https://jamesm.blog/retro-computing/ Recent content in Retro Computing on jamesm.blog https://jamesm.blog/papermod-cover.png https://jamesm.blog/papermod-cover.png Hugo en Thu, 09 Apr 2026 06:36:00 +0100 https://jamesm.blog/retro-computing/how-basic-shaped-a-generation/ Thu, 09 Apr 2026 06:36:00 +0100 https://jamesm.blog/retro-computing/how-basic-shaped-a-generation/ BASIC was the gateway drug for a generation of programmers. Not because it was elegant, but because it was the only option - and that constraint created a programming culture that shaped how millions thought about code. https://jamesm.blog/retro-computing/sid-chip-most-iconic-sound/ Thu, 09 Apr 2026 06:22:00 +0100 https://jamesm.blog/retro-computing/sid-chip-most-iconic-sound/ The SID chip gave the Commodore 64 the ability to synthesize complex sound in real-time. But why did it sound so distinctive? And why has no other chip in computing history achieved the same cultural impact? https://jamesm.blog/retro-computing/the-postal-pirates/ Thu, 09 Apr 2026 06:01:00 +0100 https://jamesm.blog/retro-computing/the-postal-pirates/ How magazine classifieds, postal delivery services, and teenage traders turned the 1980s into an era of sophisticated software distribution that predated the internet. https://jamesm.blog/retro-computing/trainer-menus-scrolltexts-cracking-aesthetics/ Thu, 09 Apr 2026 05:32:00 +0100 https://jamesm.blog/retro-computing/trainer-menus-scrolltexts-cracking-aesthetics/ How cracking groups transformed pirated games with menus, cheat systems, and animated scrolltext screens - creating a visual language that defined 1980s underground computing culture. https://jamesm.blog/retro-computing/copy-protection-wars/ Wed, 08 Apr 2026 06:11:00 +0000 https://jamesm.blog/retro-computing/copy-protection-wars/ A deep dive into the creative, bizarre, and often frustrating world of 1980s copy protection, from code wheels to lensloks. https://jamesm.blog/retro-computing/8-bit-coding/ Wed, 08 Apr 2026 06:00:00 +0100 https://jamesm.blog/retro-computing/8-bit-coding/ In the 1980s, a unique confluence of government policy, public broadcasting, and garage-built hardware turned the UK into a coding powerhouse. This is how it happened. https://jamesm.blog/retro-computing/what-the-amiga-got-right-that-were-still-copying/ Fri, 03 Apr 2026 14:00:00 +0000 https://jamesm.blog/retro-computing/what-the-amiga-got-right-that-were-still-copying/ Why the Amiga was 20 years ahead of its time, and why modern operating systems are still trying to copy its best ideas. https://jamesm.blog/retro-computing/compunet-britains-forgotten-pre-internet-community/ Fri, 03 Apr 2026 09:00:00 +0000 https://jamesm.blog/retro-computing/compunet-britains-forgotten-pre-internet-community/ The story of Compunet: how a British BBS became one of the world's first online communities, years before the internet, and how it shaped British digital culture. https://jamesm.blog/retro-computing/the-demoscene-where-art-met-assembly/ Thu, 02 Apr 2026 14:00:00 +0000 https://jamesm.blog/retro-computing/the-demoscene-where-art-met-assembly/ The story of the demoscene: where programmers turned constraint into creativity, and assembly language into art. https://jamesm.blog/retro-computing/basic-to-claude-code-2026/ Thu, 02 Apr 2026 09:00:00 +0000 https://jamesm.blog/retro-computing/basic-to-claude-code-2026/ A 45-year thread from typing BASIC on a ZX Spectrum to using Claude Code: what hasn't changed about programming, and what fundamentally has. https://jamesm.blog/retro-computing/favourite-museums/ Sun, 22 Sep 2024 12:57:01 +0000 https://jamesm.blog/retro-computing/favourite-museums/ Personal list of favourite museums, particularly focused on computing, technology and natural history. https://jamesm.blog/retro-computing/favourite-computers/ Mon, 29 Jul 2024 07:50:01 +0100 https://jamesm.blog/retro-computing/favourite-computers/ Personal history and collection of favourite computers, gaming consoles, and mobile devices from the 1970s to present day. https://jamesm.blog/retro-computing/gaming-emulators/ Sat, 20 Apr 2024 08:00:01 +0100 https://jamesm.blog/retro-computing/gaming-emulators/ News and resources about Apple's decision to allow game emulators in the App Store, including Delta, Dolphin, and retro emulator apps. https://jamesm.blog/retro-computing/favourite-computer-games/ Wed, 01 Jan 2020 00:00:01 +0100 https://jamesm.blog/retro-computing/favourite-computer-games/ Personal collection of favourite computer and console games across decades of gaming history.