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Is the Coleco computer from The Simpsons based on a real computer?

In the episode Lisa Gets an "A" of The Simpsons, there is a fictional computer called Coleco: Is that computer based on a real one or are there any records of computers resembling that?
guest
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Quick way to tell how much RAM an Apple IIe has

What is a simple way to tell how much RAM an Apple IIe has? The main RAM is fixed, but Aux RAM can vary. I'd like a solution that can be typed quickly from the keyboard: the context is that I'm asking a Craigslist seller about the machine they're…
zellyn
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What was the end of line convention for text files on the 8-bit Commodores

A two part question: Did an agreed upon convention for end of line (EOL) within text files exist on the 8-bit Commodores? If there was a convention, what was it?
Shannon Severance
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Identifying late 1990s embedded 486 UNIX-like system

I'm trying to identify the operating system on a Thermo-CRS C500 robot arm controller. From the specifications I know it runs on a 100 MHz 486 processor, and has 4 MB RAM and 2MB of flash/NVRAM combination for filesystem. All the identifying strings…
jpa
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How did integer multiplication work in 8-bit BASIC without CPU support

I've recently been teaching my 11 year old binary multiplication, which is on the UK maths syllabus at secondary school. We have used long multiplication, eg shift and add. This has made me wonder about the Z80, which didn't have an integer multiply…
Mark Williams
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When low-level formatting a floppy, how does one ensure any existing sector markers are overwritten?

If a formatted floppy diskette is reformatted with a low-level¹ format, how does the formatting routine make sure that any previous sector markers are fully overwritten? In particular, how does it make sure that the first sector marker from any…
cjs
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How were the 70s and 80s coin-op machines programmed?

How were the 70s and 80s coin-op machines programmed? What tools did a programmer use? Nowadays, a programmer can use a PC with an IDE to program, test, place breakpoints. But in the 80s, how could a programmer test the graphics, the algorithms and…
bassaidai0
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Were there any 8-bit CPUs with 24-bit addressing?

Or was that something that didn't appear until later CPUs (around the time of the 286 maybe)? Also, how would I go about researching this on my own? It's not exactly something I can look up on DigiKey...
Anthony
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How did the Sega CD decompress video?

In the early nineties, Sega released the Sega CD, a.k.a. Mega CD, an add-on that attached a CD-ROM drive to the Mega Drive a.k.a. Genesis. Its primary or at least most conspicuous use was for full-motion video games that were appearing at that…
rwallace
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Retrocomputing software development process/methodologies

This is a test question based on this meta post. If the question can be reworded to be more on-topic, please feel free to suggest improvements. This is an open ended question about software development on any retrocomputing platform. I'm curious…
JAL
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Which 8-bit computers were used in German schools in the 1980s?

In the 1980s, each country had a particular brand of computer that was most commonly used in schools; often, there was pressure to go with a local manufacturer. In the US, the Apple II. In Britain, the BBC Micro. In France, presumably because of the…
rwallace
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How did the Apple 1 video circuit work?

One of the major innovations of the Apple 1 when it was released in April 1976 was that instead of using a serial interface requiring an expensive external terminal it had a built-in 40×24 text video display that could be hooked up to an external…
cjs
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Are there statements from IBM insiders revealing why OS/2 was dropped?

In the early to mid-90s I was an OS/2 user and supporter. The operating system was originally jointly developed by both Microsoft and IBM. Both companies claimed it was the future, including public statements from Bill Gates. So major business…
RichF
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Why is the 'echo' command called 'echo'?

This is an essentially trivial question, but anyway: several operating systems have a command to display a specified text string on the terminal, or standard out, or whatever (depends on system to some extent). This command is often called…
dave
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Bit one of the Intel 8080's Flags register

Did bit one of the Intel 8080's Flags register, the bit between the carry and parity flags, get set to one on startup? If so what was the reason for this, and was this inherited from the 8008 Flags register?
Single Malt
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