Boot Screen Madness

One of my goals for this Retrochallenge was to do some boot screens for Apple ][ software.

Since some of my fellow Retrochallengers were working on Apple ][ projects I thought I would volunteer to make boot screens for them.

Dogcow was very happy with his - I'm sorry we won't see the game yet. He posted the color version - I'll show the monochrome versions I created.

Dogcow's NetSnake (I love how it looks like data is flowing between the Apples and the snake):



One Elk Runs did a Mastermind in LISP - and unfortunately the LISP environment and HGR must conflict - no matter how much variable / memory / screen clearing I did - showing this screen and then running his program would result in jibberish on the screen - which is why I never sent this to him. Anyone care to figure out why it doesn't work? I like how I got the Retrochallenge logo in here - plus the older, distinguished gentleman and his Asian girlfriend from the board game version:


Schadenfreude/1 bit fotographie did a fireworks program, and so I decided to make a screen reminiscent of the Softdisk "Magazette", Magazine on a Disk. He really loves tacos so I thought - not soft tacos but...TACOSOFT!



And finally, a rather poor bootscreen for the Prisoner adventure game - in memory of the late Patrick McGoohan:



To create these I used Photoshop for the photographs, then saved the graphic as a .gif, moved those .gifs to a blank floppy using Ciderpress, then converted from .gif to Apple ][ HGR using IIgif, and then used Fontrix for most of the lettering. So while Luddite was going from Apple II to the web, I was going the opposite way.

I guess I should make a .dsk available with the graphics - and if anybody else wants a retro-style Apple ][ boot screen - let me know what you would like (elements + wording) and I'll whip it up.

hot chicks and old computers #20

A lovely Greek model for the Athena 1. I'm not sure how long this company lasted - searches for info just turned up the Athena missile guidance computer by Univac.


Imagine writing software for this beast.

hot chicks and old computers #19

A fabulous four pack of lovelies today.

Ad of the Day #19

Remember when the big choice for printing was letter quality (daisy wheel) vs. dot matrix?

Here is a daisy wheel printer ad that struck me because Gutenberg is making gang symbols.

The Guten-Gangsta. Yo.

Ad of the Day #18

Although a number of ground breaking and classic games debuted on the Apple ][ and then were ported, one of my all time favorites debuted on the Atari in 1981 and was then ported to Apple and Commodore 64.

Ali-Baba and the 40 Thieves by Stuart Smith is just so spectacular for a number of reasons.

This role playing game had decent graphics and excellent sound (complete with middle eastern themes). Wonderful multi-player ability. Hilarious descriptions of combat and death.


You could venture out just as Ali-Baba or have a whole crew of people (up to 17!) to whoop ass on monsters and find treasure and the Princess.

I also love the random encounters with people and monsters - with names like Roy G. Biv (in case you've forgotten the acronym for rainbow colors) and an owl, aptly named as Dr. Who.

Wrapping Tolkien characters and monsters and modern pop culture into a role playing game in the milieu of the Arabian Nights? I'm sooo there.



Don't just take my word for it - take a look here:

http://www.atarimania.com/detail_soft.php?MENU=8&VERSION_ID=173

My sons, and their best friend, grew up together playing this game as a team. I always wanted Haroud el Large. I don't know why it's so much fun because the graphics suck, it takes forevvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvverf to make each move, and did I say, "The graphics suck!" Yet, the guys always wanted to get together for a round of Ali. - Jim Kuchera

This was probably my favorite computer game of all time because it was best enjoyed in a large group. You didn't need to know anything about computers. You just needed to know how to have fun with other people. We always played with 6 or more people and the fact that you could attack other players made it all the more enjoyable. - Dragos

hot chicks and old computers #18

Well it isn't a torrent of the first film, but it is a Tron babe.

hot chicks and old computers #17

Oooh - I want to get a GEnie account - it can do 300 or 1200 baud and all the women that use it dress up like owls.

Ad of the Day #17

Much More. Roger. Moore. For the Spectravideo SV 318. Standard Q Branch Issue.

Hot Chicks and Old Computers #16

Thanks to Paleoferrosaurus for the info on my previous hot chick's Tempest. I knew I would catch flack for calling it a clone, which is why I put it in quotes. But anyway, I didn't realize it was a security issue - and this info sharing is one of the things that makes the retrochallenge so fun.

Here is a posh babe for you - complete with fur coat and Bentley. But I'm sure you all will be looking at the Taxan monitor of course...

Ad of the Day #16

Would you believe, Don Adams of Get Smart fame, for Esprit terminals?

Hot Chicks and Old Computers #15

A rare Mac "clone" - the Tempest. Or should I say Temptress?

Ad of the Day #15

Moving on from comedians to a celebrity that makes sense for computer endorsement - in honor of the 40th Anniversary of the Moon landing...Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo astronaut Walter Schira.

Ad of the Day #14

Bill Cosby for the TI 99. Jello Pudding not included.

hot chicks and old computers #14

Ad of the Day #13

The Twitterspace has requested, nay, demanded Alan Alda for celebrities week.


I've got more Alan Alada than you can shake a stethoscope at.







Nothing says "instant computer spokesperson creditibility" like a Korean War medical sitcom, so IBM went out and got everyone from M*A*S*H but Alan Alda:

Retro TV

The oldest working TV set in Britain - a 1930s Marconiphone.



http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8159406.stm

Ad of the Day #12

It's celebrities week here at MacTV Industries - and our first celebrity spokesperson - Ladies & Gentlemen...William Shatner!

hot chicks and old computers #13

"There are some things you keep searching for - beyond reason"

Is it me or could that be the motto for everyone involved in the Retrochallenge?

Retro Roll Call - No flicker

Youtube did something very weird to the video - I guess it really didn't like the Animation codec.

Hopefully this one will not cause seizures.

Hot Chicks and Old Computers #12

A pretty German beauty, promoting what is considered the first true laptop - the Epson HX-20. 10 hours of battery life! A built in printer! Jawohl!!!

Ad of the Day #11 - Software Automated Mouth

For the Winter Warm Up 2008 Retrochallenge (which I, cough, cough, won for best hardware project) I coaxed the Talking Moose out of retirement at the half way point to wish fellow retrochallengers good luck. (inspired by Wgoodf's earlier use of a frickin cool spark printer.)

This time, I am bringing out an even older talking friend from 1982 - S.A.M. - short for Software Automatic Mouth - the first all software speech synthesizer. This really cool program could add speech to your Applesoft or Atari Basic programs.

8 bit speech isn't exactly crystal clear, but hey it's still a blast to get these old machines to talk. Sorry if it butchers your screen names...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZB_aS5RzJA

Ad of the Day #10

Little known fact of the day: Canadians have four arms. (Insert joke about carrying beer and/or fighting moose here, eh?)

Hot Chicks and Old Computers #11

a 1200 or even 4800 Baud modem? SEXY!

Ad of the Day #9 - Pinhead

Sorry for the delay - a little drive across 9 states, and then 2 flights to get back home can cut into the retro time.

I'm back and ready to rock though.

This ad scared the crap out of me. 1983. Atari. Evil Clown. Yikes.

hot chicks and old computers #10

Plenty of computer companies used vintage style clip art. Beagle Brothers were probably the most famous for their use of clip art in ads, packaging, catalogs, etc.

But here we have Micro-Ed who take it a step further. Nothing says great computer programming like a woman standing on a horse with a whip.

Hot Chicks and Old Computers #9

Macintoshplususer has challenged me with a braless babe at a supermarket. In response, I present an ad which shows a typical day here at MacTV Industries.

While perusing my vintage magazine collection, I get a shoulder rub from a lovely lady. Another of my honies brings me my latest purchase from ebay on a silver platter - a memory card for my Apple ][. And finally, the pretty lady at my feet does my retro computing for me.

Just a reminder of who is #1, that's all.

Ad of the Day #8 - E.M.S.

Back in the early 80s, as a student with no income, I would request the demo disks of all kinds of products/services I could never afford - just to get the floppy disk, which I would then initialize and put my own stuff on. I definitely recall General Motors' Buick doing a demo disk that was fairly interesting. The packaging was very nice as well, and my parents wondered what on earth I had "ordered" from Buick when it came in the mail.

When I did scrape together enough money to buy a box of 5 1/4" disks, the media of choice was Elephant Memory Systems.


According to the Wikipedia, it was a low end brand that eventually marketed itself as a high end brand. The article also points out that they used bright colors that really contrasted them from their boring competitors, who mostly used black, red, and blue for their disk media branding, and now that I think back, that is very true.

I do recall they also included a logo sticker or two with their disks, which most people would then stick on their disk caddys. I can't recall any of the other companies like Nashua, Verbatim, BASF, etc. doing anything similar.

Here is an excellent tribute site to EMS: http://home.comcast.net/~kevin_d_clark/ems/ - lots of great scans, including the memory pamphlet by " A. Wiley Pachyderm" :-)

So Retrochallengers - anybody else have a fond recollection of a media company?

hot chicks and old computers #8

So, Macintoshplusuer thinks he can show an old dog new tricks does he?

I'll have to resort to...Hillbilly women!

hot chicks and old computers #7

Need help with your code? Maybe the programming fairy will appear if you call her.

Ad of the Day #7 - Alien Hell

I never played this one - but I love the name. For Atari.

hot chicks and old computers #6

7 and 9 track compatibility? AWESOME!

And the keyboard comes in Harvest Gold, just like her dress, and the latest and greatest kitchen appliances. Ahh, the 70s.

Ad of the Day #6 - RIP Compuserve

I was surprised to hear that Compuserve was ending its dialup service after 30 years of service. The corporation itself began 4o years ago, in 1969.

I never had the service, I did have AOL briefly, and even used Apple's dialup/internet service E-World for a while, before switching to an ISP that I still use for dial up when broadband isn't available.

In locating these ads - I really remember the double page spread - it really showed the possibilities and made me want to get the service back when I was younger. I didn't have a modem, it would have tied up our family phone line and it was expensive - so I never subscribed.


I had forgotten that it was once a subsidiary of financial services company H&R Block. I was going to use this ad for the alcohol related theme from day 3 before I found the better ad with the Sierra On-Line folks.




With this 3rd one - I can see why Jennie needed a travel agent - she wanted to get away from her dork husband "Ralph" and her even dorkier son "Herbie".



I love the final paragraph from this UK story about Compuserve's demise:

It's important to note that CompuServe users will be able to convert their ridiculous classic 9 and 10-digit email addresses to the CompuServe 2000 service in order to retain their well-earned sense of superiority over youngster internet users everywhere. Nothing says stay off my lawn like 76453.1032@compuserve.com

Ad of the Day #5 - Our Computers

Looking over the 23 member Retrochallenge Roster, the platform breakdown is:

Apple II - 7
Apple Macintosh - 7
TRS-80 Model 100 - 2
Commodore 64 - 2
IBM Compatible - 2
Atari - 1
Vaxstation - 1
ZX80 - 1

I realize that all of us are using multiple computers - I categorized the above based on the major project the challenger was working on. I'm not trying to start a platform debate - just curious to see - because I wanted to look for ads for each of our major projects. I've tried to use the earliest ad for each platform I could find.

Apple II - notice the woman cutting apples and the apple poster in the kitchen.



Macintosh


TRS 80 Model 100


Commodore 64



IBM


Atari



Vaxstation - all I could find was a Swiss Brochure:




ZX80

Hot Chicks and Old Computers #5

3 things get her in the mood - satin sheets, sexy lingerie, and an Apple II.

Ad of the Day #4 - Marauder

I love Marauder the way fat kids love cake.

The initial part of the game - using your ship to destroy the enemy defenses - lasers, missles, smart bombs come at you while you try to blast away the shield.

Secondary level: The ship lands and you disembark to blow up the facility - robots try to prevent you from doing so:

Looking for the power station to blow up the place:

hot chicks and old computers #4

I'm getting a jumpstart on July 4 45 minutes early - I'm about to go to bed. I've been pouring over my rather large vintage computer magazine reference collection and have yet to find anything July 4th related. Hmm.

In the meantime, here is a funny Compute! cover - usually the illustrations had something to do with the type-in programs, but a naked woman with floppy disks - nope, no such article or type in program, darn.

In my mind, she is drawn in the style of Playboy's Little Annie Fannie, so I will christen her Little Annie Floppy.

Happy Birthday USA!

Ad of the Day #3 - Beer Run!

Continuing the alcohol theme. Beer Run, a Donkey Kong-esque game, where you try to collect beer while climbing up ladders and avoiding buzz killers and the Beer Baron.

I apologize for the crappily composited double page spread - no Photoshop on this particular machine. Beer Run is advertised in the lower left - notice that the blimp's gondola is actually a can opener!

Boot Screen:



Early Level - taking an elevator to the next set of platforms:



Falling after being hit by a buzz kill:

hot chicks and old computers #3

I am falling behind on the booze related part of the retrochallenge. So at the very least, I needed to find some alcohol related ads. Here we go - Softporn Adventure - with naked chicks and champagne - enticing you to buy a text adventure game.

This was Sierra On-Line's only text game, as they became famous for their "hi-res adventure" games, and apparently trademarked the phrase at one point, sueing anyone who tried to use similar wording (see http://gue.vintagegaming.org/galleries/index.php?pub=1&item=0&id=1&key=0 ).

According to Moby Games: "The game's cover shows 3 nude women and a waiter in a hot tub. The hot tub was located at the house of Ken and Roberta Williams, On-Line Systems' owners. The circles in the background is a duplicated image of the top of the hot tub. The woman on the left was a shipping clerk at On-Line Systems, the one in the center is the wife of Bob Davis who created Ulysses and the Golden Fleece and the one on the right is Roberta Williams herself. The man was a waiter from a local restaurant. The image was featured in TIME magazine's first story on computer games."

But back to the game. Your goal is to get laid. Years later, Al Lowe would take the same puzzles and places (bar, disco, wedding chapel, convenience store, etc.) and added graphics and called it Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards - and Lowe even got permission to include a version of Softporn on a Larry greatest hits collection.

A bit of history here, the first adult-themed game. I know some computer magazines caught flack for even running the ad.

hot chicks and old computers #2

A lot of computer ads from this period feature women in clerical/secretarial roles.

Ad of the Day #2

Santa Paravia and Fiumaccio

This is one of the first games I ever played on the Apple II. My brother had played it and told me about it.

Apparently it was one of the first "god" games, where you controlled a region and by building things and setting taxation rates, people either moved in or moved out (or died because you weren't feeding them). The goal was to lure serfs, merchants, noblemen and clergy so you could build an empire and become king.

This begat the whole Sim City/Sims genre.

One thing I never understood - why you couldn't find or breed cats to kill all the rats eating your grain! Starting Off:

Check out the Cathedral, Palace, Markets, and Wollen Mills:

Resource list screen after winning the game:

More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Paravia_en_Fiumaccio

Play it now: http://www.virtualapple.org/santaparaviaandfiumacciodisk.html

Ad of the Day #1

Guitar Hero for the Apple II!

hot chicks and old computers #1

RetroChallenge 2009!

I hope to have a fantastic blog this time around, and inspired by the art used on this year's Retrochallenge page (of the lovely lady with a tape system), I will try to post each day, an old advertisement from various computer magazines featuring women and vintage systems. "Hot chicks and old computers." Sexist? Yes. But wait til you see some of these blatant ads! I'll throw in some more subtle ones, and generally try to examine how women were used to market hardware and software in late 70s and early 80s.

I will also try to post the "Ad of the day" which will feature an advertisement for hardware or software that is worthy of note – because of its impact on the industry, was a personal favorite of mine, or just because I thought the ad was interesting.

Regarding the hardware portion of the challenge, I will be working on my Apple //e, a IIgs, a Mac LC III with Apple //e card, and Apple II emulation using a modern PC & a modern Mac, as well as my almost vintage PDA, a Compaq Ipaq 3950.

For software, I will be playing with various graphic utilities, and I plan to add some cool boot screens to my favorite games and utilities, as well as develop a graphics utility disk featuring various programs. I've also got a "secret" project that I'll be working on that I will hopefully unveil at the end of the challenge.

Best of luck to my fellow participants.