@stonetoolsblog@mastodon.social

Stone Tools @stonetoolsblog@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

🪨 PipeDream on the Acorn Archimedes 🛠️

A truly unique combination. We have the first ARM-based home computer, powering a bespoke OS, running software that says, "The barriers between productivity apps are a lie we tell ourselves."

This introduced so many new technologies, I had to run a check on "Where are they now?" The ARM chip's legacy is a given, but the other stuff in the stack might surprise you.

#retrocomputing #pipedream #arm #acorn #archimedes #riscos

https://stonetools.ghost.io/pipedream-archimedes/

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Stone Tools @stonetoolsblog@mastodon.social

· 3mo ago

🪨 Visual Basic on the PC w/Windows 3.1 🛠️ Apple wasn't the only company to have a popular, easy to use, visual programming tool, only to yank it from their diehard fans and replace it with nothing. I see what all of the fuss was about with Visual Basic with the help of a "teach yourself" book, get pedantic about Microsoft's use of Helvetica, and *briefly* muse about slop factories. Arnold, from Diff'rent Strokes, guest stars! #retrocomputing #microsoft #windows #basic https://stonetools.ghost.io/visualbasic-win31

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Stone Tools @stonetoolsblog@mastodon.social

· 7mo ago

🪨 Lotus 1-2-3 on the PC w/DOS 🛠️

Did you know that #Lotus123 is still referenced in Microsoft #Excel documentation to this day, but not #visicalc I finally spent some time getting to know VisiCalc's literal killer. When I struggled to get a chart made, I turned to the only one who could help me: an AI. From 1986!
#retrocomputing #spreadsheet

https://stonetools.ghost.io/lotus123-dos

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Stone Tools @stonetoolsblog@mastodon.social

· 6mo ago

Replying to

@storiesofapple@bitbang.social It's pretty great, ain't it?

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Stone Tools @stonetoolsblog@mastodon.social

· 7mo ago

Replying to

@amoroso@oldbytes.space No, I hadn't seen that, and I'm quite humbled. What a lovely gift to wake up to.

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Stone Tools @stonetoolsblog@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@amoroso@oldbytes.space PipeDream is unusual to me with how it was somehow ubiquitous and unknown at the same time. It existed in a strange, liminal space like that. Framework is on (has been on) the to-do list; I'm looking forward to that one.

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Stone Tools @stonetoolsblog@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@scruss@xoxo.zone From the screenshot I posted in the article alone, and my readings on it, it looks (thinking of a charitable word here) "ambitious" for that device.

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Stone Tools @stonetoolsblog@mastodon.social

· 6mo ago

Replying to

@pronoiac@mefi.social I did a poor job explaining what I've done so far. On I.A. there are two types of scans: PDFs and .cbr files. I used the .cbr files as the PDFs are absolutely terrible quality. The .cbrs are still bad, but "usably bad" I guess. My ideal would be greyscale flatbed scans at 1200dpi of the OMNI font headers and drop-caps. The scans only need to focus on the font in question. I should make a character table to catalog scan acquisitions, and call out specific issues of interest. 🤔

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Stone Tools @stonetoolsblog@mastodon.social

· 6mo ago

Replying to

@europlus@social.europlus.zone Looking forward to the story!

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Stone Tools @stonetoolsblog@mastodon.social

· 6mo ago

Replying to

@raymaccarthy@mastodon.ie Well, Brainerd said in an interview with the Museum of History and Industry in 2009 that *he* approached Adobe about a merger. He was tired and wanted out of the industry, basically. Still, since InDesign was already in the works at Aldus, maybe they could have fought on without Brainerd at the helm, but I get the feeling he really wanted a guaranteed pay day for the next phase of his life as a conservationist.

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Stone Tools @stonetoolsblog@mastodon.social

· 6mo ago

Replying to

@oscarfalcon@mastodon.social You're very welcome! If you make something cool with it, please share with the class.

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Stone Tools @stonetoolsblog@mastodon.social

· 7mo ago

Replying to

@dougmerritt@mathstodon.xyz I *do* mean an AI from 1986!

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Stone Tools @stonetoolsblog@mastodon.social

· 9mo ago

Replying to

@a2_4am "The Policeman's Beard is Half-Constructed" by Racter https://www.historyofinformation.com/detail.php?entryid=3806 Available at archive.org for checkout.

historyofinformation.com

History of Information

An interactive, illustrated timeline of historic moments in humankind

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Stone Tools @stonetoolsblog@mastodon.social

· 6mo ago

Replying to

@Mimi@oldbytes.space Someone else in the same industry told me their nickname for it was PageF*cker.

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Stone Tools @stonetoolsblog@mastodon.social

· 6mo ago

Replying to

@raymaccarthy@mastodon.ie Cracker is a new one on me. What system was that on?

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Stone Tools @stonetoolsblog@mastodon.social

· 6mo ago

Replying to

@Magicmix1@mastodon.social Glad you enjoyed it!

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Stone Tools @stonetoolsblog@mastodon.social

· 7mo ago

Replying to

@dougmerritt@mathstodon.xyz No, a completely different one. If you read the article you'll find out!

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Stone Tools @stonetoolsblog@mastodon.social

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@darkling@mstdn.social I could see that the OS would be far more inviting back when it was fresh and new. There was still not yet an "established" way to drive GUI systems, aside from high-level constructs like "windows and a mouse are pretty good, actually." As for the spreadsheet/word processor? Yeah, it's definitely possible to stretch certain ideas beyond their natural breaking points.

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