"The microbee Computer-in-a-Book represents a novel, practical effective low cost way of advancing to disk drive capacity..." (Source.)
November 7, 2026 at 12:05 PM
"The microbee Computer-in-a-Book represents a novel, practical effective low cost way of advancing to disk drive capacity..." (Source.)
All the Adventures returns to Australia and the home-grown Microbee, with an adventure-roguelike which takes HOBBIT/Wizard's Castle style gameplay in an entirely new direction
includes history of the ultra-obscure DREAM 6800 computer
bluerenga.blog/2026/11/14/m...
includes history of the ultra-obscure DREAM 6800 computer
bluerenga.blog/2026/11/14/m...
Merlin (1983)
I am also a big fan of the game Merlin. It took me 30 years to finally beat it and the feeling of satisfaction when I finally returned to Londinium with Excalibur… fantastic. — zbfairla…
bluerenga.blog
November 14, 2026 at 4:16 PM
All the Adventures returns to Australia and the home-grown Microbee, with an adventure-roguelike which takes HOBBIT/Wizard's Castle style gameplay in an entirely new direction
includes history of the ultra-obscure DREAM 6800 computer
bluerenga.blog/2026/11/14/m...
includes history of the ultra-obscure DREAM 6800 computer
bluerenga.blog/2026/11/14/m...
You're going to port that to Microbee now, aren't you?
November 13, 2026 at 10:45 AM
You're going to port that to Microbee now, aren't you?
And all ready to demo freebee (my microbee compatible) in a cafe. I spent a bit of time on the right end piece model to allow me to put the CGA plug in at an angle. Same with the USB C power lead. I might make up a special short CGA and bee power lead, so it looks just right.
November 11, 2026 at 11:24 AM
And all ready to demo freebee (my microbee compatible) in a cafe. I spent a bit of time on the right end piece model to allow me to put the CGA plug in at an angle. Same with the USB C power lead. I might make up a special short CGA and bee power lead, so it looks just right.
There’s a meetup of MUGWA, the Microbee Users Group of Western Australia, in a few weeks at a cafe in the city. I wanted to demo my latest Freebee Microbee compatible, but can’t be sure of power availability, so behold, thanks to the wonders of USB C power delivery: Freebee Portable!
November 7, 2026 at 7:46 AM
There’s a meetup of MUGWA, the Microbee Users Group of Western Australia, in a few weeks at a cafe in the city. I wanted to demo my latest Freebee Microbee compatible, but can’t be sure of power availability, so behold, thanks to the wonders of USB C power delivery: Freebee Portable!
@ajsadauskas @retrogaming my grandad had one. I had a C64 however appreciated the uniqueness and the local story behind the Microbee. And the fact it had battery backed RAM.
November 7, 2026 at 12:18 PM
@ajsadauskas @retrogaming my grandad had one. I had a C64 however appreciated the uniqueness and the local story behind the Microbee. And the fact it had battery backed RAM.
A fascinating little piece of Australia's early computing history: The MicroBee.
In the early 1980s, a group of engineers in Gosford designed and built a home-grown computer that competed against the likes of the IBM PC, Apple 2, and Commodore 64. At one stage, Apple even offered to buy the […]
In the early 1980s, a group of engineers in Gosford designed and built a home-grown computer that competed against the likes of the IBM PC, Apple 2, and Commodore 64. At one stage, Apple even offered to buy the […]
Original post on mastodon.social
mastodon.social
November 6, 2026 at 1:02 PM
A fascinating little piece of Australia's early computing history: The MicroBee.
In the early 1980s, a group of engineers in Gosford designed and built a home-grown computer that competed against the likes of the IBM PC, Apple 2, and Commodore 64. At one stage, Apple even offered to buy the […]
In the early 1980s, a group of engineers in Gosford designed and built a home-grown computer that competed against the likes of the IBM PC, Apple 2, and Commodore 64. At one stage, Apple even offered to buy the […]
This is the latest in the line of Freebee Microbee compatibles. I've broken both my "no PLDs" and "no SMD" rules to make a Microbee compatible that can do a full-colour 320x264 display, rather than the usual 2-colours-per character that Microbee Premium did.
October 26, 2026 at 7:39 AM
This is the latest in the line of Freebee Microbee compatibles. I've broken both my "no PLDs" and "no SMD" rules to make a Microbee compatible that can do a full-colour 320x264 display, rather than the usual 2-colours-per character that Microbee Premium did.
It's got some cool specs for an 8-bit machine - full Microbee compatibility, RTC, 512K RAM, 512K ROM, Z180 CPU at up to 27MHz with fast serial I/O. Plus of course the advanced graphics. I worked out that I could combine the 8 bit colour fetch plus the 8 bit character fetch to give 16 bits of data.
October 26, 2026 at 7:39 AM
It's got some cool specs for an 8-bit machine - full Microbee compatibility, RTC, 512K RAM, 512K ROM, Z180 CPU at up to 27MHz with fast serial I/O. Plus of course the advanced graphics. I worked out that I could combine the 8 bit colour fetch plus the 8 bit character fetch to give 16 bits of data.
About time Copernicus got a video game. Kepler's had one since the 80's.
(It was an educational game on the MicroBee)
(It was an educational game on the MicroBee)
October 20, 2026 at 10:40 AM
About time Copernicus got a video game. Kepler's had one since the 80's.
(It was an educational game on the MicroBee)
(It was an educational game on the MicroBee)
Microbee computer was the only real home grown computer in Australia. Was mostly popular in schools.
#retrocomputing #vintagecomputing #microbee
#retrocomputing #vintagecomputing #microbee
October 4, 2026 at 6:00 AM
Microbee computer was the only real home grown computer in Australia. Was mostly popular in schools.
#retrocomputing #vintagecomputing #microbee
#retrocomputing #vintagecomputing #microbee
The awesome Microbee
September 23, 2026 at 12:39 PM
The awesome Microbee
The conclusion to Eye of Min for the home-grown Australian Microbee computer, where I explain shifting focus from nouns to verbs as a puzzle technique, and briefly brush by a mysterious mention in a Swedish magazine:
bluerenga.blog/2026/09/23/e...
bluerenga.blog/2026/09/23/e...
Eye of Min: Verb-Hacking
I’ve finished the game; I was nearly at the end. My previous posts are needed for context. I had left off on an apparent combination lock with four symbols, where you had to enter an “i…
bluerenga.blog
September 23, 2026 at 8:07 PM
The conclusion to Eye of Min for the home-grown Australian Microbee computer, where I explain shifting focus from nouns to verbs as a puzzle technique, and briefly brush by a mysterious mention in a Swedish magazine:
bluerenga.blog/2026/09/23/e...
bluerenga.blog/2026/09/23/e...
Oh, and how could i forget using MicroBees!
MicroBee - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
September 23, 2026 at 2:45 AM
Oh, and how could i forget using MicroBees!
What was your first computer growing up?
September 23, 2026 at 1:10 AM
What was your first computer growing up?
my exploration of the Australian Microbee game Eye of Min continues, as I run into puzzles that seem like they belong more in a 21st century escape room
bluerenga.blog/2026/09/22/e...
bluerenga.blog/2026/09/22/e...
Eye of Min: Knowledge Traps
(Continued from my last post.) Eye of Min, as I previously mentioned, was part of a trilogy, the second and third games being The Sabre of Sultar and The Temple of Azragor respectively. They were o…
bluerenga.blog
September 22, 2026 at 9:13 PM
my exploration of the Australian Microbee game Eye of Min continues, as I run into puzzles that seem like they belong more in a 21st century escape room
bluerenga.blog/2026/09/22/e...
bluerenga.blog/2026/09/22/e...
It’s relevant to the Microbee in that they got networking quite early and that helped with making it widespread in schools microbee-mspp.org/forum/viewto...
The Microbee Software Preservation Project (MSPP)
A repository of Microbee software and documentation supported by the Microbee community
microbee-mspp.org
September 18, 2026 at 7:21 PM
It’s relevant to the Microbee in that they got networking quite early and that helped with making it widespread in schools microbee-mspp.org/forum/viewto...
All the Adventures turns to Australia and their most succesful home-grown computer, the Microbee. I give the story of how the Microbee came to be and explore one of the games published by their software branch.
bluerenga.blog/2026/09/18/e...
bluerenga.blog/2026/09/18/e...
Eye of Min (1983)
In the 1960s, Qantas wanted to improve their flight reservation system. At the time, reservation clerks would get tickertapes from travel agents and enter flights manually; every single sales offic…
bluerenga.blog
September 18, 2026 at 6:27 PM
All the Adventures turns to Australia and their most succesful home-grown computer, the Microbee. I give the story of how the Microbee came to be and explore one of the games published by their software branch.
bluerenga.blog/2026/09/18/e...
bluerenga.blog/2026/09/18/e...
A microbee 16?
September 18, 2026 at 12:52 PM
A microbee 16?
Only a Microbee at the moment. The want for a Video Genie is massive though, would sit nicely next to my Colour Genie, but they were always rare around here.
September 15, 2026 at 5:51 PM
Only a Microbee at the moment. The want for a Video Genie is massive though, would sit nicely next to my Colour Genie, but they were always rare around here.
And of course, the chassis is a Microbee. Instantly familiar to anyone who went to NSW public primary school in the 1980s, Kung Fury heads, and nobody else.
September 6, 2026 at 11:44 PM
And of course, the chassis is a Microbee. Instantly familiar to anyone who went to NSW public primary school in the 1980s, Kung Fury heads, and nobody else.
So many things to tinker with, and work taking up so much of my time :-( LSI-11, Rainbows, Microbee, 65C816 homebrew, BBC Torch system, HP 9845, a couple of PC's...
July 2, 2025 at 8:30 AM
So many things to tinker with, and work taking up so much of my time :-( LSI-11, Rainbows, Microbee, 65C816 homebrew, BBC Torch system, HP 9845, a couple of PC's...
The iconic Commodore 64 was one of the most popular home computers in Australia in the '80s.
Along with the Sega Master System and MicroBee, it helped ensure the Nintendo NES struggled in the Australian market.
#retrocomputer #retrocomputers #c64 #Commodore #commodore64
Along with the Sega Master System and MicroBee, it helped ensure the Nintendo NES struggled in the Australian market.
#retrocomputer #retrocomputers #c64 #Commodore #commodore64
November 21, 2025 at 10:33 AM
The iconic Commodore 64 was one of the most popular home computers in Australia in the '80s.
Along with the Sega Master System and MicroBee, it helped ensure the Nintendo NES struggled in the Australian market.
#retrocomputer #retrocomputers #c64 #Commodore #commodore64
Along with the Sega Master System and MicroBee, it helped ensure the Nintendo NES struggled in the Australian market.
#retrocomputer #retrocomputers #c64 #Commodore #commodore64
Everyone remembers the MicroBee. But does anyone remember the Hartley Computer?
This is the often forgotten '80s Australian microcomputer from Queensland.
On display at https://acms.org.au/
#computer #computers #retrocomputing #retrocomputer #hartley #tech
This is the often forgotten '80s Australian microcomputer from Queensland.
On display at https://acms.org.au/
#computer #computers #retrocomputing #retrocomputer #hartley #tech
November 13, 2025 at 8:48 AM
Everyone remembers the MicroBee. But does anyone remember the Hartley Computer?
This is the often forgotten '80s Australian microcomputer from Queensland.
On display at https://acms.org.au/
#computer #computers #retrocomputing #retrocomputer #hartley #tech
This is the often forgotten '80s Australian microcomputer from Queensland.
On display at https://acms.org.au/
#computer #computers #retrocomputing #retrocomputer #hartley #tech
More from the Australian Computer Museum: https://acms.org.au/
This time, it's Australia's favourite '80s home computer, the MicroBee.
#australia #retrocomputing #retrocomputer #retrogames #retrogaming #tech #computer
This time, it's Australia's favourite '80s home computer, the MicroBee.
#australia #retrocomputing #retrocomputer #retrogames #retrogaming #tech #computer
November 13, 2025 at 8:34 AM
More from the Australian Computer Museum: https://acms.org.au/
This time, it's Australia's favourite '80s home computer, the MicroBee.
#australia #retrocomputing #retrocomputer #retrogames #retrogaming #tech #computer
This time, it's Australia's favourite '80s home computer, the MicroBee.
#australia #retrocomputing #retrocomputer #retrogames #retrogaming #tech #computer