The Last Psion | Alex
@thelastpsion.com
#Psion hackery, mainly SIBO/EPOC16.
Made #PsiDrive, a USB SIBO SSD reader. Slowly rewriting the SIBO C SDK in Pascal.
⚠️ WARNING: Will sidequest ⚠️
🏠 https://thelastpsion.com
🦣 https://oldbytes.space/@thelastpsion
🏔️ https://codeberg.org/thelastpsion
Made #PsiDrive, a USB SIBO SSD reader. Slowly rewriting the SIBO C SDK in Pascal.
⚠️ WARNING: Will sidequest ⚠️
🏠 https://thelastpsion.com
🦣 https://oldbytes.space/@thelastpsion
🏔️ https://codeberg.org/thelastpsion
Pinned
The Last Psion | Alex
@thelastpsion.com
· Nov 15
Maybe I should do an #introduction?
I'm Alex and I have a PDA problem.
For a quick summary, take a look at the alt text for these photos and the hashtags below. I also wrote a longer intro here: oldbytes.space/@thelastpsio...
#retrocomputing #Psion #RP20240 #Pascal #HaikuOS #PCB #MAME #16bit
I'm Alex and I have a PDA problem.
For a quick summary, take a look at the alt text for these photos and the hashtags below. I also wrote a longer intro here: oldbytes.space/@thelastpsio...
#retrocomputing #Psion #RP20240 #Pascal #HaikuOS #PCB #MAME #16bit
After tearing my hair out on Saturday trying to work out why something was happening in CTRAN vs ECOBJ (hint: values vs pointers), I went to bed disheartened.
Sunday I woke up and realised I had learned three lessons.
Sunday I woke up and realised I had learned three lessons.
August 10, 2026 at 4:28 PM
After tearing my hair out on Saturday trying to work out why something was happening in CTRAN vs ECOBJ (hint: values vs pointers), I went to bed disheartened.
Sunday I woke up and realised I had learned three lessons.
Sunday I woke up and realised I had learned three lessons.
Playing with #FreePascal in #CompilerExplorer.
Lines 22 and 23 produce less machine code than lines 25 and 26, yet end up with the same result - trimming the last character from the last item in a TStringList.
#Pascal
Lines 22 and 23 produce less machine code than lines 25 and 26, yet end up with the same result - trimming the last character from the last item in a TStringList.
#Pascal
![Screenshot of Compiler Explorer showing the code. The lines of Pascal mentioned are:
s := Result.Pop();
Result.Add(Copy(s, 1, Length(s) - 1));
Last := Result.Count - 1;
Result[Last] := Copy(Result[Last], 1, Length(Result[Last]) - 1);](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:qr6sgkqbzpiwot272aiursjm/bafkreihxrdofc5nugcu6texgw3kytup67lpie4ch5xv2crcswdkyrg6wui)
August 10, 2026 at 4:23 PM
Playing with #FreePascal in #CompilerExplorer.
Lines 22 and 23 produce less machine code than lines 25 and 26, yet end up with the same result - trimming the last character from the last item in a TStringList.
#Pascal
Lines 22 and 23 produce less machine code than lines 25 and 26, yet end up with the same result - trimming the last character from the last item in a TStringList.
#Pascal
Done!
You want a tool that takes a 16-bit OMF (.OBJ) file compiled by TopSpeed C and moves the class descriptor data from the DATA segment to the CODE segment? You want it to run on basically everything?
Well, this might do the job.
codeberg.org/thelastpsion...
#ECOBJ #SIBOSDK #Psion #retrodev
You want a tool that takes a 16-bit OMF (.OBJ) file compiled by TopSpeed C and moves the class descriptor data from the DATA segment to the CODE segment? You want it to run on basically everything?
Well, this might do the job.
codeberg.org/thelastpsion...
#ECOBJ #SIBOSDK #Psion #retrodev
August 5, 2026 at 2:30 PM
Done!
You want a tool that takes a 16-bit OMF (.OBJ) file compiled by TopSpeed C and moves the class descriptor data from the DATA segment to the CODE segment? You want it to run on basically everything?
Well, this might do the job.
codeberg.org/thelastpsion...
#ECOBJ #SIBOSDK #Psion #retrodev
You want a tool that takes a 16-bit OMF (.OBJ) file compiled by TopSpeed C and moves the class descriptor data from the DATA segment to the CODE segment? You want it to run on basically everything?
Well, this might do the job.
codeberg.org/thelastpsion...
#ECOBJ #SIBOSDK #Psion #retrodev
Reposted by The Last Psion | Alex
NetBSD 11.0 Released With RISC-V Support, Enhanced Linux System Call Compatibility - https://www.phoronix.com/news/NetBSD-11.0
NetBSD 11.0 Released With RISC-V Support, Enhanced Linux System Call Compatibility
NetBSD 11.0 officially shipped today as the nineteenth major release of this popular BSD operating system...
www.phoronix.com
August 1, 2026 at 5:01 PM
NetBSD 11.0 Released With RISC-V Support, Enhanced Linux System Call Compatibility - https://www.phoronix.com/news/NetBSD-11.0
Reposted by The Last Psion | Alex
Inevitable Psion 5mx screen ribbon failure, repaired thanks to the Psion.community Discord crew (especially Bs()Dd) and the remarkable fabrication lab of JLCPCB - soldering required a very steady hand!
August 1, 2026 at 3:08 PM
Inevitable Psion 5mx screen ribbon failure, repaired thanks to the Psion.community Discord crew (especially Bs()Dd) and the remarkable fabrication lab of JLCPCB - soldering required a very steady hand!
Reposted by The Last Psion | Alex
Shane, step away from ebay. You do not need more Psion computers. Well, maybe you do some day, but not right now. Leave them for other people who will learn to love them as you do, care for them, fix them, change the world with them.
August 1, 2026 at 1:56 PM
Shane, step away from ebay. You do not need more Psion computers. Well, maybe you do some day, but not right now. Leave them for other people who will learn to love them as you do, care for them, fix them, change the world with them.
#DuckDuckGo knows where it's at with sunglasses.
August 1, 2026 at 7:17 AM
#DuckDuckGo knows where it's at with sunglasses.
Small bugfix release for #CTRAN to deal with the "no EXTERNALs" issue.
codeberg.org/thelastpsion...
#SIBOSDK #Psion
codeberg.org/thelastpsion...
#SIBOSDK #Psion
Each ref exported. Multiple of them as parents. You can get a long running.
HEAD "$head" should be included. When changing the behavior of the primary.
codeberg.org
July 31, 2026 at 10:55 AM
Small bugfix release for #CTRAN to deal with the "no EXTERNALs" issue.
codeberg.org/thelastpsion...
#SIBOSDK #Psion
codeberg.org/thelastpsion...
#SIBOSDK #Psion
Got me a new record.
July 30, 2026 at 7:45 PM
Got me a new record.
One of my other hobbies is collecting old travel books. By "old", I mean 100+ years. Most are from the "Peeps At Many Lands" range, published between 1904 and 1934.
I started it on a whim. Now it feels like an act of rebellion.
#BooksSaveLives #Shelfie #Booksky
I started it on a whim. Now it feels like an act of rebellion.
#BooksSaveLives #Shelfie #Booksky
July 30, 2026 at 4:53 PM
One of my other hobbies is collecting old travel books. By "old", I mean 100+ years. Most are from the "Peeps At Many Lands" range, published between 1904 and 1934.
I started it on a whim. Now it feels like an act of rebellion.
#BooksSaveLives #Shelfie #Booksky
I started it on a whim. Now it feels like an act of rebellion.
#BooksSaveLives #Shelfie #Booksky
Reposted by The Last Psion | Alex
Pascal *and* a portable computer with Psion ancestry? Perfect!
Coding like it's the 90s🎉 ... What was the first programming language you ever learned? ... Had great fun learning #TurboPascal and coding my very own #Terminator2 PIN program that you can see in my very latest YouTube video, link below (cont...)
July 28, 2026 at 1:56 PM
Pascal *and* a portable computer with Psion ancestry? Perfect!
It's been 9 months since I moved from GitHub to #Codeberg. I'm happy with the move and have absolutely no desire to move back, or anywhere else.
My old repos are archived on GitHub. They all have a link to their new homes on Codeberg, but most are well out of date. Is it time to delete them?
My old repos are archived on GitHub. They all have a link to their new homes on Codeberg, but most are well out of date. Is it time to delete them?
July 27, 2026 at 8:41 PM
It's been 9 months since I moved from GitHub to #Codeberg. I'm happy with the move and have absolutely no desire to move back, or anywhere else.
My old repos are archived on GitHub. They all have a link to their new homes on Codeberg, but most are well out of date. Is it time to delete them?
My old repos are archived on GitHub. They all have a link to their new homes on Codeberg, but most are well out of date. Is it time to delete them?
Reposted by The Last Psion | Alex
Reposted by The Last Psion | Alex
To be very clear this is happening because the current government believes AI is the future of UK science, because, like the previous few governments, their opinions are entirely formed by think tanks and lobbyists www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Jodrell Bank's Lovell telescope faces axe in science cuts, BBC understands
Astronomers warn it would tear the heart out of UK science, and leave a generation untrained.
www.bbc.co.uk
July 27, 2026 at 2:19 PM
To be very clear this is happening because the current government believes AI is the future of UK science, because, like the previous few governments, their opinions are entirely formed by think tanks and lobbyists www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by The Last Psion | Alex
In addition to being an outstanding writerdeck, the Psion netBook is great for playing classic text adventure games. Here's Infocom's 1983 banger "Infidel"... #retrocomputing #interactivefiction
July 25, 2026 at 11:32 AM
In addition to being an outstanding writerdeck, the Psion netBook is great for playing classic text adventure games. Here's Infocom's 1983 banger "Infidel"... #retrocomputing #interactivefiction
TFW you find a bug in one of your projects when using to generate files for a different project.
In totally unrelated news, I've just fixed a bug in #CTRAN and shall now carry on with #ECOBJ.
#SIBOSDK
codeberg.org/thelastpsion...
In totally unrelated news, I've just fixed a bug in #CTRAN and shall now carry on with #ECOBJ.
#SIBOSDK
codeberg.org/thelastpsion...
Category files with no external references causes CTRAN to throw exceptions when generating new files
ctran - Recreation of CTRAN.EXE, the Psion OO C preprocessor from the SIBO C SDK.
codeberg.org
July 26, 2026 at 9:17 AM
TFW you find a bug in one of your projects when using to generate files for a different project.
In totally unrelated news, I've just fixed a bug in #CTRAN and shall now carry on with #ECOBJ.
#SIBOSDK
codeberg.org/thelastpsion...
In totally unrelated news, I've just fixed a bug in #CTRAN and shall now carry on with #ECOBJ.
#SIBOSDK
codeberg.org/thelastpsion...
Reposted by The Last Psion | Alex
people ask me why i'm making a DOS version of You Have Died (And Been Reincarnated As A Fox Girl) and
1. it's because i can and it's fun for me
2. it's much more likely to continue running properly in a DOS emulator than on modern systems lmao
1. it's because i can and it's fun for me
2. it's much more likely to continue running properly in a DOS emulator than on modern systems lmao
and that's our first bit of combat animation for You Have Died (And Been Reincarnated As A Fox Girl) done! really pleased with how this came out
a little detail i'm proud of is the snake's HP bar dropping smoothly instead of instantly, something i've never added to a game before
a little detail i'm proud of is the snake's HP bar dropping smoothly instead of instantly, something i've never added to a game before
July 25, 2026 at 9:39 AM
people ask me why i'm making a DOS version of You Have Died (And Been Reincarnated As A Fox Girl) and
1. it's because i can and it's fun for me
2. it's much more likely to continue running properly in a DOS emulator than on modern systems lmao
1. it's because i can and it's fun for me
2. it's much more likely to continue running properly in a DOS emulator than on modern systems lmao
Very interesting read about the #DVLA, legacy systems, #COBOL and nightly shutdowns.
(HT @[email protected] on Mastodon)
dafyddvaughan.uk/blog/2025/wh...
(HT @[email protected] on Mastodon)
dafyddvaughan.uk/blog/2025/wh...
Why some DVLA digital services don't work at night
Every few months or so, somebody asks on social media why a particular DVLA digital service is turned off over night. Rather than answering it every time, I’ve decided to write this post, so I can poi...
dafyddvaughan.uk
July 19, 2026 at 7:18 PM
Very interesting read about the #DVLA, legacy systems, #COBOL and nightly shutdowns.
(HT @[email protected] on Mastodon)
dafyddvaughan.uk/blog/2025/wh...
(HT @[email protected] on Mastodon)
dafyddvaughan.uk/blog/2025/wh...
Finally, after months of eager anticipation from all corners of the internet, #CTRAN 0.1.0 is out.
Please, everyone, contain your excitement.
codeberg.org/thelastpsion...
#Psion
Please, everyone, contain your excitement.
codeberg.org/thelastpsion...
#Psion
codeberg.org
July 19, 2026 at 6:21 PM
Finally, after months of eager anticipation from all corners of the internet, #CTRAN 0.1.0 is out.
Please, everyone, contain your excitement.
codeberg.org/thelastpsion...
#Psion
Please, everyone, contain your excitement.
codeberg.org/thelastpsion...
#Psion
CTRAN's got a nice new feature - path lists for subcategory files!
I can tell you're excited.
Anyway, I wanted to get this done before releasing #CTRAN 0.1.0. Tomorrow I'll check my work, squash-and-merge, update the README, add any comments for Future Me, bump the version and release 0.1.0.
I can tell you're excited.
Anyway, I wanted to get this done before releasing #CTRAN 0.1.0. Tomorrow I'll check my work, squash-and-merge, update the README, add any comments for Future Me, bump the version and release 0.1.0.
July 18, 2026 at 9:38 PM
CTRAN's got a nice new feature - path lists for subcategory files!
I can tell you're excited.
Anyway, I wanted to get this done before releasing #CTRAN 0.1.0. Tomorrow I'll check my work, squash-and-merge, update the README, add any comments for Future Me, bump the version and release 0.1.0.
I can tell you're excited.
Anyway, I wanted to get this done before releasing #CTRAN 0.1.0. Tomorrow I'll check my work, squash-and-merge, update the README, add any comments for Future Me, bump the version and release 0.1.0.
I've been using Mastodon as a rubber duck.
Be grateful.
Be grateful.
July 18, 2026 at 10:13 AM
I've been using Mastodon as a rubber duck.
Be grateful.
Be grateful.
Reposted by The Last Psion | Alex
No apologies for sending this out a few times over the next week.
Our son is looking for a year in industry/placement as part of his Software Engineering degree in Southampton. He's in line for a First, very capable and good at digging into problems.
However roles are rare right now. Can you help?
Our son is looking for a year in industry/placement as part of his Software Engineering degree in Southampton. He's in line for a First, very capable and good at digging into problems.
However roles are rare right now. Can you help?
July 17, 2026 at 8:51 PM
No apologies for sending this out a few times over the next week.
Our son is looking for a year in industry/placement as part of his Software Engineering degree in Southampton. He's in line for a First, very capable and good at digging into problems.
However roles are rare right now. Can you help?
Our son is looking for a year in industry/placement as part of his Software Engineering degree in Southampton. He's in line for a First, very capable and good at digging into problems.
However roles are rare right now. Can you help?
Good morning!
I wish to make it known that, as amazing as #Psion were, there were times when they should have f**king known better,
This message is brought to you by Too Much Time In Their SDKs.
I wish to make it known that, as amazing as #Psion were, there were times when they should have f**king known better,
This message is brought to you by Too Much Time In Their SDKs.
July 18, 2026 at 7:09 AM
Good morning!
I wish to make it known that, as amazing as #Psion were, there were times when they should have f**king known better,
This message is brought to you by Too Much Time In Their SDKs.
I wish to make it known that, as amazing as #Psion were, there were times when they should have f**king known better,
This message is brought to you by Too Much Time In Their SDKs.