CALCUSEUM

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Calcuseum is an extensive online museum dedicated to vintage electronic calculators, featuring a searchable collection of over 22,000 references spanning more than 40 years from the 1950s to 2000. It offers detailed catalogs, brand databases, milestones, and statistics to document the history and evolution of calculators, supporting enthusiasts with resources such as for-sale items, FAQs, modifications, and related museum links. The platform aims to preserve and share the heritage of calculator technology by providing comprehensive information and community contributions.

https://www.calcuseum.com/

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Commodore PET: The World’s First Personal Computer

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The Commodore PET, first announced in January 1977, is recognized as the world’s first personal computer, preceding the Apple II and TRS-80. It featured a fully integrated design with a keyboard, monochrome monitor, MOS 6502 processor, built-in BASIC operating system from Microsoft, cassette tape storage, and expansion ports, all housed in a durable metal or plastic chassis. Developed under Chuck Peddle’s leadership and launched by Commodore after acquiring MOS Technologies, the PET was revolutionary for providing a complete, ready-to-use personal computing system that spurred early home and educational computer adoption before eventually evolving into various improved models and becoming a foundation for Commodore’s later successes.

https://www.commodore.ca/commodore-products/commodore-pet-the-worlds-first-personal-computer/

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Celebrating Commodore’s Industrial Design Legacy

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Ira Velinsky was the key industrial designer behind many iconic Commodore computers, including the CBM-II series and the Commodore 64’s “breadbox” case, reshaping rugged metal enclosures into elegant, user-friendly designs that defined the brand’s aesthetic. His work continued through his tenure at Atari and later Sozo Design, leaving a lasting impact on computer hardware design until his untimely death in 2001. Despite being overlooked historically, Velinsky’s legacy remains evident in the distinctive style and ergonomics of several landmark 1980s and 1990s computing devices.

https://www.commodore.ca/commodore-history/ira-velinsky-commodores-amazing-industrial-designer/

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They Don’t Make ’em Like That Any More: Borland Turbo Pascal 7

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Borland Turbo Pascal 7, also known as Turbo Pascal for Windows 1.5, was a groundbreaking development tool that introduced integrated source-level debugging and an object-oriented programming model tailored to Windows, making Windows programming more accessible in the early 1990s. Its efficient, memory-conscious compiler heritage from CP/M allowed fast compilation on limited hardware, and its seamless graphical IDE simplified Windows application development compared to the more cumbersome C tools of the time. Turbo Pascal’s influence waned due to rising competition from C, Microsoft’s growing dominance with its own development tools, and the popularity of Visual BASIC, but it remains a significant piece of computing history for early Windows software development.

https://kevinboone.me/tpwin.html

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How I Talk to Kiro Via Dumb Terminal

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The author demonstrates how to interact with the AI assistant Kiro using an actual teletype, a mechanical dumb terminal device connected via a serial interface through a WiModem232 modem emulator that supports Hayes commands over telnet. By building a minimalist Rust client implementing the Agent Client Protocol (ACP), the author translates Kiro’s JSON-RPC output into simple ASCII suitable for the low-speed teletype, enabling practical communication with modern AI through vintage hardware. The project highlights the enduring relevance of old terminal protocols and provides a Docker-based setup to replicate the experience on various retro systems like IBM PC, Commodore 64, and TRS-80.

https://rup12.net/posts/how-i-talk-to-kiro-via-dumb-terminal/

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10 Games From 1989 That ’80s Kids Still Love

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The year 1989 produced several enduring video games that remain beloved by ’80s kids, including groundbreaking titles like Super Mario Land, which showcased the Game Boy’s portable platforming capabilities, and Mega Man 2, noted for its memorable levels and challenging bosses. Other classics from that year such as Prince of Persia, Final Fight, and SimCity helped define genres with fluid gameplay, rich storytelling, and innovative mechanics, while games like Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure offered faithful adaptations of popular media through point-and-click adventures.

https://www.cbr.com/best-video-games-1989/

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The Commodore 64 Is Back, and You Can Buy One Right Now

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The Commodore 64C Ultimate, a modern recreation of the iconic 1986 slimline Commodore 64C, is now available for purchase, featuring FPGA-based hardware for near-perfect compatibility with original software and peripherals. This updated version includes HDMI and USB support, a USB mouse, full GEOS software suite, and ships with a USB Cassette containing over 100 games and demos, blending vintage computing authenticity with contemporary convenience. Available in three editions, the release celebrates the Commodore 64’s 40th anniversary and aims to engage both nostalgic fans and new users interested in classic computing and programming.

https://www.thesixthaxis.com/2026/10/27/the-commodore-64-is-back-and-you-can-buy-one-right-now/

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16colo.rs – ANSI/ASCII Archive

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Sixteen Colors is an online archive dedicated to preserving ANSI and ASCII artpacks, a digital art form that flourished in the early 1990s with dial-up Bulletin Board Systems (BBS). It collects and showcases monthly artpack releases from various artist groups, maintaining the legacy of this textmode console art despite the decline of BBS usage after the rise of the Internet. The site also offers community features like forums, chat, and collaborative drawing servers to support ongoing creation and appreciation of ANSI/ASCII art.

https://16colo.rs/

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Infinite Mac: BeOS

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The Infinite Mac project now enables users to run multiple PowerPC versions of BeOS directly in the browser, allowing instant boot, use of pre-installed software, access to Internet Archive CD-ROMs, and saving work on virtual drives. Achieving this involved enhancing the DingusPPC emulator to fix various hardware emulation bugs exposed by BeOS’s differing implementation from classic Mac OS, making it likely the only emulator capable of running PowerPC BeOS versions. This addition enriches the Infinite Mac museum by presenting an influential alternative OS from the 1990s Macintosh ecosystem and complements ongoing efforts to preserve the history and software of classic Mac platforms.

https://blog.persistent.info/2026/10/infinite-mac-beos.html

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EMACS Turns 50

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EMACS, the influential text editor developed at MIT’s AI Lab in 1976, revolutionized programming by allowing full-screen editing and extensive customization through macros, greatly improving usability over earlier line editors. Originating from the TECO editor and evolving through collaborative efforts at MIT, EMACS played a key role in fostering the software-sharing community that led to the free software movement and projects like GNU Emacs, which became integral to Unix, Linux, and early Mac OS X systems. Over its 50-year history, EMACS has remained a cornerstone of programming culture and software development despite changes in operating system support.

https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/10/20/1145399/emacs-turns-50/

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