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So apparently the CPC isn't retro

Started by mr_lou, 12:38, 01 December 20

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Bryce

Quote from: AMSDOS on 11:48, 03 December 20
I think of the CPC as a Microcomputer, which I thought what divided it from a PCs, though apparantely Amstrad decided to have Personal Computer in there too!  :-X


There seems to be similar debate regarding Computer Generations too with some suggesting computing from the 80s til now is 5th Generation according to geeksforgeeks.com, others have computers between 1972 to 2010 as 4th Generation according to computerhope.com with the 5th generation from 2010 to now.

Trying to sort computers into generations is just ridiculous. There are no clean-cut differences throughout the development of computers. Just within the 4th Generation time frame (1972 - 2010) we had analogue computers, 4bit, 8bit, 16bit, 32bit and 64bit computers. We went from punchcards to SSD's, from LED output to 4K 3D graphics. Manual toggle-switch input to voice recognition. So which bit made them 4th Gen.?

Bryce.

AMSDOS

Well why don't you write to those who wrote the thing and tell them you're not satisfied?
* Using the old Amstrad Languages :D   * with the Firmware :P
* I also like to problem solve code in BASIC :)   * And type-in Type-Ins! :D

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Bryce

Yeah, an online mis-informed argument based on opinions instead of facts to categorise something that doesn't need categories. Just what I've been looking for!
Maybe I'll open a Facebook account while I'm at it. :D

Bryce.

Shaun M. Neary

Quote from: Bryce on 09:34, 04 December 20
Yeah, an online mis-informed argument based on opinions instead of facts to categorise something that doesn't need categories. Just what I've been looking for!
Maybe I'll open a Facebook account while I'm at it. :D

Bryce.


Is it wrong that I found this the most hilarious part of your post?  :laugh:
Currently playing on: 2xCPC464, 1xCPC6128, 1x464Plus, 1x6128Plus, 2xGX4000. M4 board, ZMem 1MB and still forever playing Bruce Lee.
No cheats, snapshots or emulation. I play my games as they're intended to be played. What about you?

Gryzor


TotO

"You make one mistake in your life and the internet will never let you live it down" (Keith Goodyer)

MacDeath

#31
Vintage =/= Retro

Yeah old machines are vintage/classic/antique/old, not retro...

But Retro is accepted vernacular term, the dude was being douchy Hipster elitist or even a vocabular-nazi.  :laugh:
And BTW emulators are Retro.


You shoudave punchcarded his face.  ;D

Bryce

What makes an emulator retro?

Bryce.

1024MAK

The question is, why do we like to label, categorise or pigeonhole things?

Before we invented calculating machines, humans that did calculations were called computers (link). Were they the first generation?

Just like anything else invented and developed by us humans, there are many, many variations and many different ways of doing things. The same goes for computers and the technology used.

Ever since selling computers became a business, marketing has helped spawn lots of 'catch phrases' and 'new' terms. Some computer manufacturers definitely called their computer systems 'personal computers' long before IBM used the term. So I think it's fair to call your CPC a personal computer. You don't normally share it with anyone else at the same time do you?

If people want to waste their time debating on the categories, the names of the categories, how they are defined and which computers go into which category, they can. But I have better things to do.

I prefer to keep it simple, my 1980s and 1990s home computers are my 'home computers' because they were sold for use primarily in the home of the owner.

Mark
Looking forward to summer in Somerset :-)

1024MAK

Quote from: Bryce on 15:11, 28 December 20
What makes an emulator retro?
What would you call an emulator running a simulation of a 1980s computer, but with the emulator itself running on a later 1980s or 1990s computer?


What about if there are two or more layers of emulation? For example, a Linux system running Wine (yes, I know it's not actually defined as an emulator), which in turn is running an emulation of a 1990s computer, which in turn is running an emulation of a 1980s computer?

Mark



Looking forward to summer in Somerset :-)

Bryce

Quote from: 1024MAK on 15:56, 28 December 20
What would you call an emulator running a simulation of a 1980s computer, but with the emulator itself running on a later 1980s or 1990s computer?


What about if there are two or more layers of emulation? For example, a Linux system running Wine (yes, I know it's not actually defined as an emulator), which in turn is running an emulation of a 1990s computer, which in turn is running an emulation of a 1980s computer?

Mark

Well the first one, I'd call "An emulator".

The second one, I'd call "A pretty messed up setup".

That doesn't make either of them Retro though ie: Designed in a style remeniscent of a former era. If the emulator only ran under DOS, could only be started from the command line, did not accept mouse input or stuck to the CGA colour scheme, then I would consider it be a retro emulator.

Bryce.

1024MAK

#36
Quote from: Bryce on 16:35, 28 December 20
That doesn't make either of them Retro though ie: Designed in a style remeniscent of a former era. If the emulator only ran under DOS, could only be started from the command line, did not accept mouse input or stuck to the CGA colour scheme, then I would consider it be a retro emulator.
Exactly.

And just to step away from computers for just a moment, who calls older cars 'retro'? Anyone?
This is what Wikipedia says about 'retro cars':  "A retro style automobile is a vehicle that is styled to appear like cars from previous decades. Often these cars use modern technology and production techniques."

Anyway, enough of this nonsense, I'm off to go and do some tinkering with 1980s technology  :D

Mark
Looking forward to summer in Somerset :-)

Bryce

I don't think you're getting it. A REAL Ford Model T is a vintage car, a modern Kit car that looks like a Ford Model T is a retro car (and there are many examples of this). The original discussion was that our computers aren't retro because they are the real thing.

Bryce. 

ComSoft6128

Mmm......and who gives a f**k?

This debate is along the lines of this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_many_angels_can_dance_on_the_head_of_a_pin%3F

"In modern usage, the term has lost its theological context and is used as a metaphor for wasting time debating topics of no practical value, or questions whose answers hold no intellectual consequence, while more urgent concerns accumulate."

Bryce

That's obiously the core of the problem: We have no more urgent concerns accumulating.  :D

Bryce.

Gryzor

Right now my pressing concerns include:

-kantaifi or potatoes au gratin leftovers from today's lunch
-Fatman or Midnight Sky (leaning towars the latter)
-should I take my little boy to the mountain botanical garden tomorrow morning, or to a playground near me?

So, I'm with Bryce on this one; the whole debate may well fall in the 'mental masturbation' category but this doesn't mean it's not enjoyable (oo-er).

Bryce

If it's any help: I'd go for:


Potatoe au gratin.
Midnight Sky
Botanical Gardens

Bryce.

Gryzor

Almost three out of three!

I watched the Midnight Sky (actually I enjoyed it quite a bit despite what the reviews say; then again I also liked Tenet).

We had a great time at the garden, very beautiful and calming.

And, I did finish off the potatoes, but I also had the kantaifi 😎

Now, what were we talking about?

cpcitor

Just to add my 2 cents, https://retrocomputing.stackexchange.com/tour says:

QuoteRetrocomputing Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for vintage-computer hobbyists interested in restoring, preserving, and using the classic computer and gaming systems of yesteryear.

There you are: retro, vintage, classic.

Also https://www.wordreference.com/definition/retro includes:

Quotedenoting something associated with or revived from the past: retro dressing, retro fashion

Any CPC running today is definitely "associated or revived from the past".

Anyway, it's retro if we agree among ourselves that it is.  ;)
Had a CPC since 1985, currently software dev professional, including embedded systems.

I made in 2013 the first CPC cross-dev environment that auto-installs C compiler and tools: cpc-dev-tool-chain: a portable toolchain for C/ASM development targetting CPC, later forked into CPCTelera.

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