Retrocomputing: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 15:23, 20 February 2023

Revision as of 15:36, 20 February 2023

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[[Image:Apple-II.jpg|thumb|300px|The 1977 Apple II]]

'''Retrocomputing''' is the use of older computer [[computer hardware|hardware]] and [[computer software|software]] in modern times. Retrocomputing is usually classed as a [[hobby]] and recreation rather than a practical application of technology; enthusiasts often collect rare and valuable [[Electronic hardware|hardware]] and [[software]] for sentimental reasons. However, some do make use of it.<ref name="catb">{{cite web|url=http://www.catb.org/retro/ |title=The Retrocomputing Museum |publisher=Catb.org |access-date=30 October 2013}}</ref>

Occasionally, however, an obsolete computer system has to be "resurrected" to run software specific to that system, to access data stored on obsolete media, or to use a [[peripheral]] that requires that system.

[[File:Retrocomputing 2010 Athens Greece.jpg|thumb|Retrosystem 2010, a retrocomputing event in [[Athens]]]]

==Historical retrocomputing==

A more serious line of retrocomputingRetrocomputing is part of the [[history of computer hardware]]. It can be seen as the analogue of [[experimental archaeology]] in computing.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.2424/ASTSN.M.2012.17|year = 2012|issue = 119|last1 = Cignoni|first1 = Giovanni A.|last2 = Gaducci|first2 = Fabio|title = Experimental Archaeology of Computer Science|journal = Atti della Società Toscana di Scienze Naturali Residente in Pisa Memorie Serie B|pages=111–116}}</ref> Some notable examples include the reconstruction of [[Babbage]]'s [[Difference engine]] (more than a century after its design) and the implementation of [[Plankalkül]] in 2000 (more than half a century since its inception).

=="Homebrew" computers==

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==In popular culture==

In an interview with [[Conan O'Brien]] in May 2014, [[George R. R. Martin]] revealed that he writes his books using [[WordStar|WordStar 4.0]], an [[MS-DOS]] application dating back to 1987.<ref name="got">{{cite web|url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2014/05/14/george_r_r_martin_writes_on_dos_based_wordstar_4_0_software_from_the_1980s.html|title=George R.R. Martin Writes on a DOS-Based Word Processor From the 1980s|author=Lily Hay Newman|date=14 May 2014|access-date=20 September 2015}}</ref>

US-based streaming video provider [[Netflix]] released a multiple-choice movie branded to be part of their [[Black Mirror]] series, called ''[[Black Mirror: Bandersnatch|Bandersnatch]]''. The protagonist is a teenage programmer working on a contract to deliver a video-game adaptation of a fantasy novel for an 8-bit computer in 1984. The multiple storylines evolve around the emotions and mental health issues resulting from a reality-perception mismatch between a new generation of computer-savvy teenagers and twenty-somethings, and their care givers.