How Sphere Hid a Minicomputer Inside Their Micro – Ben Zotto [video]
Discussion | hackernews | Author: oldnetguy
#RetroComputing
Discussion | hackernews | Author: oldnetguy
#RetroComputing
How Sphere Hid a Minicomputer Inside Their Micro – Ben Zotto [video]
www.youtube.com
November 5, 2026 at 7:24 PM
How Sphere Hid a Minicomputer Inside Their Micro – Ben Zotto [video]
Discussion | hackernews | Author: oldnetguy
#RetroComputing
Discussion | hackernews | Author: oldnetguy
#RetroComputing
Watching @bzotto.bsky.social VCF talk on YouTube. Looks good so far. Thanks Ben. #retrocomputing www.youtube.com/watch?v=esfL...
VCF West: How Sphere Hid a Minicomputer Inside Their Micro - Ben Zotto
YouTube video by Vintage Computer Federation
www.youtube.com
November 5, 2026 at 10:24 PM
Watching @bzotto.bsky.social VCF talk on YouTube. Looks good so far. Thanks Ben. #retrocomputing www.youtube.com/watch?v=esfL...
Also, that kind of more flexible movement in different directions was already present in Spacewar! on PDP-1 minicomputer in the 1962 - over two decades before the first Zelda game. 😉
November 7, 2026 at 3:55 PM
Also, that kind of more flexible movement in different directions was already present in Spacewar! on PDP-1 minicomputer in the 1962 - over two decades before the first Zelda game. 😉
I'm watching this great talk on how the Sphere computer system emulated a HP minicomputer on a 6800 to get BASIC running. The slowest BASIC of its era.
And then someone asks in the Q&A, "how does this relate to generative AI"
BRUH.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esfLRBvJUzg&t=2216s
And then someone asks in the Q&A, "how does this relate to generative AI"
BRUH.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esfLRBvJUzg&t=2216s
November 6, 2026 at 12:11 PM
I'm watching this great talk on how the Sphere computer system emulated a HP minicomputer on a 6800 to get BASIC running. The slowest BASIC of its era.
And then someone asks in the Q&A, "how does this relate to generative AI"
BRUH.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esfLRBvJUzg&t=2216s
And then someone asks in the Q&A, "how does this relate to generative AI"
BRUH.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esfLRBvJUzg&t=2216s
So 3 dudes and a minicomputer
November 1, 2026 at 4:09 PM
So 3 dudes and a minicomputer
1201 and 1202 alarms during the Apollo 11 moon landing were computer overload warnings triggered by the spacecraft's Apollo Guidance Computer (AGC). #Simulator #Simulation
FOCAL programming language for (DEC) PDP-8 minicomputer by Jim Storer while a high school student in the fall of 1969.
FOCAL programming language for (DEC) PDP-8 minicomputer by Jim Storer while a high school student in the fall of 1969.
Lunar Lander (video game genre) - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
November 9, 2026 at 3:18 PM
1201 and 1202 alarms during the Apollo 11 moon landing were computer overload warnings triggered by the spacecraft's Apollo Guidance Computer (AGC). #Simulator #Simulation
FOCAL programming language for (DEC) PDP-8 minicomputer by Jim Storer while a high school student in the fall of 1969.
FOCAL programming language for (DEC) PDP-8 minicomputer by Jim Storer while a high school student in the fall of 1969.
If I ever had a mainframe/minicomputer that needed to be disassembled for repairs I'd spread out all the components in a circle around me and lay laughing in the middle of them like The Joker in the Suicide Squad movie trailer
November 5, 2026 at 5:51 AM
If I ever had a mainframe/minicomputer that needed to be disassembled for repairs I'd spread out all the components in a circle around me and lay laughing in the middle of them like The Joker in the Suicide Squad movie trailer
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@PurpleJillybeans Is it multiuser?
If so, probably a minicomputer? Thinking of things like the Microvax I and II and also of the MP/M machines out there.
If _not_, probably a workstation. I think I'd bring that back into rotation.
If so, probably a minicomputer? Thinking of things like the Microvax I and II and also of the MP/M machines out there.
If _not_, probably a workstation. I think I'd bring that back into rotation.
November 3, 2026 at 6:13 AM
@PurpleJillybeans Is it multiuser?
If so, probably a minicomputer? Thinking of things like the Microvax I and II and also of the MP/M machines out there.
If _not_, probably a workstation. I think I'd bring that back into rotation.
If so, probably a minicomputer? Thinking of things like the Microvax I and II and also of the MP/M machines out there.
If _not_, probably a workstation. I think I'd bring that back into rotation.
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It was.
It was 1986, and they were never given the money to replace the late-60s minicomputer the Arpanet code (in assembly) was written for, so they built a bit-slice microcoded emulation. Then they needed more RAM, so they added another 4-bit-wide slice, and widened the RAM, making a 20-bit CPU.
It was 1986, and they were never given the money to replace the late-60s minicomputer the Arpanet code (in assembly) was written for, so they built a bit-slice microcoded emulation. Then they needed more RAM, so they added another 4-bit-wide slice, and widened the RAM, making a 20-bit CPU.
November 1, 2026 at 3:05 AM
It was.
It was 1986, and they were never given the money to replace the late-60s minicomputer the Arpanet code (in assembly) was written for, so they built a bit-slice microcoded emulation. Then they needed more RAM, so they added another 4-bit-wide slice, and widened the RAM, making a 20-bit CPU.
It was 1986, and they were never given the money to replace the late-60s minicomputer the Arpanet code (in assembly) was written for, so they built a bit-slice microcoded emulation. Then they needed more RAM, so they added another 4-bit-wide slice, and widened the RAM, making a 20-bit CPU.
Als interessierte Person in Sachen Computertechnik sehe ich Entwicklung kritisch, wenn man sieht, wie der KI-Markt alles andere an die Wand drückt (RW).
Mal eben einen Minicomputer kaufen, der vor zwei Jahren noch für CHF 100 zu kaufen gewesen wäre kostet heute CHF 300 - weil das verbaute Ram
Mal eben einen Minicomputer kaufen, der vor zwei Jahren noch für CHF 100 zu kaufen gewesen wäre kostet heute CHF 300 - weil das verbaute Ram
November 1, 2026 at 8:16 AM
Als interessierte Person in Sachen Computertechnik sehe ich Entwicklung kritisch, wenn man sieht, wie der KI-Markt alles andere an die Wand drückt (RW).
Mal eben einen Minicomputer kaufen, der vor zwei Jahren noch für CHF 100 zu kaufen gewesen wäre kostet heute CHF 300 - weil das verbaute Ram
Mal eben einen Minicomputer kaufen, der vor zwei Jahren noch für CHF 100 zu kaufen gewesen wäre kostet heute CHF 300 - weil das verbaute Ram
Try taking one of these bad boys intramuscularly and then complain about the transgender 5G chip
October 28, 2026 at 7:12 PM
Try taking one of these bad boys intramuscularly and then complain about the transgender 5G chip