Passion project time! I love the HP-45 #calculator. It's beautiful on the outside, but I wanted to show people that it's beautiful on the inside, too. So, as a #coding & #retrocomputing challenge I wrote a simulator, & I'm now making it available to all. (Retweets welcomed.) 1/7
The simulator was designed for the Z80-MBC2, a computer designed by @Just4Fun_J4Fun with a #Z80 processor running CP/M. (If you like #retrocomputing, do try it.) But after some tedious wrangling, I was able to write code which also compiled for Windows, Linux & MacOS. 2/7
I like the sense of retro-tech and (unfulfilled) futures which the terminal application provides: it's a #hauntological calculator. It's also flexible: you can change what's shown on the display &, for slower machines (say, an 8MHz Z80), you can run in minimal mode for speed. 3/7
Because I want hp45term to explain the genius of the HP-45's ROM code, I've kept my code as simple and clear as I could, & made sure that it includes copious & detailed comments throughout, explaining how the calculator processes the 2048 bytes of its ROM. #retrocomputing 4/7
And because the HP-45's ROM is so beautifully crafted, I've also included a new version of the disassembled ROM, to show what it's doing in each byte. hp45term itself includes a "heat map" to show how each key press is processed throughout the bytes of ROM. #retrocomputing 5/7
Well, that's it. Here's the download link: sarahkmarr.com/hp45term.zip. I hope you enjoy it. There are help screens in the program, but if you're new to the HP-45 (or RPN) then start here: decadecounter.com/vta/pdf/HP-45%…. Oh, and yes, it does implement the 'secret' timer function. 6/7
It's time for a thread of (my) editions of Alan Garner's "The Owl Service" & related books. I'd love to hear what you think, and all about your own copies. And do, please, share if you enjoy it.
Anyway, off to the magical Shelf of Garner...
— #OwlService 1/22
"The Owl Service", Alan Garner, Collins, 1967
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Starting at the beginning, here's the first edition of "The Owl Service", with a jacket design by Kenneth Farnhill.
— #OwlService 2/22
"The Owl Service", Alan Garner, Collins, 1967
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Here's the plate design, created by Griselda Greaves from the original plates belonging to her mother, Betty, and now in print for the first time on the paste-down and free endpapers of the hardback.
— #OwlService 3/22