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The Tomy Tutor, released in 1983, was one of the first true 16-bit home computers with kid-friendly features based on the unreleased TI 99/8. It had limited RAM and expansion but offered nice graphics and sound. Handwritten marketing notes from Tomy provide a snapshot of the 1980s home computer market.

The unreleased Apple Network Server 2.0 ROMs have been tested on an ANS 700. They add built-in support for the ANS's Cirrus video and Symbios SCSI, enabling Mac OS boot from internal drives. However, the firmware appears unfinished, with broken AIX support, missing device aliases, and a blank front LCD.

The Commodore brand has had a poor track record since the company's 1994 bankruptcy, with many failed licensed products. While there is a niche market for retro hardware recreations, the Commodore name adds little value to modern PCs or smartphones. The article questions the practical value of acquiring the trademark.

The article discusses the history of Commodore's productivity software efforts in the mid-1980s, focusing on Magic Desk for the C64 and the Jane 128 word processor suite by Arktronics for the Commodore 128. It covers the development of Magic Desk as a graphical file manager and the business motivations behind porting Jane to the 128, including connections to future Activision leaders.

The author acquired an original Gremlin Blasto arcade logic board and refurbished it to be fully playable. The article details the history of Gremlin Industries and the development of Blasto, which was created using hardware originally designed for earlier games like Blockade.

San Francisco 49ers cornerback Deommodore Lenoir discussed his June arrest in an interview. The article references his jersey number being 2, not 64.

The article examines an RDI PrecisionBook, a rare PA-RISC laptop from 1997 that could run HP-UX alongside classic Macintosh software via Apple's Macintosh Application Environment. It compares this machine to contemporary PowerPC PowerBooks and details its hardware specifications and historical context.

The article explores Roadsearch Plus, an early 1980s route-finding software for Apple II and Commodore 64 computers. It details how the program encoded map data and performed graph traversal on 8-bit hardware to calculate highway routes across the United States. The author reverse-engineers the software to extract its database and analyze its routing algorithms.

Microsoft has officially released the source code for its 6502 BASIC under the MIT license. The specific version is the 1977 "8K" BASIC variant 1.1, which was used in Commodore computers like the PET, VIC-20, and Commodore 64 as BASIC V2.0.

The author is refurbishing a Silicon Graphics Indigo² IMPACT 10000 workstation, a high-end purple system with an MIPS R10000 CPU and IMPACT graphics. This machine, acquired a decade ago, is part of a periodic downsizing and hardware inventory review.

America Online has ended its dialup internet service that began in 1991. The service was widely used for internet access before widespread Wi-Fi and cellular data became available. Some users still maintain their original AOL email addresses despite the dialup service's discontinuation.

The author continues restoration of a defective PAL Commodore 128DCR in the Southern Hemisphere, focusing on replacing the faulty U19 colour RAM. After running diagnostic tests that confirmed the colour RAM fault and other issues, they disassembled the computer to access the motherboard for the repair.

The MacOS ROMs for Apple's 1996 Network Server, which originally only ran IBM's AIX, have been rediscovered. These development ROMs could allow the server to boot MacOS, potentially enabling it to run other operating systems like the intended but never released NetWare "Cyberpunk" variant. The ROMs were found by a former Apple employee and have been preserved for analysis.

Coca-Cola has reintroduced Mr. Pibb, replacing Pibb Xtra, which had been the brand's formulation since 2001. The new version features updated packaging, increased caffeine, and a flavor that the author describes as reminiscent of the original Pibb. The product is currently available in select markets with a national rollout planned for 2026.

UPS initially charged a $684 tariff on $355 worth of vintage computer parts imported from Europe. After the customer disputed the charges, UPS corrected the assessment to a $51.30 tariff. The customer had to pay the full amount initially to avoid warehouse fees before successfully appealing.

Rebecca Heineman, a legendary game designer and programmer known for her work on titles like Bard's Tale, Wasteland, and various ports, has died from an aggressive form of pulmonary adenocarcinoma. She had a long tenure in the computer gaming industry, contributing to many notable projects throughout her career.

The author has released "Oblast," a new Commodore 64 game based on the 1978 arcade game Blasto and its TI-99/4A port. The project, developed over two years, features faster action, procedurally generated screens, and fully configurable gameplay. It is available for free on real Commodore 64 hardware or emulators.

The Texas Instruments CC-40 handheld computer and TI-74 BASICALC pocket computer share similar hardware architecture. Both devices can be connected to serial ports via the Hexbus interface, enabling terminal programs for shell and Gopherspace access despite their single-line displays.

The blog post shares a 2007 video from the Computer History Museum's Commodore 64 anniversary symposium featuring Jack Tramiel, Steve Wozniak, and other tech pioneers. The author recorded the event with a DV camera and originally uploaded it to Google Video before it was transferred to YouTube.

Stewart Cheifet, longtime host of the PBS computer show Computer Chronicles, has died at age 87. He hosted the program from its 1984 start until its final episode in 2002, and most episodes are preserved at the Internet Archive with his active participation.

The author discovered two prototype ROMs for the Apple Network Server: a pre-production ROM that enables booting Mac OS with some bugs, and a Windows NT ROM that doesn't fully support NT installation. These ROMs were tested on a Network Server 700 assembled from spare parts.

The Scriptovision Super Micro Script is a 1985 Canadian video titler that overlays text and graphics on video signals. It uses a Motorola 6800-family microcontroller and 6847 video chip, similar to home computers of the era. The device has socketed EPROMs that could potentially be modified for custom software.

Hideki Sato, a key Sega engineer who worked on all of the company's consoles from the SG-1000 to the Dreamcast, has died at age 77. He joined Sega in 1971 and later served as acting president from 2001 to 2003 before retiring in 2008.

Hedley Davis, a former Commodore employee who worked on Amiga computers and later contributed to the Xbox and Xbox 360, has passed away at age 68. He was known for his work on prototype devices like the SX-500, an Amiga 500 in a portable SX-64 case.

The author describes refurbishing two vintage Alpha Micro computers: a 1982 AM-1000E and a 1987 AM-1200XP. Both systems are not booting and will either be restored to run the AMOS operating system or sent to storage.

6o6 v1.1 is an updated 6502 virtualization library that runs a 6502 core on a 6502 CPU. The new version includes performance improvements to addressing modes and zero page operations, reducing execution time by over 40 million instructions. The author demonstrates it with an Apple-1 emulator that runs on Commodore 64 or Apple II systems.

David Pogue's "Apple: The First 50 Years" covers Apple's history with over half its 540 pages focused on the pre-1997 era. The book includes extensive coverage of early Apple computers, prototype photographs, and discussions of lesser-known projects. It offers substantial technical content and historical insights beyond typical Apple histories.