Hi,
This is Ross -- just saying hello to the group.
I'm a software engineer by profession, but an 8-bit hacker
by avocation. While I'm especially interested in 6502
hardware, Z80, 8080, and even 1802 stuff is also of
keen interest.
It's partly nostalgia, and partly that these old systems
are understandable by mere mortals with a reasonable amount
of effort. I love how one could get a book or two and know
everything you need to program one of those old machines,
vs. today when the number of standards and interfaces has
gone spinning out of control of the individual hobbyist,
at which point it becomes more "work" than "play".
I still think studying those older micros is a perfect
way to truly understand the principles involved in
computing without all the distractions of multi-level
caching, out-of-order execution, branch prediction,
branch delay slots, etc. etc. Once grounded in those
basic principles, you can build the rest. IMHO.
Currently, my stable of hardware includes:
1) A nearly pristine KIM-1, currently serving
as a 24-hour clock. I posted some "ready-to run"
software and scans of user manuals, and a few
songs played by KIM, etc.
at
http://www.learnmicros.com.
2) Commodore 128. I like this because it can
be used to learn CP/M and Z80 ML
as well as hack at the '02 and C64. :)
3) Apple IIe. Nice accessible hardware to hack with.
4) TI99/4A. Anyone want for the cost of shipping?
I just can't fit this one into my collection very well,
and there are only a few cartridges for it.
5) Daryl Rictor's SBC2. I got that SBC tweaked to
run at the blazing speed of 6 Mhz running a variant
of BASIC called EHBASIC. This is my current timesink.
A 6502 at 6Mhz is not too shabby. :)
Anyways, holas again to the group and hope you
all are having great summers.
-- Ross
Received on Sun Jul 14 2002 - 20:12:01 BST