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1500 questions
19
votes
2 answers
Why does the default base64 encoding use forward slash /?
As anyone who has been bitten by using base64 instead of base64url is quite well aware, the "original" base64 alphabet uses alphanumeric, +, = (both perfectly cromulent URL characters), and the dreaded /. I want to know how this came about, because…
DeusXMachina
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Did any software attempt to perform 8086 emulation on the 80286 using LOADALL, in the vein of the later virtual 8086 mode of the 80386?
I know that Virtual 8086 mode was added on the 80386 to make it possible to run old applications in a Protected Mode environment.
The 80286 had a lot of shortcomings, such as not being able to switch back to Real Mode from Protected Mode (except by…
DarkAtom
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19
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Is it possible to use an Amstrad CPC464 with a modern monitor or TV
During a recent move I lost the monitor for my Amstrad CPC464.
Is it possible to adapt the output of this to work on a modern monitor or on television set?
404 User not found
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19
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2 answers
Who considered multimedia capability a liability for a business computers, and why?
For technical reasons, business computers of the late '70s usually had little multimedia capability. There have been modern claims (e.g., in the comments on this video) that such capability was considered a net negative: that it caused a computer to…
rwallace
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19
votes
7 answers
Have there been any instruction sets with an odd register width?
Did any early instruction sets have an odd integer register width? The reason I am asking is because all of the instruction sets I have read about (on this site and elsewhere) have had an even general purpose register width, if not a power of two. I…
Qaziquza
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19
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2 answers
Why do drives occupy memory on Amigas
I was reading this question, and it sparked an old memory. I had an Amiga 600 a long time ago. And I used to play Secrets of Monkey Island on it, great game. But then I upgraded the computer and installed a hard drive in it. Now Monkey Island…
Omar and Lorraine
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19
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3 answers
What is the purpose of mirrored memory regions in NES's CPU memory map?
[Please see answers to this related question as well]
I've started reading the "official" NES Documentation and in page ten, it says that "memory locations $0000-$07FF are mirrored three times at $0800-$1FFF". My question is, what is the purpose of…
anmomu92
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How did the Motorola MC68030 and MC68040 come to have the powerful and expensive CAS2 instruction?
The CAS2 instruction - double compare-and-swap - is an extremely powerful instruction that was coveted for quite awhile (and still is, really) for making lock-free and wait-free data structures - that is, data structures that operate correctly and…
davidbak
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19
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4 answers
When or should we expect our 8-bit motherboards to fail due to the capacitors?
I would assume that most people who have been trying to keep these old micros working are well aware of the finite life of components, which is the idea that age will eventually cause things to fail. Though the components in our 8-bits seem to be a…
bjb
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19
votes
7 answers
Are there any good, non-abandoned PC emulators?
Mission: I'm trying to simulate a classic ~286/386/486/Pentium inside my modern PC (running Windows 10) in the most authentic way possible.
Just a quick note to say that I (Sarah Walker) have decided to call it quits. Thanks to those who sent…
Gaije
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19
votes
3 answers
Which language had the first scanf?
As a companion to the question "What was the first programming language to have 'printf'?", which language had the first scanf?
It doesn't have to be literally called scanf, but I am looking for the following:
A procedure, subroutine, function, or…
DrSheldon
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19
votes
3 answers
Would it be technically possible to make a "Satiator" for the PlayStation?
There is this thing being sold for the Sega Saturn called the "Satiator". It's basically a little card that you slide into the back of a completely unmodified Saturn, and then you slide in a standard memory card into the Satiator with Saturn games…
user22501
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Did COBOL have an English-like "or" operator?
This answer made me wonder:
Did COBOL also handle that other newbie mistake, allowing one to write
if a == 'orange' or 'apple' or 'banana'
instead of
if a == 'orange' or a == 'apple' or a == 'banana'
(or using some set membership operator if your…
Ture Pålsson
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19
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1 answer
Why does the ZX81 not have user definable characters without extra hardware i.e. why could the character ROM not be in RAM?
I know you can use different parts of the 8 KB ROM in Sinclair ZX81 as character ROM by changing the I register, but it seems one cannot change the I register to point to RAM [and have character mode]. I think the problem is that the RAM then gets…
mobluse
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What are the screws for on the UltraSPARC?
I fail to grasp what can be screwed on them, can you explain what are these for?
Eric Cartman
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