- vcf-midatlantic - lists.vcfed.org

WTB: XT class 286 upgrade card
by Jason Perkins 02 Mar '20

02 Mar '20

Hi all, I'm looking to buy a 286 upgrade card... the kind that go into an ISA slot, and plug into the 8088 socket with a ribbon cable. Does anyone have one they'd like to sell? Thanks! -- Jason Perkins 313 355 0085

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Data recovery of 8mm DAT tape (Sun Workstation)
by Jeffrey Brace 02 Mar '20

02 Mar '20

Someone asks: "I’ve 2-3 old 8mm DAT tapes from my sun workstation that I used to back up my sun workstations. I purchased a 8mm drive (along with a scsi controller, cables, etc) to read the stuff, but was only able to recover a bit of the data from them." Does someone have the hardware and/or knowledge to recover this for this individual? -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member, VCF East Showrunner Vintage Computer Federation http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org

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yet another retro source: thebrewingacademy.com/
by Jeffrey Jonas 01 Mar '20

01 Mar '20

I do not remember anyone mentioning this source of retrofits and retro-kits: https://thebrewingacademy.com/ for example: https://thebrewingacademy.com/products/texas-instruments-99-4a-flashrom-99 The Brewing Academy FR99: FlashROM 99 Cartridge for the Texas Instruments 99/4a $34.99 The Flash ROM Cartridge for Texas Instrument 99/4a , or FlashROM 99 for short, is a cartridge for the TI 99/4A home computer that allows for running ROM cartridge images stored on an SD card. The FlashROM 99 supports ROM-only images of up to 32K that use the write-to->60xx bank switching scheme. It will not work with programs using GROMs or CRU-based bank switching. The cartridge does not require the Peripheral Expansion Box and runs on both PAL and NTSC consoles. Apologies if this was already known. -- jeff jonas

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GEOS 128 processor and SD card solution
by Jeffrey Brace 01 Mar '20

01 Mar '20

I'm researching use of GEOS 128. I've always been a C64 user and have used the C64 version of GEOS (Version 2). Does anyone know which processor is used by GEOS 128? Is it the 8502 or Z80? Also is there a uIEC that will work on a C128 *and* work with GEOS 128? I know that there was a bounty to make the uIEC work with GEOS 64. Thanks! -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member, VCF East Showrunner Vintage Computer Federation http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org

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Repair Workshop March 7 & 8 - Signup
by Jeffrey Brace 29 Feb '20

29 Feb '20

The next repair workshop is next weekend. You can signup here: < https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DySkGulduRUxJuPwK2RUEdP_yKD8YiDEn7K… > I'd love someone to assess the museum's SWTPC and the Heathkit H89. I have no idea if they are working and hesitant to just plug it in and turn it on, without assessing it's condition first. We are getting close to 100% of the machines in the museum working. -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member, VCF East Showrunner Vintage Computer Federation http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org Access the Internet [image: QualityInnSuites] × User Agreement Close Welcome! By clicking the Login button, you agree to the terms of our User Agreement <#agreement-popup>. If you have technical questions or difficulty with your login, please contact technical support at 1-866-458-0860 Powered by Aware Software <http://wanderingwifi.com> QualitySuites.com <http://www.qualitysuites.com/> © 1995-2009. Choice Hotels International, Inc. All rights reserved. <#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>

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Museum Report 2020-02-29
by Jeffrey Brace 29 Feb '20

29 Feb '20

Hello Everyone, Sorry I haven't been sending regular museum reports lately. Things have been busy with VCF East prep and museum rearranging. We have been getting about 20 visitors each weekend day. Today was about 25 with 15 of them being a photography group touring InfoAge campus. I have the C64 setup in the 80's bedroom area of the museum with The Print Shop and a Star NX-10 printer. My idea is that visitors can print a one page graphic or whatever they want as a souvenir. It takes a while to print, so longer pages would take too much time. Lots of new machines on display like the Zorba, and two Soviet clone computers, Tandy Portable, etc. I have been training a new docent named Dennis who is a 17 year old Junior in high school. He is picking up things very quickly. It is really fun to get his point of view since almost everything is new to him. Like today he asked "What's this?" (It was a floppy disk notcher). So Tony and I explained to him. I'm hoping to recruit more people to be docents to spread the load docent coverage. -- ========================================= Jeff Brace Vice President & Board Member, VCF East Showrunner Vintage Computer Federation http://www.vcfed.org/ jeffrey(a)vcfed.org

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Data Recovery from Jaz Cartridge
by Jonathan Sturges 29 Feb '20

29 Feb '20

> Someone sent me a message requesting data recovery services. If anyone is > interested or capable, then I will forward the contact info. Jeff, I have 2 different SCSI to FireWire adapters, plus one of those Microtech SCSI to USB adapters, and the obligatory cache of PCI SCSI cards for desktop systems. I'd be glad to help recover your friend's data. There's good backwards compatibility for Windows filesystems, so if you can find OS drivers for the Microtech adapters, the disks should mount right up. That, or just load the appropriate Windows drivers for SCSI card du jour. If you're still looking for help, let me know... I can also bring bits up to InfoAge during a workshop. -Jonathan

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any source for Pocket Chip (other than ebay)
by Jeffrey Jonas 29 Feb '20

29 Feb '20

Now that the "Next Thing Co" went bust, is there any source for their wonderful "Pocket C.H.I.P." Handheld Linux Computer? There must've been some inventory in a warehouse or 2. Ebay prices are unrealistically high :-( -- jeff jonas

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Re: [vcf-midatlantic] suggested viewing
by Ethan O'Toole 28 Feb '20

28 Feb '20

On Thu, 27 Feb 2020, Jeff G via vcf-midatlantic wrote: [NON-Text Body part not included] Regarding Secret life of Machines... did that air in the USA? I found it on BitTorrent or something years ago but had never heard of it prior. - Ethan

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MagicCap & General Magic
by Richard Cini 28 Feb '20

28 Feb '20

All – I was in LA this past week and on the flight there, they had the documentary “General Magic” from 2018. I don’t remember hearing about the movie, but I definitely remember General Magic. I didn’t have time to watch it on the plane but I watched some YouTube videos after I got to LA. Fascinating story, kind of reminds me of Jerry Kaplan and the EO. If you look, the raw documentary footage on YT is great, especially the huge prototypes and the struggles to find a decent touch screen. Anyway, as I started digging, I found this link from Adafruit: https://learn.adafruit.com/magic-cap-the-smartphone-os-from-the-90s/overview So, this was a good reason to reinstall Basilisk II on my Mac (needed to be updated for Catalina anyway), and play around with it. It’s amazing how many concepts made it into other products, and of course how prolific the people were overall. Also interesting is the use of the phrase in 1992 of “the cloud” to describe virtualized data services, something we take for granted now. When GM blew-up, the IP was sold (even though Andy Hertzfeld tried to buy it), but I’ve seen two references to Paul Allen/Vulcan and Nathan Myhrvold/Intellectual Ventures buying them for a “failed startup graveyard” of sorts. That’s the kind of software I wish would be opened-up, but there are many patents associated with it which are still relevant, so I doubt it would happen. Anyway, great thing to learn about over the trip. Rich -- Rich Cini http://www.classiccmp.org/cini http://www.classiccmp.org/altair32

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