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Off-Topic / Dumping Thread


Omega-TI

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While I was talking with a friend today, I was asked a question to which I had no clue about answer (never having tried it). So, what does happen when you hook up two Windows computers DIRECTLY via their USB ports?

 

I would expect nothing as both machines are expecting to be masters. I know with a special cable between machines it is possible to transfer data (the Windows 7 Windows Easy Transfer Wizard* supports this.)

 

* "WET" has been depracated as of Windows 8.1. That is, it is no longer possible to use WET to transfer user data between Windows 8.1 machines. The unofficial word (from an MS MVP) is that with the integration of the Microsoft Live account and OneDrive, WET is considered redundant and as such will only import data saved from a Windows 7 machine. I have been able to get the Windows 7 WET to work on 8.1, but it crashes at the end of the import -- so far as I can tell the transfer completed, though.

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Drifting more OT, another item related to the whole encryption thing, the IETF is getting ready to kill off the RC4 cipher. This is important for anyone still using old version of Windows for anything as none of them support AES (well, there is a hot-fix which supposedly adds AES ciphers but in my testing it is broken.) That combined with the industry-wide retirement of SSLv3[1][2][3] means the end of XP* (whatever) and Server 2003. The Server 2003 bit is important as it is technically support until July of 2015, but it will be cut off from the rest of the world if services eliminate SSLv3 and RC4. RC4-MD5 and RC4-SHA is technically available in TLSv1.0 as part of its compatiblity (or some call a fall-back) to SSLv3. The difference is SSL is a Netscape-ism and TLS is from the IETF, with SSLv3 and TLSv1.0 essentially the same. This will also affect legacy devices to some degree. For instance, my venerable old C905a supports TLSv1.0 and fortunately also supports the AES cipher, but it lacks the SHA-2 hash so the best it can do is TLSv1.0, AES256-SHA1, with SHA1-hashed SSL certificates. Other devices might not be so lucky.

 

* Technically, you could still use XP with Chrome or Firefox and support TLSv1.0+, but it will not be long before XP is completely dropped from the supported operating systems of those browsers: Chrome is April 2015, Mozilla says Firefox will support XP while it remains popular, and I found no official statement from Opera.

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I know there's a few old men here, so I thought I'd mention something that's been a help to my surviving oldness. :)

 

gallery_29515_833_3719.jpg

 

Get a tube of this stuff. It's especially good for joint pain. I have bad knees and a bad left ankle. If I rub it on a hurting joint, the pain is mostly gone in a minute or two. No, I'm not a salesman for the stuff, I just know it works for me and a few of my friends.

 

It's by prescription in the US, but there are other means of procurement if you can't get a prescription. ;)

 

Gazoo

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Well... I am still on Windows XP. I do have a Vista CD ready for installation, but not Windows 7 or higher. Already on Vista, some of the old software I am using will not work anymore, most notably that old Wavelab version I have. In your link, Google says it will support Chrome until AT LEAST April 15th, 2014, and this statement is a year old, so they might just be supporting it for longer.

 

Then the question is what happens if the support stops. If they only stop pushing out updates, I guess the browser will still work for a while, even though it may not be available for download on reinstalling XP anymore if that would have to be necessary. I guess this would be the real deal-breaker... as well as finding replacement parts for things that break.

 

In that respect, what's beautiful about the TI-99 is that it has all the necessary software built-in, so you don't depend on the Internet to deliver things that you need for running the computer. Nowadays there seems to be some kind of supply chain... you can get a very basic OS installation on your PC, but sooner or later you will have to access the Internet for downloading certain software you need, and if that software doesn't support the OS version you use, you're out of luck...

 

I also see efforts to take coding out of the hands of hobbyists. I got a book about programming in VB, and there's a chapter about Windows RT which says the only way to get software for it is over Microsoft's Windows store. And to get there, it has to be approved by Microsoft. Which means properly licensed and professionally programmed. Somewhat reminds me of the days when you could get the really serious software for the TI-99 only on cartridges by TI themselves. One notable exception would be programming for browsers in Javascript which hobbyists can do without having to have their software being approved by anyone. But that's like programming in BASIC on the TI-99 in that it's much slower and more limited than programming for PC hardware.

 

As far as I can see, but maybe I'm overreacting here, hobbyists in the future should only be able to buy tablets or smartphones which only accept software (and maybe other content) to be downloaded over the Internet from their creator's app store. "Serious" computers (PC's) should only given into the hands of company employees which are then allowed to run databases or write software for their employer, while end users should not be able to write any software, at least not for others' use.

 

If we're looking at it this way, actually the TI-99 is long depreciated, and this site has no point at all. ;-)

 

 

Drifting more OT, another item related to the whole encryption thing, the IETF is getting ready to kill off the RC4 cipher. (...)

 

* Technically, you could still use XP with Chrome or Firefox and support TLSv1.0+, but it will not be long before XP is completely dropped from the supported operating systems of those browsers: Chrome is April 2015, Mozilla says Firefox will support XP while it remains popular, and I found no official statement from Opera.

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Actually, the browsers should work for a long time. I'm still using Firefox 12 on one of may machines, as that was the last browser that was made for Windows 2000 (I use that machine for my EPROM programmer--and the only reason to go online is to go to the vendor's site to download software updates). The key is not whether the browser works--it is the level of risk you are taking when using it. The longer it is unsupported, the greater the risk that an unpatched vulnerability on your machine is exploited. I even have a Windows 98 machine that I still use for some things--but I don't go beyond my local area network when using it.

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As far as Chrome goes, remember that "updates" are essentially new versions, so dropping support means no more updates. Windows 7 is a good kernel for machines capable of running XP, though more memory is a must -- 1GB works, but 2GB is the bare minimum if you want to run multiple applications. I have a Latitude D410 which runs 32-bit Windows 7 very well with 2GB and an IDE SSD, and It can handle a couple of applications at a time before it gets clodded up. Aside from that fact one will come with Windows 8.1 (8.1 being the less aggravating rendition of Windows 8, especially with Classic Shell,) you can get an entire system with monitor during the holidays for under $500. It is not too late to start stashing some Bazooka Joe comics!

 

Really, if your machine is that old, I am willing to bet that one or more of us have spare parts laying around we would be happy to give you. heheheh

 

The absolute best thing I have done for myself in a long time was replacing my D430. I finally sucked up my pride and dove into my savings to get a dual-core Core-i7 with 16GB RAM. Holy crap I have been punishing myself for a long time. I have a Windows XP Mode install just-in-case, and Windows 8.1 running in VirtualBox for other in-cases (aside, VirtualPC for Windows 7 does NOT support Windows 8.1. Thanks, Microsoft.)

 

I absolutely concur with the movement to take programming out of the hands of the user. I believe that may be part of Linux's popularity, that users are encourage to program and hack. Though they get to pick from an ever-changing landscape of languages -- though Perl is the good-old stand by everyone should learn.

 

Spot-on about the rest. The 20-something year-old who works at my local vendor shop seems to enjoy learning about machines which were able to be used without any kind of boot media. The vendor's son is about the same age takes interest as well, even if it is in the way a Vulcan may take interest in a caveman's "wheel."

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Oh, and to further expand on this... those tablets and smartphones "ordinary people" can buy only last until their built-in battery dies (runs out of cycles), after that you have to buy a new gadget and all the apps you still need and forget about all the apps and content you no longer need or which is no longer supported... unless you have a subscription for it running. ;-)

 

That is, unless you use the thing so much that you use your cycles up in less than 24 months. In this case you will still continue to have to pay your monthly fees, but you won't be able to get a new gadget until the 24 months are up, or you'll only get it if you pay the fees for the remaining months all at once.

Edited by Kurt_Woloch
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Not counting my hobby machines identified already, I have two WIN 7 machines, one WIN 8.1, one Android, a Tomy Tutor (along with its siblings, a Pyuuta, a Pyuuta Mk II, and a Pyuuta Jr.), a Marinchip S9900, a 99/4, a 99/4A, a 99/4P, a 99/8, a Geneve 9640, a Powertran Cortex, a CC-40, and a Mattel Aquarius.

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  • 4 weeks later...

You know how sometimes things pop into ones head when waking up in the morning? Well, I was thinking about those proto-boards for the TI and how the P-Box users get all the toys, while the Nano-PEB crowd has to 'make do'. Then it hit me, why not make a proto-board that would fit perfectly in an empty Speech Synthesizer box? I can imagine the Nano-guys could come up with some interesting stuff, and the P-Boxer's could have fun too.

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I was wondering why I was only getting sound out of one speaker from the Samsung SyncMaster I use with my TI console.

 

IMG_1238.JPG

 

Any ideas where I can get another working one from? I've tried all the usual suspects, but they're the wrong size or 4 ohms

 

IMG_1233.JPG

 

IMG_1234.JPG

 

IMG_1236.JPG

 

This one measures 48x30mm and output a massive 1.5 watts!

 

Any suggestions? Thanks.

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You know how sometimes things pop into ones head when waking up in the morning? Well, I was thinking about those proto-boards for the TI and how the P-Box users get all the toys, while the Nano-PEB crowd has to 'make do'. Then it hit me, why not make a proto-board that would fit perfectly in an empty Speech Synthesizer box? I can imagine the Nano-guys could come up with some interesting stuff, and the P-Boxer's could have fun too.

 

It looks like something like this has been talked about...

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/226251-ti-peb-prototyping-board/?p=3006468

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Many of you are probably not familiar with the Amstrad CPC computer, but I stumbled over this demo last night, and what these guys have achieved is absolutely amazing.

 

 

The CPC is just a 64K Z80 machine without hardware scrolling or sprites, but with a decent 16 color bitmap mode (160x200). There was nothing even remotely like this back in the days when I owned a CPC, where it was always dwarfed by the C64. But it just shows how much hidden potential these old machines may have, not unlike the TI...

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  • 4 weeks later...

An experiment I'd like to witness....

 

I'd like to see someone post a TI-99/4A on Ebay for sale, but one featuring and highlighting one of Gazoo's ultra-uber game cartridges. I wonder what the average person with no knowledge of Atari Age would think of that?

 

If someone was looking to get back into the TI after so many years,, that would surely attract their interest! Now this could be construed as 'chumming' for sure, but hey, if it brings in new members...

 

Of course if you enclosed a 'bonus item' of the latest Shift838 Newsletter and wrote the ti99.atariage.com URL on it.. :)

 

I mean really, that screen would excite any newly returning TI'er especially since it all comes on one cartridge. The first thing that would come to mind is, look at all the money I'm gonna save on this BIN!

 

gallery_29515_833_11647.jpg

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