What to expect from this gemlog

2024-08-31

Retro computing is among my dozens (probably) of competing hobby interests. I got my first vintage computer (the TI-99/4a) in 2018 (I think) and have had some bursts of interest since then. I believe I'm writing to you in the midst of the third such burst.

You can expect to read updates on my various retro computing projects here, but years may pass between such updates.

Here are the projects I'm currently working on or plan to work on eventually (in no particular order):

• Getting the SPARCstation 1 to actually boot into an OS

=> The SPARCstation 1 Saga

• Installing NeXTSTEP (or OPENSTEP) on one of the SPARCstations
• Creating a BBS to host on this system
• Fixing the TI-99's keyboard (read: cleaning the switch contacts)
• Writing my own Snake game for the TI-99
• Fixing the Plus/4 (it's got some kind of memory issue)
• Getting a Mac IIci online
• Acquiring a proper 286 machine for DOS
• Getting said DOS machine on the air with packet radio
• Writing a DOS graphics library in C (in progress, but semi-abandoned)
• Writing a PLIP driver for DOS (TCP/IP over the parallel port)

We'll see how many of these actually happen. It'll be fun either way. :)