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mbbrutman

@mbbrutman@mastodon.sdf.org

mastodon 4.7.3

Retrocomputing, DOS Networking (mTCP), yard work, and a few other things ...

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20 Posts

Joined October 03, 2024

mbbrutman @mbbrutman@mastodon.sdf.org

· 3mo ago

mTCP is now officially on github! I was resisting for years but there are too many out of date or incorrectly forked versions out there now, so providing an official copy to fork from should be beneficial. https://github.com/mbbrutman/mTCP.git #Retrocomputing #Retrocomputing

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mbbrutman @mbbrutman@mastodon.sdf.org

· 2mo ago

It's funny. I thought I was close to finishing an mTCP release. And then I started updating the NetDrive protocol spec to document the changes. It's been 3 or 4 days now of fixing it and fixing code to make it coherent and consistent. And I probably have another week of work to do. It's stupid things, like "Oh, a 16 bit CRC is fine for line noise but not for verifying a large block of data was written correctly." Or making sure the protocol changes are kind of future-proof. #retrocomputing

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mbbrutman @mbbrutman@mastodon.sdf.org

· 4mo ago

I wrote my first DOS TSR recently. It's a rewrite of the DaynaPORT SCSI Ethernet adapter packet driver, this time in pure x86 assembler.

The original version was written in C which worked but it required 29KB when it was resident. The rewrite requires 3.5KB, which is quite an improvement. I also found it much easier to write a TSR in assembler, as I was able to do things directly instead of working around the C compiler.

I should post this as a new skill on LinkedIn. ;-0

#retrocomputing

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mbbrutman @mbbrutman@mastodon.sdf.org

· 6mo ago

Replying to

Coding is contagious so I went back and did some more. Here are the current stats: Test: Copy a 4MB file to a server that is 55ms away. (About 1400 miles.) The machine is a 386-40 running DOS 5 with an NE2000 card. Old code: 220 sec, 18.6KB/sec New: 17.14 secs, 238KB/sec. Copying the file to the same local hard drive takes 4.84 seconds so the remote copy to a server is only 3.5x slower. Next: improve the read speed so I can host the SIMTEL archive via a DOS drive letter. #retrocomputing

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mbbrutman @mbbrutman@mastodon.sdf.org

· 5mo ago

I'm having way too much in retirement.

While the soldering and coding are fun, the small extra details like funny business cards make it absolutely delightful.

#retrocomputing

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mbbrutman @mbbrutman@mastodon.sdf.org

· 4mo ago

My networking gear has always celebrated ...

#PrideMonth #Retrocomputing

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mbbrutman @mbbrutman@mastodon.sdf.org

· 4mo ago

Does anybody need an IBM PCjr postcard?

#retrocomputing

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mbbrutman @mbbrutman@mastodon.sdf.org

· 2mo ago

Replying to

@ipaschke@cyberplace.social Do you have any documentation updates for https://github.com/PiSCSI/piscsi/wiki/Dayna-Port-Command-Set ? I wrote the DOS packet driver to that spec. If your changes are more true to the original hardware I would like to match them in my driver but also make sure the documentation is up to date.

Dayna Port Command Set

PiSCSI allows a Raspberry Pi to function as emulated SCSI devices (hard disk, CD-ROM, and others) for vintage SCSI-based computers and devices. This is a fork of the RaSCSI project by GIMONS. - Pi...

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mbbrutman @mbbrutman@mastodon.sdf.org

· 5mo ago

Replying to

Also, please boost the original post ... this is something I want to spread the word about given the possibility of crashes. If you've ever been frustrated by old DOS code randomly crashing before, well, this is one of those bugs that causes that. I'm on a mission to make DOS as stable as possible, one ancient bug fix at a time. ;-0 #retrocomputing #msdos

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mbbrutman @mbbrutman@mastodon.sdf.org

· 2mo ago

Replying to

@BlueSCSI@hachyderm.io @ipaschke@cyberplace.social @jcs I love the idea of just reading the ROM from the real device; is that listing/ROM dump available somewhere? I haven't tried Z80 assember code, but I'm proficient enough with x86 where I could figure it out and work through it as a second set of eyes.

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mbbrutman @mbbrutman@mastodon.sdf.org

· 19mo ago

Boosted by @joe@f.duriansoftware.com

Like to read about hunts for pre-historic bugs? I've just posted my notes on how I found a 35+ year old bug in DOS 3.3's SYS.COM. https://www.brutman.com/Adventures_In_Code/DOS_33_SYS_Bug_Hunt/DOS_33_SYS_Bug_Hunt.html #retrocomputing #DOS

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mbbrutman @mbbrutman@mastodon.sdf.org

· 5mo ago

VCF PNW 2026 is one week away!

https://vcfpnw.org/

May 2nd and 3rd, Tukwila, WA (just south of Seattle near the SEATAC airport).

Sponsored by the Interim Computer Museum.

#retrocomputing

VCF PNW

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mbbrutman @mbbrutman@mastodon.sdf.org

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@3rz@freiburg.social Fidonet : )

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mbbrutman @mbbrutman@mastodon.sdf.org

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@ltning@pleroma.anduin.net Pictures or it didn't happen!

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mbbrutman @mbbrutman@mastodon.sdf.org

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@reflex@retrogaming.social Hi! Yes, I'm a latecomer to the party. SMB is just ghastly large ... you'd be better off with something like NetMount (https://github.com/jrohel/NetMount) which allows for file level sharing, but isn't as complex as SMB.

GitHub - jrohel/NetMount: NetMount allows DOS to mount directories from remote computers as network drives.

NetMount allows DOS to mount directories from remote computers as network drives. - jrohel/NetMount

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mbbrutman @mbbrutman@mastodon.sdf.org

· 6mo ago

VCF PNW 2026 is just a month away!

https://vcfpnw.org/

May 2nd and 3rd, Tukwila, WA (just south of Seattle near the SEATAC airport).

Sponsored by the Interim Computer Museum.

#retrocomputing

VCF PNW

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mbbrutman @mbbrutman@mastodon.sdf.org

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@ltning@pleroma.anduin.net Ah, that was you! I've seen that picture other places but I didn't make the connection. Well done!

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mbbrutman @mbbrutman@mastodon.sdf.org

· 6mo ago

Replying to

@ilpalazzo@social.vivaldi.net Thanks - it's part of a series of five that I did for VCF PNW 2020 that we didn't get much use out of. I'm not a graphics artists but I like to try once in a while. (No AI was used.)

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