You're probably aware of the 7400-series of logic chips. Hundreds of distinct chips with various functions.

But did you know there is a whole other series of logic chips? The 4000 series of chips use a CMOS process and logic levels, but are way more flexible about supply voltage -- typically, they work from 3V to 18V.

Fun fact: Motorola's 4000-series logic, the MC14xxxB series, are mostly still made -- by ON Semiconductor. If you can't find a certain "CD4xxx" chip, check to see if there's an "MC14xxx" chip available, they're exactly the same.

For more details on the FDAI, including the servo loops and electronic amplifiers (powered by germanium transistors), see my blog post: https://www.righto.com/2025/06/inside-apollo-fdai.html

This is the 100 year anniversary of humans having an idea of what the heck the sun and all the stars actually are. If you had asked a leading astronomer in 1925 what the sun was, they would say that it's basically the same as Earth, but very hot.

In Cecilia Payne's doctoral thesis she was the first to say, from spectral data, that the sun was overwhelmingly made of hydrogen and helium.

It was later described as "the most brilliant PhD thesis ever written in astronomy".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecilia_Payne-Gaposchkin

Discovered in the floppy disks of the late Jerome Domurat (graphic designer of various games for #Atari2600 and #Atari5200, e.g. Raiders of the Lost Ark, ET, Taz, Soccer, Jungle Hunt, creator of #AtariST computers busy bee - later he also worked for Apple and Sega) a set of graphics files of an unknown game for 2600, perhaps named Earthquake https://forums.atariage.com/topic/382364-unknown-earthquake-game/ #atari #retrogames

I like this introduction a lot: https://jointhefediverse.net/

I miss that association of games with places that you used to get when arcade games were around. Nobody these days particularly remembers where they played a game, as it's usually just at home on your console or wherever on your handheld or phone.

I could populate a map with places where I first played various games. Each game ties to memories of a location I was at and the time period it was when I played there.

Missing now, there's no such connection any more for the most part.

Have a funky Sunday.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-TkxRRkhQY

Once again, Montreal is showing the rest of North America how to transform streets for people — 8 commercial streets in Montreal will be “pedestrianized” [turned into great people-places] this summer with 7.3km across 6 boroughs. Plus additional smaller sections.
https://montreal.citynews.ca/2025/05/26/montreal-summer-2025-pedestrian-streets/

In memory of Bill Atkinson

Here’s Bill Atkinson (and rest of team) answering questions right after the Macintosh was debuted at the Boston Computer Society in 1984: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tQ5XwvjPmA starting at 28:25 - he demos MacPaint and more. May his memory be a blessing!

From Bill Atkinson's Facebook via the Call-A.P.P.L.E. discord:

Dear Friends and Family,
We regret to write that our beloved husband, father, and stepfather Bill Atkinson passed away on the night of Thursday, June 5th, 2025, due to pancreatic cancer. He was at home in Portola Valley in his bed, surrounded by family. We will miss him greatly, and he will be missed by many of you, too. He was a remarkable person, and the world will be forever different because he lived in it. He was fascinated by consciousness, and as he has passed on to a different level of consciousness, we wish him a journey as meaningful as the one it has been to have him in our lives. He is survived by his wife, two daughters, stepson, stepdaughter, two brothers, four sisters, and dog, Poppy.

Q: Can you program #FujiNet applications in Turbo Pascal?

A: Yes! This one gets the latest Mastodon post from oldbytes! :)

(and it was done on a PCjr, even!) :)

#retrocomputing

New version of Alpine Avenger for #Atari7800 console, game inspired by SkiFree for Windows 3.1 https://forums.atariage.com/topic/369201-alpine-avenger/#comment-5668205 #atari #retrogames

Old IBM terminal with "battleship" keyboard still in use in a Canadian Tire store in 2018.

There should be like a Michelin star system for websites. Like, you lose your stars if someone clicks through a link in an email and the website forgets where you were going after you log in. Or if the message "No results found" appears and then the results appear a second later.

It’s dangerous to go alone. Take this. #Borland #TurboPascal

So Forbidden Planet is the first major film to have an all-electronic score. It was made by Bebe and Louis Barron who were not referred to as musicians so as not to offend the musicians' union and instead their score was described as "Electronic Tonalities". The sounds were created via circuits made by Louis. This was before commercial synthesizers existed. Early electronic music was mostly made with things like scientific test equipment, tone generators, home made circuits, or manipulated tape. #Monsterdon

I tried just a little bit of Lurking Horror before bed. I only died horribly twice, and solved such puzzles as "how long to microwave leftover Chinese food for?" and "how do I kill an eldritch maintenance man on an electric floor waxer?"

First Caturday without cat. She’d be 21 next month.

From Seattle to Key West, as high as Pike’s Peak and as low as Death Valley. Ran towards the coyotes in Joshua Tree, then casually strolled back to us. Crafty, ruthless dispatcher of Maryland house centipedes and Colorado crickets. Fierce and happy consumer of the smorgasbord her Papa put out for her multiple times a day. Sweet, chirpy, adventurous. Lassie in feline form. Our best friend and traveling copilot, we miss you, Captain Kitty.