'm looking for professional, graphical music creation software for the classic line of Macintosh computers. I'm not looking for mod or ...
62
votes
2answers
12k views
Why does the Minus World exist?
In Super Mario Bros. for the NES and Famicom there exists a secret world, accessible by clipping through a wall to the first warp zone and entering the left-most pipe.
This pipe will take you to ...
14
votes
1answer
778 views
Why does Ms. Pac-man turn upside down?
Ms. Pac-man is a game where you navigate a small yellow circle around a maze, collecting dots and fruit whilst avoiding brightly-coloured monsters, or ghosts. This time, however, the yellow dot has an ...
16
votes
1answer
546 views
Why can you not move on the last level on Dig Dug?
The objective of Dig Dug is to eliminate underground monsters by inflating them until they pop, or by squashing them with large rocks. Once all of the monsters have escaped or been defeated, the level ...
32
votes
1answer
5k views
Why does the kill-screen glitch occur in Pac-man?
Pac-man is a game where you navigate a small yellow circle around a maze, collecting dots and fruit whilst avoiding brightly-coloured monsters, or ghosts. As long as there was at least one 'man left, ...
9
votes
2answers
798 views
What is the instruction set of the PDP-7?
The PDP-7 was a bookshelf-sized "minicomputer", with keyboard, magnetic and paper tape and printer I/O. According to Wikipedia, the first version of UNIX (then named Unics) was programmed in assembly ...
18
votes
3answers
2k views
Why did Pokémon Red have so many overflow bugs?
(This question also applies to other Game Boy games, but Pokémon seems to be one of the best-documented.)
Pokémon Red & Blue (Red & Green in Japan) is a pair of Game Boy games about capturing ...
18
votes
3answers
2k views
How did Elite (BBC Micro) compress resources?
Elite, an Acornsoft game for the BBC Micro, is a game in space.
Space is big. Really big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is.
-- Douglas Adams
...
9
votes
3answers
388 views
How can I copy software which is too large for one Atari ST floppy disk?
I have downloaded the STOS game creator from the STOS download page. I'm trying to copy the software from my computer to a floppy disk formatted on an Atari ST, but I get an error message saying the ...
5
votes
2answers
490 views
How were analytics gathered on software built for retrocomputing platforms?
In modern software development, it is a common practice to include some kind of analytics tracking software to see how customers are using your software, what a typical user flow of the application is,...
11
votes
2answers
681 views
How can I build Gameboy Development Kit 2.1.5 on a modern Unix/Mac platform?
Continuing with my quest to build the Infinity Game Boy Color source code, I am trying to build the Unix source of GBDK 2.1.5 on my macOS El Capitan machine.
Trying to make the files in the lib ...
5
votes
0answers
166 views
Where can be found “Nemesis II”, the sequel to “Nemesis”, an old CP/M game?
In the 1981, "Nemesis" was released for CP/M based machines by Super Soft Inc., with the author attribution of Michael A. Pagels and Michael Q Hiller, and artist attribution of Diana J. Bush. ...
46
votes
3answers
4k views
What was Nintendo's Software Development Environment for NES Games?
(This question was inspired by my previous question What kind of software was used to develop Nintendo 64 titles?)
The NES used a modified 6502 processor and most games were written in Assembly. ...
10
votes
0answers
549 views
In search of… SeaWar — NOT Battleship!
Hopefully, sufficient background
Many years ago (40-45), I used to play "Sea War" on a good sized time-share system. It was a text/adventure war game between a couple remote players, played over a ...
7
votes
1answer
262 views
TI-83 Series Graphing Calculator Emulator
Back in middle school I set up a Windows/DOS TI-83 calculator emulator for some of my teachers. I can't for the life of me remember the name, but I'm looking for a Mac TI-83 emulator (or any TI-8x ...
19
votes
1answer
2k views
What kind of software was used to develop Nintendo 64 titles?
There seems to be a lot of discussion online about the development hardware used to create Nintendo 64 titles: SGI Indy "pizza box" workstations, SGI's custom Ultra 64 development boards (aka "...
5
votes
5answers
547 views
Does a market/shop with fully legal 8-bit software/games exist? [closed]
Currently about all of "8-bit micro" games that I know is either abandonware (which is a gray area) or free fan works. But is there some kind of shop, market, some place where you can purchase these ...
10
votes
2answers
281 views
What did disk-validator do?
...besides relabelling the disk to 'Lazarus' and helping the Saddam virus spread?
I know it was supposed to 'fix' corrupted disks that were ejected during a write operation. I don't think I've seen a ...
11
votes
1answer
442 views
What does Personal Paint documentation actually refer to by “unmaskable interrupt” for its “crash protection feature”?
Personal Paint was a gfx program for Amiga that introduced many novel concepts, some quite ingenious, some... controversial. Among all, it had a "crash protection" feature, that was meant to enable ...
10
votes
1answer
356 views
How does one convert Atari assembly to A=USR(ADR(“[garble]”)) style BASIC wrapper?
Some small utilities, tools etc for Atari were distributed as BASIC programs that would consist of just one line, that looked something like this:
10 A=USR(ADR("p$PHHLéúÿÿÇEéúÿÿ@éüÿÿ2A$éòùÿÿE°U´è§...
13
votes
3answers
889 views
How did Atari cassette “turbo without hardware mods” work?
There were some cassette copying programs for 8-bit Atari, that boasted saving the games in a way that would load it at up to 1800baud - versus the standard 600baud, which was a significant ...
25
votes
3answers
1k views
What are the differences between a PAL and NTSC C64?
A lot of programs released for the Commodore 64 contained different software for the PAL or NTSC computer. Why did they have different versions of the hardware? Did the software have to be different ...
18
votes
3answers
983 views
How did “full memory” Spectrum tape copiers work?
There are some tape copiers, such as LERM that claim to be able to copy tapes which contain software that takes the full 48kbyte of RAM.
However, this seems impossible on a Spectrum, when the whole ...
18
votes
3answers
419 views
Where can I find software for the PDP-6?
We are planning to build a reconstruction of the PDP-6. The project is making a lot of progress, but currently we have a critical lack of software. Does anybody know where we can find software to run ...
