Flush from the mild success of the first article, I sat down to write the next installment of Weekend Projects for Armchair Developers. I stared blankly at the computer monitor, filled with a mild dread of what lay before me. I knew that the next programming language I had chosen would prove to be quite the thorny pickle. Browsing through the example included with the ZIP file I downloaded and thumbing through the small section in a “Retro Hacking” booklet I received last Christmas, I felt a bit overwhelmed.

Inform is an obscure language with its roots in the Infocom-brand text adventures of a bygone era. Growing up with such classics as Zork and Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, I was no stranger with their work. And it was this feeling of nostalgia that drove me through the task of deciphering this seemingly-apocryphal language.

The Inform community is notoriously small. At last count, I believe there were about three people left. I think it might be because I personally have a tough time reading Inform (although, to be fair, I have seen tougher). But I was up for a challenge. So, flexing my typing-muscles, I dove straight into the beast.

Finding the right files to download and learning how to use them is not an easy task. I blame the website. Fortunately, I’ve already braved the murky depths for you and found the installation notes. I would strongly suggest downloading the folder structures they provide for you, as they contain all the files you need to get started. In fact, I would strongly suggest reading the entire Inform FAQ when you get the time, but since you’re currently engaged in reading this article, that can wait.

[ Continue reading Weekend Projects for Armchair Developers:
Text Misadventuring (Part I) » ]

For some computer lovers, the sounds that computers make is music to their ears. And by “sound,” I don’t mean 32-bit digitized audio coming from a Sound Blaster Audigy; I mean the actual mechanical whirrs, clanks, and cronks that emanate from computing hardware in action. They make you feel warm and fuzzy inside.

It was this very love I had in mind when I set out to compose a “computer music” piece for a class I took at a local university back in Spring 2002. But I wasn’t exactly following the instructions (more on that later). The class focused on the history and composition of music generated by computers. Not pop music or anything like it, of course, but what I would typically call “highly inaccessible, elitist, please pull the stick from my ass” music. In particular, we learned about what proponents of the genre call “new music,” which pretty much means any music that has an unconventional structure, typically lacking vocals, instruments, rhythm or melody as we know them. The computer variety of this avant garde style arose from early attempts at generating music with computers in the 1950s and 60s, but lacking sufficient computational horsepower for a decent compositional AI at the time (and even now), composers could only squeeze abstruse sequences of notes from their machines. But (surprise!) some people thought it was cool because it was abstruse, and a new class of music elitists was born. They embraced the limitations of the medium and ran with them — straight into a wall. If you think you’d get a kick from the seemingly random bloops and bleeps generated from applying a complex algorithm to the DNA of sperm whales, then this music is definitely for you. Sure, it’s got a great “nerd factor,” but it’s hardly emotionally inspiring.

[ Continue reading The Music Computers Make: Impenetrable Noise and Silicon and Steel » ]

[RedWolf writes: “This story was written by K4DSP, who is an old and dear friend of mine (and a fellow computing and technology enthusiast). He sent it to me recently and I enjoyed the story so much that I thought I would share it with you.”]

1982 was an exciting time for computer enthusiasts. The personal computer market was still in its infancy, and there were literally dozens of different models available at all sorts of price points. As a poor college student studying engineering and computer science, I found nearly all of them out of my reach financially, but the one I really lusted after was the Apple 2. I constantly imagined all the great software I could write and all the games I could play if I only had one of these 1 MHz 8-bit screamers. Never mind the Ataris and Commodores and Sinclairs and the multitude of CP/M machines — the Apple II was the one for me.

There was one insurmountable obstacle between the Apple and me. At $1195 it was literally the equivalent of six months’ rent. It might as well have been a million dollars. So I looked for alternatives. I thought about building a computer. In the early 80s it wasn’t all that unusual for people to build their own computers from scratch, but it wasn’t like homebuilt computers today – you didn’t go to a computer store and buy a motherboard and CPU and case and power supply and hard drive and bolt it all together and pop in your Windows install CD. Building computers meant soldering and drilling and (sometimes) even writing your own software to make things work. When the Apple II came out in 1977 it was one of the first “store bought” computers that didn’t require any assembly. That’s one of the reasons I wanted one. As a full time student with a job and a wife I really didn’t have time to figure out how to build a computer from scratch.

[ Continue reading How I Got My First Computer,
and How I Got My First Computer Back » ]

Do you want hundreds of different games of diverse genres that span video and computer gaming history available for unlimited play on your PC, 24 hours a day, without the hassle of having to set up eleven different game and computer systems? So do I. But in this case, you’re going to have to pay $10 a month to Ted Turner for the privilege. And there’s another catch — the “unlimited” games have the darnedest habit of magically disappearing at the blink of an eye once you stop paying your monthly gaming tariff. Hmm. Sounds pretty limited to me.

Thus is the state of the GameTap Broadband Entertainment Network, the world’s first large-scale legal attempt to make a rerun channel for video games. It’s an admirable goal that is pulled off relatively effectively with their candy-coated software wrapper that wrangles together 400 disparate games from the late 1970s to the present into one virtual gameplay arena. The interface is clear-cut and simple to understand, allowing you to easily browse through and select different games you want to play (one at a time, of course). Upon selecting a game, you’re presented with a game overview, some history, the choice of some game-specific bonus information, and instructions on how to play. Then, if you choose to continue, the game is downloaded to your PC and…you play. Download times range from a few minutes or less for the simple games to over 30 minutes for the modern PC Windows titles. Don’t expect to make copies of the games you’ve downloaded, of course, because every downloaded game is chopped into pieces on your hard drive and likely encrypted, rendered useless unless played through the GameTap client itself. But if you just wanted to do that, you would have already (likely illegally) downloaded the game already, right? You’re here for the experience and the convenience of having everything accessible and playable in one place.

[ Continue reading VC&G Review: GameTap » ]

Today is the the thirtieth birthday of perhaps the world’s most iconic personal computer company, Apple Computer, Inc. We almost lost her back in 1996 when she was at her all-time low. Rumors of Apple’s impending collapse, or even the embarrassing possibility of a desperate sale to another company, were everywhere. But just in the nick of time, Steve Jobs made his triumphant return and turned the company completely around. In 2006, Apple is actually more profitable than ever before (thanks to the iPod) — even more so than during the height of the Apple II days.

The machine that founded the company, the “Apple I,” is pictured on the left in a homemade wooden case, as seen at the Smithsonian Institution. I downloaded the picture from Compuserve back in 1992, and it’s always been one of my favorites, despite its grainy GIF quality. I thought about planning some more Apple-related features today, but so many others have done it so well already. Check out these interesting articles that Wired has put together on the whole event.

Never before or since has a company put so much soul into a computing machine, and I’m proud to say that I have loved and used many Apple computers in my short time on this planet. Join with me in toasting Apple, a true pioneer in the PC industry, on their big day. I’m really glad you made it this far, Apple. Here’s to another thirty years of incredible success and continued innovation!

Who knew that you could have interviews about interviews? Well, when you are personally responsible for publishing the world’s least-interesting interview, you can! Oh the perks. For those of you who don’t know, the subject of that first interview (and the owner of the “Possible World’s Largest Video Game Collection“) was a bit vague about the details of, well…just about every question I asked. The decision of whether to actually publish the first interview was a hard one. I wanted to let people know more about the man behind the monster collection, but as it turned out, the collector’s answers were so unspecific that they essentially poured gas on the flames of Internet speculation. In other words, my initial mission was a total failure. Without the new pictures provided by the collector himself, and the other pictures I had to share, I would have shelved the whole thing.

But I didn’t shelve it; I published it and lots of people started getting interested in the collection — many more so than originally expected. Those same people, in the absence of any concrete information, soon began assuming all sorts of unflattering things about the nature of the man behind the collection (That’s the net for ya. Whoo!). Having no one but myself to blame for so much intense public scrutiny of this man’s personal life (trust me, he did not seek it himself), I thought I’d try to set the record…a little more straight…by interviewing his more outgoing friend and game shopping companion, who also happens to be the man who took most of the original pictures of the collection and persuaded the collector to put the pics online in the first place. And so I did, via email (The Official World’s Worst Interview Medium). In grand Internet naming tradition, he shall be referred to as “Nesvidiot.”

Yes, he likes Nintendo.

Vintage Computing and Gaming: How long have you known your friend? How did you meet?
Nesvidiot: We met at the flea market in about ’95.

VC&G: How old are you? How old is he?
NV: We are both mid-30s.

VC&G: Where is he from and what does he do for a living?
NV: Western Canada. He sells games at the flea market on weekends and eBays during the week.

VC&G: Some Internet commentors have suggested that he of has some sort of psychological condition, i.e. obsessive-compulsive disorder, problems with hoarding, etc. because of his incredibly large collection. How would you answer those people?
NV: People do whatever they want to do — it doesn’t matter if it is collecting video games, or hockey cards, or bottle caps. What ever makes you happy is all that matters. People that think he has a problem are usually envious and trying to hide their own problems by focusing on others. Hey, if it makes you happy…

VC&G: Other commentors like to make fun of the small monitor on a table near the SNES exercise bike in one of the pictures as if he played all his games there. Can you tell us what that monitor is for, and does he use it for gaming? Further, could you describe his real gaming setup (if he has one)? Is it upstairs?
NV:He plays games with the family upstairs on the 60″ TV. Downstairs is where he keeps everything and tests games on the little monitor.

VC&G: Why do you think he answered my original questions without much detail?
NV: He doesn’t like to boast, he is a really quiet, humble person.

VC&G: Do you have any idea how many games he has? Does he have a system for keeping track of them all?
NV: He has over 10,000 for sure. Yes he keeps lists, although it is hard to keep up with everything sometimes.

VC&G: Can you tell us about some of the highlights of his collection? Any cool and rare stuff worth mentioning?
NV: The SNES Life cycle with Mountainbike Rally/Speed Racer. The Panesian carts boxed, his new crystal DS’s, there is just too much cool stuff to mention.

VC&G: How much do you think he spends on video game collecting every month?
NV: Not a clue, probably every spare cent he has after bills.

VC&G: Where does he get most of his games?
NV: We go shopping every couple of weeks together — pawns, thrifts, game stores (EB, Microplay etc.).

VC&G: Does he have a wife or girlfriend? What does she think about his collection?
NV: Yes he has a wife of 17 years, and 2 children. This is what he does, obviously if she didn’t approve she wouldn’t have stayed with him this long. There are a happy family.

VC&G: Likewise with relatives. What do they think of his collection?
NV: He comes from a background of collecting and selling. They all understand and support him.

VC&G: How do you think his son feels about his father collecting so many video games?
NV: His son LOVES all the games and will inherit it one day I’m sure.

—

In addition to the interview, Nesvidiot added this comment at the bottom of the original interview page:

How many of you, if you had a collection of this size would advertise an open house viewing? Think about it, how many of you would even say anything about it, for fear of becoming a target.
No he is not French-
He has a 60″ bigscreen upstairs
the pics you see are of his collection- not his stockroom
he does collect a lot of import, including over 1300 Super Fam, a ton of Brazilian games, Pal variations, name it he’s had it at one time or another.
Most of you big collectors out there have bought games from him at one time or another- whether it be on the old newsgroups 10 years ago or on E-bay since it started.
This is what he does. I collect, videogames were even a business for me at one time, now only a hobby. But this is what he does- all he does. And it seems to work out pretty good for him.
He operates a booth at a flea market on Saturdays and Sundays, during the week he game hunts and ebays games.
Don’t be envious- it is hard work to accomplish what he has. Be happy that he is willing to share it with the world. There are other huge collections out there that will never see the press that this one has. It took me a long time to get him to post pics- a lot of the pics were taken by me. I still am in awe everytime I visit him- and he is one of my best friends.

That’s all for now. If I here from the collector himself again, I’ll update you on it. I’d like to thank Nesvidiot once again for the interview and shedding some light on his somewhat elusive friend!