Category Archives: Multi-Platform

Siri and Eliza Have a Conversation

Posted on September 17, 2013 by Blake Patterson

Eliza is an early computer program that served as an experiment in natural language processing. It was written at MIT by Joseph Weizenbaum in the mid-’60s and is best known as a simulation of a Rogerian psychotherapist. Siri, perhaps better … Continue reading →

Posted in Multi-Platform | 2 Comments

“BASIC Week” Fun Over at /r/RetroBattlestations

Posted on September 15, 2013 by Blake Patterson

Last week was BASIC Week over at one of my haunts, /r/RetroBattlestations. Retro guy Chris Osborn (@FozzTexx) created a BASIC program that renders out the subreddit’s logo along with Snoo (Reddit’s mascot) to the computer screen. Chris provided ports to … Continue reading →

Posted in Apple II, Multi-Platform, r/Retrobattlestations | 6 Comments

Regarding Keyboards, and a New Favorite: the Leopold FC660C

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Blake Patterson

Nearly two years ago I got into mechanical keyboards (real keyboards, proper keyboards) in a pretty big way. In order to truly enjoy the experience of typing on these quality boards, I decided to learn to type “properly,” as opposed … Continue reading →

Posted in Just Rambling, Multi-Platform | 14 Comments

A Glimpse of the Elusive ‘Time Bandit’ for the Sanyo MBC 550

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Blake Patterson

Those who follow me here at my retro blog or over at TouchArcade know that I’ve been a gamer for quite some time, now. And, after all of those years of gaming, I certainly have my favorites that still provide … Continue reading →

Posted in Gaming, Multi-Platform | 11 Comments

So Long, and Thanks for All the Games

Posted on August 26, 2012 by Blake Patterson

Last week I sent out a tweet marking a rather sad turn of events concerning one of the most notable game studios of all time. On further reflection, I wanted to say a few words here. On Wednesday, Sony shut … Continue reading →

Posted in Amiga, Atari, Gaming, Multi-Platform | 5 Comments

A New Photo Panorama of The “Byte Cellar” for 2012 [Updated]

Posted on August 9, 2012 by Blake Patterson

I started this little blog back in March of 2004, about a year after my wife and I moved into our current home in Alexandria, Virginia. The main requirement we held onto when looking for a larger home those years … Continue reading →

Posted in Just Rambling, Multi-Platform | 4 Comments

The KryoFlux Floppy Controller: A Magnetic Media Miracle

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Blake Patterson

Those of us who are driven to gather computers of decades past about us in order to forever enjoy that magical, early stage of home computing (that’s unknown to so many today) do, indeed, reap rich rewards from the effort. … Continue reading →

Posted in Multi-Platform | Tagged , , , , , | 15 Comments

Have a Helping of 8-bit Holiday Cheer! [Updated for 2014]

Posted on December 10, 2011 by Blake Patterson

I’ve been a computer guy for a long time now, but I’ve been enjoying Christmas even longer. I got my first computer, a TI-99/4A, on Christmas morning, 1982. I was 10 years old, and from that Christmas on, it was … Continue reading →

Posted in Multi-Platform | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

I Sat At The Retro Computing Roundtable…And It Was Sublime

Posted on October 18, 2011 by Blake Patterson

I know I said my next post would be my personal tribute to Steve Jobs — and that post is coming — but I had to jump in and share an absolutely exceptional experience I had this past Sunday, with … Continue reading →

Posted in Just Rambling, Multi-Platform | 7 Comments

An Apparent Keyboard Geek Finally Learns to Type

Posted on August 7, 2011 by Blake Patterson

This is a quick post to share my latest project with readers: at long last, I am learning to type properly! I got my first keyboard in late 1982. It was connected to my first computer, a TI-99/4A. I began … Continue reading →

Posted in Just Rambling, Multi-Platform | 11 Comments