#microbee
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retrocomps.bsky.social
"The microbee Computer-in-a-Book represents a novel, practical effective low cost way of advancing to disk drive capacity..." (Source.)
From the April '86 issue of Bits & Bytes. Up top, the text "The microbee Computer-in-a-Book represents a novel, practical effective low cost way of advancing to disk drive capacity..." Center, the Microbee itself, featuring a squat keyboard, a squat CRT, and what we'd now call a minitower format for their 3.5" disk drive. Below, it touts the features, the included software, and the prices ($1,350 for the 64K Microbee with single disk drive; $470 for spare disk drive with matching volume; and "ask" about Modems, Printers, and Business Software). At the bottom, the bumblebee logo for microbee computer, as well as their postal address and six-digit telephone number.
November 7, 2026 at 12:05 PM
jdyer.bsky.social
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...
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
dopedsi.bsky.social
You're going to port that to Microbee now, aren't you?
November 13, 2026 at 10:45 AM
suzyj.net
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
suzyj.net
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
ozjonty.techhub.social.ap.brid.gy
@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.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
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 […]
Original post on mastodon.social
mastodon.social
November 6, 2026 at 1:02 PM
suzyj.net
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
suzyj.net
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
romabysen.bsky.social
About time Copernicus got a video game. Kepler's had one since the 80's.
(It was an educational game on the MicroBee)
October 20, 2026 at 10:40 AM
oldtechadverts.bsky.social
Microbee computer was the only real home grown computer in Australia. Was mostly popular in schools.

#retrocomputing #vintagecomputing #microbee
Microbee computer was the only real home grown computer in Australia. Was mostly popular in schools. #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing #microbee
October 4, 2026 at 6:00 AM
transduction.bsky.social
The awesome Microbee
September 23, 2026 at 12:39 PM
jdyer.bsky.social
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...
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
alexisx-au.bsky.social
Oh, and how could i forget using MicroBees!
MicroBee - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
September 23, 2026 at 2:45 AM
svunt.bsky.social
What was your first computer growing up?
A Microbee computer.
September 23, 2026 at 1:10 AM
jdyer.bsky.social
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...
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
jdyer.bsky.social
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
jdyer.bsky.social
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...
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
rawkpork.bsky.social
A microbee 16?
September 18, 2026 at 12:52 PM
seridge.bsky.social
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
grthdev.bsky.social
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
tassiebob.bsky.social
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
ajsadauskas.pixelfed.social.ap.brid.gy
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
A later model C64 in an Amiga-like beige keyboard case. It's sitting next to its massive floppy disk drive.
November 21, 2025 at 10:33 AM
ajsadauskas.pixelfed.social.ap.brid.gy
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
A screen embedded in a rectangular light beige case with a two-tone grey keyboard. A long rectangular light beige computer with black disk drives and an embedded screen, with a two-tone grey keyboard.
November 13, 2025 at 8:48 AM
ajsadauskas.pixelfed.social.ap.brid.gy
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
The 128K MicroBee, a Z80-based computer from the '80s that ran CP/M and a custom GUI. Another MicroBee with some red floppy disks. A MicroBee branded monitor that looks suspiciously like a TV with the tuner ripped out. And another MicroBee in a light beige keyboard form factor and black keys.
November 13, 2025 at 8:34 AM