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1500 questions
18
votes
4 answers
What was the first CPU with exposed pipeline?
Quoting from Programming for Performance exercise:
early versions of the MIPS processor had an "exposed pipeline" (that is, the assembly language programmer needed to know the latencies of operations and had to insert NO-OPS or other operations…
Leo B.
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18
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2 answers
Why was there a need for separate I/O address space in addition to a memory address space already?
I was reading through PCI and PCIe configuration access mechanism in Chapter 3 (page 96) of PCIe System Architecture (Mindshare series). As a solution to prevent locking (in case of multiple threads) due to two CPU I/O space access for a single…
analogkp
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18
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3 answers
Adjusting focus for old CRT monitors
I have an old Atari SC1224 CRT which has badly lost focus over the years.
After taking the cover off, I can see various focus controls that can be adjusted by screwdriver.
Question: is there a science or method to adjusting focus on CRT monitors?…
jamesfmackenzie
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18
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1 answer
How is example play stored in Super Mario Bros. ROM?
When you start Super Mario Bros. on NES, the title screen shows 1 PLAYER GAME and 2 PLAYER GAME. If you wait for few seconds the Mario starts to play the first level of the game (this can be seen in YouTube video). Question is, how was the example…
Kaarlo Räihä
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18
votes
3 answers
IBM PC Alt + numpad for entering character codes: firmware, BIOS or OS?
Back in the days of MS-DOS, when I needed to type a special character that wasn't part of the keyboard layout, I would press down the left Alt key and type out the character code on the numeric keypad (Alt+130 for "é", Alt+150 for "û") and the…
Nimloth
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18
votes
5 answers
Why did old consoles have special RAM dedicated for a specific task?
Even in the PlayStation/Saturn era, they had like little RAM chips which were dedicated to just "sound", or "video", or "general".
Since they still needed to have the RAM chips, why not have them all combined into a single RAM so that each game…
Supernintendo Chalmers
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18
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1 answer
In P.J. Plauger's "The Standard C Library" (1992), why are for loops used so frequently instead of while loops in the implementations?
I think I'm getting into such a specific question that there may be no answer, but it seems curious to me. This is a retrocomputing question, I promise, see the last paragraph to see how.
In Plauger's 1992 book, "The Standard C Library", Plauger…
Michael Stachowsky
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18
votes
1 answer
Can you use 5.25 HD floppy disks in a DD drive?
Is is possible to format and use 5.25 high density disks in a double density drive?
Matthew
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18
votes
1 answer
How long did plasma displays persist?
I'm reading a book called The Friendly Orange Glow, about the PLATO multiuser computer system developed by the University of Illinois in the late sixties, which is fascinating at several levels as a microcosm of an alternate universe of computing.…
rwallace
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18
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7 answers
Were all Amigas except for A1000 un-upgradeable OS-wise?
In his latest video, "The 8-Bit Guy" on YouTube talks about the original Amiga 1000: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjapiUQOi2s
One of the things he mentions is that, unlike all later Amigas, it has no ROM containing the OS. Instead, you had to put…
C. Olascoaga
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18
votes
2 answers
Comprehensive test suites for MOS 6520 PIA / 6522 VIA / 6526 CIA
Are there any automated test suites for MOS 6520, 6522 and 6526 chips? I am looking for test suites aimed at making sure datasheet-based independent reimplementations of the above chips (e.g. FPGAs or emulators) work exactly as the real chips.
Cactus
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18
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4 answers
Is this Votan voice assistant from 1984 a real system?
This clip from BBC Archive allegedly shows a computer that can do voice recognition, speaker recognition and speech synthesis with minimal delay in 1984.
I find that hard to believe, they must have someone hiding in the background and playing…
AndreKR
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18
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1 answer
Which original retrocomputer OS's are still maintained and updated today, for original hardware?
I would like to know which original Operating Systems that run on retrocomputers are still being actively maintained and updated. This only applies to retrocomputer OS's that may still be used on original hardware.
Assuming the OS vendor has…
Brian H
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18
votes
3 answers
Release timeline for 128KB personal computers?
IBM, Apple, Commodore, and Atari all released upgraded versions of their popular home/personal computers having "stock" 128KB of RAM around the early 1980's.
What was the order of release (based on approximate shipping dates) for each of these new…
Brian H
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18
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1 answer
What kind of RAM stick is this?
Specifically, what are those two modules in the middle of each? I'm not too familiar with components this old. I've figured out that they're sticks of SEC SDRAM, but I've found nothing about any of the components. I also haven't seen any pictures…
truehd
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