Search Results: RetroComputing

Exploring the significant technical hurdles developers face when targeting obsolete Windows Phone hardware reveals a unique blend of toolchain limitations, hardware constraints, and network dependencies. Despite the allure of nostalgia and cheap hardware, the path to building functional apps for these discontinued platforms remains fraught with challenges.

Discover the Texas Instruments CC-40, a portable computer from the early 1980s that packed a punch with its modular design and BASIC programming. This overlooked gem offered expandable memory and a unique interface, bridging the gap between calculators and full-fledged PCs. Explore how it captured the spirit of innovation in an era of rapid technological evolution.

Discover how GCC, a staple of modern development, can be repurposed to compile native MS-DOS COM files, bypassing outdated tools for vintage hardware support. This technique overcomes limitations of DOS extenders but requires 80386+ CPUs and sacrifices libraries, offering a lifeline for retro enthusiasts and legacy system maintainers.

Developer Gabor Lenart's JSemu emulator brings the never-released Commodore LCD to life in any browser, offering a rare glimpse into 1980s computing history. This JavaScript-based project not only preserves a pivotal prototype but also demonstrates how web technologies can resurrect forgotten hardware for education and experimentation.

How unconventional assembly techniques—self-modifying code, ruthless approximation, and defying modern best practices—slashed an image decoder's runtime from 70 minutes to 60 seconds on a 1MHz 6502. A deep dive reveals the brutal trade-offs required to make complex algorithms fly on vintage hardware.

Decades-old gaming research from Hardcore Gaming 101 unlocked new possibilities for retro computing enthusiasts, enabling a faithful port of Tehkan's 1982 arcade game Pitman to the TRS-80 MC-10. This achievement underscores how archival preservation empowers modern developers to resurrect forgotten software on unlikely platforms.