jonecool

Hi Matt, That's a great idea! I will definitely have to try that too! Several months ago I wanted to add a face to Alexa, here was my attempt (link will jump to the relevant section of the video). It works pretty good and it's fun since noone else has something like it. But I haven't thought about using the TI to control my light switches, outside fans, etc. which I also have in my home (I use Insteon devices, primarily for lights and Thermostat control). If I try it, I'll post back to this thread.

My first game I ever created and released publicly was "Tunnels of Zod". It was a platform game that was eerily similar to an Indiana Jones. It had a whopping 3 levels. I published it in Computer Shopper magazine (classifieds) and sold a total of one copy. I was happy because that covered my expenses to post the ad. I was about 16-17 at the time. It was for XBasic and had the xbasic copy scheme enabled and sold on cassette. I've since lost my original copy of the game, so I guess that makes it one of the rarest known TI 99/4a games ever released? I dunno, but the alternative is to have never released a game and never sold a copy

Vectrex Roli's videos are awesome! I've been a subscriber for several years and have watched most of his videos. I fully agree, it's a must watch.

I use Linux both professionally (Ubuntu/Vagrant for image generation) as well as hobby/home use. For home, primarily RPi's/RetroPie for arcade game emulation (with TI99Sim as well). But, I also have a RPi built into a custom robot. and even a custom device I created to give a face to the Amazon Alexa I've since added 3D printed skins that make it much cooler but haven't created any videos thus far. One of my favorite TI-related Linux devices is my TIPI which of course was created by JediMatt and Electric Lab!

AWESOME Job jwild!!! That was my goal (>1k) that I, unfortunately, couldn't hit. I'll get back to it in a week or so and try to get a little closer! ps. I'm designing/building something a little unusual and needed my workbench to assemble various parts. Not sure if it's going to work (not TI related; you'll have to subscribe to my channel to find out what it is in the coming week when I introduce the invention/concept - see signature below).

I was going through my YouTube subscriptions yesterday and came across an interesting video from ETA Prime. In his video, he shows an Amazon Alexa playing Skyrim which plays nearly identical to the Scott Adams text adventures. Just wondering if Scott's out there and maybe could work out something with the Alexa developers (Bethesda) to revive his titles for a new generation? Here's a funny video/intro. that demonstrates the Skyrim game: https://www.techspot.com/news/75040-alexa-version-skyrim-seen-e3-real-available-now.html

I purchased some semi-transparent ABS material sometime back to create LED covers for a Power Droid (Star Wars) costume for my 11yr old son (at the time). They turned out acceptable for what I needed it for, but they aren't totally clear like one might expect. Here's a video (that jumps directly to the spot where I demonstrate what it looks like), if you want to see it: https://youtu.be/5vy401k2Atc?t=114 Perhaps if I had used a solid infill and thinner layer, used acetone smoothing, etc. it could have looked more transparent. But, it was ok for me and my son liked it.

Hi Beery, A spool of PLA (the plastic) can cost anywhere from ~$13-35 and is usually around 2.2lbs of plastic material. I typically buy from Amazon and usually pay around $20 per spool. The print time for 1 coaster is likely around 3 hours, so it may cost about $0.25-0.50 (guesstimate) to print. Not including the electricity used to run the printer (motors and heating element). I purchased a Flash Forge Creator Pro from Amazon 2 years ago. I think it's about $800 for the printer itself. It does include software called FlashPrint which is great for loading the model, sizing it to the printer, rotating, duplicating the models, cutting, etc. However, it's not used for designing new models, just layout out models that have already been designed. Check out www.thingiverse.com for a slew of models that have already been created and ready to print. For designing new models, there are a large number of applications available and some are free yet others can cost more than what I paid for my printer. I think Flash Forge also has some free software called Happy 3D for creating some simple models but I only used it once and it was too simplistic for me but it may have improved since last I looked. You can download it here and play around with it if you want to give it a try even without having the printer. I've also used AutoDesk Inventor and SketchUp, both have a bit of a learning curve (and I'm still not efficient with either) but lately use SketchUp. There is a powerful (and free) package called Blender that can be used for creating new 3D models (+3D animation and more) and exporting them to a .stl (common import file format). I hope this answer helps. It's pretty amazing to watch these machines take a spool of plastic and turn it into something useful. Not that the coaster is super-useful, but it's only limited by your imagination!

Just curious, has anyone else 3D printed these TI coasters besides me ? I actually use one on my main computer desk and another on my work bench. Fun to be reminded where my fascination with computers really started, every time I take a sip!

Congrats to jwild!! That's an awesome score and would be very difficult to beat! I needed access to my workbench, so I've temporarily shutdown my TI/TIPI so didn't see this until now.

Love this pic!

hehe, yep

Upgrade to 19 went fine here, took about 1.5m on a 3B. Tested Chatti quickly, it was up and running. Though, no one online at 1:40am (central)...

I'm addicted to the game SNEK! It's similar in concept to the light cycles of Tron but much more fun (IMO). The cool thing is that you can save your high-scores to MYTI99.com and view the top scores over the internet. To view the game play, see this video (I'll even skip forward for you on this link ). Use the basic pattern shown there, get as close as you can to each edge. The closer you get, the better the score. The current scoreboard: Thanks to ElectricLab and JediM@ for their work on this project, so much fun!

Received my TL866, never used an EPROM programmer until yesterday. But, it was very easy. Erased the EPROM with the eraser. Identified the ERPOM, verified the EPROM reported "FF"'s for all addresses, took the TIP-dsr file and loaded it up in the MiniPro software and wrote the code to the EPROM. Haven't popped it into the TIPI yet, I'll wait for a bigger upgrade. But, wanted to make sure I knew how to do it so I'm ready to go when it's time. I'm sure I'll be able to use it for my classic arcade games at some point. Thanks to this thread, I'm good to go. I appreciate it!

Glad you like 'em Omega!

Skip to 18:15 in this video where I have TI99Sim running on a full-size Data East Arcade cabinet I love TI99Sim! I didn't get too advanced with it though, just running carts (no disks or cassettes). But I may try that, sounds like fun! One thing I did have trouble with, make sure your .bin (BIOS) files are cased EXACTLY per the instructions. I had issues until I renamed the console BIOS Files as described, then restart Emulation Station and I was good to go.

hehe, watch my TIPI Video and skip to the part on SNEK. The pattern I use there is how I do it (My signature will take you to the playlist of TI Vids). I even commented on how to do it, LOL. I must admit though, most of the time I don't score well. Good thing we don't have our average score beside the high score (in parenthesis) or something.

Thank you, I was going to show how to use TI99dir with the TIPI (copy .dsk files to folders on the TIPI, convert them using the web interface and mount them using TIPIMAP), but the video would have been a full hour long at that point. Since I already had a video on using TI99dir and other details pretty much covered in the TIPI video, figured it wasn't really necessary or better suited for an advanced TIPI video?

No problemo, glad you got it

As RickyDean mentioned, it's a 3D printed case and not metal. Here are the links, I guess the product Id changed since my original post: http://corei64.com/store/products.php?135 and here... https://www.arcadeshopper.com/wp/?page_id=11#!/p/106479015

Yes it is! You can find it here: http://corei64.com/store/products.php?135 Also, at the end of the video it'll step you through the sites you'd need to get setup with a TIPI and the case.

I got here late in the game, missed quite a bit of the recent innovations (if 30+ years is considered recent). I didn't know about AtariAge until March, prior to that I just hung out watching ebay auctions for stuff where I picked up the nanoPEB/Pitfall cart, but that was about it until this year. Both are amazing, to me btw. I've spent more $ here on nanoPEB, FR99/FG99, TIPI, 32k, etc. than I ever spent on the original equipment. I personally see that as a good thing for the community as a whole. The $ that I and other's spend help keep the community moving forward, regardless of what we buy. Using a device like the TIPI made sense and jumped once it was available. I've been tinkering with RetroPie, RPi's/Arduino's/Robotics devl. (hobby) for a little over a year and the TI-99/4A was my first computer, perfect combo! (for me)! I do have a PEB (32k, RS-232, x2 half height drivers), nanoPEB and TIPI. I keep the original equipment safe and stored and still fire it up now and then. Even bought a new case for the nanoPEB last month. While today I mostly exercise the TIPI/FG99 to run software that was harder to come by when I was 14--17. It's still the same experience when I'm looking at the TI display and keyboard regardless of the hardware that's plugged into the right side of the console. I'm happy and fortunate to own an interesting array of hardware and it's fun to learn about the things I've missed out on. I still have a lot to learn and honestly, EA/Assembly programming is where I want to get -eventually. But, I've only been back into the TI since late Feb. so I'm taking it slowly Enjoying playing catch-up and learning about all the things I've missed over the years. I've even made a few new friends here and enjoy the discussions. I think Omega's comment about redundancy might have been taken out of context (JMO). We don't know what devices will be available 3-5 years from now, but we do know what works for each of us today. What each of us use may change depending on our likes/dislikes and some capabilities will surely become redundant if we consider new devices. It doesn't mean anything is better/worse than the other. What is truly amazing to me is all the options that are available! Just enjoy what makes the most sense for you and gives you the most enjoyment. That's what it's all about, at least that's my .02 worth.

I like the change too. It makes sense, we can still try to one up our own high score without taking over the scoreboard.

Thank you Thomas, I appreciate it! Your case is fantastic and looks beautiful on my work bench I couldn't have created this video and not feature it!