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Recent content by resman

  1. resman

    Python

    As someone who wrote a Java VM for the 6502, you will have a LOT of work ahead of you. At least the Java VM is really nothing more than a glorified p-code interpreter and I could do the compilation on a modern machine. Even still, cramming a 32 bit virtual memory environment into a 1 MHz, 8...
  2. resman

    PC Archeology: One of first Compaq Deskpro 386 made... but how early?

    I imagine it was pretty common to run slower 287s on that motherboard. But yours was definitely a slower one for 1986.
  3. resman

    PC Archeology: One of first Compaq Deskpro 386 made... but how early?

    How does that 287 work? IIRC, it was clocked at 8 MHz (I think yours is 5 MHz).
  4. resman

    LCD mod for a Compaq Portable?

    A couple of things to understand about the Compaq Portables video card. The default CGA card from Compaq was able to display CGA resolution in graphics modes, but higher res MDA style text modes. The built-in CRT was dual mode and able to switch between the two timings. If you were able to...
  5. resman

    Need some help from 6809 programmers at byte level

    I spent a little time with 6809 assemblers while playing with Color Forth on the CoCo: https://forum.vcfed.org/index.php?threads/color-forth-available-for-coco-with-decb.46819/ The results were quite interesting: the original code was assembled with EDTASM that is probably a single pass...
  6. resman

    A20 issues with my 386

    Be careful, these things don't always end well: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mangler
  7. resman

    Sun386i. Overdrive processors: Why don't they work?

    I installed a Cyrix 486DRx2 in my Compaq 386/20e. It also has an external cache controller and no issues running Windows 95, Windows NT, and Linux. However, most of the fancy features of the CPU won't be enabled (including cache) until a utility is run to set them. Without running such a...
  8. resman

    Is there a case to be made for the 386?

    PPC and a few others, later. Alpha was an initial release target as I believe Cutler had a lot of input on its design. My first startup was designing hybrid 386/MIPS R3000 NT workstations (switching to 486/MIPS R4000 when they became available). The 386 couldn't compete performance-wise with...
  9. resman

    Is there a case to be made for the 386?

    I had the distinction of being the pawn sent to Microsoft by Compaq to ensure NT OS/2 would ship on the 386 processor. Compaq had a vested interest in having Microsoft's new OS run on their hardware. NT OS/2 was originally targeting the high performance RISC processors like the i860 and MIPS...
  10. resman

    CE-158X, a more modern replacement for the Sharp CE-158 (and TRS-80 version)

    Black or grey would be my choices. Very cool!
  11. resman

    Early Compaq turbo speed keyboard combination

    Anyone notice the typo in Table 5-4a?
  12. resman

    FORTH PLASMA + PLFORTH !

    One of my, perhaps nontraditional, use for Forth is to have a batch/script language that can be used for mundane tasks such as software install. Since PLFORTH is a first class citizen of the PLASMA environment, it can easily execute all the PLASMA utilities directly. In this case, it builds a...
  13. resman

    TRS-80 Pocket Computer WAV, BAS, IMG - 26-3530 Horse Race Analyst Software Package

    I know the track near Belmont closed some years ago, but it looks like Golden Gate Fields near Berkley is still open. You could always load up the Horse Race Analyst on the ol' Pocket PC and clean up at the racetrack! I've never gotten into betting, seems too much like work - and I live in Nevada
  14. resman

    Self Modifying Code... Best Practice or avoid?

    There are plenty of embedded CPUs that don't run in a protected environment. There was a time and place for SMC, and hopefully it has long since passed.
  15. resman

    Self Modifying Code... Best Practice or avoid?

    ... on protected mode operating systems. I suppose you could find a way around it, just as JIT compilers do, but I can't even imagine a scenario where this makes the least bit of sense. Modern embedded processors (at least the ones I've used) have learned from the errors of their 8 bit...
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