https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/retro virtualsky en-us 23people http://www.23hq.com/resources/um-style/logo-20.gif http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss https://www.23hq.com/rss/virtualsky/retro false https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/95380406 <p><a href="https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/95380406"><img src="https://www.23hq.com/67659475/95380406_b2684cfae83be307d876deb71ddbb41c_standard.jpg" width="460" height="299" class="23-standard"/></a></p><p><b>Analog is still king around here!</b><p></p> <p>With a new drive belt and diamond tipped stylus needle installed, my Sylvania SRCD838 “nostalgia” turntable is sounding better than ever!</p> <p>With all the warnings I’ve been reading about the growing problems in the supply chain (specifically for electronics), I decided that it would be a good time to invest in a few items that may soon be hard to get. Some of those things included repair/replacement parts for our collection of nostalgia (a.k.a. all-in-one) turntables, like belts and stylus needles. I really have no idea how difficult out the ordinary parts like these will be to find in the near future. As they are still available to buy at affordable prices on Amazon today, I thought it would be a good idea to get them now, so I can continue to enjoy our record players for years to come.</p> <p>Since I have a few different brands/models of turntables, I’m sure each of them have different sized belts in their record and cassette player mechanisms. So, I was able to find some assorted belt packages, one for cassette decks and one for turntables. Some people on the Internet suggest just using rubber bands works just fine for replacing drive belts in these sort of electronics, but I’d rather just pay the little bit extra for something that was specifically designed for the task.</p> <p>A number of each belt size was in included in the cassette package, so I should be set for some time.</p> <p>I put one of the turntable drive belts immediately to use by finally getting around to addressing my Sylvania turntable’s wow and flutter problem. It took a little bit of tricky work with pliers and mini screwdriver set, but I was able to get the old belt off of the drive spindle and replace it with an appropriately sized replacement belt from the pack that arrived from Amazon.</p> <p>Once the new belt was in place I gave the record player a spin and it immediately sounded better; no more variation in the playback speed… the “wow and flutter” was gone.</p> <p>Next, I proceeded with changing the needle on the record player’s stylus. I found (what I thought) was a pretty good deal on eight diamond tip stylus needles. There are actually several of these styles of needles to choose from on Amazon, so it’s always difficult to determine which one will fit on to your record player. But, I took a shot and ordered a set of these: Suwimut Universal Diamond Stylus Needle</p> <p>Unlike previous needles I’ve purchased from Amazon, these came in a protective metal box. I’ll have a much better chance of not losing them like this! And they should stay in excellent shape until the next time I need one.</p> <p>Changing these needles is a pretty simple task; using a mini flat head screwdriver, push down on the needle housing at the the front of the stylus and it will swing downwards. Unhinge the other end and pull the needle and it’s housing off of the stylus. To install the new needle, do the procedure in the opposite direction.</p> <p>The needle that I was replacing was a TechPlay ruby tipped needle. It was okay, but being a ruby, it wears down faster than a diamond tip. I know my hearing is not what it used to be, but I think the fidelity has improved slightly and I’m hearing less background “hiss”.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0px;">Overall, the minor upgrades to the Sylvania stereo have worked out well and have improved it’s performance I had hoped. Also, having these extra and somewhat obscure replacement parts on hand will undoubtedly be worth having, in light of the apparent turmoil affecting the world’s supply chain of manufactured parts and electronics. At least I’ll be able to keep playing my cherished vinyl and compact cassettes for the foreseeable future, no matter what happens to the world markets in the next couple of years.</p><p>Photo by <a href="https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/">virtualsky</a></p> https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/95380406 Mon, 25 Oct 2021 18:42:42 GMT https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/95152398 <p><a href="https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/95152398"><img src="https://www.23hq.com/67659475/95152398_dbb860a750ebf98696420b03122fd497_standard.jpg" width="460" height="354" class="23-standard"/></a></p><p><b>My Collection of Floppy Disks</b></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0px;">I've had these floppy disks with me since the mid 80s. Only a few of them have started to have read errors appear. But, I have since backed them up into .D64 disk images before losing too much data.</p><p>Photo by <a href="https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/">virtualsky</a></p> https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/95152398 Fri, 22 Oct 2021 02:31:04 GMT https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/87014434 <p><a href="https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/87014434"><img src="https://www.23hq.com/67659475/87014434_021edf13283533deb9d14284eff9b207_standard.jpg" width="460" height="401" class="23-standard"/></a></p><p><b>The Neuros OSD Video Recorder</b></p> <p>Over fifteen years old and this little piece of technology has been a cornerstone of our video library since we bought it, back in 2006.  Our Neuros OSD has been a reliable workhorse, providing us with countless hours of care-free movie watching and recording; and this is my little tribute to this overlooked and under-appreciated media player.</p> <p>The Neuros OSD was produced by the Chicago company, Neuros Technology and first released to the market back in September of 2006. I was interested in it because back then, we recently experienced our second failing DVD recorder in just a couple years. I wanted to find a way to preserve the hundreds of movies and television shows my wife and I had recorded on VHS tape.  Unfortunately, we were finding out that DVD recorders (at least back in the early 2000s) were very unreliable. They would either not finalize a disc properly, or the player would just stop reading its own discs. We also found out that some recorded DVDs were unreadable on other DVD players. They were a real pain.</p> <p>The other problem with them was the cost - and storage - of the DVDs, themselves. We had a huge collection of VHS tapes and to put them all on to DVD would mean we needed a lot of them.  Back then, DVDRs did cost a considerable amount of money, especially when a good deal of them failed to burn properly and became shiny coasters.  I wanted to find a better, more reliable solution than burning to DVDs. It is then when I discovered the Neuros OSD.</p> <p>The marketing idea behind the OSD was: archive, organize, and play your video collection on any device you choose. It’s major advantage was that it did not lock you in to any proprietary video format and that it could record from any video source that produced a composite signal. This was a big selling point to me, as we had problems with our previous DVD recorders not being able to copy DRM protected movies on VHS. It’s also a Linux based device, which is a big plus, at least to me. No DRM or proprietary formats for us!</p> <p>I suppose for many people, a drawback of the OSD is that it does not record in HD. It uses MPEG-4 to encode it’s MP4 videos at a resolution of 672×440 at 30fps (aka 480p). But, for me, this is perfectly fine, as most of what I’ve recorded has come from ageing VHS tapes. I’ve also recorded most of our Laserdisc and DVD collection with it to save some wear and tear on the discs and players, themselves. We don’t see much of a difference in video quality between disc and digital version, as we are still watching our movies on our 36” Toshiba LCD television. It’s not an HD television, so our OSD MP4 files look just fine to us. Size-wise, one hour of video takes up roughly 1GB of disk space.</p> <p>Along with the console, Neuros also included a programmable remote control with the OSD, which has been great to have on-hand.  Although the thing has been used so much that the lettering has rubbed off many of the keys, the remote itself still works perfectly.  It's comes in real handy, being able to program it to operate our Toshiba LCD T.V., as it's own remote control has started to have issues with some of it's buttons.</p> <p>Having a lot of our collection stored on eight 1TB USB hard drives has been quite convenient. With our current limitations on physical storage space, we would have never been able to bring our collection of VHS tapes after our last move. We barely have enough space for our Laserdiscs and DVDs. So, the OSD really has been a lifesaver, in this regard. We really do wish we still had our VHS collection, but at least with the OSD, what we once had isn’t lost forever. We still enjoy the digital copies we made before our move. However, a good portion of our VHS recorded (that we recorded off of T.V.) didn’t make it to digital format. We just ran out of time… which was a real shame. I do regret leaving those tapes behind.</p> <p>But the OSD can do more than record and playback MP4 video files, it can also play audio files (AAC, MP3, OGG and WMA), as well as display image slideshows (BMP, GIF, and JPEG).  It's also capable of playing other video files, like AVI and ASF.  You can even program the OSD to control other A/V components, like your VCR or cable boxes, with the IR "Blaster" remote control sensor.  What this device did was allow the OSD to power on a VCR or cable box, change to the appropriate channel, by emulating their remote control units.  This gave you the ability to time-shift and record programs at predetermined times and not have to leave the VCR or cable box powered on the entire time.</p> <p>Most recently, our OSD was very useful in recording the few movies and programs we enjoyed watching on Netflix. Because of our bandwidth limitations, we had to be very selective as to what we streamed from Netflix (we no longer subscribe to any streaming service). If we wanted to watch a movie from Netflix more than once, we had to record it to save on bandwidth.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0px;">So, even after all of these years, our Neuros OSD is still a major component to our home media centre. We've also been adding to our collection of VHS and Laserdiscs, so it's time that I get another USB hard drive and do some more recording.  I think I’m going to have to keep an eye out for another OSD on eBay, just in case this one ever packs it in. I’d hate to be without my Neuros OSD!</p><p>Photo by <a href="https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/">virtualsky</a></p> https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/87014434 Thu, 20 May 2021 06:22:48 GMT https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86697409 <p><a href="https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86697409"><img src="https://www.23hq.com/67659407/86697409_586ba3584c4b47f650814f91b5b29dff_standard.jpg" width="460" height="395" class="23-standard"/></a></p><p><b>Franklin Bookman DBS-2</b><br /> This was from a sealed box set, which I purchased off of eBay. The damage to the carrying case must have been from exposure to high temperatures at some point. But, the Bookman works fine.</p><p>Photo by <a href="https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/">virtualsky</a></p> https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86697409 Fri, 14 May 2021 02:00:31 GMT https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86635332 <p><a href="https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86635332"><img src="https://www.23hq.com/67659439/86635332_55e81ff18a69eabc1b7310348bf74821_standard.jpg" width="460" height="276" class="23-standard"/></a></p><p><b>Norhtec Gecko Edubook - Undersid and Heat Sink</b><br /> The bottom cover is metal and part of the computer's cooling system.</p><p>Photo by <a href="https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/">virtualsky</a></p> https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86635332 Wed, 12 May 2021 20:16:20 GMT https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86635324 <p><a href="https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86635324"><img src="https://www.23hq.com/67659474/86635324_12a508f166754f381437c21afc6f3e9f_standard.jpg" width="460" height="311" class="23-standard"/></a></p><p><b>Norhtec Gecko Edubook - Interior</b><br /> A look inside the battery compartment, USB bay and motherboard.</p><p>Photo by <a href="https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/">virtualsky</a></p> https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86635324 Wed, 12 May 2021 20:16:11 GMT https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86635321 <p><a href="https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86635321"><img src="https://www.23hq.com/67659475/86635321_c8a3745c00d1c763ff7f549f87490c1d_standard.jpg" width="460" height="285" class="23-standard"/></a></p><p><b>Norhtec Gecko Edubook - Cover</b><br /> Customise the Edubook with your own lid cover.</p><p>Photo by <a href="https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/">virtualsky</a></p> https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86635321 Wed, 12 May 2021 20:16:02 GMT https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86635316 <p><a href="https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86635316"><img src="https://www.23hq.com/67659407/86635316_566ba5960c4426fed831ec1966566746_standard.jpg" width="460" height="378" class="23-standard"/></a></p><p><b>Norhtec Gecko Edubook</b><br /> A netbook that runs on AA batteries.</p><p>Photo by <a href="https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/">virtualsky</a></p> https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86635316 Wed, 12 May 2021 20:15:55 GMT https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86604224 <p><a href="https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86604224"><img src="https://www.23hq.com/67659407/86604224_ecb2b156e23db8992622d9c2cef1bbab_standard.jpg" width="460" height="329" class="23-standard"/></a></p><p><b>The Norhtec Gecko Edubook Underside</b><br /> Here's the battery compartment and access to the CPU and internal storage. The eight AA rechargeable batteries supply 4 hours of operation. The single CPU chip only draws 1.2 watts of power. This is with the "Device on Chip" motherboard removed, to gain access to the internal SSD storage port. You also have the option of installing an HDD or a USB thumb drive in the the open port, to the left .</p> <p>You can also see the mini stereo speakers, in either bottom corners of the housing.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0px;">Note that there's no fan in this netbook. The heat is all dissipated by the bottom plate, which is metal. This was one of the specific design features of this netbook; to operate in warmer climates, as well as use very little power. So, since there's no need for a fan to circulate hot air, there's no excess power requirements.</p><p>Photo by <a href="https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/">virtualsky</a></p> https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86604224 Wed, 12 May 2021 05:10:24 GMT https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86604209 <p><a href="https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86604209"><img src="https://www.23hq.com/67659474/86604209_56532489895b35c777122d323629ef9c_standard.jpg" width="460" height="392" class="23-standard"/></a></p><p><b>The Norhtec Gecko Edubook</b><br /> The netbook from 2009 that runs on AA batteries!</p><p>Photo by <a href="https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/">virtualsky</a></p> https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86604209 Wed, 12 May 2021 05:09:58 GMT https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86467834 <p><a href="https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86467834"><img src="https://www.23hq.com/67659475/86467834_f345ed5f60dc79d20cb0448f6b96f8dc_standard.jpg" width="460" height="368" class="23-standard"/></a></p><p><b>RetroGames TheC64 Mini and the Evercade</b><br /> These two classic video gaming systems, side by side.</p><p>Photo by <a href="https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/">virtualsky</a></p> https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86467834 Sun, 09 May 2021 04:38:27 GMT https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86427262 <p><a href="https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86427262"><img src="https://www.23hq.com/67659474/86427262_1a62a2ffb0b5c9a9a4f66f02365dd108_standard.jpg" width="460" height="307" class="23-standard"/></a></p><p><b>My Mattel Intellivision</b><br /> One of my favourite electronic devices from my youth.</p><p>Photo by <a href="https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/">virtualsky</a></p> https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86427262 Sat, 08 May 2021 04:54:01 GMT https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86425986 <p><a href="https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86425986"><img src="https://www.23hq.com/67659407/86425986_8fd12a30ec6a2b1f2d3e94700de845de_standard.jpg" width="460" height="248" class="23-standard"/></a></p><p><b>GP2X Game Console and EeePC 701</b><br /> Linux can run on just about anything!</p><p>Photo by <a href="https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/">virtualsky</a></p> https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86425986 Sat, 08 May 2021 04:09:53 GMT https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86425985 <p><a href="https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86425985"><img src="https://www.23hq.com/67659407/86425985_aa2c88e4421c7ee870e6044745076239_standard.jpg" width="460" height="349" class="23-standard"/></a></p><p><b>Asus EeePC 701 Desktop</b><br /> For a while there, my EeePC netbook also doubled as my desktop PC. When I took this photo, I had not yet replaced the OS and what you see here is the OEM operating system. It was a special build Xandros Linux, specifically for the EeePC 701. I later replaced the OS with Mandriva and then ALT-Linux. Both ran really well on the limited resources of the 701.</p><p>Photo by <a href="https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/">virtualsky</a></p> https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86425985 Sat, 08 May 2021 04:09:44 GMT https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86314202 <p><a href="https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86314202"><img src="https://www.23hq.com/67659475/86314202_06156ff1a922b893d9676529a68afbad_standard.jpg" width="460" height="247" class="23-standard"/></a></p><p><b>GP2X with Case</b><br></p> <p>When I first saw this little open source handheld console, back in 2006, I just knew that there was something special about it. Here it is fifteen years later and I’m still getting a lot of enjoyment out of this video gaming marvel.</p> <p>I’m amazed at how well it continues to perform and am saddened that it didn’t get more attention from the home brew gaming scene.</p> <p>I guess what it boils down too is that, perhaps the GP2X was just a little bit ahead of it’s time. It was (and is) a fantastic system for retro game emulation. You can run so many systems on it, from the Atari 2600 right up to the PS1 and everything in between. But, back in 2006, I guess those systems weren’t quite “retro” enough for most main-stream gamers. However, now that retro gaming seems to be all the rage, I would bet that the GP2X would have been a much more popular handheld console today.</p> <p>I would have to say that it was the GP2X that sparked my increased interest to get back in to the Commodore 64 scene. I still had my C64 and C128 in 2006, but I didn’t realise back then that there was an active C64 community on the Internet, still creating games and hardware for my beloved home computers. But, because the GP2X emulated the C64 so well, I went out to see how I could get my favourite C64 games onto it, which soon led me to discover .D64 disk images, and I was off like a flash.</p> <p>Soon after that, I then discovered that the GP2X also had an excellent Sega Genesis/Mega Drive emulator. So, not only could I enjoy playing my favourite Commodore games on it, I could now bring along all of my Genesis games! And then came along the Intellivision emulator; I was in retro gaming heaven.</p> <p>But the GP2X wasn’t just great at emulating the classic consoles, it also had some really fun original games, both commercial and from the growing home brew developers that embraced this little wonder. I bought two commercial games for it, Payback (Apex Designs) and Vektar (GP2X.co.uk), which highlighted so much of the console’s potential for great graphics and sound; they’re also lots of fun to play.</p> <p>Being an open source system really resonated with me, not only because I’m a dedicated Linux user, but it also brought back so many of those good memories as a C64 owner. Anyone could just sit down and create a game for the C64, you didn’t need any special development license or hacked system to do it. It was just there waiting for you. I thought this sort of mentality really deserved to be supported and encouraged. Good luck trying to that with a GameBoy, DS, or PSP.</p> <p>Games wasn’t all that it could play. The GP2X can also play videos, music, and read e-books. You can’t do that with many of today’s “retro” gaming consoles. What set the GP2X apart from the other consoles of the era (besides being open source), at least for me, was the ability to connect the console to a television via the EXT port. This was something else you couldn’t do with the Nintendo DS or the PSP – not until the PSP-2000 in 2007.</p> <p>Most of the portable/hand held devices we have today all come with their own built-in high capacity battery packs. I have some problems with batteries that I can’t easily change, because unless I keep them properly charged or regularly cycled, they usually prematurely fail on me. Then, the darn thing is relatively useless to me. The nice thing about the GP2X is that it operates on high capacity REPLACEABLE AA batteries. So, even after sixteen years, a fresh set of rechargeable batteries, the GP2X is just as versatile as it ever was.</p> <p>Although I could probably be happy using my GP2X for just playing my favourite games on the emulators, the home brew community really brought a lot of diversity to the console. Although many games from the community could be considered “simple”, there were still many that where of high quality and fun to play.</p> <p>Some of the home brew games that I have on my SD card and still regularly play include Tile Match, rRootage, PucKmAn-GP2X, The Minigame Project, Kill Everything That Moves, Battle Jewels GP2X, and Protozoa. All of these are still available for downloading, here. But, with the announcement of Intellivision games coming to the Evercade, I’ve been inspired to brush up on my gaming skills on a few of my favourite INTV games. I’ve even submitted a few high scores for the CBM 8-Bit Retro High Scores Archive. Like my recent hi-score for Lock ‘n’ Chase.</p> <p>The GP2X may not be to everyone’s liking, or it may be a little dated now when compared to today’s portable consoles, I think it’s still one of the best that ever made it to market. Here it is all of these years later and it’s still going strong; I can’t even guess at how many hours I’ve played games, listened to music (both MP3s and OGGs – which I like better) or watched movies on it. I’ve even used it to read a couple of books over the years. I don’t think I’ll ever find anything else that I’d want to replace it with. I wish there were still developers out there making games for it, like there are for other retro systems (like the C64).</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0px;">There’s just so much that I think this little open source console could offer for inspired game makers, giving them an excellent platform to make some really fun games… Like Deal or No Deal! And how can you not enjoy a game console that has Howie Mandel on it! 😉</p><p>Photo by <a href="https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/">virtualsky</a></p> https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86314202 Thu, 06 May 2021 02:24:23 GMT https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86255193 <p><a href="https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86255193"><img src="https://www.23hq.com/67659475/86255193_b72874e06f063761b3672b9f28331e1e_standard.jpg" width="460" height="310" class="23-standard"/></a></p><p>Sharp EL-6980, Franklin DBS-2, MWD-440, eBookMan EBM-900, and CR-8121.</p><p>Photo by <a href="https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/">virtualsky</a></p> https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86255193 Tue, 04 May 2021 22:02:34 GMT https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86246792 <p><a href="https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86246792"><img src="https://www.23hq.com/67659439/86246792_898f6ea83c141e86d2d7ea0e394a3ca5_standard.jpg" width="452" height="460" class="23-standard"/></a></p><p><b>Franklin Rolodex RF-8121</b><br> Still serves a purpose for me to this day.</p><p>Photo by <a href="https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/">virtualsky</a></p> https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86246792 Tue, 04 May 2021 18:12:39 GMT https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86246771 <p><a href="https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86246771"><img src="https://www.23hq.com/67659475/86246771_192a34f5c76a6d55bd2577f63d3426fb_standard.jpg" width="460" height="350" class="23-standard"/></a></p><p><b>Franklin eBookMan EBM-900</b><br> with leather cover.</p><p>Photo by <a href="https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/">virtualsky</a></p> https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86246771 Tue, 04 May 2021 18:11:57 GMT https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86246756 <p><a href="https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86246756"><img src="https://www.23hq.com/67659439/86246756_41592b9ad61d9fbf3617eceb7d722eb5_standard.jpg" width="460" height="341" class="23-standard"/></a></p><p><b>Franklin eBookMan and Asus EeePC 701</b><br> My mobile dynamic duo!</p><p>Photo by <a href="https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/">virtualsky</a></p> https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86246756 Tue, 04 May 2021 18:11:31 GMT https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86246742 <p><a href="https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86246742"><img src="https://www.23hq.com/67659475/86246742_77ef6c7042be5e8734658acee8f9e397_standard.jpg" width="460" height="346" class="23-standard"/></a></p><p><b>Franklin eBookMan EBM-901</b></p> <p>Today, we have our smart phones and tablets and Kindles and iPads, and all these other modern day marvels that monitor us and govern our lives. But, you know, I still prefer my good ol’ Franklin eBookMan to handle all of my mobile computing needs.</p> <p>I can just hear you now… “what is a Franklin eBookMan?!” Simply put, it did what the iPods and iPads do, it just did it back in 1999. The Franklin eBookMan was an E-Book reader and personal PDA, produced from 1999 through to 2002, under the Franklin Electronic Publishers brand. Franklin then sold the rights of the eBookMan to American company ECTACO Inc., who continued to produce and support the EBM series handhelds through to 2011.</p> <p>Some of the features that set the eBookMan apart from the other PDAs out on the market at the time where:<br /> <br /> - A high resolutions screen, specifically designed for displaying text.<br /> - Capability of recording and playback of sound files, including audio books, personal voice memos, and MP3s.<br /> - Advanced hand writing recognition algorithm.<br /> - A vibrant online community of independent content publishers, who used development and publishing tools freely distributed by Franklin, to create a plethora of applications, games, and published works free of DRM “lock-in”.</p> <p>In the relatively short time that the eBookMan was in production, the online community of users and coders developed some really great software for this amazing handheld device. Not only was the eBookMan great for reading e-books and periodicals, but it was a very robust and entertaining PDA, thanks to the software talented developers produced. it was also very easy for independent publishers to produce high quality books and other reading material for the eBookMan.</p> <p>Franklin provide, free of charge, a detailed guide on how to create e-books using their own version of the SGML (Standard Generalize Markup Language) that they developed for the eBookMan, called FGML. They also freely distributed the Franklin SDK desktop application that took an FGML file and complied it into an e-book compatible with the Franklin Reader app. Books compiled for the eBookMan supported monochrome images, indexing, and very fast keyword search capabilities.</p> <p>I even ran a small on-line publishing company for a while, converting classic novels to eBookMan format. I also had a small handful of authors who use my services to publish their original works. According to my records, we distributed around 2,000 e-books to eager eBookMan customers.</p> <p>After all of these nineteen years, this PDA still works flawlessly. Sure, the rubber grip along the bottom edges of the “console” has discoloured over the years, but besides that, everything is functioning as it was when it was new. The touch screen is still responsive and the backlit screen still looks great. Back in the day, I had regular news feeds from The Register and ZDNet, which I converted to MobiPocket Reader format, so I could read them “on the go”.</p> <p>In the bottom quarter of the screen is where you write in the letters and numbers that you wish to enter into the program that you’re using. This area was know as the “silkscreen”. The first thing I did when I bought my eBookMan was cover the silkscreen with a protective membrane to help keep it from getting too scratched up from day to day. Looks like my idea paid off, as it’s this membrane this is showing some wear and not the screen beneath.</p> <p>The form factor is easy to hold in my hand and is very light. I find it much more comfortable as an e-book than a tablet or Kindle-style device. The back-lit screen is very easy on the eyes, so I can sit and read in a darkened room and not disturb my wife. We both find screens on tablets and other modern e-book readers to be too bright and harsh on our aging eyes.</p> <p>The best things I like about the eBookMan and why I still use it today over modern day alternatives are:<br /> <br /> 1 It’s secure. Unlike a smart phone, tablet, ebook reader, or other fancy schmancy web enabled device, I know that no one else is watching “over my shoulder” and monitoring what I’m doing on my device. Apart from physically stealing my eBookMan, the information on it remains my own and is private.<br /> 2 When I’m relaxing and reading an e-book (or doing anything else with it) my eBookMan is not bombarding me with harmful microwaves and low-grade radiation. Can’t say the same thing about these modern day wireless devices.</p> <p>When I bought my eBookMan, I also bought a 32MB MMC expansion card for it and a protective carrying case. Tucked away in side a pocket within the case, I still have my original receipt for the purchase. It is badly faded, but it still shows that the eBookMan was a pretty expensive piece of tech, back in the day.</p> <p>The receipts shows that I made my purchase on April 25th of 2002, and spent $199.99 on the eBookman, $59.99 for the 32MB MMC card, and $19.99 for the case. I think I got some very good value for my money!</p> <p>My wife also has an eBookMan; her’s is a model EBM-900. After all of these years the only thing that is broken on it is the little plastic clasp on the battery door. Apart from that, the eBookMan is working just as good as it did back in 2002. She likes reading books with it, too. In fact, just tonight I finished compiling a copy of “The Railway Children” for her from a text file we downloaded from Project Gutenberg.</p> <p>I’m so glad that I have my eBookMan today. This was such a fantastic PDA / e-book reader and I feel that it should not just be forgotten like so many other technologies from the earlier days of home computing.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0px;">I know that Apple wants you to think that they are the super-innovator of the personal computer market. But, just look at the eBookMan and you tell me, who invented what first. The eBookMan was doing what the iPod did at least two years before, and it was doing what the iPhone did seven years before (apart from making telephone calls).</p><p>Photo by <a href="https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/">virtualsky</a></p> https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/86246742 Tue, 04 May 2021 18:11:12 GMT https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/80648778 <p><a href="https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/80648778"><img src="https://www.23hq.com/67659439/80648778_b952395569d38b2ff70e59b0016c1a5d_standard.jpg" width="460" height="458" class="23-standard"/></a></p><p><b>Commodore 128 Setup (2018)</b></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0px;">C128, dual 1541 disk drives, datasette, Retroswitch Flyer, Boss joystick.</p><p>Photo by <a href="https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/">virtualsky</a></p> https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/80648778 Sat, 23 Jan 2021 17:24:23 GMT https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/26580344 <p><a href="https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/26580344"><img src="https://www.23hq.com/23707332/26580344_05234f7f738d62e648c7e46320ea53bb_standard.jpg" width="460" height="345" class="23-standard"/></a></p><p><b>Commodore 64 office set-up</b></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0px;">My Commodore 64 office setup, as of October, 2013.</p><p>Photo by <a href="https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/">virtualsky</a></p> https://www.23hq.com/virtualsky/photo/26580344 Sun, 04 Dec 2016 01:48:19 GMT